RVing and Travels...Adventures with Suzanne and Brad

Exploring the Apache Trail near Apache Junction, Arizona

2012-02-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

We drove the popular Apache Trail (US Highway 88) this weekend. The Apache Trail once served as the stage coach and freight route from Mesa to Globe. Today this route will take you past several old historic western attractions and sites, lakes, and through the Tonto National Forest and part of the Superstition Mountain range.

Our first stop was the Superstition Mountain Museum. It consisted of a replica of an old western town which you can walk around and explore, as well as the actual museum. We wondered around the old town area (not the museum) and learned the barn and church are the only buildings left from the original Apacheland Movie Ranch and were moved to this location a few years ago. Apacheland Movie Ranch was the original movie set for many of the 60s television and movie westerns. Elvis Presley even filmed the 1969 movie "Charro!"

In the barn there are pictures of all the actors that filmed on location. For us this was the most interesting aspect of this attraction…that and taking a picture of Suzanne riding in the stage coach.

As we continued along the Apache Trail, we passed the Goldfield Ghost Town (a touristy ghost town) and Lost Dutchman State Park. At this point the terrain started getting much more interesting with giant saguaro cacti everywhere, multi colored rock canyons, and beautiful rock mountain formations on both sides of the road. There are several trailhead parking areas and viewpoints to stop and take photos. However, and this is a big negative, the beautiful views are obstructed by large power lines that follow the road until you are past Canyon Lake. This will drive you crazy because getting a photo of this amazing landscape without power lines was difficult. You will need to hike past these lines to get the best shots.

Next on the route is Canyon Lake. This is the smallest of the four lakes formed by damning the Salt River. It is a beautiful lake in the bottom of a deep canyon. Sheer rock walls form several of the sides. It was speculator to see with saguaro cactus growing along the lake’s shore. (But the darn power lines got in the way again.) Being from the Pacific Northwest, we found this very interesting to see. Canyon Lake has a marina, restaurant and a campground along the grassy shoreline. It also is the home of the Dolly Steamboat which tours the lake. This seemed like the big attraction. We didn’t take the tour but can image it being pretty spectacular. We’ll definitely come back and kayak this lake, so stay tuned for that adventure!

We continued our journey until we reached the famous Tortilla Flats, which is 18 miles from Apache Junction. Tortilla Flats started as a stage coach stop in 1904 and is now an interesting tourist destination with gift shops, live country music, live shootouts and a very unique restaurant that has US dollar bills and other foreign currency stapled to the walls like wallpaper. They even have real saddles as bar stools - is there a drink that can prevent saddle sore? The food was typical bar fare (burgers, sandwiches, homemade chili and more) which was good with generous portions.

After lunch we continued on the Apache Trail for six more miles until the pavement ended. Here a dirt road continues which you can take to the other lakes and eventually to the town of Globe. We weren’t interested in traveling over this wash-board road for 22 miles, so we turned around and headed back. The scenery in this section of the Apache Trail was the most spectacular of the trip.

Week 2 of Workamping - Mesa Regal RV Resort, Mesa, Arizona

2012-02-10T17:51:00.000-08:00

Well, Week 2 has come to a close. Suzanne’s sign language classes are up-and-running ~ the class sizes range from 3 to 15 and everyone is having a good time.

Brad’s work continues to be different each day. On Monday he helped deliver items to the costume trailer. The costume trailer is a single-wide trailer filled with all sorts of costumes, hats, wigs, masks, costume jewelry, etc… All the fun stuff one would need to play dress-up!

Wednesday Brad and other workampers were asked to go to the local Habitat for Humanity where they have a store. Our boss purchased a ton of Red Lobster decorations – it seems as if the Red Lobsters in the area are remodeling their stores, they donated their decorations to Habitat for Humanity’s store, and Cal-Am (the company that owns Mesa Regal and nine other resorts) purchased the decorations. That’s where Brad & his fellow workampers came in – they went and picked-up all the decorations and stored them in another storage trailers. Guess we can expect a clam-bake themed party sometime later this season! :-)

Friday wasn’t so exciting, Brad and his co-workers basically swept some of the storage trailers and sites. However, according to the picture below, it looks like others swept while Brad took a picture!

