Going Back to Arizona

A couple days ago I drove back into Arizona from California. I really had not planned on seeing any of California this year, but there was a BLM campground with hot springs that I thought might be fun while I waited for the weather to get a little nicer (meaning warmer, especially at night.).

So, I went to that area and camped for the 14 days I was allowed. Then I decided to visit the Salton Sea area. Then I figured I was so close I might as well go visit the Joshua Tree National Park, which I highly recommend. The northern area of the park is more interesting than the southern area and is well worth a visit. By then I needed some special medication for my cat, so I went over to Blythe to get it. 

I hadn't figured on spending that much time in California, but it just worked out that way and I enjoyed it. However, I'm not sure why gas was $3.55 and more in that area of California – when right across the border in Arizona it was $2.65, only 3 miles away. Then, 20 miles further into Arizona, it was down to $2.41! That's more than a dollar difference. This is the largest price spread I've ever seen on gas. I don't know if California taxes cost $1.00 per gallon or not. This is one great reason to be in Arizona!

California also charges a deposit on plastic, glass or aluminum drink containers. I'm sure it's to prompt people to do more recycling, and I do that whenever I can. However, I did not see anywhere to recycle drink containers except in one park I was in, as well as the Joshua Tree National Park. It's not really a deposit where you get your money back, like when you used to be able to bring soda bottles back to the grocery store and they would give your deposit back. So, I don't understand the logic of that extra charge. It is a separate line item on the bill, so I'm sure the stores have to pay it back to the state. Maybe this doesn't have anything to do with recycling, it's just a way of taxing to get more revenue. I guess I should do some research on that, just because I'm curious on the reasoning.

One thing I did notice is that if you have any service work done, such as vehicle repairs, they don't charge sales tax on labor, only the parts. In Florida, sales tax was always charged on the full bill, parts and labor. That was a nice surprise.

One thing I really liked about California is that the speed limit for any vehicle towing something is 55, while everything else is mostly 70, at least on the interstate. So that means all the tractor trailers that passed me were speeding. I think I'm the only one who drives that slow anyway, I usually keep under 60. On California roads, I had a good reason for being a slow-poke!

I'm in Quartzsite, which looks like an interesting little town. I have some exploring to do here in the next week or so.  Sorry there aren't any photos to this, the library is so slow it took me over a half hour to download this.