February 9: The Orange Grove park was close to the freeway and also train tracks so I could hear the train whistle in the night a few times. However, the bed has a ceiling vent with a fan in it so I turned that on exhaust and it made for good white noise to disguise the traffic noise.

Misty did better last night but still did more meowing than normal. Maybe she does it at home in other parts of the house and I just don’t hear it. I also kept hearing her trying to open the cupboard doors but, being an RV, they don’t open easily. Oh, and I saw another woman across from me with a cat on a leash!

The morning dawned bright and clear again. Well, as clear as it probably gets around here with all the smog. All the big rigs started taking off around 8:00. I think there were way more than 50 that came in last night. When I was leaving I saw a ton more. I got ready and left my site about 9:30, earlier than I thought but I woke up early today.

Before going to get propane, I had used my new step stool to try to unhook the tanks. Of course, everything was too tight for me and the wrench I had was too small. So, I just hoped the person helping me would be able to deal with it. It was a huge pain the the ass! Even the guy said so. The propane tanks are too high on the camper, he also had to use the step stool. In the picture below, the bottom of the tank is about 4 1/2 feet high.

Then he had problems with the screws being too tight. We both got wrenches and I turned the one on the bottom and he on the top. He was finally able to get the tanks down and fill them. He had to get a good swing on the tanks to get them back up high enough. He advised, and I agreed, that I should only open the outer one, and when it runs out get it filled quickly. Lol.

I used a lot of propane for heat the first two weeks at night and in the mornings. I would turn it off when I went to bed but used it to warm up in the mornings. It still gets cool at night but warms up quick enough that I don’t think I will turn it on again until back up in the north on the way home.

I found a park down by the Salton Sea about 4 hours away according to Google maps. Of course it is always longer than that. The drive was pretty good for the most part. The scenery was chaparral and desert. It was a lot browner than the area I drove through out of Yosemite.

Okay, I am going to go on a bit of a rant here about the highway signage and drivers here in California. The speed limits on the back roads are usually much higher than I think you would see in Washington, at least 55 mph. However, very few of them ever have a speed limit sign until you see one that says 40 mph zone ahead. Then after going thru that area, it will have a sign that says end of 40 mph, but no new sign saying what the actual speed limit is. I have just gone 55 for the most part.

The freeways are mostly 65 – 70 mph but everyone goes 10 – 20 mph more than that! I usually run about speed limit or up to 5 mph over unless passing, then I speed up. But I see people going at least 90 and they are also the ones that zip back and forth across the lanes. Then every once in a while someone will be in the lane next to the fast lane going 60.

The other thing I have noticed is that the speed limit for trucks and vehicles pulling trailers is usually 55. Do you think they ever go that slow? Hell, no. I don’t really have a problem with that but I find it interesting that they don’t get pulled over more often. I have only seen one car pulled over and that was today. But when going up to Yosemite I saw a cop with lights on following someone coming in the opposite direction but there was no where to pull over. It was kind of funny.

But my all time favorite is people who don’t use cruise control. I understand not using it in heavy traffic, but when you are on a wide open freeway? I always use mine and will pass someone and have them pass me two or three times. And they say Washingtonians are bad drivers.

I made it to the Oasis Palms RV Resort around 3:00. So I was on the road about 5 hours. Misty was good but my sciatica was acting up and I couldn’t wait to get here. The man who checked me in was nice and joked around a bit. When I told him it was just me and the cat he said this was dog territory. I replied that everywhere I have been has been dog territory. He said he had seen one cat on a leash, wonder if it was the same one I saw.

Then he got in his little utility vehicle and drove me to my spot. This place has grass all around and quite a few palm and fruit trees. There is a pool, jacuzzi, pond stocked with tilapia and catfish, a recreation room with a bunch of stuff in it, and I don’t know what else. Pretty nice. Except I have seen 3 or 4 dogs running around not on leashes. There is even a dog run here but obviously, these dogs are special. Maybe Misty will get a good swipe in tomorrow.

I called my friends, Yvonne and Simon Josowitz, who are staying in the Palm Springs area for a month. I am only about 30 minutes away so after talking to them I decided to also stay here Saturday night and they will come for a visit tomorrow.

Oh, and another Misty update. I put her on a leash as soon as I got here and even though it is grassy all around there is a bit of dirt under a little bush next to the camper. She, of course, rolled in it and proceeded to dig a hole. She also manages to get herself wrapped around everything the wrong way so I am constantly untangling her. Someone walked by fairly close so she jumped back into the camper and looked out the door for a while, then went to sleep on her bed.

I sat outside and read social media and started this post. There were a few flies around but then closer to sundown a lot of little bugs started coming around so I finally went into the camper and shut the screen door. One fly inside is driving me crazy, but as Darrel would say, “It is a short drive.” (Finally killed that one. Yay!)

There was a Happy Hour across the pond by a fire pit with lots of firewood around 4:30. Being the social butterfly that I am I stayed in the camper. Later, there was karaoke in the rec room next to me. I was watching the Olympics so didn’t join in. I am sure if Darrel had been with me I would have gone with him to these events. And, if I was staying for a long time like most of these people I would eventually check it out.

I watched the Olympic skating last night and tonight I watched the opening ceremony. It is funny. The very first night I managed to figure out the TV and FireTV and got them working together. Haven’t been able to do it since then so have watched everything on my iPad.