We had perfect weather in Surprise, Arizona. Every day was sunny and warm as we hiked, biked, sat by the pool, and hung out with family, and old and new friends.
Then it was on to Yuma, Arizona for a few days. The weather there continued to be sunny, warm and wonderful! Christy's been wanting us to meet her brother since we began our adventures ten months ago. We met Dick about 10 minutes after we pulled into our site at Shangri-la RV Resort in Yuma. We just happened to call him as he was on his way home from playing in the sand with his ATV. It's always nice to meet a fellow full-timer and we hope to meet with him again sometime.
The following evening we enjoyed a great visit and a wonderful dinner with our friends, Rod and LaVee at their home not far from the RV resort. It was great to see them and their dog, Jed again. As we left their house that evening, the mountains near their home looked so beautiful as the setting sun was shining on them. I didn't have my camera with me, so Trev took a picture in the direction of their home at sunset the night before we left Yuma. We regret that we didn't have more time to spend there .We would have loved to have seen the sights with them, but we needed to be moving on to California.
The drive out west is so impressive! I usually like to read or write (or nap) while traveling, but I haven't been able to take my eyes off God's awesome landscaping since we first saw the mountains in Texas. California was no disappointment either! Not only are the mountains awesome, but get a load of the sand dunes at the Imperial Dunes Recreational Area! I'm thinking, our toad (tow vehicle) needs a tad- pull (a.k.a. dune buggy)!
Our stay in California was filled with more sunny days, warm temperatures, and lots of visiting with family and friends. There wasn't much time, but we tried to squeeze in as much sight-seeing as we could between visits. One thing I had my heart set on, was renting a dune buggy and having some fun on those tempting little sand dunes in the area. I thought I found a great place online, but it turned out they didn't rent their dune buggies out; they only gave tours in them. So we took a one hour tour of the area instead. I think if you want to use an actual dune buggy yourself, you need to bring your own. But it was fine. We learned a lot and the winds were so strong, I got a great dermabrasion that day, so that was nice and cheap!
The next day we toured Joshua Tree National Park. What an awesome place. We would love to camp in that park for about a year! It's so big, with so much to see and do. The scenery is awesome! I wish my camera could do more than just take in little bits at a time. Go there if you ever have the opportunity. I don't think they'll let you camp there for a year, but try to stay as long as you can.
The day before we left California we toured a very unusual place called Cabot's Pueblo Museum. The whole story behind the man who built the place and the place itself is so fascinating, it's too difficult to describe in a little blog. You really need to go there. One very useful thing we learned on the tour, was about the security system the man used when he was out of town. He kept rattlesnakes in something like a little trough that was built into a room in his house. When he left home, he let the rattlesnakes out. I know you wouldn't catch me breaking and entering there! I wonder how that'd work for an RV...
We left California, spent the night in Las Vegas, and had breakfast with my aunt and uncle the next day. It was so chilly that morning, we had to break out warmer clothes.
I could not believe how beautiful the drive from Las Vegas to Green River, Utah was! We spent the night in Utah, but didn't get to linger there. If you ever get out that way, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to hang out there for awhile. Trust me! We arrived at Cherry Creek State Park in Denver last Sunday. It's the same park we told you about back in July. It's a little different there during the winter season. We had some very nice visits with family there as well. Again, no time to linger, but I really want to see more of Colorado some day. It's such a beautiful state, but it was pretty cold by the time we left there today!
We haven't been able to spend any time in these gorgeous places, because we're on a mission to get to Minnesota. Our daughter's getting married in 2 weeks, so we had to give ourselves plenty of time to get there, due to the incredible amounts of cold temperatures and snow they've been getting.
I'm glad to be traveling through Nebraska right now, because it's giving me time to catch you up to date with all we've been doing. But with every mile it seems to get colder and colder.
It was time to put the sandals away for a awhile. As I did so, I felt as though I was heading into winter while most of you are welcoming spring. I came so close to getting through an entire winter without seeing snowflakes. I can't believe my daughter's making us come to Minnesota right now! Obviously we love her very much. We're looking forward to seeing her and the rest of our family and joining together in celebration as she marries the love of her life. But we're freezing! And looking forward to when we can get the sandals out again!
Love,
Trevor & Roni
-Sunrise at Sands RV Park and Golf Resort, Desert Hot Springs, CA
