Sea to Shining Sea Part 1

Wednesday, Jan 28

Preparations for the big trip have been underway for weeks. Motorhome is washed and waxed, carpet, rug and tile cleaned, sprinklers checked and repaired, rotation established for gassing the wine. I think we’re ready, then Murphy showed up this morning. While I was out getting a haircut and pedicure Rob was finalizing the coach readiness. I came home to unprintable language…no air in the bags and they wouldn’t inflate. Not good, since we can’t drive without them. A mechanic may make it out this afternoon or maybe tomorrow.  We’re leaving FRIDAY!! Calm down, have some lunch and look at the problem later. That always works, right! Turns out revving the engine to a higher RPM fixed the problem.

Next problem…. We had checked the sprinkler system, but a last minute run-thru revealed that the valve that was just replaced is leaking. Rewire and all’s well. Just can’t trust cheap labor! (That would be Rob!).

Fingers crossed nothing else that can’t wait and we’ll be off Friday morning for a rally in Temecula.

Dusty is ready!

Friday Jan 30

Up at 5:30 with nothing to do. Coach is already packed, clothes, food, supplies…all in. Last minute check of e-mail, facebook, etc. and we’re finally off at 9:00.

Uneventful drive all the way to Aguanga where the rally is hosted by a resident of Rancho California, a luxury own your own RV space park. Events include eating, drinking, a trip to a local “dive” where we’ll eat again, tour of the newest winery followed by more eating. The resort is holding a Super Bowl Party to which we have been invited…more eating and drinking! 

The Stagecoach Inn is a local relic owned and run by two women, Darlene and Pat, in their eighties. Part of it is an old refrigerator container that was initially used to store explosives used in the construction of the highway. It was abandoned when the highway was completed. Someone turned it into an ice cream stand. Over time it was added on to and a restaurant was born. We ate on the patio under a mesh screen canopy. Who would’ve expected it to rain! 

Following lunch we visited the newest winery in the area and were treated to a complimentary tasting.. 

These are our traveling companions Stan Wright and Jerre Glasgow.


Sunday Feb 1

This is a day to relax until time for Super Bowl. A few of us decided to explore “Jurassic Park” which is just down the road at Vail Lake RV Park. Ricardo Breceda is a sculptor and has several of his works at various places in Borrego Springs. His workshop is here in Aguanga. Many of his works can be seen along the road from Temecula to Aguanga. The most striking is a string of horses leaping over the road. This road is so busy a photo of the horses was impossible.

 

Feb. 2

The 3 hour drive to Blythe took us over, or through, the Santa Rosa/San Jacinto mountains. A little narrow with hairpin turns, but by driving slowly we had no problems. 

We hooked up, had a quick lunch and took off for the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. The visitors center was closed but the board outside informed us that we would see lots of Snow Geese, Canada Geese, and Sandhill Cranes. 

Immediately inside the refuge is a huge pond. There were so many birds on the water, counting them was impossible. The aforementioned birds were in mass profusion. We also saw Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Wigeons, and many more.



The refuge is located along the Colorado River just south of Blythe. Two thirds is in Arizona, one third in California. It covers over 17,000 acres. Approximately 2000 acres are farmed. Local farmers are allowed to grow their crops as long as they leave a certain percentage for to support the avian population. It is an important wintering ground for Canada Geese and Sandhill Cranes. 

We didn’t see the Sandhill Cranes until we took the auto drive route. The cranes were too far away to photograph, but we could see with binoculars several hundred. As we watched, Canada Geese started arriving by the hundreds. It was approaching dusk so I guess they were going to their sleeping quarters. We also saw three coyotes skulk across the field and into the midst of the birds. We could tell the birds were agitated, but none of them took flight. We watched for several minutes, but saw no “wild kingdom” activity.

Further along the auto route are rock mounds specifically constructed for Burrowing Owls. These cute little guys are only about a foot tall and live in the ground.


We had to leave as the refuge closes at dusk. 
Crossing the Colorado River on our way back to the RV Park we were treated to a spectacular sunset to the west



 and a full moon rising to the  east.