Santee Lakes “Pineapple Express”

Waking up to the orange glow in the roof vent, I knew the desert sunrise must be a beauty.  So my photography assistant, Chris, rushed outside to get me a shot.

We pointed our rig towards the Pacific Coast and smacked right into the Pineapple Express!  Being Christmas we’re thankful that it’s not the Polar Express!  According to Wikipedia…
Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and associated heavy rainfall from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location along the Pacific coast of North America. 
We navigated the Interstates, they let us past the border patrol checkpoints, and we pulled into the Santee Lakes Campground.   I knew from the website that there were 7 small lakes, but didn’t know that you could order one right outside your door!

I woke up at 3 AM wondering if we’d hydroplane.  We’re going to stay buttoned up in our trailer today, watch Christmas movies on cable and enjoy our fiber optic Christmas tree!

California Dreams- December 2010

After a long hiatus at home, we are on the road again for Winter Break!  We’ve added a new state to our list of camping spots…California!
 
We’re boondocking overnight off of American Girl Mine Rd. outside of Yuma.  We’re on our way to San Diego and then to the Anza Borrego State Park.

And it’s our 12 year anniversary today!  We asked Caleb what he was going to make for our dinner, and he said quesadillas.  Hmmm… maybe we’ll make our own.

The sky is overcast and the breeze is crisp, but it sure beats shoveling snow somewhere! 

On the Road to Home

We’re on the road to home in Arizona.  Stopped for the night at a casino RV Park in New Mexico, we are still hooked up and ready to hit the interstate in the morning.  We are Arizona bound!  We’ve been so many places this summer it’s almost hard to remember!  As of today we’ve been on the road for 2 months!  So here’s a recap of where we’ve been…

Red Canyon, Utah and Bryce National Park

Then north through Utah before heading into Wyoming for a stop at Grand Teton National Park.

Where we saw rambunctious buffalo, beautiful lakes, grand vistas, roaring waterfalls, and mama moose with her baby!
 




We continued north through Grand Teton into Yellowstone National Park for views of buffalo and babies, prismatic springs, and a junior ranger.



On to another national park!  At Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s North Unit we enjoyed more hikes, ranger programs, and watched out for the grumpy buffalo!



We kept travelling north and crossed into Canada to visit Grandma & Grandpa at the cabin on Lake of the Woods in Ontario.  Kayaking, boating, swimming, fishing, blueberry picking, tubing… so much  fun!


Then we started south again and made our way to the northern Black Hills of South Dakota to view the stunning Spearfish Canyon and look over the airplanes at the Air & Space Museum.

 

Then south into Nebraska to Chadron State Park for Caleb’s 10th birthday!  We rode horses, sat out under the shade trees, hit the bullseye at the archery center, swam in the pool and hit the trails.





We moved on to colorful Colorado before moving towards arid Arizona.

Staying at Cherry Creek State Park near Denver and then moving to Trinidad Lake State Park in the southern part of the state, we mused at the animal antics at the zoo, marveled at the wonders at the museum of nature & science and relaxed by the lakes!


Now you’re all caught up on our summer adventures!  We’ve had so much fun travelling as a family with our two German Shepherds!