Who is that?

Dec 30/2018  Every so often it is time to clean up the email.  Sifting through the other day  we finally opened up the Ramblin Pushers Newsletter.    Front page we noticed a really nice looking photo and then proceeded to read the letter.  Haha.  While reading on page 2  we definitely had to refer to page 1 again.....  We missed it completely and totally forgot we had sent in this picture.  So funny.

Cover Photo

The title block photo for this issue is Rosey & Bill Bourne’s 2003 Monaco Camelot. This striking photo was taken in November, 2017 at Catalina State Park in Oro Valley, Arizona

Pioneertown

Dec 22/2018  Weather 75 sunny, low 49.  Sunny .... again.  

Big Bear Lake on SanGorgonio in the distance is covered in snow

Mane Street, Pioneertown

Billy was talking to a guy at the Harley Davidson shop and he told him to take a ride up towards Yucca Valley and then back into a ghost town.  He said it is an interesting little place, nice ride, and the burgers are good!  Ok.  We are up for anything.

old west movie set

In 1946, Pioneertown was founded by a group of Hollywood investors, including actors Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. They dreamt of creating an Old West set that was actually a small town worth visiting, with 1880s-style false-front facades.Up went (from the outside) frontier stables, saloons, and jails; inside, they housed ice cream parlors, bowling alleys, and motels. More than 50 films and television shows were filmed here in the 1940s and ‘50s.

Rosey made a new friend????!!!!  haha

While location shooting and businesses here have dwindled, you can still see mock gunfights on Mane Street (pun intended).  
The most happening place by far is Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, with surprisingly good live music (Robert Plant and Leon Russell have played here) in a seemingly unlikely setting.  Our lunch was great, no music when we were there, and the drive to and from Pioneertown was rocky and scenic. 

The Best Girls Go Topless....  Billy says we should get this saying for our Jeep!

Amen

Nov 7 to Dec 27/18  Coachella Valley consists of 8 cities that run into each other.  While riding all over the area in the last few weeks we have seen some modern architecture and one thing we saw was some very eye catching churches. We think it must be the feel of the Palm Spring area where all the homes are in the same architecture since the 60's.  Here are a few churches with extremely different lines than what we have. 

Nostalgic Palm Springs

Downtown Palm Springs

Dec 15/2018  After soaking in the Sunnylands Estate we popped over to old downtown Palm Springs.   Palm Canyon Drive is perfect for strolling and when your not strolling it is perfect for people watching too.  We walked.  Snooped.  Watched.  Ate.  Walked again.  Palm Trees hang over the sidewalks and Mount San Jacinto shadows the drive.   There is so much show biz nostalgia in Palm Springs. 

The Riviera Hotel where Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack hung out

You can take any number of tours to see the famous players that had homes here away from their hectic life.  We took a modern architect home tour a few years ago while here and it was excellent.  But today we are just spooking around and having a bite to eat where the Rat Pack liked to hangout .  And don't forget to look down at your feet.  The sidewalk is full of stars!

Walk of Fame Stars

Camp David of the West

Dec 15/18  Weather 72 sunny, night 48.... all this week in the mid 70's.  Outstanding weather.  Gosh we could take this everyday of the year.

Obama hosted the Chinese President in 2016 in Sunnylands

Sunnylands home

In Palm Desert there is an interesting and serene estate that was once the Annenberg's winter home, now it is held in trust.  Set on 200 acres, it includes a 25,000 sq ft modern style home, guest cottages, a 9 hole golf course, tennis courts, small fishing lakes, conference center, visitor center, and a cafe.

Beautiful Gardens

a view from the 9 hole course

The Annenberg's who once owned TV Guide, American Bandstand, the magazine Seventeen and other business venues were also extraordinary philanthropists.  Over time they have granted over $3 billion to research universities, hospitals, public schools, cultural and civic organizations.  In their "Sunnylands Estate" they have hosted 8 different presidents who in turn have invited world leaders here to a soothing unique setting to hash out politics.  As well they hosted a yearly New Years Eve Part with a few of their friends, like Bob Hope, Merv Griffin, Eisenhower's, Reagan's, Nixon's, Dinah Shore, Forbe's, Rockefeller's, Bloomingdale's......... I think you get idea.

Walking into the home, the sculpture is by Rodin

You can take a tour of the grounds which were absolutely stunning or you can take a tour of the house which is magnificent.  Someone said "over the top".  Walter and Lenore were world class art collectors; all the artifacts are in the New York Metropolitan Art Museum. 

