Organ Pipe National Monument

After spending two glorious weeks in Puerto Penasco, Mexico we had an uneventful border crossing at Lukeville, Arizona. A few miles north of the border we stopped at Organ Pipe Cactus Monument for the afternoon. We toured the visitors center and attended a very informative ranger talk about the plants and animals of the desert. Then we unhitched our Honda CR-V and took a scenic 21 mile drive over the dirt road of the Ajo Mountain Drive. The park covers nearly one-third of a million acres in the Sonoran Desert, one four the four great deserts of the west.

The park hosts 28 different species of cactus including Organ Pipe, Saguaro, Cholla, Prickly Pear, Hedgehog, Teddy Bear and Barrels. It is estimated about 200 species of animals and birds live in the park. Our visit was in a dry season (it had not rained in 120 days) so the cactus were in hibernation and would quickly drank the next rainfall.

Yuma, Arizona

We spent the night boondocking at the Elks Lodge in Gila Bend, Arizona and then drove west to Yuma. Yuma Lakes RV Resort allowed us to stay in their park free with full hookups for three nights for listening to a short sales pitch (we did not buy). Then we moved to California Casinos just across the California border and spent another three nights boondocking for free. This year we did little sightseeing around Yuma and spent most of our time eating, shopping and visiting friends.

We also crossed the border to Algodones, Mexico two time for shopping. That Mexican border city has to be the medical center of all border towns. About one third of the businesses sell the standard souvenirs and the other two-thirds sell medicines and have facilities for eye and dental services. Many US citizens go to Algodones to get their eyes examined and buy glasses, have dental work done and buy a few month's or even a year's supply of drugs. Examples of eye care prices are an exam and glasses for $35 - $70, depending on lenses. Linda usually cuts my hair but I couldn't pass up a professional haircut for $3. Before leaving Algodones we watched the street artists who produce masterpieces with cans of spray paint.

The RV America Chatters, a group of RV enthusiasts who chat on the internet, have regular events in Yuma and we were invited to join them. Arnold and Diane Pelletier were hosting a cookout at their campsite and they worked long and hard preparing Maine Boil and Cabbage Stuff. I don't know how to describe the food, but I will try. Maine Boil is a large pot filled with potatoes, turnips, green beans, carrots, cabbage, onions, ham and seasonings while the Cabbage Stuff was ground meat and rice wrapped in cabbage leaves with a tomato sauce with seasonings. Even though I'm sure I murdered the recipes, I can tell you the food was delicious and the company was great. Our friends Ray and Lora Baker are part of the chatter's group and we knew a few of the others. We had a delightful afternoon and want to thank Arnold and Diane for inviting us.

San Diego, California

Our travels started last Fall in Florida and we had been working our way slowly westward. We continued at far west as possible without running into the Pacific Ocean and pulled into Mission Bay RV Park in San Diego, California. We found San Diego to be an expensive place to live, but we got a great deal on the park with full hookups for $15 a day, so we stayed ten days. (This was a half-price rate through Passport America.)

There is too much in San Diego to see in ten days so we selected a few highlights and had a relaxing time. The Hotel del Coronado,known as "the Del," was constructed in 1888 and is one of the largest wooden structures in existence. It is best know for the filming of Some Like it Hot staring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. We enjoyed touring the hotel and grounds, but we could not afford to stay there. The San Diego Zoo, known as one of the best zoos in the world, was opened in 1916 and presently covers 100 acres. It features 4,000 animals and 800 species, and many unique flowers, plants and trees. One of the most visited exhibits is the giant Panda display that opened in 1996 featuring pandas from homeland China. We walked much of the zoo grounds, sat and watched a wild (tamed and trained) cat performance, rode an aerial tram over the zoo and took a 40 minute narrated bus ride around the park. The zoo is worth a visit and expect to spend a full day there.

At the end of World War II, in 1945, the aircraft carrier USS Midway was commissioned and it proudly served our country through Desert Storm in 1991. It was decommissioned in 1992 and no other carrier served as long as the Midway - 47 years. It is now a museum and sits on Navy Pier in downtown San Diego. Linda and Diane wanted to go shopping so Rich and I toured the gigantic ship. We were given audio headphones to listen to descriptions of exhibits and to listen to men who served on the aircraft carrier telling about their experiences. Many places there were volunteers, former Navy men who had served on the Midway, explaining the operation of the carrier and answering questions. Plan to spend about four hours on the floating museum and learn how the carrier and the men who served on it protected our country.

Balboa Park, near downtown San Diego, is America's largest cultural park. It covers 1,200 acres and has over 85 cultural and recreational organizations including 15 museums and various performing groups. The grounds are graced with beautiful flowers, rare plants and 58 different species of palm trees. We visited the Art Museum on Free Tuesday (love free) and studied art from around the world.

Our final tourist attraction was Point Loma on a peninsula with an elevated view of downtown San Diego and the bay. It was first discovered by Juan Cabrillo and his Spanish crew in 1542 and a National Monument, named for Cabrillo, sits on the point along with a visitors center, museum and lighthouse. We watched a video about the life and explorations of Cabrillo, toured the museum and then spent about 45 minutes taking in the breathtaking view of San Diego. (The last picture below opens to a Large picture.)

We are heading to the Palm Springs area so check back in a few days.