Day 29-Tues, 27 Jan-Yuma, Ariz to San Diego, Calif

It was a beautiful day to be on the road..sun shining and not a cloud in the sky. Temperatures are still in the mid-60's but as sister-Brenda says: "pulle-e-e-se, it's minus 20 here". Too true, and I'll (try) to stop whining!

We headed west on Hwy 8 through some true, honest-to-God desert. I don't have a map of Calif and don't know the mountain ranges which surrounded this valley, but as we drove for about 80 miles through such varied landscape, we could see them in the distance and knew we would have to cross them to get to the Pacific. There were massive sand dunes (Imperial Dunes), some with bits of vegatation that held them in place but for the most part it was barren...but beautiful. There were hundreds of boon-dockers (people in RVs just parked and sitting on what must be public land) but I'm betting they were breathing, eating, and shoveling sand as there is a constant wind blowing that gets in every crack and crevice of an RV.

There was a canal built through this area which means before and after the 10-mile stretch of dunes, significant agriculture is possible. We saw huge fields of cauliflower, onions, hay, and other stuff. At a rest stop in this valley there was an interesting story about a man who visited this valley in the 1800's and saw the possibility of diverting water from the Colorado River. In following years, the rivers overflowed and sent huge amounts of silt into the canal and they gave up until the early 1900s when a better plan for building the canal was done. Between those times, it was called 'The Valley of Death'.

I'm sure the unofficial name for it now must be either 'Valley of Illegal Imigrants' or 'Valley of Migrant Workers' as this area virtually runs along the Mexican border and there were more Inspection Stations along this stretch than almost anywhere else we've been. As the last two we've gone through, we've seen groups of Mexicans that have tried to get into the US, were caught in trucks, cars or whatever, and were waiting for the nice bus with bars on the windows to be taken back across the border. Things must be booming as there are huge billboards advertising the job opportunities for Border Guards. I'd apply but riding a horse to work every day is no longer on my list of dream jobs.

We finally got to the 'mountains' which threaded through hills that were completely make up of huge...and I mean huge...boulders stacked and piled on on top of the other. It was nothing short of fascinating and we had to stop to wander through and of course, take some photos. I was admittedly looking 'down' for rattlesnakes before I looked 'up' for photos. Mind you, I had this terrifying thought that I'd lean up against one and it would move, creating a landslide of gigantic proportions! Some of these boulders are sitting so precariously on the edge of another that it blows your mind why this highway is constantly closed due to rock slides! That may happen I guess but what amazed me most was that these boulders, which would each weigh tons, are sometimes split into 3 or 4 pieces so that you could see at some point it was one big boulder but was now in pieces. We went from zero to 4100 ft above sea level within half an hour and there were numerous pull-offs that provided 'radiator water'. Ah, the force of Mother Nature.

Gertie (GPS) got us to the San Diego KOA by 3pm. While it is the most expensive KOA we've stayed in ($51 night) it is beautiful. It is the first place we've stayed that has actual grass and is surrounded by trees and flowering bushes (saw a hummingbird this morning)...well worth the money. There a huge pool and hot tub as well as a big games room. I did laundry last night after supper so that's out of the way for the next week.

Today we are going to Balboa Park which is right next to the San Diego Zoo. We've spent time here on previous trips but I've never had the time to really wander with my camera and take the kind of photos I'd like to take...we've always been on a time crunch. The Park holds nearly all the museums as well as a Botanical garden and it's really pushing things to try and do it in one day. We've decided to take the LuvMasheen vice public transpo so that we can each go our own way and have a spot to eat, nap, and meet during the day. I'm really looking forward to it. Perhaps tomorrow will be public transpo downtown and take the trolley over to Coronado Island.

Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx