Headed out east towards Moreno Valley and the Los Angeles area. California was transferred to the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hildago that ended the Mexican-American War. Much greater changes came from the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1876. Recent archeological finds show there was a seafaring culture in 8000 B.C. By 3000 B.C. The history of California can be divided into: the Native American period; European exploration period from 1542 to 1769; the Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821; the Mexican period, 1821 to 1848; and United States statehood. California became a state in 1850.
It was another pretty day for a drive. We drove on the only part of I-10 that we have never driven before in all our travels. The landscape is flat open stretches then more mountains here and there. The mountains in the area we drove through seem to be sparse and made mostly of volcanic rock. To the left of us were the Chocolate Mountains. What a name! If they were made of real chocolate, that is where you would find me!!! Anything chocolate and I am there!! A little further on the right we passed the south part of Joshua Tree National Park. A unique place where it is the only part of the country where the Joshua trees grow. We had been there in April of 2010.
As we approached Indio, CA, we passed through probably the largest wind farm in the country. There must have been hundreds or maybe more than a thousand of them! Guess some of those areas through the mountains get so much wind that can generate lots of power. Even though it was 98 degrees (HOT!!), we spotted some mountains that still had bits of snow on their peaks. But down in the valleys there is hard evidence of the terrible drought southern CA is having right now.
As we were passing Palm Desert, CA, Doug saw an In ‘n Out burger fast food eatery. Somehow the ole truck and RV veered right to that exit! We found an open dirt field to park in since the town was busy and parking was a bit hard to find. In ‘n Out was very busy as well but we sure do love their burgers. Funny thing- a man asked if he and his wife could share our table to give their other table to a family of 4. Well, we got to talking and this couple was just passing through as well and headed to Tucson-We just left Tucson a month ago. But the strange fact was that their last residence before moving to CA was Alexandria, VA! We are from Virginia Beach so what are the odds of meeting a fellow Virginian in some town along an interstate out west and stopped at the same time and place for a burger!! Sounds like the same chance meeting of another couple, of which Jim was from Virginia and we met them in a tiny campground on the coast of Washington state!! Sometimes in our travels, the U.S. seems smaller than we think!
We then crossed over part of the mountains that make up the San Bernardino National Forest. Boy, just as soon as we did, there was the heavier traffic just like the stories you hear about the traffic in and around Los Angeles and surrounding areas. We were still 50 miles from Moreno Valley! And Moreno Valley is about 50 miles from Los Angeles.
We are staying at March ARB (Air Reserve Base). We were going to stay just until Sunday then head out to avoid heavy traffic. But we decided to stay a week to kill some time to make sure there are no more snow storms and we can get into some of the national parks as we head further north. Many of the national park campgrounds don’t open until May 15th. It was 93 here yesterday and 92 today but is supposed to be back down in the 80s the rest of the week. Our first day, and what was our first stop? Yep, Wal-Mart!! My, my, we should have bought stock! Then we found a huge 2 story enclosed mall and got a walk in for some exercise. Had to walk so we could have Sam’s pizza and frozen yogurt! Lettuce and tofu the rest of the week!
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