So another week of workamping comes to a close. All of this under sunny skies in the 70’s! :-)

Nando’s Mexican Café, Mesa, Arizona

2012-02-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

We went to Nando’s for Happy Hour with our new friends Nancy & Rick and really enjoyed ourselves. Although not the least expensive happy hour (could it have been the many margarita’s we ordered??) , the food and service were both very good. The food was a very good quality (Brad had Mexican pizza, Suzanne quesadillas), and there was more than enough to bring some home for a second meal. The waitstaff was pleasant and attentive. We definitely plan to go back to Nando’s again!

Phoenix Art Museum, Mesa, Arizona

2012-02-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

We went to the Phoenix Art Museum as it was free under Bank of America’s Museums on Us program. (If you recall, we were able to go to The Living Desert using the same program.) We had a nice time and very much enjoyed the multiple exhibits, such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Organic Architecture for the 21^st Century tour,the Giorgio di Sant’ Angelo collection (the great Lena Horne wore these dresses)

and the museums own collections of American, Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, and Modern & Contemporary Art. Some of the art was questionable to us, such as this contemporary piece ~

it basically was small nails in the wall.

Yet other art was quite cool such as the Swarm of Fireflies Light Display.

If you plan to be in the area, upcoming collections are:

And the Land Grew Quiet: New Work by Matthew Moore
Marshall and Hendler Galleries
February 11 – June 10, 2012

The Sea
Ellman Fashion Design Gallery
March 3 – July 15, 2012

W. Eugene Smith
Norton Photography Gallery
March 10 – June 17, 2012

Paper!
Steele Gallery
May 26 - September 23, 2012

Hours and General Admission, as well as other FREE admission times:

Hours

Monday and Tuesday, Museum closed

Wednesday, 10am-9pm (Free admission/voluntary donation every Wednesday, 3-9pm)
Thursday-Saturday, 10am-5pm
Sunday, 12pm-5pm
First Friday of every month, 6-10pm (Free admission/voluntary donation)

General Admission
$12 adults
$10 senior citizens & fulltime college/university students w/ID
$6 children ages 6-17
Free for Museum Members & children under age 6.

Finally, check-out Brad in the painting below - who knew he could help shear a sheep!?

First Week of Workamping! Mesa Regal RV Resort, Mesa, Arizona

2012-02-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

Our first week of workamping has come to a close ~ here’s the synopsis…..

We both work Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 4 hours each day. Suzanne is teaching sign language classes and travels to six of the nine Cal-Am RV parks. This is a rather independent workamping job, and the schedule is such that she can come back to the rig for lunch or whatever between some classes. She’s met some great people who can now introduce themselves (“My name is________) , respond politely (“Nice to meet you.”) and sign a few more simple sentences.

Brad’s schedule is more compact; he works 12-4 on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. Although a schedule of what he’ll be doing comes out on Sunday evenings, it’s rather loose and what he actually does may (and did) differ. Basically, Brad works for the décor team, which moves decorations among the nine resorts – they also repair and store the decorations as needed. There’s a whole other team that actually does the decorating. So…

…on Monday Brad helped off-load a truck full of decorations, helped put-together wire shelves for more storage, and a few miscellaneous tasks.

….on Wednesday Brad helped fill 50 small containers with cement to eventually be used as flag pole holders.

---on Friday Brad helped make more shelves and did some more unloading. The park also has many old park models that is used for storage, so he helped a bit with getting one ready.

And there goes Week 1! :-) Not bad for a free campsite!

Brad’s New Adventure!

2012-01-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

Brad’s Blind & Shade Repair

RVs, Park Models and More!

Yes, that’s right. Brad’s a handy guy and is venturing into his own business, so if you know anyone in need of blind/shade restringing and they’re in our area, send ‘em our way! Prices are very reasonable, Brad will do the work in just a couple days, and he’s a nice guy to boot! :-)

Along with our own workamping, being Workamper Concierges, and Suzanne’s work with The Heritage Institute, we are keeping busy! :-)

Mesa Regal RV Resort, Mesa, Arizona

2012-01-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

One word can describe Mesa Regal RV Resort ~ small city. (Okay, those were two words). :-)

Besides over 2000 sites, here’s a list of their amenities from their website:
• Arts & Crafts
• Ballroom
• Barber & Beauty Shop/ nails
• Batting Cages
• Beauty Salon with Nail & Pedicure Tech
• Bingo
• Book and Movie Library
• Bridge & Other Cards
• Cactus Ranch House Grill
• Cal-Am Exclusive Travel Agent-Local & World Wide Travel
• Ceramics
• Computer Center w/ High-Speed Internet & Hot Spots
• Country Stores
• Craft Room
• Dance Floor and Stage
• Dinner Dances
• Educational Courses
• Entertainment Specials
• Evening Happy Hours
• Exercise Classes
• Fitness Center
• Fitness Personal Trainer
• Fitness Programs
• Geocaching
• Gift Shop
• Golf Driving Cages
• Heated Pools and Spas
• High-Speed Internet/Hot Spots
• Hiking Club
• Hot Tub
• Jewelry Making
• Laundry Facilities
• Library
• Lighted Tennis Courts
• Line Dancing
• Massage Therapy On Site
• Meeting Area
• Musical Groups
• On-site Post Office
• Pet Areas
• Pickleball
• Picnic Area
• Ping Pong
• Poolside Cactus Patio Grill for Lunch and Dinner
• Pottery/Ceramics
• Quilting & Sewing Room
• Renowned Celebrities and Entertainers
• Scrapbooking
• Shuffleboard Courts
• Softball Teams
• Square & Round Dance Lessons
• Stained Glass
• State-of-the-Art Fitness Center
• Table tennis
• Themed Events
• Travel Agent
• Weekly Dances
• Wood Carving
• Wood Shop

And this is just Mesa Regal - CalAm Properties owns nine RV resorts in the area, each with activities of their own, which are open to all the residents from any of the parks.

We’ve been here a couple days getting settled and will be here through March workamping – Brad will be working on the décor team (which is quite a lot of things, but basically do anything that is asked of him to prepare areas for activities) and Suzanne is teaching sign language classes in six different resorts owned by Cal-Am. In exchange for 12-hours of work each week, we get our site, electric, and other utilities compensated. Not bad :-)

We also plan to explore the Phoenix area while here, so stay tuned………..

Leaf Verde RV Resort, Buckeye, Arizona

2012-01-25T06:17:00.000-08:00

We stopped at Leaf Verde RV Resort on our way to Mesa where we’ll be workamping for the next two months at an RV resort. (More on our workamping in a later post.) We wanted to stop somewhere before getting to Mesa since we just spent a week in Quartzsite where we did not have any hook-ups, thus not great showers and the rig got very dusty! We didn’t want out first impression to our new boss to be one of dust, dirt and grime!

Leaf Verde RV Resort is quite nice with large pull-through sites ~ we didn’t even have to unhook. There is free WiFi (tengonet) a great laundry room, very nice bathrooms with good showers, a lounge area, book exchange, store, heated pool (to 90-degrees), basketball courts & shuffleboard courts. They have recycling, propane, a car/RV wash and couple off-least pet areas that are decent in size. There appears to be many long-term residents, and they seem to have one area where us “overnighters” stay, which is centrally located to everything. The park is clean, the roads paved, and the sites small gravel.

The staff have all been very nice and friendly as well. Definitely this is a place to stay when passing-though or perhaps to even stay a while.

