Banning, CA

It is 10:45 am, which becomes 9:45 am as we cross over the Colorado River and so we gain an hour by virtue of the California state border.  We pass through Blythe and I am reminded of my first trip through here when I was sixteen in my parent’s unconditioned car pulling an Air Stream travel trailer in August.  I was certain I had arrived in Hell on Earth and it was confirmed when the swimming pool at the park where we stayed here had water hotter than the furnace we had driven through all day.  It felt like we had been through a convection oven all day and at sixteen, I hated my life and I hated Blythe.  Ha!  The memory of the joys of being a teenager makes me pity my poor parents now.  Riding in a 40 foot, air-conditioned coach now gives me an entirely different view of Blythe as we head into the desert here and fight the winds pushing against the side of the coach.  Our mileage has dropped from nine miles a gallon to 6 miles per gallon in the blowing dust.  This is harder driving and requires all of Jim’s attention.

A short distance before we reach Chiriaco Summit, the small awning over our entry door comes loose and starts banging against the coach as the awning opens partially and then recloses in the gusts of wind hitting the coach.  We pull into Chiriaco Summit and refasten the awning and then walk over to a café nearby and have lunch.  This spot was established in 1933 on the same day as the new, two lane, paved U.S. 60 opened and the Chiriaco family has operated their roadside stop here ever since.   In the spring of 1942, General George S. Patton established a Desert Training Center with its headquarters at Camp Young adjacent to Shaver Summit (the name of this site before it became Chiriaco Summit in 1958 with the opening of a rural Post Office on this site.)  The Chiriaco family established a memorial museum to General Patton in 1945, which exists to this day.  So a chance stop due to a minor malfunction was truly enlightening!

Approaching Indio we drop from an elevation of 1670 to sea level and see a microburst of air draw up dirt into a whirling tornado-like apparition right next to Interstate 10.  The tops of nearby mountains are dusted with light snow and further to the northwest one mountain boasts a significant cap of snow at its peak.  Traversing the valley through Palm Springs eventually leads to the city’s western edge where wind generators earn their keep from the winds we’ve been fighting and the temperature is now 86 degrees.  The air is full of dust that clouds the rays of the sun muting the views of the landscape around us.  I have no desire to visit or stay in this city after experiencing a car break-in here in 2009 that literally garnered not the slightest bit of attention from the authorities in spite of our considerable loss.

We arrived at the Banning KOA beyond Palm Springs about 2 p.m. in time for a short nap and Snoopy joins us.  Afterward, we take a walk around the park and enjoy the nice temperature and sun.   Mountains here surround us and the park is situated next to a high school.  It is quiet and far enough off the road that we don’t hear the noise from Interstate 10.  A Good Sam rally is going on in the park and people are sitting outside on lawn chairs in a huge circle enjoying “happy hour.”  It is hard to believe in just a few days we have traversed the country and now find ourselves within a day’s drive of L.A. and our territory.  We will prepare for next week’s meeting over the weekend and then spend five days learning the nuances of this year’s assignment.  It is exciting to be back at work and we are looking forward to the upcoming time with six other teams. 

Snoopy's Corner:

I spied the coolest bird house I've seen lately here at the park.  It looks like a miniature cowboy boot.  I am going to keep a close eye on it to see if any birds live in it.  We'll have to see if we can find one of these along the way during our travels here in California.  It would be neat to have one at home I could watch birds living in from our kitchen windows!