What a Place

Another Month

Dec 6 - 13/18  Weather 1/10 inch of rain.....  what is that?  a little misting of rain for 2 days.  Then clouds and cooler for the week.  Temp in the mid 60's and high 40's at night.  Time for Rosey to split for a week and head back to Ontario to celebrate Christmas with the family.  Isn't it Christmas everyday?  It has been so gorgeous here in SoCal we do not want to leave the area just yet.  We are lucky to be able to stay in the Indian Waters RV Resort in Indio till the end of the year.   The Palm Springs Airport is only a half hour away and I was able to get Delta airlines flight to Toronto with a short layover in Salt Lake City.  This is the first time in years I actually got a free flight with my airmiles!  whoohoo.
With the misting rain we rented a car to run to the airport instead of the motorcycle plus my flight was 6 am which meant I needed to be there about 4:30 am.    Who really wants to ride in the middle of the night.

Palm Springs Airport

Palm Springs Airport is so tropical.  After you check in and clear security you walk outside under the palm trees to your gate.  You also do not have a jetway to board the plane, you walk outside on the tarmac and up a ramp to board a small jet.
Landing in Salt Lake City was snow and mountains.  Looked cold outside but I just walked to another gate which is fairly close since the airport is not huge.
Another 4 hours in the air and I landed in Toronto.  It was rush hour and getting my rental car and heading out just meant inching along in the parking lot on the 401freeway to my oldest son's family in Kitchener.

The greatest gift of all - my Aiden

A wonderful visit for a couple nights!  New grandson is so adorable,  Aiden just melts my heart.  Then off to Chatham to for a christmas night with my youngest son.  Three nights at my Mum's senior residence where I got a guest room.  Just getting used to the "inevitable".  Haha.   One night the nurses even checked on me by mistake and then apologized in the morning.  OMG; that was funny.  My last night was in London visiting my dear friend.  
The week flew by and back in Palm Springs I took Uber back to the park since I had Christmas present baggage to claim which would have made Billy have to rope and stack it on the motorcycle otherwise.  It was a very merry Christmas.

St. Andrews Residence - my dear mum and me

Do Not Order the Cream Puff

Cream Puff

Nov 27/18  Weather sunny, temp dropping to about 70, night 56.  We had some errands to run and went for a short ride into Palm Desert.  There is a New York Style Deli called Sherman's that is "amazing".  Diners, Drivein's and Dives think so too!  We were really smart when we ordered.  We shared the sandwich, which look at it, how could anyone eat a whole one???   So then we thought we were so good that Billy would get a dessert and Rosey would get a dessert.   OH BOY.  Rosey got the cream puff.  OMG.  1 cream puff is the size of 4.  Duh.   Now we had to figure out how to take it home on the Bike.  Hahahaha Rosey.

corned beef, coleslaw, on their homemade rye

1870's Gold mine town

Nov 24/2018  ...... ok we made it to the top of the mountain!  

must get dicey up here in the winter

The ride is a twisting mountainside road.  Signs warning of no vehicles over a certain length and warnings of having chains for snow.  Today was a beautiful day, we are ok.  No snow here yet but it is coming by Dec 1. 

the road to Julian

Julian is a pretty little old mining town with many B&B's, restaurants who are renowned for Julian Apple Pie, craft shops, and historic old buildings.  It was crowded today as the town is lighting the Christmas tree at 4:30 tonight.  Just dusk.  We will be long gone by then.   We slowly made our way into the main street, got parked and walked the street looking for that Apple Pie!

little mountain town of Julian was packed

Tummy full we decided to take the same route in reverse back to Indio.   It is such a great bike ride. It was definitely 15 degrees cooler up there.  We warmed back up as we came back down into Borrego Springs.  You need to have your leathers with you in the mountain ranges.  It can be so deceiving.

through the canyon

Borrego Springs

Nov 24/2018  continued....

rusty art stage coach coming into town

We enter in to the small town of Borrego Springs, just a population of about 3,500.  The town is totally surrounded by Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.  It’s the only California town that is completely surrounded by a state park, and that’s just one bullet in its list of bragging rights. It’s also an official International Dark Sky Community—the first in California—dedicated to protecting the night sky from light pollution.  If you meander down the side roads you will find supersize prehistoric and fantastical beasts lining area roads, the work of metal sculptor Ricardo Breceda.

serpent in the desert

creepy crawler

There is also a beautiful RV park here which has a golf course all around it and is very busy as the views are just so great of the mountain ranges.   We have driven through this resort before and thought it would be serene out here.... and nice motorcycle riding nearby too. 

The Springs at Borrego RV Resort

A whole other world in the Desert

Nov 24/2018  Weather 80 high, night 55.    

Salton Sea

It is the long weekend here - Thanksgiving and we are headed south along the Salton Sea and then through the Anza Borrego State Park to Borrego Springs.     Looking East you have nice vistas of the Salton Sea.  Looks nice but just don't get too close.   Stinky.  Like salt water fishy stinky.   We have on other trips walked right down to the water.   The sand is actually all tiny tiny fish bones. 

