Monday, March 16, 2015

Baking at Hot Springs, LTVA - (no, this isn't a "Foodie Post")

Katie and I are slowly making our way west to San Diego to visit the kids, celebrate Easter with family, and get my annual medical, dental and vision appointments taken care of. 

We are at Hot Springs LTVA a little east of Holtville, CA.  Wow, is it getting warm!  It's been 93 degrees in The Palms almost every day since we've been here.  If I get on it early and set the rig up before it gets too hot with window coverings, fans, etc. we do okay.  Right around 93 degrees I pull the cold neck wraps out of the fridge and those cool us off.  Right now it's 4:30 and 95.4 in here.  Surprisingly, though it feels warm, we're not tooo hot.

One day I had to turn on the A/C, I waited too long and we were HOT.  Once it gets to that point, nothing works except the Air Conditioning.

We are late this year heading to San Diego.  Previous years at this point we had already left San Diego and were in New Mexico by now.  So this heat is new for us, usually when we're here the weather is a bit cooler, but we haven't had any high winds, and that's nice.  Mornings are wonderful, afternoons are HOT and evenings are buggy.  But somehow, Katie and I are having a great time. 

Most of the RVs are gone - this spot is full of Canadians for the season, and when it 's time to head north, Hot Springs LTVA empties out.   There are just enough people here now to make it friendly, there are lots of good campsite available, and it's pretty quiet.  Things are winding down.

We got a very nice spot at the front of the campground, close enough to the trash that Katie and I have had just a short walk each day to dump the trash.  This is our first campsite - I loved it:



Then last week we went to El Centro for new tires and to have the truck smogged, and when we got back, a fifth wheel had driven through our site to get to the one between us and our neighbor in front of us.  He was very close - especially considering there was a whole, long empty space along the posts behind our site - enough to fit five other rigs.  Somehow it was important that he park right in front of us.  I had left our mat, two chairs and a table there to save our site.  I couldn't believe it when I returned late in the afternoon, steaming hot and super tired - and saw that rig there.

I parked The Palms down at the other end of the empty row and walked up and back three times to retrieve our stuff.  This new spot is actually more level and I like it better.  I think.  Jeez, what's with these unconscious people.  "It's alllllll about you, I know.  It's okay - I'll move."  Well, that's not exactly what I was thinking...  Ha!  I gave their rig the stink-eye a few times as I was moving my things, and haven't looked their way since.  That'll show em'!

So this is our new spot:



 Lots of room and privacy - nice!  Here are a couple of neighbors:


There are lots of those old poles and wires here - plenty of places for the birds to stand and check out what's going on.  Or just sit and rest.  

 You looking at ME?




Our first afternoon here Katie and I walked down to the Hot Springs to check it out again this year.  It was much prettier than last year, when all the reeds were laying on the top of the water.  They must have come in sometime during the year and cleaned out most of the dead reeds.



The other day one of my neighbors warned me about walking Katie down to the Hot Springs area.  There is a sign that no dogs were allowed, but I thought that meant inside the fence that's around the shower/hot springs area.  She said no, a woman was walking her dog down in that area outside the fence and a Ranger came up and gave her a $300 fine.  No warning, just fined her.  Needless to say, we won't be walking across the street again.  There is a double vault toilet building over there, and that's the cut-off point.  No dogs beyond the toilet building.  I'm sure glad we didn't get caught past that point.  :)

I am SO enjoying my clean, waxed motor home! It was so bad, and now when I see a piece of dirt or dust I grab something to clean it off.  THERE WILL BE NO BUGS ALLOWED!  I'm keeping up with the tires, too, using the 303 Aerospace spray that is so highly recommended by my friends.  

I had to e-mail Dr. Don at Foothills Animal Clinic in Yuma on Saturday.  Poor Katie - her ankle mass was so large and hard I was worried.  She didn't act like it was bothering her, but I wanted more info from Don on the prescription he mentioned.  He e-mailed me back and said he would send an Rx to any pharmacy near us if I needed it.  In the meantime, I'm going to keep using aspirin.  I think between our morning walks to the trash cans and our campground strolls in the evenings, and maybe the heat, it's been too much for her.  Luckily the ground here is flat and smooth enough for me to easily push Katie in the stroller, and that's what we're going to do.

This is what her ankle looked like the last time we walked.  Poor thing.  But she LOVES riding in the stroller, so that's what we're doing now.



I had a couple of hot, tense, stressful days in El Centro last week, Wednesday and Thursday.  Then I went back this morning.  I'm going to post about them next time, when I've completely calmed down.  And I'll post a recommendation, a non-recommendation and a warning.  I'm so glad it's done and OVER.

From me and Katie, melting away at Hot Springs LTVA, have a great Monday, everyone!  :)

15 comments:

  1. Keep cool. . . (grin) Sure hope Katie's swelling goes down. I can't stand it when dogs are hurting or sick.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hope Katies leg gets better! Heading up the mountain this week. The heat is overwhelming could be a whole lot worse though.Funny what you get use too. Enjoy Easter with the family.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those photos bring back memories. We loved the hot springs there!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry you suffered a Clinger invasion. I'll never understand what is UP with that. Sounds as though you are abiding the high temps. It's 91 here in Yuma - yuck. But thankful Katie is feeling no pain. Looking forward to your next post - sounds pretty juicy!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Katie's swelling looks much bigger than I thought. Hope it goes down soon. Isn't it unbelievable how rude and selfish some people can be? To drive through another person's site is just wrong. You just have to think that "what goes around comes around". At the risk of a $300 fine, be careful where you take Katie.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's getting a little too hot for me too, and I've got hookups! Time to head somewhere else I think.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really don't know how you can survive this heat without turning on the air every day. Way too hot way too early in my opinion. Poor Katie. Feel so bad for these pups of ours. We're headed back to the vet again today with Skitz.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Geez! Poor Katie....It is hot here in Borrego Springs too. I dread going to yuma / Mexico in a few days, but we must. Never again will I put off calling for our dental appointments!

    We have found that during the hottest part of the day, it is much nice outside in the shade of the motorhome where the breezes can fan us. So far, have not needed air conditioning.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Always something happening where you are. Katie lump is really scary looking. Bless her heart. Dumb old 5th wheeler. He needs to learn the rules of sharing the park. Can't wait to hear about what happened.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We got toViejas Casino in Alpine yesterday. Much cooler here!
    Did the do anything for you on your old tires?

    ReplyDelete
  11. So glad Katie likes the stroller--she's such a good girl! The spring area looks beautiful this year--very inviting. Sheesh--it's scary that people can be so focused on their wants/needs. They probably drive the same way! I'm glad you found a better spot. Can't wait to hear about El Centro--I wonder if it has something to do with The Bank?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love it there at the Hot Springs, but some people there are hmm....

    ReplyDelete
  13. Maybe it is the same guy that parked under my bedroom window at Mittry Lake. Did they yell a lot? Smoke cigars? Spray paint? LOL! Well, hope you liked your new spot after you moved as much as I did!

    Poor little Katie! We all know how uncomfortable swollen ankles can be! Hope she is feeling okay!

    Suzanne

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks Barbara for reminding us of our favorite spot in the desert. Seems that most people have left already. I guess there was no host this winter either, was there? Yes, it can get very hot there in March. Usually we leave the place around 1-2.week of March. Save travels Barbara and we hope Katie's ankle is getting better. Sure doesn't look good.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments - we LOVE them!