Big Moon and Buckskin

On Saturday we biked around Palm Desert and then visited some of the high end art galleries there where we saw lots of intriguing stuff.

Pictured is another of the entrances to one of the gated communities in Palm Desert.








Rebecca, (the Seattle realtor) came and invited us to dinner but Janice already had some Thai food on the go so Rebecca joined us instead. We lit a fire and another couple from Oregon joined us to watch the huge moon come over the horizon. Skies were clear so everything was brilliantly illuminated until we turned in at midnight.

Sunday morning was cloudy so we decided to head east again. Destination Parker, Arizona. It was an hour on the I-10 to Desert Center - nothing more than an abandoned gas station and a café. Despite the greasy spoon appearance of the café we decided to try it for lunch. Inside, everyone was seated at the large coffee shop style bar so we took the last two seats at the end. We split a Rueben Sandwich and a Cheeseburger on Rye. They were really good.

Pictured is the abandoned gas station at Desert Center.









Another hour along Route 177 and we were at the Del Rio RV Resort in Big River California, across the Colorado River and about five miles from Parker. As soon as we started setting up Janice said she could hear a leak in one of the trailer tires. I couldn’t hear it at all and told her she was imagining things.

Pictured is the Colorado River in front of our campsite. That’s Arizona on the left, California on the right.









It was laundry day so we set it to spinning while we went for a walk. I checked the tire when we got back. It looked to be fine.

Pictured are our neighbours' grape lights.








In the morning the tire was flat. We called AAA and it was removed and the spare put on, all within a half hour. Nice.

Pictured is the AAA guy removing the wheel.









We dropped the tire off at a tire store in Parker and told him we’d be back tomorrow morning so that they could put it back on the trailer.

Driving up the 95 we went to have a look at Buckskin Mountain State Park, to see if they would have any space for us. We knew it was a beautiful spot, with lots of good hiking trails, because we’d been there many years ago. They told us we’d have to check tomorrow morning as the reservations are booked months in advance, but that they do keep a few spots for drop-ins like us. Along the way we saw another county park that operates the same way so, we’ll see tomorrow which one we end up at.

We went for lunch at The Crossroads Café in Parker, which was packed. Again, it was what you’d expect to find in an American small town. We weren’t disappointed.

Back at the park we went for a long walk. We had been woken up in the morning by a bunch of different bird calls. I guess they liked the rain that had fallen in the night because they were really making a racket. It turned out that the noisiest of the bunch were the Yellow Headed Blackbirds, pictured below.









There’s a Great Horned Owl that lives in one of the trees right beside the river at this park but, while we’ve heard him, we haven’t been able to spot him yet.

After picking up our repaired tire, we ended up at the La Paz County Park on the Arizona side if the river. We got a spot right on the river and it even has cable TV, all for $22.

This is the first area we’ve been where the summer season is reportedly much busier than the winter season, which means that this wouldn’t be a bad place to purchase a property that could be rented during the summertime and used by us in the winter. The Colorado River, which is the big draw, must be packed with fishers, water skiers, jet skis and swimmers in the summertime. The river is wide and deep here, and surprisingly clear and inviting. Right now it’s pretty quiet.

We rode our bikes up to Buckskin State Park and, along the way, snooped around some of the private resorts as well.

Pictured is the Colorado River at a bar just north of our campsite. While it’s quiet now, come summer it’ll be a gong show. Also pictured are: a resort on the California side of the river and, a wild burro
















Later in the afternoon we took a circle drive to the Parker Dam, to Parker and back to our park. There’s a sign across the river from our park advertising new waterfront homes so we went to have a look-see. The show home had a sign saying the realtor could be reached at a certain number but the patio door was wide open so we went in and had a look. The new, manufactured, waterfront, 1,200 square foot, 3 bed, 3 bath home, with a double carport and large covered deck, goes for $99,000.00. This is in a resort-type setting - we never found out what the annual fees were, but if they’re anything like most parks we’ve been staying at, they’d be $2,500.00 to $3,000.00 a year.

Don't worry JR, we won't buy one.

While Janice was starting dinner I drove up to Buckskin to get a few pictures of the red rock but they’ve fenced it off since last time we were here, so I only got the one picture below.









After dinner we sat around the fire and watched the river go by.

This morning, Wednesday, is sunny and bright. The plan is to take a hike at Buckskin…