Just Got Back from the trip.

18 years ago

We rented an RV and visited the following places: Magic Mtn Six Flags, Disneyland-Anaheim, Disney Cruise Ship at Don Pedro, Riverside, Murrieta, then Las Vegas, then went off to see the original London Bridge at Lake Havasu City as well as picnic at the State Park at the Lake, then went to Grand Canyon, went off to see the Caverns and the canyon of course, then went to Zion Canyon, then to the very beautiful Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and the Arches, then spent some time at Idaho Falls, went all the way to Yellowstone and toured it a while, then after videotaping the complete spouting of Old Faithful, sprinted all the way back, but of course stopped by at Antelope Island in the middle of Salt Lake, then stopped by Reno, and finally all the way back to Davis. All in 10 days, we tried to stay overnight at each spot, went hiking and mostly sightseeing.

The only citrus highlight that I can share with you is during a visit to our friend at Murietta in Southern California, about 30 miles south of Riverside. They are both retired University of California professors at UC Riverside and have a 5 acre land on a small hill, with their house on top of the hill, having a great great view overlooking the land. This is like an estate house on a rural area on top of the hill. They have plenty of citruses, and have also the most common commercially available varieties: Washington Navel, Minneola Tangelos, Valencia Oranges, Kumquats, Citrus Cocktail, Oro Blanco, etc., about 30 kinds or more. Of course they also have the sour ones Calamondin, Key Lime, various lemons. The navels, tangelos, are the sweetest of their types that I have ever tasted in the entire US, especially the citrus cocktail is the best. I have all these varieties but they really don't taste that good as the ones growing in their land. The professor told me that their hot weather becomes extended all year round because sitting on a hill, on an elevated area, they receive the warm to hot thermal updrafts which sweetens all their cituses, except of course the lemons, limes and calamondins. Their only problem is that it always gets windy, and so the citrus fruits have superficial blemishes from rubbing against the branches, and are non-marketable. They don't need to market their produce anyway, just share it with friends who visit them.

They also have plenty of avocado trees. Avocadoes grow pretty well and is the main crop in their area.

Visited Home Depot whenever I can sneak out, and I find the same types of citruses sold all over the warmer states that I have visited.

Will have to catch up with you all later. I will have to catch up with work first.

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Comments (11)

Millet
18 years ago
Welcome home Joe, nice to hear about all your adventures. - Millet
joereal
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks Millet. I was tempted to drop by your place Millet, it was really near our route, just perhaps 300 miles off way, but time was too short.
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garnetmoth
18 years ago
thats a LOT of driving! Ive driven the country (Cincy to Santa Barbara) 4 times this school year. Not planning on that again! Glad you enjoyed!
BabyBlue11371
18 years ago
Welcome Back Joe! Glad you had a fun safe trip! Any pics to share?
Gina *BabyBlue*
joereal
Original Author
18 years ago
garnetmoth: You did more driving this year. If you can deduct your mileage, it will pay off your car! Well, if there is someone alternating with the driving, it is really enjoyable.

Thanks Gina BabyBlue. Would have loved to visit all of the spots you have mentioned but got overruled by the majority, so we only went to a few, given the very short time.
drichard12
18 years ago
Hey Joe hope your trip was good...Anything from Benny yet???....Dale
joereal
Original Author
18 years ago
Dale,

Benny will be away for a month at least, perhaps 2 months in the Philippines. He might be browsing the web over there, but not all places have internet access, and often slow if there are.

Joe
drichard12
18 years ago
Joe
..Thank You... for your imput..He said he was bilingual now,,, I understand his 2nd...Dale
franktank232
18 years ago
What about the orchards @ Capitol Reef? I heard in season you can go pick and eat the fruit..??
joereal
Original Author
18 years ago
I didn't know about that. The gang was busy sightseeing. We have plenty of food (mostly fruits and veggies from my yard, anfd plenty of trout and salmon that I caught fishing earlier in the year) in our RV to think about visiting orchards, we didn't even stop at any road side fruit stands. Had I known, I would have stopped by some of them. I also predicted that there was no time to fish, so did not bring any gear. There really was no spare time to fish in those national parks when you are with a large group that have no interests in fishing or visiting orchards. There's always next years to come.
franktank232
18 years ago
Heres what you missed

"FRUITA ORCHARDS

PHOTOVisitors of Capitol Reef are often curious about the orchards that lie within a mile or two of the Visitor Center. These trees are the most obvious remnant of the pioneer community of Fruita, which was settled in 1880. Usually no more than 10 families lived in Fruita at any one time, and the last resident moved away in 1969. Early settlers planted the orchards to insure subsistence. Today, the orchards are preserved and protected as a Rural Historic Landscape. The orchards hold approximately 2,700 trees and are composed of cherry, apricot, peach, pear, and apple, as well as, a few plum, mulberry, almond, and walnut trees. The National Park Service now owns and maintains the orchards with a 2-person orchard crew that is kept busy year round with pruning, irrigation, and orchard management.

You are welcome to stroll in any unlocked orchard and you may consume as much ripe fruit as you want while in the orchards. Fruit may not be picked in quantity until the designated harvest begins. Orchards that are open for picking are signed as such. A fee is charged for all fruit picked and removed from the orchards. Signs listing fruit prices, scales, plastic bags, and a self-pay station are located near the entrance of open orchards. Please select only ripe fruit and leave the rest to ripen for other visitors. "

Just Got Back from the trip.

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Millet

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