Home again

After leaving Indio we drove into Redlands, California for some annual work on the motor home.  Approaching 100,000 miles this was a big service.

After Redlands it was off to Hemet, California for another Square dance weekend.

Dinner at Milano's Pizza and Italian Restaurant

Our first night in Hemet we were hit by thieves.  They took everything.  2 Garmins, hand held radios, binoculars, Spot Messenger, tire bleeders, tire gauges, phone chargers, sunglasses, spare fuses, spare change, food, etc, etc.  As you can see they emptied every pocket.  Needless to say we won't be staying here again.

It was a bummer that our trip had to end this way. Except for this incident we had a great trip.

Saw lots of beautiful sights and met lots of nice people.

We were gone 139 nights OR 4 months, 16 days 

Took 8,354 pictures

Drove 8,252 Motor home miles 

5,051 Jeep miles

Cheapest gas - July 27th Colorado Springs, CO  $2.06
Highest priced gas - July 8th Coleville, CA is a small town located on US Route 395 with only 1 gas station.  As if $3.99 wasn't high enough for regular Dave accidentally selected premium at $4.49
Cheapest diesel - August 1st La Vista, NE  $2.19
Highest priced diesel - September 17th Columbia, PN  $3.09
We tried hard to not buy fuel in Pennsylvania.  Their fuel prices were high for the time and compared to the neighboring states.

Our house was so well taken care of while we were away. It gave us a great sense of peace knowing that our household was in good hands during our travels.  A BIG Thanks to our neighbor Gregg for looking after things.

Indio, California

TKB (The Kid’s Business) originated in 1991

TKB has been in the top 5 best restaurants in the nation for 3 consecutive years.  

Some of the best sandwiches ever 

Visiting with friends before the dance

Waiting for our Hot Hash tip with our friends from Massachusetts and Texas

Quartzsite, Arizona

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 for the protection of desert bighorn sheep and other native wildlife 

Palm Canyon is a unique natural feature predominantly known for the native palm trees that grow in the canyon. These are rare in Arizona and are likely relics of a geological period when the area was wetter and cooler.

Mule Deer

We really like to be back at camp when the sun is setting.  This trail turned out to be longer than it looked on the map.

Prescott, Arizona

Spent the day touring the Prescott area with Frank and Patti.

Dave and Frank used to work together at the Stadium but hadn't seen each other for 8 years.

In the late 1870's, Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday were patrons of the Palace. 

Day trip to Jerome

The Jerome Grand Hotel was originally constructed in 1926 as the United Verde Hospital.  The building was considered by many a masterpiece of architecture because, not only was it constructed of poured-in-place concrete, but also at a 50 degree slope on solid bedrock, up against the slopes of Mingus Mountain. The 30,000 square foot building was designed to be fireproof-not one piece of wood is in the framework-and also earthquake proof, as it needed to withstand not only the rumblings of Mother Nature but also the blasts of 260,000 pounds of dynamite.  The hospital, however was closed in 1950, as the mining operations began shutting down. The building stood unused for the next 44 years.  The former hospital was purchased in 1994, and was renamed the Jerome Grand Hotel.

Lunch at Jerome Grand Hotel

House of Joy, a brothel for 30 years