Sami and her friend Holly

The last evening before we left the Palm Springs area, Sami and her Friend Holly went for a run in the desert and then came back to the motor home to have an "ice cream" treat. After the treat, it was time to play again. Since we left there, Sami has been in a funk, looking for Holly each afternoon so they can go for a run.
We are now at Emerald Cove, near Parker, AZ, on the Colorado River. The weather has been very nice--in the low 80s.
I got some good news today from my friend Kaori Fujimoto who lives in Yokohama, Japan. She and her family are safe, although they are still feeling the after-shocks of the earthquake. Kaori came to visit me in 2007.
Warmest regards, Gus

BNP Paribus Tennis Tournament

Last week while I was still in the Palm Springs area, I went to see some of the qualifying matches at the BNP Paribus tennis tournament in Indian Wells. The complex is a great facility and the Corona "beer tent" is a new addition this year. It may become the busiest place on the grounds this week. I am looking forward to following the matches on T.V. this week.
Warmest regards, Gus

Wine Tasting

Saturday was a great day--I made some new friends who live in the Temecula, CA area. We met at Wiens Family Winery in Temucula. The wine was good, but it was so much fun to talk with such nice people. They just made me feel right at home. I guess this is why I enjoy traveling so much--there are always new friends to be made.
Tomorrow I am leaving the Temecula /Menifee area and going back to Palm Springs/Indio for several weeks.
Hope to see you down the road.
Warmest regards, Gus

FMCA Rally Parade

I don't have any new photos, so I decided to post this one from the FMCA Western Region Rally in Indio, CA, last month. Some of the chapters get real serious about the parade.
Currently, I am at Thousand Trails (Wilderness Lake) in Menifee, CA. I did go to Wiens Family Cellars for wine tasting several times and plan to go back this weekend.
Next week I will be going back to Indio/Palm Springs for several weeks before going to the Parker, AZ, area.
The weather has been real nice here, but we are getting some rain today. Jim and Pat have played some pickle ball and Sami has done lots of running in an adjoining field. Of course we all have made some new friends.
Not much other news from here in Southern California.
Warmest regards, Gus

HITS Horse Show

On the way back from the Salton Sea, I stopped at a Hunter Jumper horse show. The show was being held at the HITS (Horseshows In The Sun) facility in Thermal, CA. This is quite the facility, with many arenas, over 1,200 horse stalls, and rv sites. HITS also has facilities in Florida, Virginia and New York.
I didn't get to ride a horse, but there sure were many nice horses on the grounds for the show.
Warmest regards, Gus

Salton Sea

Yesterday Sami and I (with some help) visited the Salton Sea. Geologicallly, the Salton Sea is a landlocked extension of the Gulf of California. In recent history, it was a dry salt bed until 1905 when a levee along the Colorado River in Mexico was breeched (This was before "Hoover" and others dams were built) and flooded the basin. A lake 15 miles wide and 25 miles long formed, making it the largest lake in California. The surface of the lake is 227 feet below sea level. Since there is no outlet from the lake, any water that flows into it simply evaorates. Currently the lake is 30 percent saltier than the Pacific Ocean and threatens over 400 species of birds that migrate to the lake. There are still various species of fish in the lake, but Tilapia are the most abudant and have no legal limits.
In the top photo, you can see the Salton Sea behind me and beyond the sea in the background is Mt. San Jacinto, west of Palm Springs.
In the bottom photo, Sami and I are resting at the Visitors Center.
Warmest regards, Gus

Palm Sprintgs 2

Here is another shot of Mt. San Jacinto. To give some perspective, the truck traffic in the lower portion of the photo (enlarged) is on I-10 at 6:30 A.M. There seems to be much more truck traffic than last year. I hope that means the economy is improving.
Warmest regards, Gus