3/29/09 Finally, a fairly lazy day with a bit of time and a decent WiFi signal in which to do a blog post. Currently we are camped at Mittrey Lake with Mike & Marilyn Harrison and this was our view out the front windshield this morning:

We all moved over here yesterday, after spending 2 nights out at Sidewinder Road. It was more convenient to stay out there while I was having dental work in Algodones, Mexico, right across the border. But when Darran & Marielle decided to join us for Friday and Saturday, we wanted to bring them here so they could go out in the kayaks.

Of course, there were also Happy Hours with Mike & Marilyn while the kids were here with us:

While we were out at Sidewinder, we had one night of really fierce winds. There was one day of that while we were at Anza Borrego too, and both situations were probably some of the worst winds we have ever experienced. Thank goodness they only lasted one day. With the slideouts pulled in and everything stowed in the underneath bays, we just hunker down and wait it out, usually with TV or a good book.
My dental experience went well in Algodones. I went to a dentist at the Sani Group, named Jose Manuel Jiminez, who had been recommended by an RV friend, Kaaren Payne. I walked in about 3 on Thursday and asked for an assessment. After an x-ray and exam, he decided I needed 2 porcelain crowns and a cleaning, and he said he could start right away. On our way into Algodones, we had noticed Lee & Susie Blattner's car so we looked all over town for them and found them at their favorite shrimp taco place, which was right near the dentist. So Elaine sat with them and ate tacos and drank beer while I was having Novocain shots and drilling with the dentist. Finally he put in the temporaries and we left. By now it was nearly 5 PM and we thought getting back through the border would be easy. Wrong! We spent an hour and twenty minutes in line to cross. The border agents are always surly and rude too. We think they keep the lines long as a deterrent because they don't want Americans spending money in Mexico. When one of them asked Lee what he had done there and he said he had a haircut, the guy said, "There are American barbers trying to make a living in Yuma too, you know." Lee should have told him that he might consider using them more if he was making what the border agent was making as salary instead of what he actually gets for social security. Most of the commerce done in Algodones is by Senior citizens trying to get reasonable prices on glasses, dentists, medicines, booze and shrimp tacos too, of course. So the next day Darran and Marielle were with us when I returned for the final fitting of my permanent crowns. That meant that Elaine had to sit there AGAIN at the taco place with Darran & Marielle while waiting for me, drinking beer and eating more tacos. Luckily, the dentist was meticulous about getting the crowns right and making sure my bite was perfect. The cleaning job afterwards was nothing to write home about, however. For those of you who are interested, the porcelain crowns cost $140 each and the cleaning was $25 plus $10 for x-rays. There are lots of good dentists there and we have a whole list of them we have collected from Boomer friends. Just e-mail us if you want the list.
Also while we were at Sidewinder, a neighbor came and knocked on our door and asked us if we wanted to see the local desert tortoise which had been crossing the desert regularly right near their rig. So we walked over there and took the following picture (the shoe is in there for a reference point):

I was kind of surprised at the fairly rapid rate that this turtle could move, once he got tired of us looking at him and he left.
While we were at Anza Borrego, we didn't have any internet so I never posted much about our stay there. Jojoba Hills SKP Park was having a gathering there at an RV park so we went with Dick & Carole Schneider and camped out in the desert instead of the park. Then we were joined by friends, Joe & Carla Calwell, Mike & Marilyn, friends of theirs named Sam & Bob Flechtner, and Canadian friends Pat & Linda Jenkins. Joyce & Larry Space, friends from our Panama trip, had been camping at another place in Anza Borrego but managed to track us down for a Happy Hour visit. So we all had pleasant visits, some desert walks, and lots of good Happy Hours and joint dinners. Here are a few pictures:
Elaine, Joe and Carla, and Pat and Linda at a joint dinner

Linda, Elaine, Carla and Carole on a desert walk:

Dick Schneider plays his keyboard for us at Happy Hour

One thing we really like about the desert at Anza Borrego is that there is lots of vegetation. There were also lots of flowers because of all the winter rain, but we didn't get any good pictures of those areas. Here are some of the plants in the area where we camped:

One of the days when we drove over to Borrego Springs to pick up our mail, we saw lots of really neat metal sculptures of a variety of desert animals. Here is the one of an eagle with a snake:

Our plan is to be here in Yuma for about another week while we visit with friends and enjoy the sunshine. If you are in this area, please contact us so we can see you!