Friending Our Way Back to SoCal

May 17-21, 2018
Surprise - Quartzsite, Arizona - Banning, California

An easy 71 miles west on Interstate 10 takes us to one of our favorite parks - White Tank Regional Park, near Surprise, Arizona. While the blooming Saquaros are beautiful, the terrain is very, very dry. And very hot!

Dryer than we've ever seen here.

We wondered if crested saquaros bloomed so went looking for the one we know is near #2 parking area.

The crested is looking pretty sad, and yes there are blooms, which are also looking a bit sad. Now we know!

We're only here for three nights and have a handful of high school friends to visit. They are all only available the day we arrive. Since we're always set up in the early afternoon, meeting for dinner at 6:30 works well.

Carlos O'Brien's has good food and margaritas, and we all enjoy getting caught up since the reunion in April. After dinner we head to Kristy's house to see a video she's working on. We promise not to spill the beans on the project, and very much enjoy what she has so far.

Bill, Jodee, Kristy, Patty, Cyndee and Rocky - friends forever!

Friday I never get out of my pjs, hanging out for a wonderful lazy day with beautiful desert views all around. 

We head into town for a few errands on Saturday, including getting Tessa a much needed bath. The self-serve bathing stations in more and more places are such a nice option. It's definitely hot and we're looking forward to moving on in the morning.

Yes, it's a dry heat. Yes, it's still hot.

Sunday we travel a familiar 120 miles to Quartzsite, Arizona. It isn't any cooler, and most of the RV parks are closed for the season. Holiday Palms is a year-round park with several pull-through sites along the main street. Clean and level, all utilities and WiFi work well. We're happy with the location until another overnighter arrives and they put them right next to us. Eight open sites, but on top of each other is the best choice?? I hate it when parks do this.

The reason we stopped here is for another meet up with high school pals. Mike and Bill were classmates, as were Rita and I. We always have such a good time with them!!

Mike, Bill and Rita. I don't just love her because she's shorter than me :-)))

The wind is coming up on Monday morning so we get a fairly early start. En route we make a quick stop at Desert Center where Kevin and Bridgette have rented a home. They meet us in their desert buggy for hellos and hugs. 

Kevin and Bill have been best friends for 50 years.

The head winds really pick up and we use a quarter tank (25 gallons) from the California border where we fill up to Banning where we stop for the night. I'm doing 45 mph over Whitewater Pass and very glad the gusts aren't hitting us from the side. It's tiring but not frightening. 

Clouds greet us when we leave the Coachella Valley, and the temps drop significantly. After triple digit temps, we're thrilled to find 65 degrees at the Stage Coach KOA! This is a small and pretty park with large trees and views of the foothills below the San Joaquin Mountains. $45 is steep for the location, but we find most KOA's are. 

Yep, we're meeting more high school friends here too! Several live in close proximity and they all get together on a regular basis. We're happy they can "come out and play" on the night we're in town.

Bill, Marc and Victoria, Eric and Stacy, and Shirlene and Tommy. Love them all!

We're very blessed to have so many wonderful friends in our lives - and the opportunity to see them often. 

Now we're on to Valencia for the very best visits of all - grands and kiddos!!