Lancaster, CA - Day 58

Miles 264
It was dry when we left Dome Rock at Quartzsite. We didn't have any rain all day. We went on Hwy 10, Hwy 215, then 138, and we are on 14 here in Lancaster. John says it was a short cut! Back in Pacific Time Zone and close to home tonight. Here is the proof below - I guess in case you wonder what state you are entering there are options to inform you!

California or Bust!!!

PS: We were just getting into bed after 10p when a security guard at Walmart knocked on our door and told us we could not spend the night. We were shocked. It is true we did not check to be sure this time. John went to the store and sure enough we have to move. It is our own fault for not checking. Thankfully, we were able to pull into their local Fairgrounds RV camping and spend the night. This was just 6-7 miles away and had electrical hook ups. We won't make that mistake again. We used to check each time and we just got lazy about calling ahead to find out for sure if it would be okay. It all worked out, but barely. Had we not been able to camp here we would have had to drive at least an hour or more in the dark.  

Dome Rock - Quartzsite, AZ - Day 57

John got up and took a photo of the beautiful sunrise. This is a lovely spot, which at first looks barren but at a closer look among the many multicolored rocks you find the lovely plants that survive on the desert. Our plan to enjoy the great outdoors was scuttled when it began to rain about 1p. That's okay, we got a lot done this morning and relaxed in the afternoon. Our meals today were combinations of leftovers so the fridge is cleared out a bit. 

Morning Sky

Lovely Desert Plants

Dome Rock - Quartzsite, AZ - Day 56

Miles 257

We had a nice drive today staying on Hwy 10 with only a few traffic delays along the way. We ate lunch at a Cracker Barrel, well not exactly. We forgot it was Sunday and they are crazy busy so John ordered it to go and we ate in the trailer. We had a few raindrops along the way today. We also stopped at Picacho Peak, where we camped before, and dumped our tanks and refilled with fresh water. We are at Dome Rock BLM (Bureau of Land Management) campground tonight. It offers a free stay for up to 14 days. We plan to stay 2 nights. Tomorrow we plan to rest and clean out a few places in the Jeep and in the trailer. I also plan to organize photos and perhaps fill in a few more pages of my album. I have fallen woefully behind with that. It  was a great plan to keep it up each day but I lagged behind during the cruise and haven't been current since! The sky changed i n fascinating ways today and tonight it was just astounding!My photos do not do it justice. I was going to take a photo of the sunset but I was reading and missed it. That's a goal for tomorrow, that and to clean out our fridge!

Beautiful Sky Today

And Tonight

Tucson, AZ - Day 55

Miles 325

Since we woke up super early (for us) due to the time change, we took off earlier than usual. I know John is ready to be home when he gets up first and gets all ready to go before me! It was an uneventful day.  We had fast food for lunch. We are at Walmart tonight. Bought Lean Cuisine for our dinner and used the microwave. 

El Paso, TX - Day 54

Miles 366

We got an earlier start today, gained an hour going back to Mountain Time, and we didn't stop for a restaurant meal. All of that contributed to accumulating 366 miles today. We are at Walmart tonight and I am feeling much improved. John still has a little bit of cough but not much. The drive was somewhat pretty as there were some hills and trees along the way instead of the flat, brown land we saw along Hwy 20. We had a slight glitch when we ran out of LPG. John thought he had just the one tank open so we could just open the next tank and be good to go but that was not the case. Turns out both tanks were on and both tanks were empty. Good thing Walmart sells full tanks or we would be driving around El Paso in the dark looking for a place that sells LPG. 

Rest Area Hwy 10, TX - Day 53

Miles 200

Tonight we are staying at a TX Rest Area, which we are told is very safe. It is also noisy but I am too tried to drive on today. I am a little better each day but not well yet. We will probably get an early start in the morning and hope to make good time. The drive today was uneventful, thanking God for that. 

San Antonio, TX - Day 52

We were up and out early enough to visit the Alamo before too many people arrived. I guess it is busy for a week day because the Rodeo is in town. The Alamo is an interesting place, right in the middle of town, and it was free to enter. No photos are allowed inside. I'm not sure why because it is all stone but that's the rule. They have a nice set up with outside displays and open courtyard areas around the mission. There is also a Museum and the always present gift shop. They had a fascinating display in the gift shop of the mission/fort area with tiny troops and horses all in place. From there we went to lunch at the Rio Cafe, the oldest restaurant along the River Walk, which was also instrumental in building up this area that is now so popular. Now there are multiple restaurants along the River Walk but it was the first, established in 1946, and still going strong. From there we went on the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus. It took about an hour and gave us a good lay of the land and a few interesting sites to see. We did not get off until we made the full loop because we wanted to also go on the River Boat tour. We had to go inside the mall and find the starting point and get our ticket, which took time. Once you see the actual San Antonio River water you might want to change your mind but we went anyway. It is not very good looking, brown/green, and not safe to be in or fish from. That seems odd to  me since it goes right through town you would think they would attempt to purify it in some way. Maybe that is impossible. Anyway, taking a little boat ride was fun. It is close to 90F and we are parched. We  stopped for a cold drink before heading back to camp. I wish I had more energy. After getting back I am resting and John went to get me both DayQuil and NyQuil in hopes it will help me. Whatever this is seems to have settled in my head and chest. Tomorrow is a new day. 

Casa Rio

River Boat Tour San Antonio

San Antonio