Good-bye Quartzsite & The Montana Owners Club (MOC)

2012-01-24T06:59:00.000-08:00

Well, after a bit more than a week here in Quartzsite, we are on our way. We’ve enjoyed our time with our fellow Montana owners ~ happy hours, bon-fires, potluck, chit-chat, and more. We’ve made some friends, hopefully not too many enemies :-), and look forward to reconnecting with our fellow-MOC’ers as we head down the road………….

Quartzsite, Arizona ~ flea markets galore!

2012-01-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of places to spend some money while in Quartzite ~ and lots of things to buy that you didn’t know you needed until you saw it! :-) “The Show” started yesterday, that being the Sports, Vacation & RV Show, under the big tent. However, probably only one-third of the vendors were RV specific – there were a lot of other types of vendors, such as spice/dip mixes (we counted at least five, we think), exercise/health vendors (e.g. vitamins) and knick-knack stuff. And it was CROWDED! All this being said, though, it was fun.

Other places to spend some of your money ~

The Desert Gardens International Gem, Mineral Jewelry, January 1 – February 28^th
Prospector’s Panorama Gold, Gem & Mineral Show and Peddlers’ Fair, January 2^nd – February 15^th
Quartzsite Hobby, Craft & Gem Show February 1^st – 5^th
Quartzsite Rock & Roll Classic Car Show, February 4^th & 5^th
Rice Ranch Y’all Come Show, November 1^st – February 28^th
Tyson Wells Sell-A-Rama, January 20^th – 29^th
Tyson Wells Art & Craft Fair, February 3^rd – 12^th

Have fun & happy shopping!

Quartzsite, Arizona ~ fun times with the Montana group

2012-01-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

We’ve enjoyed the last few days with the Montana Owners Club as we hang in “the circle.” It’s an interesting experience – very communal and organic in many ways. For example, when someone is making a dump run (for trash), s/he just pulls the truck into circle center and everyone tossed their trash bags into the back and the one (or two) person(s) brings all the trash to the dump. Need more water, then feel free to borrow anyone’s water bladder & pump. Have questions about someone’s modifications to their rig – just ask ~ everyone’s open and willing to talk and share. There’s usually a bunch of people hanging out and beading or reading, one guy plays his guitar………..

There are some activities planned, such as a trip to Algadones, Mexico, Desert Bar one day, and the daily 4:30 happy hours. A dealer from Fresno, California even brought six 2012 Montanas earlier this week for a day for the group to check-out and have our own mini RV show. Yummy pizza followed!

Still planning a few more days here – still have to go into Quartzsite for “The Show” sometime and buy things we didn’t know we needed! :-)

Quartzsite, Arizona

2012-01-17T05:04:00.000-08:00

We are staying with 66 other Montana Fifth Wheel owners on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land for about a week as we enjoy the many offerings of Quartzsite, most specifically the “show” that starts on Saturday. The “show” is the RV show that comes every year, which brings with it many RV’ers to the area about the same time. Along with the RV show, there are many, many flea markets in the area in which to spend some money.

The Montana Owners Club (MOC) is pretty laid-back ~ happy hours and bon fires every night, as well as a few presentations – we’ll even be doing a presentation on Workamper News on Thursday at 2pm, so come on by if you’re in the area!

Good-bye to the Coachella Valley, California

2012-01-16T05:46:00.000-08:00

The title says it all ~ we are leaving the Coachella Valley this morning and heading to Quartzsite, Arizona to enjoy all that Quartzite has to offer this time of year. We updated our online photos from where we were here a few years ago ~ click here and enjoy! (Scroll down until you see the Coachella Valley album.)

The Palms Springs International Film Festival, Palm Springs, California

2012-01-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

One reason we wanted to stay in the area for the first part of January was to see some of the films presented at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Now, we’re not what we would call “film festival” people nor “foreign film” people, but we wanted to give it a try.

