Crossing the Desert-Our winter getaway.

The biggest surprise about driving across the deserts in the southwest United States is the mountains. The drive is flat in parts, but you are either driving past mountains or into mountain ranges. With a speed limit of 75 mph, it’s easy to miss the scenery.

Driving to Phoenix, you drive into the Valley of the Sun–the mountain bowl that surrounds the city and suburbs. We are surrounded by the Sonoran Desert. It’s January and the first thing you notice when coming off the mountain is the sudden change in temperature. Phoenix is the destination for winter snowbirds to enjoy the mild season of shorts and tee shirts. During these winter months, Phoenix comes alive with a gigantic population growth of retirees. RV resorts book up quickly. We booked with Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort six months in advance. It had all the activities and amenities that we wanted. By far…It is our best RV resort experience yet!

As you drive around Phoenix, you see Saguaro cacti, in fact, that’s how you know when you are in the Sonoran Desert.

February took us further west to Palm Springs, California. Once you cross into the Mojave, in California, you will see Joshua Trees. The odd, ancient trees look like a cross between an angry rosemary bush and the Cookie Monster. Joshua Trees are found only in the Mojave.

Crossing from Arizona to California, we passed a sign that said, “State Prison,” then shortly thereafter, another one that said, “Do not pick up hitchhikers,” and a third, just beyond the warning that said, “Rest stop, 1/4 mile.” While I was wondering about the logic of putting a rest stop so close to a prison, I googled the stop, Wiley’s Well, had been there long before the prison, and had served horses, mules, trains, and humans as a watering stop for centuries.

In the middle of the desert, West of Blythe, you see, on the North side of the Interstate 10 an interesting structure tucked into the Hayfield Mountains. Three pipes jump down the foothills and disappear into a long building. They are the result of a failed reservoir, built in the 1930s. The reservoir was built on porous ground and wouldn’t hold water. The pipes were added to provide Los Angeles with an emergency supply from the Colorado River in dry seasons.

As your climb into the San Bernardino Mountains in Palm Springs hundreds of white giant wind turbines hum on either side of the road. I have no idea how many there are, but if you told me, it was 300, I’d believe it. They are huge and amazing, turning in the mountain winds, providing electricity for Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.

Desert trails are everywhere. You can choose your poison. Easy, not so easy, mountains or flat desert. Mountains hikes provide a more strenous with excellent views while flat hiking provide easy valley or dry creek bed hikes. Just about all hikes have a known destination such as an oasis or an old ranch house.

If you want your chest vibrating from the sound of an impressive run of 3.694-seconds at 314.53 mph in a 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect dragster, the 2022 National Hot Rod Association WINTER NATIONALS in POMONA CALIF is where it was happening.

I officially know what it feels like to fly. I didn’t jump out of a plane, or bungee jump off a crane, I stood on the ground then took flight, just like superman. I had the best time! 

Some of the best collegiant womens softball players from around the country were showcasing their talent at the 2022 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Softball Tournament just down the road from us. Number 1 Oklahoma University was favorite to win the tournament and we watch them destroy two strong teams.