TRAVELING TO THE CHRISTMAS TREES

BY NOW IT WAS THE 7TH OF NOVEMBER, WE HAD TO BE AT THE CHRISTMAS TREE LOT BY THE 11TH. WE HAD MILES AND MILES TO GO.....NO MORE TOURISTING. WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO FIESTA GRANDE RV RESORT IN CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA FOR ONE NIGHT'S STAY.

WE DIDN'T DRIVE LONG AND WE WERE IN ARIZONA!!

NEAR TUSCON, WE DROVE BY THE TURNOFF FOR SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK,  I WISH WE HAD TIME TO STOP!

THIS IS WHERE THE SAGUARO CACTI  GROW.

I REMEMBER READING ABOUT THIS.

WE STOPPED FOR GAS IN QUARTZITE ARIZONA.

THIS IS THE PLACE I'VE READ ABOUT ALSO WHERE A LOT OF RVERS GO FOR THE WINTER MONTHS AND JUST PARK IN THE DESERT FREE.... WITH NO HOOKUPS......NOT FOR ME!!

FIESTA  GRANDE RV PARK  WAS NICE, THEY HAD A DOG PARK AND A HOT TUB.

WE LEFT BY 8:00 THE NEXT MORNING HEADING  FOR DEMING, NEW MEXICO.

PRETTY UNEVENTFUL STAY...THE RV PARK WAS OK.

WE GOT AN EVEN EARLIER START THE NEXT MORNING.....7:30  WE WERE GETTING GOOD AT THIS!  WE WOULD BE BACK  IN TEXAS TODAY!

WE WERE IN FORT STOCKTON BY 4:00, WE WERE TIRED. IT HAD BEEN ANOTHER LONG DAY OF DRIVING. WE HAVE BEEN PUTTING IN SOME PRETTY LONG HOURS  OF DRIVING AND MAGGIE AND MARLEE HAVE BEEN GREAT!!

THIS ROAD RUNNER WAS READY FOR CHRISTMAS!! BRING IT ON!!

  WE  FOUND  THE   RV PARK THAT WE STAYED AT  ON  OUR WAY TO WASHINGTON IN THE SPRING.   MAGGIE AND MARLEE DO NOT LIKE THIS RV PARK,  THERE ARE BURR STICKERS IN THE GRASS THAT GET IN THEIR FEET. THEY REFUSE TO WALK IN THE GRASS.  IT'S A SMALL TOWN AND  THERE AREN'T MANY TO CHOOSE FROM. THIS WOULD BE OUR LAST NIGHT ON THE ROAD, TOMORROW WE WOULD BE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AS WE GOT CLOSER TO SAN ANTONIO, WE NOTICED HOW GREEN AND TALL THE GRASS WAS. IN THE THREE YEARS WE HAVE BEEN COMING TO TEXAS, WE HAD NEVER SEEN THE GRASS THIS GREEN OR THIS TALL.

WE HAD DECIDED TO STAY ONE NIGHT AT STONE CREEK RV RESORT, BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE NO UTILITIES AT THE CHRISTMAS TREE LOT. WE DROVE RIGHT PAST OUR EXIT TO 7040 NORTH LOOP 1604 EAST.

WE HAD A LOVELY RV SPOT AT STONE CREEK RV RESORT, WE HAD STAYED HERE BEFORE AND I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A NICE SPOT. IT WAS!!

WE WENT OVER AND SOAKED IN THE HOT TUB THAT EVENING.

LEAVING AGOURA HILLS

TODAY WE ONLY HAD TO DRIVE 145 MILES, WE HAD RESERVATIONS TO STAY AT CALIENTE SPRINGS IN DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA. WE DIDN'T LEAVE UNTIL AFTER 10:00, WE HAD BEEN WARNED ABOUT THE  TRAFFIC TO LOS ANGELES.

WE WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO STAYING AT CALIENTE SPRINGS A COUPLE OF DAYS, THEY HAD NATURAL HOT SPRINGS WITH TWO SWIMMING POOLS AND FOUR  HOT TUBS.

ONE LAST LOOK AT THE PUMPKIN LOT.....FROM 101

AND WE WERE ON THE ROAD AGAIN!!

LOTS OF TRAFFIC!

I DON'T KNOW HOW THE FOLKS DEAL WITH THIS TRAFFIC EVERYDAY. IT DIDN'T SEEM TO BOTHER DARRELL, BUT ALL THIS TRAFFIC MADE ME NERVOUS!

THE WHOLE DRIVE WAS PRETTY MUCH LIKE THIS!

AS WE GOT CLOSER TO PALM SPRINGS WE SAW ALL THESE WIND TOWERS.....

ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS AT THE PUMPKIN LOT TOLD US THAT THE SANTA ANNA WINDS WERE WORSE OVER THIS WAY.  THANKFULLY,  THEY  WEREN'T TOO BAD
 TODAY.

WE MADE PRETTY GOOD TIME DESPITE THE TRAFFIC! I FELT LIKE WE HAD TRAVELED ALL DAY THOUGH!!

WE WENT IN AND REGISTERED AND GOT OUR ASSIGNED LOT. IT  WAS A BACK-IN, WE PREFERRED PULL-THRU SITES, BUT NONE WERE AVAILABLE. AS HARD AS DARRELL TRIED, WE WERE TOO BIG TO FIT IN THAT SITE. WE CALLED THE OFFICE AND SHE SAID, WELL, JUST WALK AROUND AND SEE WHICH ONE YOU THINK  YOU  CAN FIT IN.  DARRELL FOUND ONE HE THOUGHT HE COULD GET IN.   IT WAS VERY TIGHT ALSO,  BUT AFTER SOME PRETTY AWESOME DRIVING WE WERE IN AND WE WERE EXHAUSTED!! THIS "EASY DAY" HAD TURNED INTO A NIGHTMARE AND WILL GO DOWN AS "THE WORST TRAVEL DAY" SO FAR, SINCE WE LEFT SOUTH DAKOTA.

IT WAS AN OK LOT, BUT WITH THE PALM TREE AND  HAVING TO DRIVE OVER THE CURB, IT WAS VERY HARD! WE HOPED IT WOULD BE WORTH IT, WE WOULD ONLY BE HERE TWO DAYS, AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE DAYS AND IT WAS ABOUT GONE. WE RESTED A LITTLE, HAD A BITE TO EAT AND HEADED OVER TO THE HOT SPRINGS.....OH, YES, IT HAD BEEN WORTH IT!! ...... AHHH............ WE SOAKED AWAY A DAY OF STRESS!!

CALIENTE SPRINGS WAS CLOSER TO DESERT PALM SPRINGS THAN PALM SPRINGS, THE NEXT MORNING WE HEADED TO PALM SPRINGS.

WE  HAD  A GREAT BREAKFAST AT ELMER'S AND OF ALL THINGS.... THERE  WAS    A RAPID CITY CAR IN THE PARKING LOT....JUST CAN'T GET OVER WHAT A SMALL WORLD IT IS!!  FOUND OUR WALMART AND THEY HAD HAZELNUT COFFEE,  I RAN OUT IN AGOURA HILLS AND COULD NOT FIND IT ANYWHERE!!  PALM SPRINGS IS A BEAUTIFUL CITY WITH ALL THESE PALM TREE LINED STREETS.

 WITH   STREETS NAMED AFTER MOVIE STARS.

AND PRESIDENTS.....

AFTER TAKING CARE OF A FEW CHORES, WE WENT BACK FOR MORE
SOAKING!!

BEFORE WE LEFT THE NEXT MORNING, I HAD  PLANNED ON TAKING  MAGGIE AND MARLEE FOR A LONG WALK.

AFTER SEEING THIS SIGN, I DECIDED A SHORT WALK IN THE RV PARK WOULD DO JUST FINE.

DESERT WILDERNESS???? WILD ANIMALS???

WHERE WERE WE????

WE LEFT AT 8:30, WE WERE GETTING GOOD AT GETTING ON THE ROAD EARLY!

THE PUMPKIN PATCH

OUR CUSTOMERS WERE SOME OF THE NICEST PEOPLE!!

AS IT GOT CLOSER TO HALLOWEEN, THE KIDS STARTED DRESSING UP TO COME TO OUR PUMPKIN PATCH! THESE TWO LITTLE GIRLS CAME IN AND OUR PAINTED PUMPKINS MATCHED THEIR COSTUMES PERFECTLY!!

AND THEN ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS ASKED FOR OUR EMAIL ADDRESS, SHE HAD A CUTE PICTURE TO SEND US.......

OF COURSE, WE HAD TO SET UP OUR VERY OWN  PHOTO OPP.......

DOUG GAVE US EACH A "BENNETT'S BEST PUMPKIN" SHIRT.  ONE DAY HE STOPPED BY AND APOLOGIZED FOR NOT SPENDING MORE TIME WITH US....BUT, HE SAID WE WERE "EASY". HE IS VERY HAPPY WITH  THE JOB WE HAVE DONE AND WANTS TO TALK US INTO COMING BACK NEXT YEAR  AND DOING  PUMPKINS  AND CHRISTMAS TREES. HE THINKS HE WILL HAVE SOME CHRISTMAS TREE LOTS OPENING UP.
THE LAST FEW DAYS DOUG SAID WE COULD START DISCOUNTING PUMPKINS. WE WERE SELLING QUITE A FEW, BUT WE HAD A LOT OF PUMPKINS LEFT.

