A Visit to the Dentist

When we went to Algodones the other day, I decided to give another dentist a try. I had broken a tooth at the end of December, and, between the holidays and anticipating paying $400 for a crown, I hadn't gotten around to see the dentist to get it fixed before we left on this trip. Thousands of retirees get all their optical and dental work done, as well as their prescriptions, in Algodones; it is a small town, but there are literally several pharmacias, optical shops, and dentistas on every block. Last year when we were here, although we'd heard what a great deal dental work was in Mexico, we went to the first dental clinic we came to, very large and upscale, and found the prices to be not much different then we'd pay in the States. This time, we picked up one of the many flyers advertising dental services and started off. In the little central town plaza, we were almost immediately accosted by a local who promised to get us into a very good dentist. He had someone make a call on their cell phone, and told us that the receptionist from the clinic would be right over to take us there. Steve was a little leery of the whole process, possibly worrying that we would be led down a dark alley somewhere into a back street and never come out again, but I was quickly getting into the spirit of things, and insisted we wait. Within a few minutes, a cute young woman who spoke excellent English showed up and led us to a nice little professional plaza a couple of blocks away. Once I was safely deposited in the office, Steve took off for the pharmacia and liquor store, promising to be back in a hour. As I sat down in the waiting area, I admit beginning to have second thoughts. Although I had heard mostly nothing but wonderful comments about Algodones dentists, I had also heard one horror story. How did I know that this particular dentist was any good? Almost as if on cue, the lady sitting next to me started chatting; she was waiting for her husband, who was in with the dentist. They were from Nevada, and come to Yuma every winter. Some friends of their who live full-time in Algodones recommended this particular dentist, and she and her husband had been coming to her for several years now. The husband, when he emerged from the office a few minutes later, also gave this dentist rave reviews, so I felt much more confident.

Dr. Ysenia Pompa did the cleaning herself, as well as the exam, and confirmed my unhappy suspicion that I did, in, fact, need a crown. She ground down the tooth, took an impression, popped on a temporary cap, and told me my new crown would be ready the next morning. It was! She was gentle and careful, and I was more than pleased with the result. The price: $150 total--$20 for the cleaning and $130 for the crown. I would definitely see her again next year if we are back this way.

Yuma

We did make it out to Camp Bouse on the second try. There is very little left of it--the desert has really taken over, which is pretty amazing because mostly the desert looks, well, like a desert. During WWII, the camp was a top-secret training site for a tank battalion with a "secret weapon." The tanks had modified turrets with a slit in them that flashed extremely bright beams of light at the rate of 6 flashes per second. They were to be used in night combat, and the theory was that the bright flickering lights would make them harder for the enemy to get a fix on them, thus making them harder to hit. Although it was a promising idea, they were never really used in that capacity. We didn't do as much poking around as we would have liked because it was pouring rain! We went back to Bouse and had lunch again at Country Kitchen, and stopped at the intaglio on the way back to our camp. It wasn't as big as I thought it ws going to be --maybe 30 feet tall? but it was very interesting. It's a figure holding a spear that's pointing toward the ground; there's a wavy line to indicate water, and two fish. Above the figure ids a sun and what looks like mountains in the distance. Information at the site indicates that it may depict an ancient god, who supposedly drove his spear into the ground and started the Colorado River flowing. We couldn't get a good picture of it. You may be able to find it on the web, under Intaglios and/or Bouse Fisherman.

The next day, we left Quartzsite and drove to Mittry Lake, about 15 miles north of Yuma. It's a Bureau of Reclamation area--a nice little lake with lots of birds. No waterskiing is allowed, the only motors were on little bass boats, and there were a fair number of kayaks and canoes, making us wish we had brought ours. Ellie spent her time patrolling our beach and keeping it free of ducks and coots.We spent two nights there, and moved over to Pilot Knob, a BLM dry camping area just west of Yuma, this morning. That puts us one freeway exit from Algodones, Mexico, where we'll head tomorrow morning to get our prescriptions filled. Hopefully that won't take too long, and I'll be able to drop Steve off back at camp and check out the quilt shop in Yuma.

More Fun in Quartzsite

Well, we haven't left yet. We decided to stay on for a few days and check out some of the places the Logan folks recommended. So yesterday we drove to the little town of Bouse, about 25 miles away. An area outside of Bouse was the site of Camp Bouse, one of the desert training centers for Patton's army. Camp Bouse was home to a top secret tank project that never quite got off the ground. There is a WWII tank and a howitzer (I don't know the difference) and an interesting little museum right in town, and then Camp Bouse out in the desert about 30 miles. We were headed out there, but took the wrong road and got lost, but will probably go back and give it another try. There is also a ghost town out there, and an intaglio (one of those giant figures you can see from the air), and Bouse has a great little cafe--the Kountry Kitchen--where we ate lunch and would do so again. Fresh cut French fries and homemade pie. And the cook came around with a tray of freshly "broasted" potato wedges for everyone to try that were fantastic.

