Jeanette Finally Gets To Julian

Fifteen years ago we bicycle toured Imperial Valley and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.  We were discouraged at the time from taking the infamous Banner Grade up to Julian, never mind their world famous apple pies. I think another time we might have been thwarted by snow, but today we fastened our seat-belts and drove our motor home up the steep crooked grade to Julian, and Jeanette finally got her pie! It seemed a fitting reward for yesterday's stress. We had driven from our campsite at Centennial Park across the Arizona desert to Blythe California where we stopped to do laundry. From there we traveled south planning to stop for the day at Palo Verde County Park.  However in the passing years the park has seriously degenerated, plus there is no cell service! We journeyed on to my back-up park, Wiest Lake County Park near Brawley. But to get to Brawley you have to drive through a very desolate land which includes the Algodones Dunes.  As we drove the temps began to climb reaching close to 90 degrees. For some time due to operator confusion our air condition was not working.  But we had to sweat our way on.  Eventually around 3:30 we arrived hot and tired at Wiest Lake. All buildings were locked and not a single park personnel could be found.  We settled for parking in the day-use parking lot. After dark a host showed up and told us we could not park there.  He did allow us to move to the tent camping area for the night.  At daylight we fled across the Imperial Valley and the Anza-Borrego Desert to seek the cooling temperatures of the higher elevations in the Laguna Mountains. Jeanette is shown with our pie to-go because we were too full to eat it after our spinach and feta cheese omelet.  We ate it with ice cream later in the after-noon in our campsite at William Heise County Park.  More on the park tomorrow.