Day 221: Near Palo Verde, CA

We purchased our Mexican auto insurance today.  Hopefully Mexico will be inexpensive enough that we can recoup that cost over the seven weeks or so that we are likely to be there.  Going to Europe is much easier, and less expensive.  There, our USAA insurance is good for our rental cars - there is no need to purchase a separate, more expensive policy.

We were wondering if it would be possible to put our USAA insurance on hold while we are in Mexico, but it turns out that the policy that we bought requires that we also maintain our stateside coverage.  Which is probably why it is a bit cheaper than some of the alternatives - the Mexican companies probably find a way to offload some of their costs onto our insurance.

We crossed into California around mid-morning.  The most jarring change was that gas was 75 cents per gallon more expensive.  Since we crossed the border at the Colorado River, we crossed through a large area under cultivation, part of the Salad Bowl of America...

The wind picked up this morning and came out of the north.  For a good part of the day were were heading mostly due west, so the side wind was at times helpful and at times hindering.  But shortly after reaching California our route was mainly south, and the brisk wind made the miles roll by very easily.

We camped at Oxbow Campground ($15, primitive, vault toilets and trash collection).  The signs here say that there is an annual $75 pass for camping on BLM land, which would pay for itself in only five nights.  We'll likely check on that once we return to Boise and we've had a chance to see just what area the BLM covers (my thought is that it is mainly the intermountain west).  We are likely to spend at least some time next year in BLM territory, so it may be worthwhile to buy a pass.

We were camped next to the Colorado River, next to a boat ramp.  So I took Lana there to play ball, which she loved.  A couple months back we bought her some racquetballs, since they are far cheaper than the Chuck-It balls that we normally get her (and that we are constantly losing).  Plus they float, so it is less likely that she will lose one while playing in the water.  We wouldn't let her have racquetballs when she was young, because she would pop them, but so far she hasn't done that to this new crop of balls.