It’s a log process to get tickets (which you can read about online if you’re interested in going next year), but basically we purchased a package of 6-tickets and save a few bucks (which gave us three films to go to together), then added one more film we liked. The films range from documentaries to serious drama to comedy to gay/lesbian issues to almost anything. We tried to keep to lighthearted films, those we did not think we could later find on DVD, and those which, obviously, interested us. We also decided to just see a few films, since in case we didn’t like the experience, we weren’t committed to many films (thus less time and money wasted).

So here is our experience in a nutshell – really, really enjoyed it! We enjoyed the films, enjoyed chatting with people in line about what they’ve seen/will see, enjoyed the aspect that in three of our four films either the director(s) or actor(s) were there for a question/answer session after, and enjoyed the exposure to something we’ve never considered before. In fact, we talked about if we were in this area next year we’d see more films – perhaps even come just for the festival (or find international film festivals as we travel). We were surprised by the number of films people saw in just one week – many people saw 2, 3, even 4 films a day! We saw one film a day, expect one day we did see two films, which worked out just fine.

So all-in-all, a great experience and one we recommend to anyone in the Palm Springs area next January.

In case you’re interested, we saw:

SuperClasico – A Danish comedy about a man who follows his estranged wife to Argentina. We really enjoyed this film and it was quite funny.
Café de Flore – A French Canadian drama about two love stories that intertwine – one set in current-day Montreal and one set in 1960’s France. This film was good.
First Position – A US documentary about ballet dancers as they prepare for the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix competition. This was excellent!
Happy, Happy – A Norwegian comedy about two neighboring families in northern Norway. This was good, although much of the comedy escaped us.

The Living Desert, Palm Desert, California

2012-01-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

The Living Desert is more than a zoo, it is also a nature preserve and has miles of hiking trails. We went to day to enjoy the exhibits ~ both flora and fauna.

The Living Desert is separated into an Africa exhibit and North America exhibit, and we started with the Africa exhibit so we could enjoy the 10am giraffe feeding. We assumed that this to mean we watched the giraffes being fed by the keepers.

Nope, people were given small pieces of fruit (apples, bananas) and vegetables (carrots, corn cobs) as well as leafy greens to feed the giraffes. The was sort of fun and we both got a bit slimed by a giraffe tongue – didn’t expect that when we woke-up this morning!

Along with the giraffes as part of the Africa exhibits, we saw ostriches (who live with the giraffes), camels, zebras, a couple cheetahs, gazelles and wild dogs.

We then ventured north (both literally and figuratively) to the North America exhibit where we really enjoyed the Mexican wolves (thus the many pictures, and these were culled from the numerous shots we, well, Suzanne, took), bighorn sheep, and jaguar.

Throughout the Living Desert are dozens of gardens showcasing plants of the area ~ these ranged from Madagascar, East Africa, Baja, Chihuahuan, and Mojave. Along with these gardens were areas established for specific species, such as the butterfly gardens and native bee garden.

A favorite exhibit of many visitors is a G-scale model train exhibit, which although we’re not “model train people,” this was quite interesting – they even had little people figures working on the railroad!

We had lunch at the Coyote Café which was surprisingly good, although not surprising, expensive. Since you are allowed to bring your own food, we would do that next time.

One rather cool exhibit was the Living Desert Hospital which is open to the public and exhibits animals in recovery (there were two desert tortoises there today) as well as the surgery rooms. According to the docent, surgery is generally performed on Wednesdays, and visitors on those days are welcome to watch.

The Living Desert is open every day October 1 to May 31, 9am to 5pm & open every day June 1 to September 30, 8am to 1:30pm.

Admission prices are: General: $14.25; Seniors (62+)/Military/AAA: $12.75; Children (3-12): $7.75;
Children <3: Free

However, if you have a Bank of America card, then you can take advantage of their FREE admission on the first weekend of every month to certain museums throughout the nation, which is what we did! Here’s the link for those of you with bank of America accounts: Museums on Us.
Quite honestly, we probably would not have gone if it wasn’t free, but we did enjoy ourselves and had a good time. Plan about 3-4 hours to see everything, especially if you want to take-in a tour, show, or feeding. Be sure to go first thing in the morning, since that’s when the animals are most active.

