Sunday, December 31, 2017

A spectacular day, start to finish....



Our Location: Quartzsite, Arizona



From our Igloo to your homes, Happy New Year. Please be responsible, don't drink and drive. Have a safe and a Happy New Year!!


Awake off and on through the night I finally stayed awake from around 5 am. This morning I went back to doing what I do at our summer location. I usually am out of bed before 6 am, wash, brush my teeth, get dressed, you know the stuff. Next I grabbed the camera and headed outdoors. I only intended to do a short walk to catch the sunrise and to check out our intended new destination to ensure that no one had parked there over night. I ended up taking about a half hour walk and catching a glorious sunrise.
The beginnings of sunrise at our old spot....

You the readers of this blog are probably tired of seeing sunrise, sunset and mountain pictures but the truth is I love them. They are stunningly beautiful and often times the descriptive words used just do not even begin to weave the image of what one experiences seeing these things first hand. The Great Smokey Mountains are lush and green, with inviting spots nestled out of the way beneath a canopy of green, they seem mysterious while shrouded in their great smoke and hazes. They are truly majestic and no one can see them and not be amazed at their beauty. However here in the southwest the mountains are stark, barren looking, they offer no warmth or invitation of joy, but they do invite, they lure, they insist that you come closer to explore, to venture into their midst. They are harsh and cold in the grey light of dawn but the sun’s rays be it during sunrise or sunset transform them into a magical place with twisting bands of light and dark, then suddenly they are awash in light and look warm, majestic,and inviting. The sun’s rising and setting is also a time of great beauty with red’s and oranges turning to pinks and yellows or vise versa. The sky’s vastness is made smaller by the colour palette that is dancing across the sky with the sun’s blessings. So you see I’ll never tire of them and when I look back in years to come the pictures of these things will bring back wonderful memories for me and so I will continue post them, even if you tire of them.
I just love this pink sky in the morning.....
Riley made her appearance just before 8 am. She looks much better today with her hair not sticking out in every direction. The first thing she did was try her phone and it works just fine, so perhaps the rice helped or  perhaps it wasn’t in the water long enough to do any damage. Which ever  it is, I’m happy.
The sunrise was painting the sky....

We’re moving today as I already mentioned and so after our morning drinks we’ll be tossing things into the Igloo and truck (not packing them all up properly) as we aren’t going very far but to a much better spot in our opinion.
 

It was truly amazing.....

We finished our hot drinks, I headed outside to tuck away the stuff so we could move the short distance without any issues. I had already packed my bedroom and bathroom for travel, Riley did the rest of the inside. We hooked up and headed out for the new spot around 9:30 am and were totally set up in the new spot with salads made, and lunch prepped by 10:45 am. It  took us a while to get level but once we had that issue solved it went quickly from there. It’s a much nicer spot, the views are better, the quiet is amazing, no trucks rumbling by, quads puttering along. They are now just a distant hum. Much better choice this spot. We’re liking it already. We have a few neighbours but far enough away to wave to but not chat with no matter how loudly we talk. 
Don't you just love this colour?

We grabbed our walking sticks and headed out for a walk checking out the rest of the area. We like this area and will return again next time we’re in this part of the BLM. It’s quiet, and away from the hustle and bustle of the main drag. Works for us. We were gone about 45 minutes before we got back to the Igloo and settled down to read some more. 
I'm heading back to the Igloo after my morning walk ....

Riley’s the chef today, she jazzed up jarred spaghetti sauce. So we shall be having our regular Sunday fare, salad, spaghetti with sauce and some cheesy garlic bread. I feel like a lazy bum sitting here typing while she worked away. Although when it’s reverse it doesn’t seem to bother her too much, in fact not at all. Hahaha. 
All set up in the new spot...

I was outside reading and enjoying my salad, just soaking up the rays. The quiet is amazing here, and we aren’t far from the other spot, not distance wise at least but it’s much quieter so far. By the time I finished my salad I was no longer hungry and debated if I wanted lunch. However I did have a few things to do and so decided to get them accomplished and perhaps work my way up to having lunch. 
See the pollution in the sky?

I emptied the left side cubbie, crawled into the cubbie to check out the water pump. It doesn’t seem to want to shut off for some reason but I can’t find any leaks at the pump and I haven’t seen any elsewhere either. So I’ll have to do some research on that I suppose. This process included removing panels from the cubbie and of course it took longer to get the panel on, and the cubbie swept out, along with things being put back than it did to check out the pump. However I feel better and that’s what counts.

I came inside to have a little bit of pasta and a small piece of cheesy garlic bread. It was very good but I didn’t have much, I wasn’t very hungry. I forgot to take a picture though. I’m getting bad at that remembering stuff. I think there’s a name for it but I can’t remember what it is.
I'm not sure it's a full moon just yet.....

