.....Where to go! What to see! Will your RV fit in the parking lot? Is it accessible for wheelchair users?..... ----------------Please click on photos for a larger, clearer view. I'm not sure why they are so blurry----------------
This little, free, national forest campground has about six sites with tables. There’s enough room to camp along the edges if all of the sites are filled. No amenities except for a vault toilet. The ground is hard packed so it’s fairly easy to roll around.
A seven mile, paved but narrow road off of Route 166 dead ends with a turn around loop at the campground. The sites are large enough for RVs up to 30’.
Campground 34.90712, -119.76921
Three small galleries have changing exhibits. A paved path winds through a little garden area where sculptures are displayed. Since it didn’t take much time to see the museum we also visited Mill Creek Linear Park which borders the museum property and has a paved trail along the Kern Island Canal. The trail is about a mile round trip.
The museum and garden are accessible. The park trail is accessible but a bit rough from the stone impressions in the concrete.
RVs can be parked on the street in front of the museum.
(Aww.. cute but not my photo – my hard drive failed and I lost a few days of photos)
The California Living Museum provides a home for animals native to California who some reason, such as an injury, can not survive on their own. It’s a small zoo but the animals seem well cared for. There’s also a playground and a little train that runs on weekends.The California Coast Room has a touch tank with tidal pool creatures and displays of fossils found in California.
The Coast Room and the zoo are accessible.
The parking lot is large enough for any RV. Zoo 35.43244, -118.88516
Cesar Chavez started working with his family in the fields of California after they lost their home in Arizona during the depression of the 1930s. He was only 11 years old. Low pay, dangerous pesticides, no restrooms in the fields, and substandard housing, which are still problems today, were even worse at that time. As a young man Chavez became involved in organizing the workers and, along with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the United Farm Workers union. Union membership grew to 50,000 workers and won fights for better housing, protective clothing, rest periods, fresh water, and toilet facilities with hand washing stations in the fields.
The monument property was the headquarters of the United Farm Workers and is jointly managed by the National Park Service and the National Chavez Center. The National Park’s involvement is very recent and their plans for interpreting Chavez’s life and work have not been implemented yet so displays and information are a little skimpy. The visitor center has a lot of great black and white photographs. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and include a small native plants garden with a dirt waking path.
The visitor center is accessible. The garden path is hard packed so pushing is easy.
The road to the monument is steep and narrow. Small RVs will fit in the parking lot. There is a turnaround loop if you drive down and do not find any room to park. Monument 35.22345, -118.559
Many donated items fill this small museum which tells the history of the town of Boron and the mining of borax.
The museum is accessible with a ramp located on the right side of the museum. The ground is soft dirt so pushing around to see the outdoor displays is a bit difficult.
Parking is on the street. Museum 34.99938, -117.65064
The original diner was built in 1954 using railroad ties. Since 1987 it’s been owned by Peggy Sue and her husband Champ who expanded the diner to seat 300 people and house their collection of 1950s and Hollywood memorabilia. They also built a nice little park with ponds, shade trees, and dinosuar statues.
We didn’t check out the memorabilia because most of it is in the dining rooms which were pretty busy when we visited. We did get ice cream at the soda fountain/gift shop which is stuffed with 1950s themed gifts and retro candy.
Everything is accessible but some areas are cramped.
This is a Harvest Hosts site but since everyone is welcome to stay overnight it’s not necessary to be a Harvest Hosts member. The parking lot is huge. We parked by the billboard at the very rear of the lot. It’s kind of noisy from interstate traffic.
We enjoyed the Cirque du Soleil show Mystere so much last year that we decided to see another Cirque show this year. Our first choice O was sold out so went to LOVE. It was great, even better than Mystere! The show is very high energy featuring dancing and acrobatics, elaborate costumes and sets, and huge video screens. There’s so much going on that it’s hard to decide what to watch. Each scene features a blending of Beatles songs and loosely follows important events in their lives and careers.
Seating for guests in wheelchairs is somewhat restricted but all the seats have a good view so it’s not that important. If you’re ordering tickets online chose the “Pick My Seats” option which will bring up the accessible seating. Check the website for specials before ordering.
We always park in the alleyway parking area behind Ballys and walk/roll everywhere. This has been a good spot, actually the only spot near the strip, where RVers could stay overnight without being disturbed. However this option is gone, probably for good, because the entire area is going to become paid parking. This might be our last year to visit the strip.
A better change is the The Park located between New York-New York and Monte Carlo which features restaurants, bars, and a quiet area to sit under shade trees. The centerpiece is a 40’ metal sculpture of a dancing woman called Bliss Dance. Go during the day to see the extraordinary workmanship but don’t miss the nighttime view with LED lights inside the sculpture and colored lights playing across the mesh skin. She was original built for Burning Man and has found a permanent home in Vegas.
The Arizona Canal, finished in 1885, opened up 100,000 acres of desert land west of Phoenix to homesteading and irrigation farming. William Henry Bartlett was one of the first homesteaders, planting fruit, nut, and olive orchards and raising livestock. When Bartlett died in 1917 the property changed owners several times before it was bought by Richard W. Smith. The Smith family, who bought the ranch in 1927 and kept it until 1977, expanded the orange groves, started a dairy farm and began breeding thoroughbred horses.
The city of Glendale purchased 80 acres of the ranch to preserve its historical features. The main house, guest house, adobe house, foreman’s house, fruit packing shed, and many of the outbuildings are original from the Barlett period. Some of the fig trees planted around the main house are almost 100 years old. A beautiful rose garden has been planted at the original location. Peacocks and peahens, descended from birds bought in the 1890s, roam the grounds. The buildings are open for free tours on Friday and Saturday. Self-guided touring of the grounds is permitted from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
The grounds are hard packed dirt so rolling is easy. The main house has a ramp. We didn’t notice if the other buildings are accessible.
The parking lot is large enough for RVs.
Accessing and securing water is a major concern for every city in the deserts of the southwest. Fountain Hills, Arizona is no exception and the exhibits in the museum cover the city’s need for water and the greater need of Phoenix and Tucson which led to the construction of a 336 mile canal from the Colorado River to the middle of the state. Other exhibits cover Native American, mining and ranching history. The museum courtyard has a nice collection of sculptures.
The museum is accessible.
The parking lot is large enough for RVs. Museum 33.60235, -111.72224
