The Living Desert

Bighorn Sheep

Jana at the penny smoosher

Sand Cat

Jack and I went to The Living Desert today with Rick and Jana. The Living Desert was opened in 1970 and is comprised of two desert regions....The North American Desert and Africa. The North American Desert has exhibits with turtles(currently hibernating) wolves,coyotes,Bighorn sheep (Bighorn sheep actually roam some of the golf courses down here) and all sorts of birds. The African desert exhibit has giraffes,Zebras,Meerkats and a replica of an African Village. One of my favorite animals is the Sand Cat. It is the size of a small house cat and very cute.Rick and Jack tried to convince us that the Sand Cats were probably from a local animal shelter. Nice try guys. In addition to the two desert regions,The Living Desert has several garden areas including a Hummingbird/Butterfly garden, a wildlife rehabilitation center and childrens discovery center. It is well laid out and worth a visit.

I plan on purchasing an annual pass which will get me in the door free along with free admission to other gardens and zoos across the U.S. (including Point Defiance in Tacoma,Northwest Trek in Eatonville and the aquarium in Newport Oregon. There are several hiking trails I want to explore within the Living Desert. I think this is best done before the Rattlesnakes emerge from their dens.

Why We Are Here and NOT There

El Diablo The 6th Hole at Santa Rosa

Jack and I read KOMO and The Seattle Times websites today with interest concerning the snowfall in the Northwest.Then we went out and played nine holes of golf at Santa Rosa Country Club. It was windy but sunny and in the 70's...a beautiful day.

My numbers didn't reflect it but I felt like I played a better game today than in the past 4 months.

We are looking forward to visitng The Living Desert tomorrow with Rick and Jana.

Snow Level is Down

I took this picture of the Santa Rosa Mountains this morning.

The Coachella Valley had quite a rain shower and as a result the snow level dropped in the mountains. Beautiful!

It is only about 62 degrees and breezy but the sun is out for now.

Where Will We Go This Year?

Last year Jack and  I stayed in 28 different parks in four states. This year's count will probably be a quarter of that.

How do we decide which direction to head in May? And why do we leave in May? Our major reason for leaving the desert  during the Summer is to escape the heat.  Temperatures can reach 100 degrees as early as late April. We have found in past years if we head to Arizona or Nevada it is equally as hot. If we head directly to Washington it is still rainy and cold. Yes there are beautiful days in May and June in Washington bracketed by nasty overcast and gloomy ones. Once you realize that the sun is shining somewhere almost all the time (Southern California and Arizona) it is difficult to handle the alternative. Jack and I are Washington Natives and  agree there is no place as beautiful as the Pacific Northwest when the sun is shining and the mountains are visible which is July 5 through July 10. (Just kidding)

That being said,we decided that San Diego is the perfect jump off spot. In May the sun is out and the weather can range from foggy 60's to warm 70's. From San Diego we'll make our way north in mid June.  We have no specific spot picked out in Washington to roost yet.

We'll head east of the Cascades in July for a week...to Spectacle Lake. Spectacle Lake is north of Omak Washington and just south of the Canadian border. Jack's family has an annual campout spearheaded by his Uncle Dick and Aunt Sue. They have organized this trip and kept this tradition moving along smoothly for decades.  It is great fun and this year we plan on bringing Madison with us.

After Spectacle Lake we'll need to get Madison back to the Westside and we don't know what our plans will be. It's a great feeling to have the freedom to move about when and where we please.

So I guess our departure and destination from Palm Springs is somewhat based on the weather.

Where to Stay?

So how do we decide where to set up camp for the night? When you tow your home behind you there are several options depending on your objective and the length of time you’re on the road.The biggest cost of RV travel, other than fuel, is camping.

Dry Camping: Setting up your RV in a location that has no hookups for water,power and sewer. These locations are usually free. Dry camping does not hold much appeal for us unless it is a one nighter.

Some smaller campgrounds such as US Forest Service generally don’t have sewer hookups and most don’t have the space for larger RV’s. These spaces usually run about $10-12 a night.

State parks: usually have water and power…one of our favorite State Parks…Fort Flagler in Washington, has full hook ups now. We were not able to book reservations at Fort Flagler this year. One drawback to State Parks is the reservation requirement. It’s tough to get in. State parks start around $20 on up per night.

Property ownership Many RV campgrounds now offer travelers the option of purchasing a space for an annual fee. These can be costly, thousands of dollars, and you are limited to that particular spot.

Wal-Mart parking lot: Believe it or not there are some RV travelers that love camping in Wal-Mart parking lots… Most Wal-Mart are accommodating…assuming you will spend some $$ in the store while you camp free in their parking lot. The same principal applies to casinos, however if you gamble and eat at the casino buffet you’re probably not saving too much in the long run. We have yet to experience the Wal-Mart parking lot however we did spend the night in the Morongo Casino parking lot (30 miles from home) one year when we were exhausted and didn’t want to arrive home after dark.

Camping Club Memberships: These clubs offer discounts on nightly rates at popular RV parks. We belong to a couple of these camping clubs. There is a nominal annual fee that allows access to thousand of RV parks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Popular clubs these days are Thousand Trails, Resort Parks International, NACO and Coast to Coast. Depending on what type of membership you have, you can stay for a week to several weeks in these parks. Some membership campgrounds won't honor club discounts during holidays and weekends. What we have found for the most part are good, well-run parks with standard amenities such as laundry,wi-fi and a pool. You may have to drive five or ten miles out of the way. Saving money is a big motivator and camping at $12.00 or $15.00 per night sure beats $35.00 or $40.00 which is the standard “off the rack“ rate for some parks.

Seasonal Human Migration: Snowbirds

"Migratory People Called Snowbirds" taken from the Wikipedia free encyclopedia definition.

Snowbirds are described as "typically retirees from the colder areas of the U.S and Canada who spend a large portion of the Winter in warmer locales".

The Coachella Valley is listed as a major destination for Snowbirds. Why? Sunshine,warm temperatures, golf etc etc

What I hope to accomplish with this blog is a look into the lives of Snowbirds and not just Jack and I...

What do we do all Winter? What goes into planning "The Great Migration"?. Do we ever feel the urge to ski again? ( answer ..NO)

As most of you know Jack and I travel during the summer months in our 5th wheel.I'll spend some time over the next few weeks outlining the planning process for this trip.

Hopefully I'll also keep you entertained with some of our Winter activities here in the Coachella Valley.

Changing Blog Sites

Sorry for any confusion due to the change in the blog site. I prefer Blogspot over Wordpress.