Enjoying The Artwalk on El Paseo Street, Palm Desert, California

2012-01-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

El Paseo is a beautiful palm lined boulevard of upscale shops and art galleries. From November to May on the first Thursday of each month, the art galleries stay open from 5:00pm to 9:00pm (all the other shops close at 5:00pm). There are 12-15 galleries total that make up the Artwalk on both sides of the five block boulevard. Most galleries offered wine, water and some yummy bake goods or snacks as a nice reception to the art walkers.

The art ranged from wonderful sculptures, paintings, wood pieces and anything else imaginable (and many items unimaginable). A few galleries hosted an in-gallery artist for a meet and greet as well as live painting demonstrations.

The evening weather was great which made admiring an interesting wide range of art a wonderful night out. It took us less than two hours to see all the galleries that were open. As a bonus to the night, the “people watching” was interesting too. You might see a few very high end cars parked on the street as well.

The El Paseo street can be found one block south of Highway 111 in Palm Desert.

Tip: If you are interested in seeing all the other shops, go a few hours before 5:00pm and walk the boulevard, then have an early dinner while the galleries get setup for the art walkers.

Catalina Spa & RV Resort, Desert Hot Springs, California

2012-01-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

We are back at Catalina Spa & RV Resort for a couple weeks after spending a month at the Sands RV & Golf Resort. We enjoy it here and it was nice to come back and see the friendly faces we left a month ago. One of our favorite things here are the naturally-spring fed very warm pools ~ nothing like floating in a warm swimming pool at night, looking up at the clear sky with the stars and moon!

A word about out first month-long stay (again, at the Sands) ~ we really enjoyed it! We met tons of very friendly people, enjoyed games, hiking, and yoga. It was a good experience, and we definitely will spend longer times at some parks as our travels continue.

The Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, California

2012-01-02T05:16:00.000-08:00

The Palm Springs Art Museum is a lovely museum with some permanent collections, such as a selection of Modern and Contemporary Works, Contemporary Glass, Video Projects and Western and Native American Art. Other collections are changed every few months, such as the Blast from the Past, 60’s & 70;s Geometric Abstractions (which ended on December 23^rd) and the Andrew Wyeth in Perspective which is still showing, until January 22^nd. We were quite excited to see the Andrew Wyeth collection, so we went there on Thursday at 4pm, since the museum is FREE (sponsored by the City of Palm Springs) on Thursday, 4pm – 8pm. The collection was quite nice, and showed a variety of mediums, from watercolors to pencil sketches.

Along with enjoying all of the collections at the museum, there was the occasional “interesting” piece of art, such as this ~ do you know which, if any, of the people are real?

And this – which “trash bag art” is from the museum? Which is not?

Along with the Andrew Wyeth collection, Night and Day: The Paintings of Lockwood de Forest was presented, and will be there until April 8th. Other upcoming showings:
• Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pools in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982, January 21st – May 27th
• Michael Petry: The Touch of the Oracle, March 17th – July 29th.

The Palm Springs Art Museum hours are:
• Closed Mondays and major holidays (2012 holiday closure dates include: January 1, January 16, February 20, May 28, July 4 and September 3)
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Thursday 12 pm - 8 pm; 4-8 p.m. free admission sponsored by the City of Palm Springs
• Store, box office, and cafe open during Museum Hours
Prices are as follows:
• Free to members, and youths 12 and under
• $12.50 adults
• $10.50 seniors 62 and over
• $5.00 for students
• FREE for active duty military personnel and their families with I.D.
• Free public admission every Thursday from 4 - 8 pm during downtown Villagefest.
• FREE admission the second Sunday of every month

As the museum is free on Thursday, 4pm-8pm, it is nicely paired with a dinner out and Villagefest, which is how we enjoyed the museum three years ago when we took in an exhibit by Keith Haring.

Enjoy!!

Happy New Year 2012!!

2012-01-01T01:14:00.000-08:00

Wishing you peace & happiness in the new year!

