We left Tucson on May 5 and headed to Quartzsite Arizona for a week. As some reading this probably no, Quartzite is a location for thousands and thousands of RV'rs to come Boondocking in January. All rides I took around town clearly show that it is organized for this, as there are many, many RV parks that look like they can accommodate hundreds or even thousands of RVs. I saw one article that suggested they have over 750,000 visitors during the festival. This is a town where population is normally about 2400! Anyway, May is not a very eventful time to be in around Quartzsite, but I took a number of rides out some of the highways, and even went all the way up to Parker, which is about 42 miles each way. It was the only Walmart superstore around, and we needed supplies! It was a warm and fun ride. The road is mostly dry flat lanes and boring, but it actually was a fun and uneventful ride. I know I took a lot of pictures, and I think a video or two made it up to YouTube, so please check those out.

We even made it to Karaoke one night in Quartzsite. It was a blast, and there were very few singers, so I think we got about six or seven songs in.

Gloria's brother Doug lives in Anaheim California, so we took off for a week in that area on May 12. There weren't any RV parks near Anaheim with space available for us, so we ended up in San Dimas, about 25 miles from Doug's home in Anaheim Hills. Since that was the beginning of the week and he had just started a brand new job, we didn't get to get together until the following Saturday, the 18th. We had a great visit, he got along great with our huge dogs, they loved him too, and with his birthday coming up in just a few weeks, we went out to a nice dinner in San Dimas at the Coco Palms Restaurant. Delicious steaks all around, and we even partook of dessert which is pretty rare for us at restaurants! I had forgotten that Albertsons was part of Safeway, and there was an Albertsons store just about 2 miles from us, so I got two of my favorite Signature brand ice cream, Java chip…! I bet I bought at least five of their 2-quart packages during our stay. Delicious way to catch up on that treat!

I rode around a lot in the San Dimas area, and please see the pictures and probably a video or two I took around there. There are some INCREDIBLE Homes on the hillsides near the RV park. The one that we could see from our RV spot at Bonelli Bluffs RV park was a phenomenal looking place in the distance. I got close to it, but the hill that it sits on is entered through a gated entry at the bottom of the hill. But please see a few pictures around there, including one that I took right as we enter the RV park, and the views of the valley and mountains in the distance were phenomenal from the RV park.

We're finding that most of the pools that exist in RV parks around here are unheated. And by around here, I mean everything since Central Texas, then all of New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The first one we encountered was in Fort Stockton, Texas, where it was about 95 outside, but the unheated pool water was so cold that we couldn't stay in it any longer than about a half minute. Or less! We went to the one in Red Bluff, California when it was about 95 outside, and that one finally felt halfway comfortable enough to stay in for a minute or two, then get out and get some glorious hot rays.

We left the Anaheim/Los Angeles area on May 19, headed for Merced California, where we would stay at the Merced River resort RV Park just outside of the small town of Delhi north of Merced. Now the weather is really starting to get warm. Of course for Central California, this is not unusual even at this time of the year. Every day we were in Merced was above 90, and riding in short sleeves and shorts was ONLY comfortable because of the moving air of riding. All stops at stoplights were uncomfortable at best! On the second day we were in the area, I wrote up to Modesto on the scooter, which I think was about 30 miles each way. It wasn't difficult to find side roads that didn't have much traffic on them so I could stay around 40 to 45 mph even though the speed limits were around 55 on most roads. Please see pictures around there and one video on May 20 out to Yosemite Lake, which is just north of Merced. Even though it has the name Yosemite Lake, it's nowhere near Yosemite national Park… Well, the national park entrance on the west side of the park is about 100 miles to the east.

We left Merced on May 27, bound for Red Bluff, California. We stayed in the Red Bluff KOA for the week that ended on June 3. We're finding that KOA parks are a great place for us to stay. They almost always have big dog parks, pools (yes, unheated), offices with real stores and merchandise, nice concrete pads to be level on in the RV, and recently nice surroundings. At decent prices. Their weekly rates typically causes to come in around $60 a night. We've seen lower than that, and even quite a bit lower than that, but we're near fairly major population areas, good weather months, major interstate highways, and don't expect bargain basement prices.

We did karaoke a couple of times near Red Bluff, went out to dinner a couple of times, and I took some rides out into the hills a couple of times. The Sacramento River goes right through the city of Red Bluff, and I would intersect it a couple of times as I road out toward the Sacramento Mountains on another 95 degree day, May 28. I got good videos out there, and number of pictures exhibit the area nicely I think. But man, their stoplights in town are nearly all four-way lights, and waiting for their change in the 95 to 100 degree sun was pretty darn uncomfortable! The Walmart was nearby again, and I got to know that route pretty well. With a regular population of only around 14,000, Red Bluff doesn't have a lot of interesting things to do other than see the scenery. We're learning that there's a serious trade-off between being near population centers that have more interesting things to do, and smaller towns that are easier to get out of and see some scenic countryside. Looking back now, I think I still prefer the smaller population areas that are easy to get out of… We've seen hundreds, even thousands of miles of country roads now, as my scooter approaches 9000 miles. Gloria's doesn't get out as much as I do, but I'm pretty pleased that I got the 150 cc bike, as I have so many more choices than the small 50cc engine that can really only comfortably go about 35 mph. I CAN go 60 and have (just once to see if I could), but I prefer 40 to 45. And to got 9,000 miles in my first year -- I'm very pleased with those many, many scenic experiences. And of course, it's great for running and getting supplies. I don't have saddlebags or an additional optional basket I could get for the back, but the storage under the seat hold nice quantity, and I've gotten pretty good at strapping on a 12 pack of Diet Coke or other similarly cumbersome larger items with bungee cords that I carry everywhere.

We left Red Bluff on June 3, 2024, and headed up to Medford Oregon. We're actually about 10 miles north of Medford near a quaint little town called Gold Hill. Again we're at KOA, Gold Hill/Medford. As usual, nice park, nice big dog park that we've been to several times already and it looks like the weather is going to treat us nice and be around 85 for the whole week we're here. It's now June 4 as I compose these words, and even though we just arrived yesterday, I've already ridden into Gold Hill for a couple of grocery supplies yesterday, and then buzzed down to Medford, just to see if I could do it without being on the nearby I-5. I could! About a 40 mile round trip. Actually needed to put on the jacket for that one, as the afternoon temps hovered right around 73 for the rest of the afternoon. But jacket and shorts were perfect for the hour and a half or so that I was out and about.