Between places

I had to laugh the other day when we were driving from Twentynine Palms to Death Valley – we passed through Apple Valley where the signs read: Apple Valley – a better way to life – and the next board read the mileage off to Death Valley…… made me chuckle.

Anyway – we tootled up the road in howling winds all the way to Death Valley, passing some very interesting stone formations and some rv’s parked in the middle of nowhere in what looked like an enormous, very lonely sand patch shadowed by an awesome cliff…… I would not want to live there. There were wind-whipped flags flying from a good few of the high points around, the hills seemed to be built from round rocks of all different sizes. Anyway – Frank wrestled the rv all the way to Death Valley in a wind that at times made us laugh at the way it literally threw us around. Nope – it was not funny, but what can one do? We stopped at a rest stop where there were a bunch of cyclists taking part in a race to raise funds – how they did it, we don’t know. The rv rocked so badly that we both wondered if the little bakkie hooked to the rv would turn over slowly or fast when the wind blew us over!

So today when we left Death Valley, we hoped the wind has subsided somewhat – and it had. The drive below the Sierra Nevada mountains was lovely! It sounds awesome, and it is awesome to be driving along a range of mountains I learned of in school so many many years ago! It looked as if the very tips of this range had already been touched by a dusting of snow and there was a definite chill in the air too. Lovely drive. This is the road that said there was high winds and rv’s and trailers were not recommended to travel this route. We did. We made it – along with everyone else.

We drove down the Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway again with dust flying everywhere, doglet doing her normal travel shivering and shaking and panting and generally looking pathetic. She is better than she was when we left Soddy – but geez, its taking a while!

Gas here has gone up to $3.29 a gallon – and in the bottom of Death Valley it was $3.41. We did not put in much at all.

On the way to Ventura which is on the coast of California, we spend about 22 miles on the I-5 interstate. Talk about sweaty palms! These people here fly! We were very glad to get off there and back on normal roads again. Now we are parked in a campground right next to the 101 and the traffic just does not let up. At over $3 per gallon, there is a lot of money being made and spent on these roads……

At first we stopped in a state park, but they had no water, no electicity, no internet and no store. There was not even a way to fill our water tank, so we left the rv there and came to look for another, which we found. After going back to pick up the rv, we stopped at The Channel Islands National Park place as well as the Island Tour place and we are now booked on a day cruise and landing, to the Islands. Doglet will stay here in the rv – the longest we have ever left her alone…. She will be fine. The trip to the islands is about an hour, then we get picked up again around 4pm and home by 5pm. Its going to be a long wonderful day.

I am off to bed – no internet in the rv as their wireless booster does not reach this far – we have an early start in the morning.

love and light

Annie

ps - today was spent at the Channel Island National Park - WHAT an awesome day! But that's for the next email :-) I only managed around 600 photos! LOL

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