Acton, CA - Get Out the Longjohns, It's Gonna Get Cold

Just a few last photos of our stay in Palm Springs. We hiked 5 times in our 13 days here but what did we do on the other days? We walked around the campground and around the streets outside the campground. Not too interesting since it’s a business park in back of us. But there was a Rite Aid about 4 blocks away and we had to sample the ice cream there. We were also about 6 blocks from a grocery store so sometimes we picked up a few things on our walks. (BTW, a half-gallon of milk is easy to carry if your spouse has a back pack. Ha ha.)

We saw these beautiful flowers all over the Palm Springs area. Brilliant fuchsia and they must be the City Flower.

And these flowers. Note that this one has two different colors in the petals. How does that happen?

Here’s our campsite. We’ve always loved the palm trees that line the sites. Used to be an old date palm farm but now is a campground. Of course, backing into a site is a bit trickier with the trees at each corner.

We could have stayed in Palm Springs for a good long time since there are so many hikes to take but we had to move on. Finally Saturday came and, since we had already gotten lots of the moving tasks done on Friday when we took our spin around the block in the RV, we didn’t have much to do in the morning. And, the trip was only 139 miles so we knew we didn’t have to get up at 0 dark thirty, scurry around and leave early. Nope, we got up at our usual 7:00, had a leisurely breakfast, finished readying the RV, drove out of the campground and hooked the Jeep up right out side the campground in a wide section of the road that goes past the campground. Perfect for hitching up the towed and everyone else knows this too, that’s why we pulled in back of another couple who was doing the same thing.

We headed west out of Palm Springs. Our goal was to leave Palm Springs before the wind picked up into the mid-20’s at 10:00 and get to our next campground before the rain started there, at 4:00.
Saw these cool rocks on the way.

Looks like the Joshua trees are beginning to bloom.

The trip was quite ordinary and we made it in jig time, set up and were ready for our walk through camp.

Our campground is in Acton, a small town north of Los Angeles, on the north side of the Angeles Forest. We’re at 2800’, considerably higher than Palm Springs and are a bit further north. AND the weather is about to take a turn, for the worse if you want to swim but for the better if you’re a farmer or anyone else in California. The temperatures are heading into the low 40’s and rain is predicted for 2 of the next 3 days. Actually, this is a great deal for California since they’ve been in a drought for the last few years. We can see the clouds roll in over the sides of the canyon we’re in. The train in the picture is a 4-car train that goes into Los Angeles Central Station from here. Next time we’re here.

Funny, only 2 of the 4 campgrounds we’ve been in this year in California have said anything about water use. In San Diego no one mentioned anything about water use nor were there any signs about it. Here the same thing. However, in Palm Springs and in Menifee, there were signs, posters and, when we checked in, we got an 8”x11” sheet telling us that we needed to help them conserve water. We couldn’t wash our vehicles - not even with a bucket. We were quite surprised that the other two campgrounds said nothing about water use.

Some of the campgrounds we visit in the winter in the desert Southwest sometimes seem a bit less inviting while others seem lively, full of people with a full schedule of activities. Val Vista in Mesa is one of these. On the other hand, Campland at the Bay in San Diego and Soledad Canyon in Acton where we are now just seem a bit empty with fewer people around, fewer actvities and just not as lively. They are clean, the power works perfectly, there are others around but the store hours are less, some of the buildings are not open, leaves cover the basketball court and they just seem not ready for prime time. Sometimes we wonder how they ever make it financially. But, what we’ve learned is that it is not prime time for these two campgrounds - this is the off season. The season for Mesa is winter thus it’s lively and full of people. The season for Soledad Canyon and Camplands on the Bay is summer and, though it seems quiet now, they are gearing up now for the summer onslaught. There is a Girl Scout encampment of 300 girls and leaders coming here soon.

‘The older I get, the faster I was.’
                        Anonymous