THE Trip, Quartzsite Arizona to La Quinta California, Bump Bump

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Some travel days just are not created equal.  For non-RVing friends of mine, I guess this post could be a romantic dream buster, or deflater.  I am sure to all my readers and friends who have been suffering (you may take a few minutes here to whine and cry, justifiably so) through this wicked winter weather must think this RVing thing is a glorified relaxing way of life. Well, ya, sorta.

My daddy, may he rest in peace, used to call traveling, "the hard road".  He sure tagged that correctly.  Driving a big rig is serious business, one must remember to make LONG turns.  If you don't turn LONG you risk major booboos when you kiss that fuel filling station, they don't forgive, believe me, the rig will take the hit and it costs bunches to fix it.

You must remember you are toting a bunch of weight.  We weigh close to 23,000 pounds, Big Butt, Tana, Man and I, 3 yorkies and ALL our STUFF.  It takes a bit of space and time to stop 23,000 pounds running down the road at 57 to 62 MPH.  LOTS of space.  Many other drivers have no clue, and pull in front of you, dangerously close, sending us into 'burn the brake pads and get flat spots on the tires' emergency stops.  And, now, you know why I love purple.  Ya, the inside of Big Butt has been filled with really nasty snarly purple words time and time again when someone puts us at risk that way.  A simple GRRRRR does not release our stress and tension.

And, lets face it, many of our highways and bi-ways are not exactly smooth to drive on. Sometimes after a particularly bad bouncy day we are simply exhausted.  And, remember, we average driving distances of about 250 miles a day.  I can hear ya all saying, ohhh, 250 miles, can do that blindfolded.  Yep, you can, and we can too, in a softly padded smooth running car.  Many RVers I know don't even do that many miles in a day.  Tis a different world in the RV hauling world.

And, setting up and taking down camp, not always smooth sailing either.  But, that is another day's discussion.

So, we pulled out of Quartzsite Arizona around 11 in the morning.  Sun bright, temps coolish, still a bit of the brisk wind blowing.  Heading to La Quinta California, about 132 miles.  The scenery was great, mountains, desert (this time there was a lot of sand), dropping down just before reaching our destination into the valley floor.  From beige to color!  I screamed on Facebook:  COLOR!!!

Then, arrival at our campground, and a few bumps popped up.

1.)  Man's new chant is, "don't mess with my amps!"  Poor guy, he asked at the gate (one more time, he had asked when making the reservation) if all sites had 50 amps. He was assured, YEP.  You have it all figured out don't you?  Plugged the power cord in, and no 50 amps.  Man was not happy at that point.  Man diagnosed the problem and got the park electrician down here.   The park electrician repaired by replacing a breaker, and the 50 amp was restored. (Man smiled!)

2.)  Full disclosure would also be preferred.  No where on your web site or on the Passport America web site is there any mention of an extra pet fee.  Not that it was a huge fee, cept remember, I have THREE yorkies, so that was an extra $21.00 for our week.  It would have been nice to have been warned or advised of said fee.  And, sorry, what is this, cats are not considered "pets", and therefore are not charged for.  I could have 15 cats in here, no charge, but charge me for my 3 yorks, at a buck a day??  I love cats too, but, really, a pet is a pet is a pet???  I am sure there is some logical explanation for this that I am just not figuring out.

The next 3 items are all about SIGNS.

3.)  The signage into the area was a tad weak, hint to staff, it would not hurt to add one or two signs that the campground is 'this-a-way' with an arrow or two.  The entrance here is kinda confusing for those not in the know.

4.)  Too much signage.  OK, we get it, no dog walking on the beautiful green lush grass.  But, could you maybe??? move those signs back away from the road, just a little.  They make backing into our campsites a tad difficult. See discussion about LONG turns!

5.)  Not enough signage (or, how bout putting this in the rules list?).  If you don't want us to drive on the grass, while trying to back into a site and having trouble because of number 4 above, maybe you could advise us at the gate when we register, or on the web site, or on the brochure with list of rules, or, hey, make another sign and add it to that 'No dog walking' sign we almost hit trying to back in.

Ok, all 5 infractions listed really are minor.  And, we are happy to report we are now over the minor angst attacks.  However, the reality is, that not all RVing days are created equal.  In the scheme of things, this one was not that bad, we have had much worse.  It is part of the game, part of the lifestyle, part of the challenge, can we overcome??

So, this travel day, our route out of Quartzsite was to jump on I 10 and head west again.  We sailed right thru the agricultural checkpoint at the California state line.  Near Indio, we got off the expressway and headed for our campground (name withheld for, well, obvious reasons - - we want to stay here and not be asked to leave - - eh??)

Despite the issues, it is a BEAUTIFUL park, and we look forward to our time here and exploring the area.  So much to see and do, and it is GREEN and full of COLOR, my Sony will probably get a workout.

Man likes it so much, even with the "messing with his amps" and the doggie fees, we are going to stay 2 weeks here, the max allowed.

Let the exploring begin!




*  Graphic courtesy of Clker.com