This morning we hiked in Palm Canyon, a very rugged little canyon in the even more rugged Kofa mountains, about 18 miles south of Quartzsite. It is home to one of the two or three places in Arizona where palm trees grow naturally--all the ones you usually see are transplants. It is a strange and weirdly beautiful place. The palm trees grow way up in these little slot side canyons, right out of the rocks.

On the way back, we stopped at LaMesa RV for their free lunch--pulled pork sandwiches and cole slaw today, very good. Chef Gene, who is from Twin Falls, Idaho, says he serves about 300 people for breakfast every day and around 400 for lunch! After that, we dropped by Reader's Oasis again so I could pick up some souvenier bookmarks for my friends. It was warmer today, so Paul, the owner, was nattily dressed (?) in a red crocheted thong with turquoise beaded trim, matching red socks, and an elk tooth necklace. Oh, and his cowboy hat. He is a really nice guy, and very fun to talk to.

Fun in Quartzsite

Yes, that's me. And yes, he's (almost) naked in the nether parts, except for a bright blue G-string. He is owner of Reader's Oasis, a great used bookstore in Quartzsite, famous for obvious reasons. The sweater is not part of his usual "attire," but it was kind of cold today. Steve, who took the picture, notes that I'm standing kind of far away, and thinks it's because I'm still a good Catholic girl at heart. So far, this has been the highlight of our Quartzsite, but then I'm easily amused.

We went to the RV show yesterday and it was disappointing. Lots and lots of stuff, less than half of it directly related to RVs, and much of it junk. One good thing was that we were able to find window awnings for less than half of what we'd priced them for elsewhere, and they do on-site installation. Not THEIR site, but YOURS! We gave them directions to our campsite ("turn right at mile marker 112, turn left at the second set of paper plate signs, drive along the wash until you see a Winnebago View"), and 45 minutes later the guy was there installing them. Very cool!

This morning we went to LaMesa RV for lunch. They serve a free pancake breakfast and a free lunch every day, with no sales pitch. We sat with some really nice people who turned out to be from Logan, Utah. This is their fifth time in Quartzsite, and they gave us lots of ideas of things to see and do, including Reader's Oasis. This afternoon we followed a 4 wheel drive road up into the Plomosa Mountains, armed with a map they drew on a napkin and a book we bought at Reader's Oasis called Guide to Arizona Backroads and 4-Wheel Drive Trails. It was a fun trip, and the book should come in handy as we travel along. Then a trip to the laundromat and back to camp. We'll pull out tomorrow, heading vaguely toward Yuma. The Logan folks drew us another map on yet another napkin of a place they like to camp near there.

Arizona!

I can't believe that nearly 6 months has gone by since my last post. Our summer trip ended with a whimper rather than a bang, and I never got around to updating it. To make a long story short, once we got over the Cascades and into central Washington, the trip stopped being as much fun. We were back in Utah-like weather and scenery--very hot and dry, so we figured we might as well just head home. The two highlights of those last few days were visiting my friend, Jo, in Moses Lake, and stopping at the Oregon Trail national Historic Site--one of our favorite places to visit.

This year we are wintering in Arizona instead of Mexico. The ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel we need for the motor home is still not widely available in Mexico but hopefully will be next year. We had considered spending a few weeks in parts of Mexico we could get to and back on one tank of fuel--San Felippe or Puerto Pinasco--but the price of Mexican car insurance made us change our mind. It just isn't worth itunless your'e going for the whole season. Hopefully next year.

The above picture is not a hotel or an Italian villa. It's my brother Jeff's house he is building in Dewey, AZ (just outside of Prescott). And yes, it's as big as it looks. The master suite is almost as big as the main floor of our house! Jeff is putting in a wine cellar in the basement and asked Steve to build the wine racks and cabinetry in it. We spent several days pondering the possibilities and drawing up some rough plans. The next step is for Jeff to get the wood and gather tools. We'' head back there in a couple of weeks for Steve to get started.

Today is Saturday. We left Prescott (pronounced Pres-kitt, not Pres-cot) on Thursday and drove through the mountains to the infamous Quartzsite. It is just as barren and desolate as I remembered it, except now there are thousands of RVs camped here. Everyone is here for the big RV show, which opens today. It's supposed to be one of, if not THE largest in the world. We will attempt to check it out this afternoon. Yesterday, we wandered through the two big swap meet areas in town. I was impressed by the sheer amount of, well, crap, we saw. T-shirts, hats, license plate holders with cutesy sayings, cheap kitchen gadgets, cheap tools, interspersed with the occasional New Age music or cosmetic booth. And rocks. And beads. And more rocks. And more poorly made junk that we didn't want or need.Steve was supremely bummed out--he had expected great finds and great deals. Hopefully the actual RV show will be better.

