2011 Trip across the US
2012 Trip across the US
2014 Trip across the US
2015 Trip to Alaska
2015-16 Southwest Trip
2016 New England Trip
2016 - 17 Southwest Trip
Monday, November 13, 2017 - Borrego Palm Canyon Campground, Anza-Borrego State Park, CA, 134.2 Miles,3,084.9 Towing Miles For the Trip
I decided to take a bit longer to get to Anza-Borrego by driving through Joshua Tree. I stopped to see the Cholla Cactus field, as well as a collection of Ocotillo Cactus. I have to say the Ocotillo are far more interesting when they are in leaf or bloom.
As I mentioned in yesterday's post (that I posted this morning), I stopped at a pull off about 5 miles south of the Cottonwood Campground where the internet appears by magic. It goes away either side of the pull off - I suspect there is a notch in the mountains that "sees" a tower. In any case, I got the last 3 days posted.
I also stopped at a Walmart in Indio, and found small cans of Bush Bourbon & Brown Sugar Beans. They are my favorite, but usually only available in a can large enough that it makes 3 meals. The small 8.6 ounce cans are perfect for one meal. No chicken Empanadas. I've only found them at Walmarts, but very few seem to stock them.
I really don't understand the California on line reservation service. They started their own, dropping Reserve America. It seems very disorganized, forcing you to go through all their parks even if you are at a individual park's web page & click "reservations". I checked Borrego Palm Campground at Anza-Borrego State Park for a site with hookups & Reserve California said there weren't any. When I got to the gate, the crew asked if I wanted hookups or not. I mentioned that Reserve California said there were no reservable sites available, and I guess they were technically correct - because electrical upgrades are in process, the campground is all first come, so you can't reserve a site. You would think that the reservation site would note that information, since I suspect there are those that would bypass the campground if hookups were not available, and there are many empty full hookup sites.
Anyhow, I'm in site 32, a full hookup site for $33.00 per night (including a $2.00 senior discount). Close to the showers (which use tokens - $1.00 for 2 minutes). I did buy a couple - it will be nice to have a full sized shower. Since I'll be heading to Imperial Dam LTVA as my next stop, I'm spoiling myself with full hookups!
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| Cholla Cactus Field | Cholla Cactus | Ocotillo Cactus | Site 32 |
There are both AT&T & Verizon data services in the campground, however both are very slow. Verizon is a -90dBm, 4G LTE signal that is so slow I can't get a speed test to work. AT&T is a -73 dBm signal, showing 5 bars on my iPhone, one of the strongest of the trip, but only HSPA+, and again too slow for a speed test. I did upload today's photos using Verizon, so while slow, it works. Upload speeds are actually faster than download. I did manage to make a Facetime connection with Guido & Anne back in Binghamton that I suspect was over WiFi on the AT&T network, but it was a poor connection.
Dinner was a Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast cooked outside in the toaster oven, a Knorr's Alfredo side, a glass of Thousand Island's Wellesley Island White wine, and watermelon for dessert. At 85°F, it is too warm to fire up the trailer oven unless I have to!
Until Tomorrow (I hope) -
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Last Update:
November 14, 2017