2016 - 2017 Trip to the Southwest

Day 66

Wednesday, January 4, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 5, 0 Miles, 3,923.7 Miles For the Trip

Another beautiful day, with temperatures in the 70's and hazy sun. After a walk to the dumpsters to drop off a couple of bags of garbage, I made breakfast, did some forum & web page reading, the Syracuse newspaper, then sat outside for a bit.

I decided to check on my county taxes by phone since I had difficulty finding the amount on line. Of course, the problem is there is no AT&T service here at my site. I put the phone in the truck's amplifier & headed for a signal. I found one bar after driving about 100'. Unfortunately, not enough signal to make a call. I headed to the proving ground area to find a stronger signal, but didn't find one until I reached the gun & tank exhibit near the junction of Imperial Dam road & US 95. I called & got my bill, called my son Kyle to let him know I was still alive, then walked around the exhibit. I took a bunch of photos, although I don't think there are any changes from the ones I took in 2014. In any case, I'll post them tomorrow since I already have a bunch for today.

On the way back to the trailer I drove past the entrance to the Senator Wash area & continued on across a dam to the Squaw Campground. This is a BLM campground that is essentially a paved parking lot for $15.00 per night (1/2 with the Senior Card) and a maximum of 15 day stays, but with the advantage that it has hot showers. You purchase a token for $1.00 and get well over 7 minutes of running time.

The only one open when I got there was the handicapped shower, which is good in that it has plenty of room, but bad because the only bench is under the showerhead, and there are only two hooks to hold your towel & all your clothes. At least it is large enough that the spray from the shower doesn't hit the stuff on the hangers. It even leaves a section of the floor dry. I almost broke my neck trying to get my socks on balancing on one foot! The shower ran well over 7 minutes, and the water was hot. It felt good to do something other than a sponge bath or navy shower - one of the many things I will appreciate in my Escape 21 I'm getting in the Fall is a bathroom that is large enough to turn around in without bashing my elbows!

I took some photos of the showers, campground, generating station, and, on the way back, some more at the LTVA areas. I've posted some similar photos the last time I was here, but these will save you from going back to pages from two years ago.


The Token Kiosk	The Showers	The Handicapped Shower	The Standard Shower

Squaw Campground	Water Fill Stations	The Dumpsters	The Dump Station

Senator Wash Reservoir	The Office	A Host Site	The Bathrooms

The Cold Water Showers	The Liberry	Waiting to be Shelved	The Shelves