Right Back Where We Started From…

California Here We Come…

Two more long days on the road as we head west from Austin back to Thousand Palms, California…

These are sunset pictures from our 1st day.

We spend the night in Deming, New Mexico at a Comfort Inn. What a difference from the Super and Motel 8s, and within the same price range!

After a warm complimentary breakfast of eggs, sausage, fruit, and toast we enjoy our last day on the highway recounting memories of all the fun moments we shared with John, Olivia, and Hugo.

And of course, I have pictures from the passenger seat to share with you as well. Since we are driving in the car and not the RV, my viewpoint is not as spectacular as sitting up high in a motorhome and gazing out at a scenic panorama.

I am not disappointed though and I hope you aren’t either. The United States is a beautiful country even from the interstate highways.

Rocks and hills…

Saguaro cacti…

Quartzsite, Arizona…

This means we are about 20 miles away from the state line of California. You’ve got to see this place to believe it. Dubbed the “Desert Phenomenon” on the city’s website, Quartzsite just may be the RV boondocking capital of the world. Millions of adventure seekers visit each year to enjoy its scenic environment known for its pristine Sonoran Desert views, surrounding mountains, and spectacular sunsets. Every year during January and February the town hosts its famous two-month-long gem show and swap meet where exhibitors and vendors display and sell rocks, gems, mineral specimens, and fossils. (ci.quartzsite.az.us)

southwestrockhounding.com

quartzsitetourism.com

tripsavvy.com

We’ll be coming around the mountain…

The Colorado River…

In Blythe we leave Arizona and enter California as we cross a stretch of the Colorado River on Interstate 10.

This famous river, originally known as the Grand, stretches for 1,450 miles from its genesis on the Continental Divide in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park to just shy of the Gulf of California in Mexico. (americanrivers.org)

The yellow shaded area shows how the Colorado River basin extends through 7 states and 2 countries.

pt.slideshare.net, courtesy of Paula Rodriguez Andres

John Wesley Powell, a veteran of the Civil War, who lost his right arm at the elbow in the Battle of Shiloh, led the Powell Geographic Expedition down the Colorado River into uncharted territory in 1869. After 99 days of one of the most daring journeys in American history, he emerged a hero for leading the first official U.S. government-sponsored passage through the Grand Canyon.

He eventually became the second Director (1881-1894) of the U.S. Geological Survey establishing the tradition of mapping the nation. (usgs.gov)

(This is not the same Colorado River that flows through Austin, Texas forming the Highland Lakes as I mentioned in my previous post about Mount Bonnell.) At over 800 miles long, the Texas Colorado River is one of the longest rivers to start and end in the same state. (coloradoriver.org)