The Indians of Pala

The area around the tiny town of  Pala, California is an Indian Reservation.  Two tribes of Indians were rounded up and moved here back in the 1800s, but instead of killing each other they joined in an Indian Federation and eventually built the Pala Casino, Hotel and RV Resort.

(more than one way to get even with the White Man)

 Pala is surrounded by hills and small mountains.  There are some trees but the land is rather barren, and the small ranches do not look prosperous.

It is pleasant to be away from the big cities and heavy traffic.  The hotel and casino are the big draw and our campground is sold out for the weekend so we will be moving on.

🐎

Karen Finally Finds a Casino - (And She Loves It)

On Monday morning we packed up and headed north and deeper into southern California. We ended up about 60 miles northeast of Santee at the beautiful Pala Casino RV Resort.

We are on Indian lands.  The casino is new, huge, and busy.  The RV Resort is very new and modern with level cement lots, and well-manicured grounds.

After we got settled, a complimentary shuttle picked us up at our campsite and dropped us off at the front door of the Pala Casino.  It was comparable to the biggest Michigan Casinos in Detroit. There were many high-rolling gamblers and the casino/hotel boasted of ten restaurants inside.

It did not take Karen long to get lucky!  She hit the right slot machine and won $300!!

We spent about 1-1/2 hours inside, then caught the shuttle back to the campground with plenty of gambling money for the next visit.  

Wish her Luck!

💲

Super Bowl Sunday

Santee is about 20 miles northeast of San Diego and we chose it because it has a nearby commuter rail station for travel into the city as well as a top-rated campground.  We spent Sunday, February 4,  close to our camp at Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve.  It gave us time to explore the preserve on our bikes, as well as find a nearby grocery store for supplies.

The preserve has five small lakes, seven cabins for rent (above) , 300 campsites. and 

(as you see above), there are three "floating cabins" to rent, as well.

 This sign near our trash dumpster, made Bill nervous when he took out the trash.

It also made us walk carefully at night.

The preserve has a free public park,  Fishing is very popular here and this small island is a good place for kids to throw in a line.

The temperature has hit the mid 80's the last two days so we got to try out our electric awning and air conditioner on the new trailer.  They both worked well as the Eagles beat the Patriots.

🏈🏆

A Second Day Of Sightseeing in San Diego

On Saturday morning we again got on the train in Santee, CA for about an hour ride into the heart of San Diego.  This area is called the Gaslamp Quarter and is very close to the Bay.

A Short walk led us to the USS Midway Museum.

We picked up our headphones and followed a audio walking tour of this gigantic retired Navy ship.

Above is one of the control rooms where radar was monitored.

For 10 years the Midway was the largest ship in the world. It served from WWII to Desert Storm before being sold to the City of San Diego for a floating museum.

Needless to say, it was fun to explore.  There were retired seamen on board, who had served on the ship, ready to  answer questions.

Almost next door we were surprised to see this Navy ship.

Here is a clip from the internet about the activity we saw going on nearby.

"The U.S. Navy on Saturday commissioned its newest warship, the USS Omaha, a futuristic, $440 million vessel named for the Nebraska hometown of billionaire Warren Buffett, who was on hand for the ceremony."

We found this modern battleship to be fascinating, but Warren did not come out to greet us.

We did not have a special pass to get close.

We also visited the Maritime Museum which is a collection of 10 old vessels that a visitor can board and walk through.  Above is a Russian submarine.

This old luxury yacht from the early 1900's was more to Karen's liking.

We had a fine day of sightseeing, and a good lunch along the San Diego Bay before riding the train back to Santee and our campground. 

As usual out here, the weather was beautiful.

⛴

We Visit The San Diego Zoo

On Friday morning we took the commuter train from Santee, California, where we are camped, into San Diego to spend the day at the zoo.

The zoo covers 80 acres and has more than 3,700 animals.  It is one of the largest zoos in the World.

The San Diego Zoo has one of the only hospitals in the World that specializes in the care and treatment of elephants.  The Zoo is active in 40 countries trying to help endangered species.

The Zoo offers narrated bus tours as well as an areal tramway.  We did both.

This magnificent Jaguar is an example of the animals on display.

This  guy tried to tell us that it was Hump Day but we told him that was on Wednesday.

Ha Ha.

Karen liked this statue of a real Mammoth. 

We loved the Zoo.  Besides the animals, the grounds are landscaped with more than 700,000 plants representing 6,500 plant species.  It was the best zoo either of us have ever visited.

🐅🐊🌳🌺

Footnote Puzzle:
How could we spent all of February 2 at a zoo this size and never see one Groundhog?
🐀

A Moon Eclipse and A Trip Through the Desert

Here is proof that we did get an eclipse of the moon in the western part of the U.S. on Wednesday night.

Bill got up to take this picture about 4:30 AM.

On Thursday morning, Feb. 1, we hooked up and headed into California.  Most of the drive was through flat, dry and desolate landscapes like the picture above shows.

However...

...as we got closer to the San Diego area we did drive up and over some  small mountains and large hills with impressive boulders.

We saw roadside signs warning of Bighorn Sheep but all we saw were rocks.

🐐

California Here We Come

January is over and so is our month's stay at Fortuna De Oro in Yuma, Arizona.  It has been kind of like being on the Big Rock Candy Mountain where "the sun shines every day".  However, there are still new sights to see so we are taking our new Cougar Travel Trailer on the road to see how she travels. 

 We will return.

Here is one perk that our park offers residents.  This wagon is full of tables and chairs to use if you want to have a party or get-together.  They will bring it to your site and drop it off for no charge.

Our park has three busy dog exercise areas that we will miss.  This Pug was always entertaining as she would run up and down the fence barking at nothing (like Pugs do).

and finally....

This January calendar by the New Yorker Magazine kind of sums it up as to why we have enjoyed being inYuma for the month instead of in Michigan.

See you tomorrow from the Golden State.

👍