We  started our last day at Casa Grande RV Resort with a free waffle breakfast at the clubhouse yesterday. We sat at a table with a couple from Camano Island, Washington. I asked them if they knew Ed and Martha King who also live there. They didn’t know them, but they were surprised that I knew where Camano Island is.

After breakfast, I loaded the trailer. I did the usual dump and flush of the tanks and we took our time getting ready for the road. We said our goodbyes to Bill and Cris Filby from Stanwood, Michigan who stopped over to wish us safe travels. Gayle Devall from Ontario also stopped by to say goodbye. We always meet the nicest people as we travel. We drove out of the park at 11am.

I headed south on Pinal Avenue (AZ387) figuring it would intersect with I-8. I followed a sign directing me west on AZ84 (also called the Gila Bend Highway). This turned out to be a better route than jumping straight on I-8. We drove west through farmland. Several miles later, the road curved to the southwest at the junction with AZ347. That’s when I realized what road we were on. We’ve traveled down AZ347 from the Wildhorse Pass Casino before when we rode our motorcycles from Mesa to San Diego. This was a good route – a few miles later we were on I-8 westbound.

Our first stop was at 12:30pm at Gila Bend. I remembered a Subway sandwich shop at a big truck stop there. The truck stop had ample parking, so getting in and out was easy. We found out that they also have a small RV park in back with full hook-ups. Our next stop was another 40 miles down the road. We stopped at Dateland. Dateland is a small community at exit 67 with a specialty shop selling – wait for it – dates! We parked across the street in an abandoned gas station and walked over for date shakes. These are one of Donna’s favorite treats. Donna also bought a few items in the shop to use as gifts later.

We continued on to Yuma where I stopped again at Fortuna Road to top off our fuel tank at the Pilot/Flying J station. I wanted to have the tank full of fuel when we entered California. Fuel is more expensive in California. We took on 35 gallons of fuel at $2.50/gallon. We drove a couple of miles to Walmart from there to stock up on groceries. The Walmart lot had a number of trees with low branches. I had no choice in a few spots but to drive through them. I was not happy about that!

After we crossed the California border, we had to go through an inspection station. We stopped at the kiosk and the Border Patrol agent asked if we had fresh fruit on board. Since the grapefruits and lemons we had were at least a week old, I didn’t consider them fresh and answered, “No.” He waved us through. It was 4:30pm by then. Our stops along the way had slowed our progress, but it was all right. I didn’t want to stop for the day in the heat of the afternoon anyway. I had the generator running and roof air conditioners on since leaving Walmart. It was 91 degrees outside.

We found our way to our favorite boondocking spot near the Imperial Sand Dune Recreation Area. The area we’re in is actually called the Picacho Recreation Area. It’s BLM land and you can dry camp for up to 14 days with no fee. We’ve stayed here twice before.

The last time we stayed here, I posted about the rock garden in the desert. We found the rock garden and the site was empty. We only saw two rigs in the area and the rock garden was more than a quarter of mile away from them. We set up quickly and enjoyed a cocktail outside in the shade.

Happy hour in the desert

Donna asked for something she hasn’t had in a quite a while. I mixed one part fresh squeezed lemon juice with two parts vodka and a dash of cayenne pepper in a shaker over ice. I shook it vigorously and served it in a martini glass. This drink is called a Holland Razor Blade. I made my usual vodka martini, shaken not stirred, garnished with a tomolive.

Donna enjoying a Holland Razor Blade in the shade

We relaxed and took in the view. Despite the temperature, we were quite comfortable thanks to the dry air and a light breeze.

View to the east from our site

We sat outside until dark and looked at the starry sky. There was more light at the Imperial Dunes area than I expected.

Desert sunset last night

This morning I was up early. We had a very windy night – it interrupted my sleep several times as it shook the coach. I’m sure it will catch up with me later, but at 6:30am I was wide awake and decided to get out of bed.

Our site shortly after sunrise

Today we’ll get back on I-8 westbound and drive to El Centro where we’ll turn north on CA111. We have about 200 miles ahead of us before we reach Hemet.