THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 4.03

WE GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS…

Before leaving Yuma, we call some friends in Las Vegas.  They have a rustic cabin near the West Rim of the Grand Canyon, and invite us to join them. 

Joshua Tree National Forest

We turn off onto the dirt road that leads up to their place, and are immediately in the  Joshua Tree National Forest; Acres of huge Joshua Trees, more impressive than Joshua Tree National Park.  A few miles outside of the national forest up we arrive at their place. Our amazing friends have trimmed brush along the road so Dave is spared some Arizona pin striping and cleared a spot for Dimples on the hillside below their cabin.

View From The Door

We originally plan to stay only a few days, but our friends convince us to stay longer.  We have cell service with data, plenty of power with our solar and generator, and they have a well and we can fill our water tank, but dumping is a problem.  Our macerator can pump uphill from our site to their septic, but our hose is ten feet too short.  We find an extension hose on-line at camping world.  It’s even on sale.  But the fastest shipping available is 7-10 days.  Our friend devises a solution, 10 feet of PVC pipe gorilla taped to the macerator hose. 

Sunset

So with our MacGyver sewer solution we ultimately spend 8 days here, hanging out with our friends and their colorful neighbors, sharing meals, watching sunsets, hiking a bit and drinking a bit (ok A LOT.) Thanks S & B for a great start to this summer!

West Rim - Grand Canyon

We also venture off the mountain a couple of times.  Drive up to the Skywalk at the Hualapai Indian Reservation but opt not to do the walk. ($75 each and no camera’s allowed… too much and no point.)  On our way back we stop at the western town.  Looks like a movie set decorated in rust and calico.  There are a few shops, a restaurant, horseback rides and Native Americans dressed like cowboys posing with Asian tourists brandishing rifles and six shooters.  On the road in there was a sign that says, “This Is A Fee Area.”  We ask and no one seems to know how much.  We’re hungry and head to the restaurant and ask them about the entry fee, they don’t know either.  So we order lunch.  Since this is the western town it’s BBQ ribs, beans and corn on the cob.   When we get back up the mountain, we check out the Skywalk Website.  Turns out the protocol here is to buy tickets at the main tent, and take a bus to three sites, including the western town, which is outside the main gate. OOPS! Shouldn’t $33 for a marginal lunch cover the price of admission to one site?

Pearce Ferry

South Cove

Lake Mead is nearby.  We head first to the Pearce Ferry Landing Park.  The boat launch here is closed because there’s no lake here anymore, just sagebrush growing where folks were swimming last summer.  At the South Cove boat ramp, the water is so low that the dock is pushed out as far as possible and only half of it is afloat.  Water levels in the lake are at historic lows.  And so the drought continues…

New Valve Stems

As we’re getting ready to leave, we notice that Dimples has a flat tire.  The leak is coming from the valve stem.  Chris uses our handy dandy portable pump to fill up the tire and we are able to get down the mountain and change the tire in a level shaded spot at a service station along the highway.  Turns out that the vibration from the remote tire sensors is wearing on the valve stems. (Probably the cause of our last flat.)  Once we get to Overton, we have all of the valve stems replaced with metal ones.  Now were ready for the wilds of Southern Utah!

THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 4.02

THE TOWN THAT CAVITIES BUILT...

Los Algodones Shopping

WEEK ONE:  Now that we have decided to take the plunge and get Chris’ dental work done in Los Algodones, BC, Mexico it’s time to choose a dentist.  Goldilocks had it easy one out of three – picking one out of over three hundred is daunting.  After hours of on-line research Chris narrows his choices down to 2 dentists.  He calls their U.S. phone numbers and makes appointments to check out the facilities and interview the dentists.

One of hundreds
of small dentists offices

Crossing the border is a piece of cake.  We park on the California side in the Quechan Indian Tribe parking lot for $6 daily and walk through a revolving gate into Mexico.  We’re initially greeted by the hawkers; “Need a Dentist? Need Glasses, Prescriptions?”  Since we already have appointments, we just smile and say “No gracias.” The downtown is so small – 4 blocks - there is no “bad’ part of town, and you would never get lost.  Coming back into the States takes a bit longer while they scan passports and check the items being brought in from Mexico.

