Change of plans

We left Indio around 9 AM, and it was already getting warm. Traffic was lighter than we had expected, so we were humming along at a pretty good clip when the cell phone rang.

Our daughter began with, " Everything's OK right now, but. . . . ."  How fast does your brain go into overdrive with those words???

She reported the details of a house/brush fire at a house four lots south of our house.  They got it knocked down and contained so all is well in the neighborhood, but the house itself was a total loss. Three fire agencies had responded, as we're in a rural area and depend largely on the local volunteer department. Our son-in-law went out to check on the status of things, and the fire department stayed around long enough to be sure all the hotspots were out. I'm sure all the neighbors are on extra high alert now. No word yet on what caused the fire, though there was a report that an exploding propane tank helped to spread it.

We decided that with no rain in sight, high winds and lightening storms predicted, etc. it was time to go ahead and head south for home.  So, adjusting our route, we pulled into Rovers Roost, the SKP park in Casa Grande, AZ, Tuesday afternoon. As we exited the freeway we watched the approach of a huge middle east-style dust storm. In the middle-east it's called a haboob (the wikipedia article does a good job of explaining how they happen.) We arrived at the RV park before the storm did, and executed the fastest set-up you ever saw so we could get inside before the dust hit.

We've been in high-wind dust storms before, but this type of dust storm is different. The dust is suspended in a slow moving wall several stories high, and creeps across the plain like some sort of slow moving animal. Even in the middle of this storm the wind wasn't exceptionally strong, you just couldn't see through the dust. Fortunately this particular storm didn't carry as much dust as some, and had passed by in about half an hour.

It was 102 degrees when we arrived, and the rig had soaked up a good bit of heat while we were traveling, so we are thankful again for air conditioning. It is a clue as to the overall climate in these parts when you look around and all the windows are filled in with foil reflectors. 

Fortunately the weather cooled off nicely during the night. The last time we stayed here it stayed hot all night and our air conditioning not only couldn't keep up, it gave up totally and we had to repair it!

This stop completes a loop, as this was one of our stops as we started out on the trip in June. 
Next stop in this dash for home, Rockhound State Park. 

We should be back at the Ranch by Friday for fire watch!