~Suzanne & Brad

Villagefest, Palms Springs, California

2011-12-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

A Thursday evening tradition in Palm Springs is to enjoy the free Villagefest along North Palm Canyon drive. We’ve been before (read about it here) and not much has changed in the three years since we’ve been here ~

Ask A Rabbi still has a kiosk ~celebrating the second night of Hanukkah this year with a giant menorah, music and candles
Freaky “armadillo man” ~ he pretends to play his violin to a CD while an air machine blows his cape open is still here………..
the guy who spray paints “art” while using household items (tape dispenser, ruler, cardboard) to “create” is still here……..
the same produce and food stands are still here….
many of the same arts-and-craft vendors are still here……

But it’s still a fun evening out to see all the people, enjoy some food, perhaps buy a few things and walk along the street.

Definitely something to do if you’re in the Palm Springs area on a Thursday evening. Have fun!

Cabazon Outlets & Morongo Casino, Cabazon, California

2011-12-28T05:39:00.000-08:00

First We Shopped~

We were not done shopping yet, as we hadn’t “dropped,” so back to the outlet malls today ~ this time to the Cabazon Outlets, just by the Desert Hills Premium Outlets we went yesterday. A much smaller area, this outlet mall has stores such as Rockport, Le Creuset, Columbia Sportswear, and CAbi. Be sure to stop in the Customer Service office first, as you can get a free Preferred Customer Card for additional savings at the stores, such as 10% of your purchase at Columbia Sportswear or $20 off a $100 purchase at Adidas. The cool thing about the Preferred Customer Card is that you can you the same one at any of their other outlets centers, such as Citadel Outlets in CA, the Outlets at Anthem in Phoenix, AZ, or Woodburn Company Stores in Portland, OR.

Then We Ate~

After we shopped, we ate. This time at the Morongo Casino Resort – their lunch buffet. Now, we’re not big buffet people, but this buffet is $10.95 and we each got a $10 food credit for signing up for the Morongo Casino Winners Club, so it’s hard to go wrong for 95-cents! There was a vast amount of food from all over the globe ~ Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Vegetarian, American (Roast Beef/Turkey, fried chicken & mashed potatoes), salads, and tons of desserts. Needless to say, we’re full!

Did We Gamble?

No, but check this out ~ so in California casinos cannot have dice games (e.g. craps) or games with a ball (e.g. roulette). As you may recall, we like to play craps………but without dice, how does it work? Well, get this ~ the guy that sits in the middle, across from the stickman, between the two staff that manage most of the bets, has two piles of cards that come of a shoot like the ones used in Blackjack. The cards are Ace through 6, each to represent the numbers on a die. The “dealer” pulls one card from each shoot, and those are the “dice.” So if a 4 and 2 are pulled, then the point is a 6. A “hard six” is two 3-cards. Get it? Yeah, no yelling “same dice” when one flies from the table, no “S/he was a hot shooter last time.” talk among the players – none of it. It was the quietest, sublime game we saw. In case you’re wondering, roulette was played like Keno – ping-pong balls flying in a glass case and people bet on computerized boards.

Shopping at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets, Cabazon, California

2011-12-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

Desert Hills Premium Outlets is not your typical outlet mall – there are stores such as:
• Barneys
• Burberry
• Diane Von Furstenberg
• Dolce & Gabbana
• Gucci
• Prada
• Ferragamo
• Jimmy Choo
• Judith Leiber
• Movado

Along with the more “typical” outlet stores like Eddie Bauer, Nike, Harry & David and Gap.

We were here when in the area three years ago, and we realized that we went to the same Premium Outlets on the same day ~ the day after Christmas ~ and it was packed! (Obviously we don’t learn quickly!) :-)

If you are a shopper, this is definitely a place to go when in the area, and be sure to get your VIP Coupon Book ~ $5 of free with many affiliations such as CAA, AAA, or a coupon you can find in the Desert Hills Premium Outlet tourist brochure.