Road Along The Sea

We left our perch on Red Hill this morning. We had heavy winds last night that blew the rain clouds away. It took us 15 minutes to creep down the muddy road from camp. The mud clings to everything and we were trying not to cover the coach and the car in it. The sky is so clear after the rain showers we can see the Little Santa Rosa Mountains across the sea with fresh snow on some of the peaks. The colors on the Chocolate Mountains are outstanding. The tips are of dark chocolate and stripes of caramel rock slice through it as we drive Rte 111 N. This is the most scenic part of the drive along the Salton Sea. We passed the Corvina State Park Beach and saw a gaggle of American White Pelicans on a sand bar just off the beach. We stopped at the visitor center and watched a video on the history of the sea. They have a really nice beach there and we walked for a little while. It looks like white sand until you get down onto it and find that it's made up of crushed shells. We saw a Black-necked Stilt which is a really pretty bird. Black head and back and white under. It has a long thin black beak and thin red legs. I tried to get a picture but everytime I got close it would fly away. Didn't help that Ken was sitting on the beach laughing as he watched me try to sneak up on them...hmmm

Further up the road we turned up Rte 195 and then up Rte 86 Spur N. This is a fantastic drive with gorgeous mountain views. We followed the base of the mountains right into the Coachella Valley. The San Andreas Fault crosses the valley and is easily visible along its northern length as a strip of greenery against the bare Chocolate Mountains. We turned onto Dillon Road which runs along the south border of Joshua Tree National Park. The rolling desert hills takes us up and down like a roller coaster. The valley is desert with a mix of new adobe homes, borken houses with no windows and mobile homes while the clouds lightly touch the tops of the snowy peaks.

We arrived at Desert Pools RV Park where we'll spend the next 3 nights free! Yes there is a catch.... we need to attend a 90 minute sales pitch, but we are interested in the concept of RV Resort memberships. We got settled in and then took a ride to Desert Hot Springs. This is a little town and was pretty closed up on a Sunday. We found a little local Mexican place called South of The Border and had fantastic shrimp in garlic/butter sauce and spices. Was great. Now for the important chore.... munchies for the Superbowl later tonight.

We watched the game and it was great! My condolences to all the Colts fans.. I know what it feels like to lose after a really successful season..

It was a good day.