Graffiti on a shop in Salton City

Once you get to Salton City you turn west and head across the Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  About 30 miles of another world is what we saw on this Saturday ride.  

dry campers in the Anza Borrego

Thousands of trailers and motorhomes all camped out in the desert.  Everywhere riding high and low were dirt bikes and ATV's.  It was a transient city out there. 

campers everywhere...... look at their view!

We had our face masks pulled up it was so dusty.  We imagine it was even busier at the start of Thanksgiving weekend; Boys and their Toys!

there they go

Empire Polo Club

Nov 19/2018 Weather 75, night 58

Empire Polo Club

Peaking into the Gardens

Chatting in the RV park we heard that there was a neat place to eat at the Empire Polo Club.  We thought really?  Can we even get in there?  The Empire Polo Club is 330 acres of refined fields and landscaping with 12 polo fields.  This is the largest polo club in the west.  We drove in on the Harley hoping it was not to loud.  The place is stunning. 

beautiful rose gardens and sculptures

Beautifully kept grounds and the Tack Room Tavern had great food and atmosphere.  We took a walk around where it was not off limits.  While having lunch we looked at the gear hanging on the walls of the tavern and had no idea what polo was all about.    It has a mallet, a horse, a ball and sounds very expensive.    The Americans brought the sport to the USA after watching it in England.  The first game was played in 1876 in the USA.  The United States Polo Association has had its up and downs; in the 1950's it had only 56 clubs and 614 players.  The resurgence today has 4,500 players and 250 clubs across the USA, many of the players being women.  While in Palm Springs you can was a weekly match for as little as $30 a ticket.  The matches are open to the public January, February, March.  We wondered if there was practicing going on soon;  we could come and watch as we won't be in the area to see a game.  Would be cool to see though, wouldn't it?     

the Rose Gardens

What we didn't know is that this is where Coachella Music Festival/Stagecoach is held each April.  Wow; what a place to have a music festival.

main polo field

Where Two Deserts Meet

Nov 17/2018  Weather sunny with some cloud cover later in the day, high of 76, low 56.  
Tip:  There are "no" services inside the park.  None.  Fuel up your vehicle before entering the park.  Wear proper hiking boots if taking any trails and have water and food supplies and sunscreen ~ Enough for your visit.  Stop at the Ranger Station and do not loose your payment slip, when leaving the park you have to present it or pay again.

main road through Joshua National Park

Once a few years ago in springtime we were able to travel through the Joshua Tree National Park.  We remember the remarkably odd trees blooming profusely in a desert setting.  That time we entered from the north west entrance at the village of Joshua Tree.  This time we are going to reverse our driving route and enter from east entrance at Desert Center.  Often we have found that driving the opposite direction you see different views and it just looks different.  Joshua Tree National Park is the two deserts that meet, the Mojave and the Colorado.  Your thinking so its sandy and dusty and rocky and cactus.  There is so much more. 

boulders balance on top each other, and rock climbers will be making their way to the top

Valleys, canyons, Little San Bernadino Mountain Range, unusual stacked rock formations, plants, animals and a land that has been sculpted by strong winds and sometimes torrents of rain.  October experienced the damaging rains and some of the roads are still closed from being washed away or down to one lane filled with sand.

one lane closed, from rainstorms in october

Following the scenic road we turned off at the roadway climbing up to Keys View above 5000 feet.   The vantage provides a sweeping panorama that takes in two of Southern California’s biggest summits: Mount San Jacinto (elevation 10,834 feet) and Mount Gorgonio (elevation 11,502 feet). Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley frame the background, and the vast Salton Sea shimmers to the southeast. Sadly as in many areas of the world pollution has made the view hazy, it's smog clouding the valley. We could see Palm Springs, the Salton Sea, and the two high peaks.

From Keys View - the two peaks in the distance, the coachella valley below beautiful but hazy

The Keys family lived and ranched in the Mojove Desert which is now inside the park for 60 years.   Legend has it that Morman pioneers named the tree after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs of the tree as outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward.   So is it a tree?  or a cactus?  Actually neither.  It is Yucca brevifolia, a member of the Agave family.    In the northern area of the park you will be surrounded by twisted, spiky trees straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Rosey is it a tree or a cactus?

In the sky?

Nov 18/2018  Weather 79, sunny, low 60.  Another gorgeous day.  

he was so low you could hear the fellow talking

We heard there was a balloon festival in Cathedral City over the past weekend but we did not get over to it.   There is a camper we noticed in the park that might be involved he had a Balloon Chaser Van.  Not sure what that was about.  But then I was just getting ready for my walk when I said to Billy " Look up in the sky".  Holy crap.  The balloon was so low we thought he was going to land right in the park.  He was waving at people and talking.  Then all of a sudden he gave the rope a few yanks, and the fire roared and he was way up in the sky!

and in about a minute he gave a few yanks and was way up in the air