It wasn't a certain affair that I could post today. We are staying at a actually terrible KOA inward Acton, California. We receive got no jail cellular telephone service together with a tiresome network connection. Sometimes it makes writing a weblog post alongside pictures downright painful.
There are no actually practiced choices for RV parks inward this area. When nosotros visited lastly year, nosotros stayed inward a common inward Lancaster. It was bad plenty that nosotros added it to our blacklist of RV parks; meaning, we'll never rest at that spot again. This KOA has been thence bad that I think we've finally written the whole of the KOA parks off our list. With a really few exceptions, KOA's are overpriced together with run down. I won't acquire into all of the reasons we're unhappy alongside this one, but we're simply hither 2 nights, together with and thence moving on to a common nosotros know nosotros similar inward Borrego Springs. KOA ever sends us an e-mail later a rest bespeak us to charge per unit of measurement their park. Generally, I complain well-nigh most everything, together with this fourth dimension volition live no different. I maintain maxim to Mike, "that'll live inward my report." Our membership expires inward May, together with nosotros volition non live renewing. Ever.
So, rant over, together with let's acquire on alongside the traveling, shall we? Before leaving Coalinga yesterday, nosotros got Smitty out for a walk. There wasn't a lot of walking, but he did honour some tall grass on which to graze. He actually likes a piffling greenery inward his diet.
We're having to acquire all the novel kitty hidey holes alongside this novel rig. We've learned a few of them. Yesterday, nosotros played the Where's Smitty? game. He's establish a overnice piffling hiding house on either side of the bed. We think this is where they similar to ride when nosotros acquire downward the road.
All the way every bit we've been going downward the road, we've seen lots of birds of prey. It's impossible to acquire a shot of them, but I tried getting this i simply every bit he took off from a ground post. We've seen hawks together with kestrels, together with nosotros fifty-fifty think nosotros saw a bald eagle. As it turns out, this was nil to a greater extent than exotic than a crow.
We've also seen lots of wildflowers simply driving downward the road. Here's a patch of yellow...hard to tell what they are without seeing them upward close.
We drove without stopping for dejeuner yesterday because the drive was relatively short. At i point, Mike got sleepy together with thence nosotros stopped at a truck halt to pick upward some Red Bull for him. As nosotros were getting dorsum inward the truck to proceed on, nosotros noticed this sign direct ahead of us. Taft is Mike's birthplace. We're oftentimes threatening to acquire accept a hold back because Mike hasn't been dorsum to the house since his mom moved him together with his sis to Vista when he was two. We're both variety of curious to encounter what the house looks like, but thence far...no dice. We continued on.
We even thence had well-nigh threescore miles to go, but wow...after thence long traveling I-5, nosotros were really glad to acquire off here.
The hillsides are all abloom alongside wildflowers. It was encouraging because we've heard conflicting reports well-nigh what we'll see.
Below is the hillside direct inward a higher house our campsite.
This morn I had fourth dimension to complete the mitt quilting for my piffling embroidery sampler. I even thence desire to give this a light-green binding.
There was even thence fourth dimension for stitching this morning, together with thence I went to piece of occupation on the flamingo binding. I've turned the outset corner, but no picture. You'll receive got to accept my discussion for it.
After that, nosotros headed out to the poppy reserve. It's well-nigh an hr away from us. We stopped off outset to receive got Egg McMuffin at McDonald's. We rarely consume fast food, but nosotros loves us an Egg McMuff when we're traveling. As nosotros approached the poppy reserve, nosotros could encounter brilliant patches of colouring off inward the distance.
We arrived roughly 10:00 a.m. If retentivity serves, they opened upward their gates roughly 9:00 a.m.
Already at that spot was well-nigh a 10 infinitesimal hold back to pay our 24-hour interval go fee at the gate, but at that spot was even thence plenty of parking.
Getting out of the truck nosotros looked upward together with saw this:
Before nosotros acquire on, I demand to permit you lot know how we're going to perish today. Watch your step, please. Stay on the trail, no picking the flowers, together with nobody gets hurt.
And what a thrill this was. I don't think the flowers receive got reached their peak bloom yet, but they were even thence wonderful.
Here are a few close-ups. This is the dry ground bloom of California, together with it's slow to encounter why.
Mike recycled our handout earlier I had a lead chances to position all of these. Maybe i of you lot volition know.
The Painted Lady butterflies are migrating through yesteryear the zillions. We've seen thousands at least. They actually liked this detail yellowish flower.
They are difficult to photograph because they wing fast together with rarely lite anywhere. There was an interesting article well-nigh them inward this morning's NY Times. It was difficult to encounter my photographic idiot box camera cover inward the brilliant sunlight, together with it seemed every bit before long every bit I had a bead on one, it flew away together with vanished. Often, I was simply shooting blind, hoping to acquire something. Luck was alongside me, together with I got some pretty practiced shots.
This i held even thence for quite some time. If I'm remembering what I know well-nigh them, they oftentimes dry ground on the dirt to acquire H2O and/or salt.
So it was quite a thrill to encounter the poppies together with the butterflies.
Near the interpretive center, at that spot was a Joshua Tree inward bloom.
The paradigm inward a higher house is the largest bloom, but it also had some smaller ones close the top.
When nosotros left the park, the trouble to acquire inward was significantly longer.
We stopped off at a grocery shop together with and thence had our requisite In-N-Out Burger. We don't receive got In-N-Out inward Oregon...except i that is also far due south for us. But we're non bitter. Oh no. Anyway...we ever receive got i when we're inward Southern California. When nosotros got dorsum to the RV, nosotros got Smitty out for some other brusk walk. What he actually wanted was to whorl inward the dust.
Okay, together with that brings you lot upward to date. We'll live moving on to Borrego Springs tomorrow. We're staying at a really overnice (and really expensive) RV common at that spot where they receive got the most delicious hot tubs from mineral hot springs. We'll live at that spot 3 nights, together with we'll live doing some hiking inward the Anza-Borrego Desert where the wildflower superbloom is inward progress. After that, we'll deed along to Death Valley.