ON THE 29TH  GREG CAME TO WEIGH THE BIG MAC.

IT WEIGHED 114.8 POUNDS!!! WE HAD AN OVERFLOWING BOX WITH ENTRIES AND TWO OF OUR CUSTOMERS GUESSED THE EXACT WEIGHT.  THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER DRAWING ALONG WITH ANY OF THE OTHER LOTS EXACT WEIGHT GUESSES AND ONE WINNER WOULD BE PICKED.
ON HALLOWEEN DAY, WE SOLD THESE TWO BIG MACS FOR  $20  EACH. THIS YOUNG MAN WAS TICKLED.  THEY USUALLY SOLD FROM $65 TO $80.

ON NOVEMBER 1, THE PUMPKINS WENT TO $1 EACH.

THIS MAN COMES EVERY YEAR AND BUYS AS MANY AS HE CAN PUT IN HIS VAN FOR $50.

WE WOULD BE OPEN ONE MORE DAY, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2. IT WAS PRETTY SLOW, DOUG SAID WE COULD CLOSE EARLY, WE CLOSED AT 6:00.
DARRELL STARTED PACKING EVERYTHING UP ON SUNDAY MORNING. I WENT TO THE LAUNDROMAT AND  WASHED CLOTHES,  AND  THEN  TO BRUGGERS FOR MY LAST PUMPKIN BAGEL. WE FOUND A GREAT CLIPS NEARBY,  DARRELL WAS IN NEED OF A HAIRCUT,  AND MAGGIE AND MARLEE NEEDED  DOG FOOD. DOUG CALLED,  HE WANTS TO TAKE US OUT FOR DINNER BEFORE WE LEAVE. WE MADE PLANS FOR MONDAY NIGHT AT THE WOOD RANCH.
DURING THE DAY MONDAY,  WE WERE GOING TO MALIBU BEACH!! IT WAS ONLY 12 MILES FROM AGOURA HILLS.

WE HAD TO GO THROUGH THIS TUNNEL TO GET THERE.

A VINEYARD  ON THIS HILLSIDE!

THERE ARE MILES OF  VOLLEYBALL NETS SET UP ON THE BEACHES. 

WE TOOK MAGGIE AND MARLEE WITH US, WE WANTED TO WALK ON THE BEACH WITH THEM.

WE WERE SURPRISED THERE WEREN'T A LOT OF PEOPLE THERE.

WE WERE HAVING A GREAT TIME.......... UNTIL.........A LIFEGUARD STOPPED AND TOLD US THAT YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE YOUR DOGS ON  L.A. COUNTY BEACHES.  BUMMER!!  THERE WERE NO SIGNS POSTED, BUT WE HIT THE PAVEMENT.

TO GET BACK TO THE TRUCK WE HAD TO CHEAT A LITTLE BIT.............

WE WERE QUICK!! WE DID NOT WANT TO GET A TICKET!

WE DROVE ALL OF MALIBU BEACH TO SANTA MONICA.

I CAN SEE WHY THE "STARS" LIVE HERE!!!

THE CREW CAME TO TAKE AWAY THE PUMPKINS LATER IN THE DAY....IT WAS KIND OF SAD!

THEY HAD A HUGE TRUCK LOAD!!

THEY PUT AWAY THE BOUNCY CASTLES AND PUT UP THE FLAPS ON THE SIDES OF THE TENTS  IN PREPARATION FOR THE UPCOMING CHRISTMAS TREE SALES.

THAT EVENING WE HAD A LOVELY DINNER.

 THE BARBEQUE WAS DELICIOUS. GREG AND GERRI WERE THERE ALONG WITH TWO OTHER PUMPKIN LOT MANAGERS.  DOUG AND DEIDRA  MADE IT CLEAR THEY WANT US BACK  NEXT YEAR.  WE TOLD THEM IT DEPENDED ON WHERE WE ENDED UP  FOR THE SUMMER, BUT WE WOULD KEEP IN TOUCH. THEY WERE WONDERFUL TO WORK FOR, THEY TREATED US LIKE FAMILY. WE REALLY  ENJOYED WORKING THE PUMPKINS!!! AGAIN, WE HAD MET SOME WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND HAD MADE A LITTLE MONEY.

BUT, WE WERE ON THE ROAD AGAIN, HEADED FOR SAN ANTONIO AND THE CHRISTMAS TREES!!