Venus Dental
Modern and Clean

In the end Chris chooses Venus Dentistry with Dr. Krystal Sandoval (general & cosmetic dentistry) and Dr. Hector Beltran (implant specialist) because they do a full set of x-rays as part of the initial evaluation and their immaculate state of the art facility with digital imaging.

A Dental Spa…ahhh

Venus Dental looks like an upscale day spa. This is a really comfortable, immaculate office with two dentists, one dental assistant and an office clerk.  They do not overbook and each dentist usually sees only two patients a day, so they provide a lot of individual attention and no one gets rushed.  Everyone is really friendly, speaks excellent English and goes by their first name. They have lots of cold bottled water to drink and Netflix playing in the waiting and exam rooms, so we can choose a movie or two to watch while work is being
done.

State of the art technology
around the corner

WEEK TWO: Since Chris will be getting implants, Hector orders a CT scan.  This lets him see the sinus, bones and nerves that he will work around when installing the implants.  While Chris is getting scanned, I get an exam & teeth cleaning. The next day Krystal starts removing all of Chris’ caps and crowns. Some of the teeth need root canals, so they call in Endodontist, Dr. Norma Hashimoto. After each day of treatment, Chris comes home with a full set of temporary teeth.  Besides being cosmetic, these temps will help them correct the bite when the final caps and crowns are installed.  While Krystal is working on Chris, Hector replaces all of my failing silver fillings with composites.

Crystal  & Chris

WEEK THREE: Crystal finishes up prepping and stabilizing and one more visit from Norma for a final root canal. Then Hector performs a bone graft, sinus lift and installs 4 implants.  (Two more implants will be installed in 4-6 months after the bone graft heals.) It’s a soft diet for a few days while healing.  The biggest inconvenience is NO nose blowing for 4 weeks while the bone graft below the sinus heals – I have visions of living with the kid from Bad Santa LOL.

WEEK FOUR:  7 days after implants a check-up and another set of temporary teeth. Chris drops me off at the Quechan Casino on the California side of the border.  Check-up for him, small jackpots for me ;-)

The Team
L-R: Dr. Hector, Chris of the pretty smile, Daniel (Dental Asst)  & Dr. Krystal

WEEK FIVE: Final check-up (not necessary but recommended) and last set of temporary teeth that will last until we return in 4-6 months for the next phase of this process. After a dozen visits in a month Chris is happy to be out of the dental chair for awhile, but we’ll miss Krystal & Hector.

The entire process will take about a year. In the end, Chris will have a completely restored mouth for less than 1/3rd of the cost quoted in the States for caps, crowns, bridges and partial dentures.  Cost and service will most likely keep us coming back for our dental check-ups & cleaning in the future.

Los Algodones is typical of many small Mexican Towns.  Although the number one industry is dental, there are a number of optical businesses offering really inexpensive prescription lenses with one day or less turnover and Farmacias that carry name brand and generic pharmaceuticals at extremely discounted prices.

Giant Piñata anyone?

Stop at the Purple Stores

For pre or post appointment and the non-medical tourist, there are curio shops and a giant liquor store with tequila tasting. Tequila prices are excellent. Non-Mexican alcohol is the same or even a bit higher than in the US.  Quality Mexican Vanilla can be found in the Farmacias & Liquor store.  There are outdoor cafes and restaurants, no Michelin Stars, but decent food at really reasonable prices.  Los Algodones is recognized by the Unites States government as a safe community for tourists.  It has been said that it's as safe as Disneyland.

Now that this is done - time for more fun…

THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 4.01

CRISS-CROSSING-CALIFORNIA…

Soaring anyone?

After Ivanpah, we start moving north and stop in Tehachapi at the Mountain Valley RV Park.  The park is adjacent to the Mountain Valley Airport, home to the Skylark North full service glider flight school.  The exceptional lift conditions generated by the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the North, the Tehachapi Mountains to the south and the Mojave Desert to the East have produced countless spectacular and record-breaking flights.  We have a great view of the runway to watch planes towing gliders take off.

In the morning we grab breakfast at the Raven’s Nest at the airport. This is a nice little soup and sandwich place for breakfast & lunch.  We get the Dual with A Lift: a buttery croissant with grilled ham, cheese and a fried egg, served with fresh fruit.  We dine outside and watch the pilots ready their planes for today’s flights. We will definitely return here and do a glider flight or two…



Heading toward Paso Robles on Hwy 46 a big rig passes us and gives us the flat tire signal.  (Thank you trucker but… SHIT!) We immediately pullover and sure enough Dimples left rear tire is just about toast.  Chris rolls the trailer up onto a stack of leveling blocks and swaps out the flat tire with the spare and within a half hour we’re back on our way.