Once I finished eating I was back outside to clean up the Dogsled a bit. I gave the floors a bit of a whisking with my little broom. Just to kind of get the bigger pieces out the door, if you know what I mean. Tomorrow I’ll do the dash, etc. Things sure get dusty down here in Arizona. 
Sunset washing the mountains with colour...

I called my sister Jan this afternoon and we chatted for about an hour. We had to catch up on a few things and so that took us a bit of time. Always fun to catch up with her, she has very unique outlook at life. We laughed and chatted and laughed some more, making us both feel better at being in touch. We’re in touch about 2 or 3 times a week in some way, and we do miss her. We visit back and forth a lot when we are at our summer location. 

Such a sweet colour over there...


After chatting with her for a bit I was outside reading and enjoying the sun when my dad called. He didn’t have a lot of news but wanted to wish us Happy New Year before we headed out to do our celebrating. I told him not to worry as our celebrating will be with the lights out and getting some sleep. We aren’t party people. We chatted for about 15 minutes before he said good bye. 
Again the mountains are bathed in sunset rays....

Tomorrow I’ll call my other two girls, my brother, and my best friend to offer wishes for a happy new year. It’s hard to believe this year is behind us already. The time kind of slipped by when I wasn’t looking.
It's starting to sink....

I grabbed the camera and headed outside to catch the sunset and boy what a sunset. It was spectacular to see. The bright colours in the sky slowly turned darker and darker and then the sun slipped away. There appears to be some form of pollution in the air and I am beginning to wonder if it’s smoke from the forest fires in California perhaps. It was consistent yesterday, last night, this morning and most of the day as well. 
Amazing colours....

As I was catching pics of the sunset I was also moving some of the bigger stones around our site. I’ll have to get a new rake and perhaps a small shovel in town to help clean up our site a bit, nothing drastic, just some of the bigger stuff we’re tripping over. Not going to do too much or someone else will be settled in next time we’re looking for a place to park.
I wonder if that is smoke from the forest fires in California?

So there you have it folks, our day. Nothing too exciting I’m certain but we enjoyed it a great deal. We are now truly enjoying this area and are looking forward to spending more time here over the next few months. We hope you’ve had a great day as well. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment. 
It's last gasp tonight...

Until next time…take care, be safe…
Good night from Quartzsite.


Deb





14 comments:

  1. Please keep taking and posting your great pictures . This might be the only way some of us every get to see the beauty of the great southwest . I love sun sets . Happy New Year

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I will keep posting them. I too enjoy them a great deal. Happy New Year!!

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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    2. Welcome to A Long and Lonesome Highway Sam. Thank you for reading and of course commenting. I appreciate it very much.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  2. Deb, so description of the mountain colors is so elegantly perfect. A suggestion about your pump, most have a check value built into them so that the water doesn't leak back to the tank, when that happens the pump will run because of lost of pressure. If you can't find any leaks, the pump may be the problem.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Bill for the kind words and for the information about my pump. I appreciate it very much. I'll have to get the manual out for the pump and check it out.

      Hoping you, Patsy and Clemson had a great New Year's Eve, and a happy, healthy New Year.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  3. Happy New Year, really loved to colourful description of the mountain, In our 12 year of coming down here we never tire of this scenery, sunrises, sunsets, mountains are amazing.
    We had the same problem with out water pump last winter down there, so I just went to Rv Lifestyles in Quartzite there picked up a new water pump, installed it.. problem solved.

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    1. Thanks George. I'll keep that in mind. I'll never tire of the the sunset, sunrise and mountains. I'm truly enjoying the sights. Our new spot is perfect, no traffic. We had 3 vehicles go by and 1 side by side. Two of those vehicles were our neighbours.

      Happy New Year.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  4. Happy New Year to you and Riley.
    Sorry you missed a nice Campfire.
    Be Safe and Enjoy 2018!

    It's about time.

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    1. Thank you, you and Kathy have a healthy and happy new year as well. It looks as if you and your friends had a great time at the campfire.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  5. Happy New Year you two! I love your sunset pictures and I doubt anyone tires of them. Keep 'em coming, they are all different and beautiful!
    Glad that you got moved to your new spot, it sounds like it was well sought out. Enjoy!

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    1. Happy New Year to you and Bill as well. Thanks I intend to keep posting them. I love them as well.

      The new spot is perfect, quiet, peaceful and very little traffic, which means very little dust. We heard one generator today and it didn't run very long, mostly we heard ...nothing....

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  6. Happy New Year! Those are beautiful photos of sunrise and sunset. Keep them coming. Looks like you found the perfect spot.

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    1. Happy New Year to you as well Doug. I will most definitely keep posting them. We did indeed find a most wonderful spot, no dust, and few generators, not to mention vehicles. We are enjoying our peace.

      I used to read your blog off and on for a while. I sort of lost touch with it when I went on the road myself but I look forward to catching up with it again over the next few weeks. Glad you're back on the road enjoying yourself again.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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