Joan and John: Week ending Feb 5, 2015 Quartzite to Niland

Friday morning after checking out of our hotel our destination was Imperial Date Gardens, according to their add the best of the best Medjool dates available. It had rained overnight (more rain in the desert???) so the roads out to the date farm were covered in mud. The mud really was thanks to the farmers working in the fields dragging wet mud onto the roads. Greta took us on a convoluted route, but we did eventually get to the date farm. We picked up a package of dates as well as a package of black liquorish. The dates are very tasty, well worth the trip. Of course the truck is covered in mud, so we eventually will have to find a car wash. Our next stop was the History of the World in Granite at the Official Center of the World. HistoryinGranite.org. Felicity, a little town built for the purpose of showing the history of the world, painted on granite blocks. There also is a little pyramid built that supposedly marks the Center of the World. The theory here is that anywhere can be the center of the world if it is based on a fairy tale, which this is. Someone had a vivid imagination, and was able to get the county government to officially approve the Official Center of the World at this location.

Another piece of history on display was a section of the old stairs from the Eiffel tower. Apparently the French gov't replaced the stairs on the Eiffel as they had deteriorated and were unsafe. Felicity has one section on display.

We then headed north in California up highway 78 to Blythe. We stopped at Albertson's in Blythe to pick up some veg's and wine. We had checked and the Blythe Albertson was one of the few places we could purchase Black Box Shiraz. We got back to the trailer to discover that our trailer batteries were dead (we kind of knew this before we left). We had put our solar panels safely away while we were on vacation. We picked up a couple of gallons of gas, in preparation for firing up the generator. Always good to have a back-up plan. Within an hour batteries were happy, but we ran the generator for a few hours so John could watch Friday night wrestling and Joan could watch something else at the same time.

Saturday morning was cool and cloudy. Our solar panels, although not producing enormous amounts of power are generating a small charge and the batteries are happy. We visited with our neighbours from BC and then went for a walk for about an hour through the desert. The places to walk here are endless. Saturday evening we watched the Junior girls Canadian curling finals.

Sunday was back to real desert weather, hot and sunny. We have been looking at a derelict building across the highway and thinking we should check it out. Sunday morning seemed like a good time to head out in that direction. We walked up a hill behind the building and then walked down to the buildings. They were interesting. One was built out of cinder blocks and trimmed with quartz, the older one was built out of rocks.

There was no indication as to the original use of the buildings or why they would have been erected on BLM land (perhaps pre-BLM). The walk took us a little more than 2 hours, but it was interesting and we discovered other areas that peaked our interest for future exploration. After lunch we went into Quartzite to the flea market area to look for some things we decided we needed. Everything needed by rv'ers is available here. We got some batteries for the radio, a little collapsible table for our BBQ, a BBQ lighter and a few other necessities. This is an interesting place to shop, but you have to be discriminating. Tonight while John watched the Super Bowl, Joan watched the Junior boys Canadian curling finals. This is one of the reasons we have 2 TV's.

Monday we cleaned up, lots to do after being parked for 2 weeks, had coffee at Burger King, so we could use the WI-Fi and determine our direction of travel for the next week or two. In the afternoon, while chatting with the neighbours, we noticed the Goodyear Blimp float by. We understood that it had not been allowed at the Superbowl in Phoenix, so we were surprised to see it in the area.

Tuesday morning we moved to Fountain of Youth Spa RV Park at Niland, near the Salton Sea in California. On the way there, we saw a cairn marking a pre-Columbian native trail through the hills. Once we came through the hills at Glamis, we went across the Algodones Dunes, a sand dune structure, which stretches about 40 miles from the Mexico border north into California. We stopped at an outlook on top of the dunes, and discovered that it was also a 14 day limit free camping site as well. We'll have to return on another trip and spend some time in the area.

We carried on north through the Imperial Valley, another large green leaf vegetable and dairy farming area. The RV Park is located at the foot of a range of hills above the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea is one of the world's largest inland seas and, based on some research we did, we think is the third lowest point on earth at -227 below sea level. Salton Sea was re-created in 1905 when high spring flooding on the Colorado River crashed the canal gates leading into the developing Imperial Valley. For the next 18 months the entire volume of the Colorado River rushed downward into the Salton Trough. By the time engineers were finally able to stop the breaching water in 1907, the Salton Sea had been born at 45 miles long and 20 miles wide – equaling about 130 miles of shoreline. Salton Sea State Recreation Area covers 14 miles of the northeastern shore and has long been a popular site for campers, boaters and anglers. Increasing salinity in the Salton Sea basin has limited the number of types of fish that can be found there, and most fish currently caught are Talapia. Varner Harbor within the SRA provides easy access to the sea for boating and water skiing. Kayakers, campers, birdwatchers, photographers and hikers can enjoy the site's many recreation opportunities.

Wednesday was laundry day. John was busy taking care of recycling, garbage and a few other things in the trailer. While Joan was waiting for the laundry to do its things see noticed a young lady leaving the pool. The gal looked familiar, she then looked at the man with her and it was Rupert Emerson and his daughter. We had met them for lunch at the RV show in Quartzite. When we left them in Quartzite neither of us had specific destinations in mind, so it was quite a surprise to both end up at the same RV park. After lunch Rupert and Helen came by and we went for a walk through the park. This park had over 800 sites, so a walk around the park does take some time.

Thursday was shopping day, as there is no decent grocery stores nearby, we drove Brawley to make a bank stop and get groceries at Walmart. On our way to Brawley we stopped at Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. Where do the snow geese from Alberta spend their winters? At the Salton Sea. We went on an interesting walk to a hill at the seashore. We saw many birds and had great views of this shallow inland sea. There is a small hill near the park called Obsidian Hill, and we saw several chunks of obsidian along the pathway in the Refuge. Near the refuge we drove past many GeoThermal Power Generating Stations, which you can see in the background from the Refuge.