In Paso Robles we get a super spot at the Wine Country RV Resort.  This is part of the Sun RV Park family.  We stayed in a number of these parks on the east coast so our name is in their system.  Since we are a Sun repeat, but first time visitor to this park, we get upgraded from a cheapie spot along the highway to one of the best in the park. (Sometimes it’s fun to be us LOL.) They have a great general store stocked with lots of local vintages. (Guess what we drank for dinner?)  Also, the Eos Estate winery is within walking distance, (as in right next door) but they were closed by the time we got all situated. (We’ll save that for next time.)

NOW… it’s time for some private boon docking…

Our Own Private Watsonville

A couple of days on a ranch in Watsonville, a couple of weeks along Cow Creek in Palo Cedro and a few more days on a horse ranch in Shingle Town…

In Freedom, near Watsonville we join friends for dinner at The California Grill.  This strip mall eatery takes the farm to table movement to the next level.  Local organic farmer Dick Pexioto co-owns the restaurant with his daughter.  Dick also owns Lakeside Organic Gardens; the largest family-owned and operated solely organic vegetable grower/shipper in California. Producing over 45 commodities, they are 100% committed to being organically grown in the USA. Their meats, seafood, breads and desserts are locally sourced.  This level of quality control obviously raises expectations and this California Grill delivers as promised.

We start our meal with Organic Veggie Dippers:  Lakeside Organic Gardens organic carrots, celery, cucumber, sweet baby broccoli & watermelon radish, (a sweet and spicy radish that knocks your socks off!) Served with jalapeño aioli. For Entrees, we order the Pan Seared Scallops (cooked perfectly IMO) and the Veal Parmigiana, real comfort food with layers of cheesy-veggie-marinara goodness.



We drop off Dimples flattened tire in Santa Cruz for replacement and head over to Capitola we meet a friend for lunch at our local favorite Sushi Garden. We’ve eaten here for years and every time it’s love at first bite.  It’s rolls & miso soup for lunch. But wait…that room wasn’t here before… they have expanded since our last visit and added a Sake Bar.  WOO HOO!!!  We have plans to meet more friends for dinner… We call and tell them to meet us at the sake bar later that evening.  After lunch we pick up our new tire, do a little shopping and then return to Sushi Garden and sip sake till our friends arrive… then… lots of food… lots of drink… and a fun time for all!

Equine Bromance

HR Cattle Ranch

Lots of family time in Palo Cedro… In Shingletown, our cousins give us a tour of the area and show us a ranch with amazing rock walls.  As we take photos, the owner of the HR Cattle Ranch stops – (probably to make sure we weren’t nefarious evil doers intent on mischief.) He introduces himself and answers our questions about the walls.  The first walls were built only 10 years ago, after a tornado came through the valley and destroyed fences and the loading ramps and shoots. They were suggested by a former employee who learned the art of stacked stonewall building in prison.  The ranch is 2,000 acres fenced and cross-fenced. All of the stones have been sourced from the pastures. There is a staging site on the ranch to sort & size rocks, and hired labor continue to replace all of the barbed wire and wood fences.  The fences are long lasting, and beautiful with a bonus – every rock picked up from the pastures leaves a spot for more grass to grow to feed the cattle.

The Great Wall Of Shingletown

We cross over the Sierras into Nevada.  Friends, Family and acquaintances have continued with the “Why aren’t you going to Mexico?”  We’re beginning to question our decision to return to Southern CA for Chris’ dental work this summer. So we start some serious research… Los Algodones, across the border from Yuma seems like the best place and NOW is the time to do this before the weather gets too hot…

So we skirt down the eastern side of the Sierra’s on Hwy 395.  Stop at Kehough’s Hot Springs Campground outside of Bishop. (Nothing beats a hot mineral soak after a four-hour drive.) A quick overnight in Indio and then we land in Yuma, AZ at the Cocopah Golf RV Resort.  Let the dental adventures begin…

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THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 3.24

Springtime and everyone is back on the road…