From the Escapade we headed back for the Colorado River valley and the woodcarver's workshop in Ft. Mohave.

We had a great time as everyone had promised. Fourty hours of woodcarving and visiting and learing.

At the end of the workshop we drove down the road about five miles and stayed a couple of nights at Spirit Mountain RV Park in Mohave Valley. Phone hook-up is the big draw there. You park in your space and you have a landline for 800 numbers or local calls. A local ISP had a flyer at the RV park office offering monthly service for $18.95 and no set-up fee. Well, after more than a week without an internet connection we were feeling withdrawal symptoms. We got hooked up with for internet access and spent a couple of days online until we realized we were still in triple digit weather... duh! We cut our stay short a day and headed back for California and, hopefuly, cooler weather.

Through Needles and the long, long pull uphill to Antelope Valley was next. The combination of hideous headwinds and an uphill climb held the rig to 45 mph part of the way. Luckily we missed any really bad dust storms but we were plenty glad to get to the Arabian RV park in Boron.

The wind subsided some during the night so we decided to make a run for the Tehachapi Mts while the gettin' was good. On the start up the hill a sign warned high profile vehicles, but at that point there is no turning around. Up by the Tehachapi turn-off an eighteen wheeler was laying on it's side. Help was there already and we couldn't stop. As soon as we `summited' (notice how I made a verb from a noun like the Generation Xers!) and started down the other side, the wind vanished.

It's always a treat to start down the last hill and look out over the huge expanse of California's Great Central Valley with citrus orchards, vineyards, fields of grain and row crops... and, of course, smoggy Bakersfield.

We stopped at at our home park, Royal Oak Resort, just east of Kingsburg. What a sanctuary for renewal that place is. Twisted, shady green trees, peaceful river, quiet nights and calm days... great rejuvenation after the treeless big heat days that moved into Arizona. We stayed almost two weeks and did a little exploring while we were there. Features that stand out in my mind are the oil well pumps in the foothills by Coalinga. They have been painted to look like different creatures.... Snoopy, a grasshopper, butterfly, giraffe, all sorts of things. And we visited Pinnacle National Monument while traveling up the fault line on highway 25 to Hollister. They have some great information on earthquakes there.

When we departed Kingsburg our next destination was the California Delta... the state's best kept recreational secret. We were in search of a RV park for the woodcarver's workshop next May. We didn't find one there, but chuckled at the prospect of what our fellow woodcarver's faces would look like if we chose Snug Harbor and they discovered they had to cross the slough to get there on a ferryboat! The ferry's captain told us that they transport big motorhomes and other RVs easily, but if we were going to do that we should send everyone a tide schedule so they could cross at high tide. That would keep rigs from dragging on the ramp as they drove off the boat. But, alas, Snug Harbor is not big enough for the 25 to 30 rigs and they don't have a clubhouse or us to use.

We hated to leave the warm sunny days and cool breezy nights of the Delta, but it was time to move on. Yuba City was our next, and last, stop. It was early afternoon when we arrived in town, entered Travelhome Park through the back entrance and finding our usual space vacant we pulled in and hooked up. Then I called the office and when Nita answered I asked if there was room for us. Sure, she assured us, then asked. what time we would get in.