Wednesday, My, 20.

It’s was a beautiful morning in the Sierras. Cool and clear.
We went to breakfast at the Boomtown Casino and then got on I 80 heading for home around 8:00.
I was surprised that the road surface was so good on the east side of the mountains. The last time I came that way it was as rough as a gravel road. They have done a lot of work there in the last year or so.
When we got to the west side the gravel road feel was back and just got worse the farther west we traveled. By the time we got to the turnoff for hwy. 12 to Sonoma I was thinking that “Plan B” was going to rattle apart.
We have been on some jeep trails that weren’t that rough.
We got home at 12:00.

Thinking back on the trip, it is hard to believe that we were gone for 5 months. What a wonderful time we had and what fantastic things we have seen from the flat desert and discarded ordinance of the Berry Goldwater bombing range.


To the beautiful mountains and natural cactus gardens of the Kofa Wildlife Refuge.


And the Indian ruins and the caverns of New Mexico.


And the red rock country of Utah with its fantastic shapes and soaring cliffs.



We took rides on some rough assed jeep roads. There were few times when I was afraid that we would destroy Clifford before we even got to Utah.

But we did get to Utah in one piece. And found some even better trails.


Sure, there were issues. “Clifford the big red Jeep” had his problems but they were minor.
Like a radiator that was coming apart when we were in Wellton, or the stick that went through the tire on our first ride into the Kofa Refuge

or the day that a crankcase sensor went bad 15 miles back at the end of the Big Eye Mine road but after some dicking around it started and got us all the way to the Border Patrol check point on highway 95 before it died completely and we had to get towed home.

“Plan B” also had its problems, like the water pump that leaked under the bed and the thermo couple on the fridge that broke or the day we came back from a ride and found the bathroom, hall and bedroom flooded due to too high water pressure.
But all these things were minor inconveniences.

If the refrigerator hadn’t given us trouble we wouldn’t have moved to the Holliday Palms RV Resort and we may not have met Becky and Dennis and the gang in Quartzsite if we hadn’t gotten towed home after dark.

And we might not have been introduced to the hotdog roast in the desert tradition.

Of course I can’t forget the Cactus flowers,


Or the wildlife,




Or the sunsets,


Or the night we spent at the Hoodoo Hilton,

Or the night we spent at the end of the “Dip’s Trail”

Or the many petroglyphs and pictographs we saw in all 3 states.


It was truly an incredible journey and I cant wait until December when we will (if all goes well) do it again
Now that we are home I will be bloging less often but stop by now and then and check the blog.
When we do something or something happens that I think is interesting, I will tell you about it.
Like for instance, around the 12th of June we will be going to The Pacific Primitive Rendezvous. It will last a week and we will take pictures. When we get home I will write it up.
We will be up at Indian creek for the fourth of July so I will probably write that up as well.
I’m sure that there will also be other things that will come up so keep checking my blog.

Marty