California, here we come!

From Gila Bend, our next stop was El Centro, California – another military base. We were only there one night, but that next morning we were thrilled to find the Blue Angels practicing right over our heads! We needed to get going, since our next stop was quite a distance away. We hung around for a while, though, watching the thrilling performances of those pilots. I took a couple of pictures, but, as you can imagine, capturing a good image is difficult! Didn't keep me from trying!

On our drive west on I-8, there were some unique things to see. One area, more than a mile long, on both sides of the freeway, was the largest solar farm you can imagine! Another striking sight was acres and acres of just huge rocks, piled on each other – no plant in sight!

One stop we made was at the Desert View Tower on Interstate 8 that can be seen for miles. Dan had passed it many times over the past 30 years, but had never stopped. I’m so glad we did stop this trip! It is quite a unique structure, with wonderful vistas. It is 3,000 in elevation, in the In-Ko-Pah mountains. It was built in 1922 thru 1928, with more construction in the 1930’s and 1950. I took a few pictures…

PICTURES FROM THE DESERT VIEW TOWER

beautiful view

Our destination was a campground in Camp Pendleton, near San Diego. Our campsite, with full hookup, was actually on the beach, just a hundred yards or so from the water! Unfortunately, for the four days we were there, the weather did not cooperate. It was very windy and cool – not what we had hoped! But, it was a lovely place to camp. Our main reason for going to San Diego was to visit our good friends, Karen and Barry Gershenfeld. We have both done the touristy things in San Diego, so we skipped that aspect of the visit. We had a lovely dinner with Karen and Barry in Oceanside, and another lunch with Karen.

our camper on our site on the beach

did I say windy and cool??

just nice to see the ocean

windy and cool sunset

Yes, we were on a Marine base!

From Camp Pendleton, we drove east on the interstate for a while, but then we took a scenic road which extended our drive for the day by a couple of hours. Beautiful country, lots of hills, interesting communities and homes. Our destination that day was Dan’s cousin Randy’s home near Kingman, Arizona, off of I-40. Dan hadn’t seen Randy for over 40 years! We really enjoyed our stay in Randy and Kathy’s home. They have 40 acres out in the Arizona desert – they haul in their water! Randy and Kathy raise some of their food, have a bunch of chickens. It is so quiet out at their place – the night sky is amazing!

One fun and quick stop on I-40 was Winslow, Arizona...actually on the old US route 66. Anyone who love the Eagles' music - can't miss this stop if you are out that way! "Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona...."!