Cascades to Grand Coulee

We spent two nights in the Cascades. Taking the advice of our guidebook, we stopped at the park information center in one of the little towns and got the lowdown and maps. This ended up being very good advice, because there isn’t a formal entrance station or kiosk to the park. This park, much like Olympic National Park, is mostly wilderness. Lots of trails, and only one road that bisects the park into a big chunk and a small one. The road actually doesn’t go through the park per se at all. It follows the Skagit River, passes three dams, and is designated “recreation area”. We stayed in Colonial Creek Campground. It sits right on Diablo Lake, and our campsite had the lake in front and Thunder Creek running alongside. It was easy walk to the gravel beach to launch the kayaks. The lake is very scenic, vivid green, lined with pine trees, rocky cliffs, and snow-topped mountains looming above it all. Yesterday morning when we went out, there was still fog on the lake and in the valleys between the mountains. Very cool to paddle in. There was only about 25 yards visibility—you went from smooth, dark water into the mist—paddling behind Steve, it looked like he was going to drop off the edge of the earth. It would have made a perfect cover for Kayak magazine. There is a lot to explore in this area—some great-looking trails, and lots more paddling; but Steve did something to his back so we weren’t able to do all the things we wanted to. Yet another place to come back to! Yesterday, we took a very short paddle, then loaded up the kayaks and headed east on Highway 20 over the Cascades. We camped near the summit on the eastern slope, about 12 miles from the town of Twisp, where we stopped to do laundry and grocery shop. Then, this morning, we drove to Grand Coulee, and found one of the few spots left in the Spring Canyon NFS Campground on Roosevelt Lake, about three miles east of the dam on the south side of the lake. Steve’s back is much better today; the kayaks are off the RV and ready to go.

The scenery and temperatures are very different from where we’ve been. No more rain, fog, moss, or damp. The terrain and vegetation looks very similar to Utah’s mountains—quite dry, lots of sage, not many trees. In fact, looking out the RV window I am reminded of Jordanelle or Rockport reservoirs. There is a nice sandy beach here, and the water is quite warm, also very different from where we’ve been—the ocean and all the lakes we’ve paddled so far have only been about 48 degrees—not at all appealing for swimming. While paddling yesterday on Diablo Lake, I got grounded on a sand bar and had to get out of my kayak and pull it to deeper water. My feet were aching and numb, even though I only waded ankle-deep for less than 10 yards!

We plan to stay here for two or three days, then move on. Our tentative next stop is the state park on Moses Lake. I hope to meet up with my friend and fellow quilter, Jo Roman, who lives in the town of Moses Lake. We met through Quilts of Valor—she machine quilts all the quilts I piece for servicemen and women wounded in Iraq, and has also quilted some of my “keeper” quilts. We’ve gotten to know each other through email; it will be fun to meet face-to-face.

On to the Cascades

Our time was up on San Juan Island and we reluctantly said good-bye yesterday morning. It had taken us a couple of days to get into the swing of things there. At first, all the information we didn’t know about tides and currents seemed overwhelming, and, between that and the rain, we were reluctant to venture out with the kayaks. But after we watched group after group of obvious neophytes leave from our beach and return, damp but safe and happy, we got braver. We found the currents and tides not a problem, and paddling in the rain no big deal. In fact, it was nice. Our last morning, we woke up to a light fog and misty rain, and went for one last paddle. It was magical. The sea and the sky were the same color, and with the fog, the sensation was almost one of being suspended in space. Big ships, their foghorns sounding low and shrouded in mist, were barely visible farther out in the strait

Things we loved about San Juan Island: sunsets, kayaking in all kinds of weather, and the wildlife. There were orcas in the bay, baby seals on the beach, and a mama black-tail deer and her twin fawns, still dappled with spots, wandering around the campground. We will go back.

We left our campsite and drove back to Friday Harbor, where we got in line for the ferry and had about an hour to kill. We found The Blue Dolphin, which boasted having the best breakfast in town. Since it was the only breaskfast we ate in town, we don’t know if that was true, but it was fabulous! We didn’t order anything fancy—just bacon and eggs—but everything was cooked perfectly and served piping hot. A bonus was that they served two types of hashbrowns—shredded (Steve’s preference) and homestyle chopped (mine!). Both were obviously home-made, not frozen. Yum!

After grabbing a couple of lattes (did I mention that there is an espresso stand on every corner in Washington), we got back in the RV and waited to board the ferry. The ferry was delayed some, and after a bit we found out why. Last to get off was a semi pulled half a house—one of those manufactured jobs. It was long and wide and tall, even with the roof off. I can’t imagine what it must have cost to ferry it over! Once we were loaded on, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. We de-boarded in Anacortes and drove to Deception Pass State Park, where we stayed last night. Today it’s on to the northern Cascades. Steve says he’s tired of mountains, trees, rain, and windy roads, but it’s either that or down through Seattle and Tacoma, which means traffic and congestion, which he hates, so the Cascades win. Before we get too far away from civilization, we’ll fuel up, hit a supermarket, and find a laundromat. We don’t have that much to wash, but everything is kind of damp from rain, and with the high humidity here, nothing gets dried out. While one load is in the washer, I’ll throw another—towels and quilts mostly—in the dryer to dry out.