I had an OK drive to Death Valley from Southern Calif. The first couple of days here it rained. Then it got real windy; like 40-50 mph gusts. After that it turned much nicer. It's been high 50's to low 60's the last few days with lots of sunshine. So, my friends Dave & Carla and I went hiking. I've attached several photos for you to check out. Here's a tiny bit of info on Death Valley. They don't call it death valley for nothing. The following couple of pics are from a place called Badwater Basin. It looks like snow but it's salt. Here's a close up. The next few pics will be of some of the mountain and hill formations. The colors here are unbelievable. As you can see the countryside changes color quickly. With so many rocks I had to climb at least one. Here's a pic of me on top of a small outcropping I climbed. Here's a pic of Dave & Carla hiking through one of the slot canyons. Yesterday we went to an old mining ghost town called Rhyolite. There wasn't too much to see but after checking out what was there we took my truck and did some off-roading. We found several old mines. They were all fenced off so we didn't go in but it was still a fun day. There are groups of wild burros that roam the area. I was able to get close enough to this group to snap a pic. See, it really was a ghost town. ;-) Hope you all are enjoying yourselves as much as I am. Gary

So, I made it to the San Diego area, Oceanside to be exact. Here's a pic of my dad's boat. We spent most days while I was there at the boat drinking beer. It was in the mid 60's so with a wind was kind of chilly.

I saw this exit sign on I-15 outside of Barstow, Calif. Check out the name???? I don't know how to pronounce it. I took a couple of pics of the area so far. Much more to come.

Well, if I started this trip to find myself I did. Here’s an exit off of I-10 in New Mexico that points to me. However, I think I’ll still continue the rest of my trip. Here’s a warning sign at a rest stop in New Mexico. It’s welcoming isn’t it? I spent several days at my sister-in-laws house in Chandler, AZ. Had a nice visit. I also got to spend some time with an Aunt I hadn't seen in a long time. Overall, I was a great stop. This next pic is outside of Palm Springs, CA. As you can see, lots of wind machines. I arrived safe and sound at my dad’s house yesterday afternoon. I’ll be staying here until the weekend. I'll try and take a photo or two of us sitting on the dock around his boat drinking a beer. I’m parking my trailer at one of my camping club “Boondockers Welcome” homes. It’s beautiful. He lives on top of a hill in an olive orchard overlooking a large area of nurseries.

THE 3 AMIGOS: Well, we’re off to a flying start as they say. We left about 9 Wednesday morning, Jan 11th. Spent the first night at a road side rest in west Texas. Free but lots of trucks coming and going all night; didn’t get a good night’s sleep. So, to compensate, I stopped early today, Jan 12th in Deming, New Mexico at a real RV park. I wanted to give the dogs a break from being cooped up all day. This place has a dog park so they can run off-leash. They like it. I think Chelsea, the little one, peed about 9-10 times. We’ve all had a good meal and will spend the afternoon lazing around. Tomorrow I should arrive in Chandler, AZ where I plan to visit family for a few days. More to come.