After leaving Slab City, it was a revelation to think that we’d been back in California since November. I couldn’t believe we’d been there for so long. But when you come from a big Mexican family like I do, it takes about that long to make the rounds and see everyone!

We blew through Arizona, because familiarity breeds contempt. I used to live there in the early ’90s, and I don’t know what it is about the Grand Canyon State, but I just don’t like it. Maybe that’s because when my Dad lived in Jerome (about 100 miles north of Phoenix) in the 1930s, he was forced to attend a segregated “Mexicans only” school while my grandfather worked as a miner.

Headed east, we stopped in Douglas, Arizona along the Mexican border. On a whim, we parked our rig at the border crossing and walked into Mexico, just to be able to say we’ve now been to three countries in our rig.

The contrast between the U.S. side and the Mexican side is obvious. On our side, there’s shiny new strip malls and Wallyworld. On their side, just a half mile away, there are potholed streets and zero evidence of building codes.

We walked around, got some great pan dulces and a jugo de pina. Took some photos and felt sorry for some skinny Mexican dogs. Then we turned around, and walked back over. Just. Like. That. Our five dollar Mexican vacation was over in a couple of hours.

Upon our return, I thought about how my family set down U.S. roots in the 1930s. Both sets of my Grandparents hopped the fence before “illegal immigration” was an issue. All they wanted was for their kids to have a better life, and we’ve managed to accomplish that, and then some.

Three generations later, there I was, returning to the Other Side like it was no big deal. That’s America for you.

Before our Slab City experience we met up with the Vickers, who spend the Winter months far away from the icy cold of their Colorado ranch at Rancho Casa Blanca RV Resort in Indio, CA. We were passing through to catch Willie Nelson at Morongo Casino just a stone’s throw away … literally – Larry and Paulette picked us up from the parking lot where we were boondocking in their golf cart.

We reminisced about our summer workamping at the ranch, sipped cocktails, went swimming at one of their various club house pools, and enjoyed a quick nine holes of golf on the putting course outside their rig’s door. This pristine RV resort also boasts a full 18 hole course complete with hazards that include sand traps, a lake, and park model windows. But the manicured grass and level greens of Rancho Casa Blanca pale in comparison to the links at Gopher Flats in Slab City.

Winter Rules always apply at Gopher Flats Country Club. This may sound surprising when you consider winter probably lasts less than a week here on the slabs near Niland, CA. But one look around will explain why “preferred lies” are accepted on this course.

This is a simple way of saying that golfers may improve their lies in certain areas of the course. But at Gopher Flats it means two things: 1. Players can feel free to re-place their ball if hindered by say, a sage brush or broken beer bottle, and 2. Blatant lies about one’s score are not just accepted, but expected.

Gopher Flats is a Bob Unden signature course. Designed and created by Bob and Nancy Unden, the course makes fine use of the barren terrain. If you can find it, you will notice each hole has a tee with the distance clearly marked.

Flags are in place on the browns – you really can’t call them greens – and the cups are 8″ wide, which makes up for the bumpy rock hardpan. But that’s why you’ll also find a piece of carpet on a rope near each flag. Players are required to smooth the “greens” or pay the consequences if they don’t.

A few details make Gopher Flats shine above other RV golf resorts. For starters, the greens fees: Free! Yes, Gopher Flats is free, and open to the public 24/7 every day of the year. And not only scorecards and pencils are provided. Players have access to a wide selection of clubs at their disposal.

Sure, some of these club should have been disposed of long ago but what do you want for nothing? There are three bags, drivers and irons of all sizes, wedges and putters, both right and left handed. An ample supply of balls is also for the taking.

Every hole at Gopher Flats is a par 3, but when René and I played nine she shot a 59 to my 44. Do the math, and keep in mind that bit about preferred lies.

Later when we attempted an afternoon foursome with Flux and SkinnyChef, we only got through half of nine before calling it quits.

Perhaps it was the pending sunset with us a half mile from home in the middle of the desert, or perhpas it was all the Early Times, but a fun time was had by all nonetheless.

What makes Gopher Flats a must-play for any RV golfer, however, isn’t just the views, free equipment, or the beetle colonies living in the cups. It’s the fact that you can play with a front row seat to the U.S. Navy’s Chocolate Mountain bombing range.

Military helicopters can frequently be seen buzzing overhead and heard firing their big guns. Not knowing when the next fighter jet might fly by or another ground-thumping explosion might come in the distance adds excitment to every hole. And very rarely has anyone ever stumbled upon an unexploded ordnance.

I know I’ve said before that it is important for full-time RVers to look into rig issues immediately. But one can only look into certain things so many times, before you just have to give up and live with it.

We’ve written plenty about our brakes so I won’t delve any further into the ugly details. But that “nuisance noise” we were told we had by one shop – not the one that ripped us off – came back pretty quick a while ago and never went away.

When we were visiting the Davenports before the holidays, Randy convinced me that if you want something done right you really do have to do it yourself. He has a garage fully equipped with tools, and knows how to use them. So we tore apart our brand new brake system and applied brake silencer spray to the back of all the pads. Something the last Dodge shop we went to – the one that did rip us off – did not do when they installed them.

Upon completion, I was confident we had conquered the brake squeal once and for all. And I was happy it didn’t cost a dime.

This time it took almost a couple weeks before the persistent chirp returned every time we applied the brakes.

After researching Chrysler brake issues, and noticing the same squeak coming from various other Dodge trucks at many an intersection, we’ve decided we can live with this.

Or as this AA1Car report on Silencing Disc Brake Squeal says …

“If an inspection of the brake system reveals no serious faults such as worn, loose or damaged parts, you have a choice to make. You can live with the noise, or you can pay to eliminate the noise.”

Well, with brand new brakes and a squeak that can’t be eliminated, our choice is simple – we are going to live with it. Or I’ll try to fix it myself the again next time we get fed up. Now if only I could learn how to do my own front end work, or learn to live with how our truck drifts when hands are released from the wheel …

We took our Dodge Ram 2500 to a Big-O shop for an alignment after noticing this new issue. After waiting for a couple hours and seeing them test drive the truck a couple times, they told us it didn’t need an alignment. According to the computer, it was fine.

But I don’t a computer to know when my truck won’t cruise in a straight line. Which it still wouldn’t do, after they charged us for the alignment it didn’t need. So they rotated the tires. And it still drifted, though not nearly as bad. Here we go again.