It Just Keeps Getting Better From Now On

The Hot Springs LTVA might not be the most scenic place on earth, a cousin keeps calling it a "Gravel Pit" and when we turned in here back in the fall of 2005 Bea wondered about the same. 

So why on earth are we, and a lot of other folks, returning here year after year? It is not entirely free camping as we pay a fee for being here. $180 is not a whole lot, but keeps some riffraff out. And we know that our garbage is taken care off, that there is a host and that we can get packages sent here. And not only our kitchen garbage is taken away, but also our wastewater can be deposited in a nearby sanitary station.

The same town (Holtville) offers shopping, a bank, a post office and gas stations. And only 13 miles farther down the I-8, there are all the big-box stores. So you see there are a lot of conveniences attached to it.

But would that be enough to return here year after year?

It wouldn't.

What about the Hot Spring? Great, but we also have a working shower stall in the rig.

The essence of the attraction is we have always found nice fellow campers here plus the fact that the LTVA (Long-term visitor-area) offers so many nice spots to tug away your RV, either between local desert vegetation or in the open areas. And if one likes hiking, there are literally miles of desert just waiting for you to explore. 

And last but not least, we feel safe here. There has never been any real serious problem out here.

So with this knowledge we consider this our winter home.

For us personally, we enjoyed another great benefit today.

 In the city of El Centro there is an ALDI Store. And Aldi is German, which means they also have European products, at this time before Christmas, all the known products we looked forward to as kids growing up in Germany. 

Needless to say this morning we had to check out ALDI's goodies, and we did not return empty-handed!!