It just wasn’t meant to be…. Or maybe it was..

 

Our Location:

Road Runner BLM, Quartzsite, Arizona 

It has been quiet here, well except the wind. It is a very constant sound some days. I can see how it could drive a person to lose a solid foothold after a while. Don’t worry, we aren’t in danger of that happening. If you have never been to the desert to hear this wind, perhaps the tick, tick, tick of a clock in an otherwise silent room, or the steady drip, drip, drip of water from a leaky faucet, sounds that never cease but beat a tattoo into the brain so that we hear it even if we step into a silent room that does not have those sounds would give you an idea. Like muscle memory of the brain. The wind in the desert is often like that, steadily humming along, a few gusts here and there changes the sounds on occasion but the steady hum is there. It caresses the thorny growth giving slight movement but no rustling noise, some dust in the air maybe, but just the sound of the wind. It is not everyday, but I wake up listening for the tell tale signs of it every day in the desert. The desert winds sounds nothing like our Island winds back home, there is a lonely, haunting quality to the desert winds, almost like it is softly whispering tales of long ago. The Island winds are different, there is business to them, they move leaves, branches, make the trees creak, it howls through the tree limbs, it causes the water to gently lap the shore, it sends endless waves crashing onto the rocks, sending spray many feet into the air, it tells a story too but not the same kind as the desert winds. How can the wind be so different?

Heading toward Blythe, California 

Albertson’s parking lot.

A few days ago we decided to dump the tanks, fill with water and dump the garbage. Since La Posa south is close by it is where we went.  The office to buy the permit sticker doesn’t open until nine and it was a few minutes before that time. A fella comes from behind the building telling me the office would be late opening, some emergency was holding up the opening, at least an hour he said, but cross the road to Tyson Wash and get a permit from them. Across the road I walked, it took 5 minutes to explain my rig was across the road, I can apply the stickers myself, no I’m not staying in the LTVA, but still want a sticker. Eventually after about 15 minutes, stickers in hand I cross the road to find them selling permits, their hour is much different than mine. We did our business and were home, set up and enjoying the day after only about an hour and a half, from start to finish.

We had few things to accomplish and decided to divide them over two days, Thursday and Friday. Sounds good, right? On Thursday we needed to get rid of garbage, get bread, water, and wanted to fill a propane tank, oh yes, and stamps. We decided we go to Blythe, CA to get bread, have a look around and just enjoy some different views. We dropped the garbage at La Posa south, stopped at Lifestyles for propane, and off to Blythe we went. Bread is really expensive in Blythe, we spent about $100. No it wasn’t just bread, but that is all we needed! We checked out a number of stores before heading back to Q. Remembering we needed drinking water, we popped off at the Riggles Road Exit, filled our jugs, looked at the long lines at the One 9, opted to get fuel on Friday. We completely forgot about stamps but not worry we can get them Friday. So Friday morning we load up the laundry, the gas can and into town we go. First stop is Laundromat on Main Street, not many vehicles in the lot, it has a lot of machines, this will be good right? Not! One whole row (both sides of the partition) is empty, that cuts the available washers down by at least a third, maybe more. It looked like the wait would be long just to get enough washers. So off we headed to the other laundromat, same thing, full, lots of waiting. Back in the Dogsled we headed off for fuel while we discussed if we wanted to wait or not. Back to the One 9, pumps didn’t look very busy, yeah. Looking around I realized all of the diesel pumps are covered, no diesel, but we did fill the gas can for the generator. The big trucks were  stacked up at the truck pumps and we don’t need diesel that badly. A stop back at the big laundromat showed a fuller lot than before and so we just came home. Damn, forgot the stamps again. So we will try again another day to do laundry, get diesel and oh yes, stamps.

I always enjoy these views.

For some reason I forgot to publish this post, so I will add to it. It is Sunday and we have completed the laundry, gotten diesel, some more water, a few items of groceries, but not stamps. Oh well, we will eventually get some and I keep thinking I have some but I haven’t looked for them yet, explains why I haven’t found them, doesn’t it?

They are replacing with new and bigger capacity front loads.

I thought this was interesting, it’s in the laundromat.

I have talked to dad every day, keeping caught up on all the happenings. I have chatted with my sister a few times, as well as my friend Linda. I think we are caught up on the news from back home.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Helping a friend...

Our Location: Saddle Mountain BLM, Tonopah, AZ

 

 

A couple of days since my last post, I believe it was the day we moved, which was Monday. A lot has happened since then, not exactly for us but for our friend Doug. He has taken possession of a new to him Class A Safari Motorhome. A monster at just under 42' long. A big change from his Miss Adventure Class C at about 30'.  You can read all about his adventure at Miss Adventure Travels.

 

 

 First we had to go to Blythe, CA.

 

 

Yesterday morning Doug and I headed for Quartzsite, leaving Riley and Yuma to hold down the fort.  We left around 9:30 am and hustled along just making it to RV Lifestyles at his appointed time of 11 am. Long story short, it was a bit of a confused state for various reasons but it was around the 5 pm mark by the time we were leaving the place. 

 

 

 

 We went here to use the Notary  for some paperwork.

 

 

A long day with no time for lunch or even more than a few minutes break from the stress of this big event. We made a trip to Blythe, CA with Stuart  to a notary for some paperwork, back to Q for a short break while they fixed the power cable and checked on a number of things. A walk thru with Suzie but in all honesty, we didn't take notes as she really didn't have much information to give Doug that he didn't already know. An interesting waste of money, I guess.  One of the mechanics (tech guy I guess I should call him) John, was the most helpful to us. He managed to figure out how to do a few things and was knowledgeable about a number of things. 

 

Look at all the arms on this Saguaro.

 

 

Doug was stressed and excited, tired and hungry on top of that as the day was dragging on. We were both at the point of just wanting to get out of the place and go home as we knew they weren't going to be able to assist us any further.

 

 

 It's a resident in the yard at RV Lifestyles.

 

 

Doug moved the White Lion before we hooked up the jeep, it wasn't long until we were motoring along. A very nice ride, high up, big windows, a very nice view. The White Lion is a beautiful rig with a lot of wonderful features and I'm sure Doug will enjoy it a great deal once he gets used to it. It's a big change from his little Miss Adventure. 

 

 

 Doug is aware that is a White Tiger but since he is a Leo, he likes the White Lion and since it's his rig, White Lion it is.

 

 

We managed to find our way in the dark, as the headlights weren't very bright, it was like driving with candles in front of us. Only a couple of ripples and one bit of excitement as we took a corner VERY, VERY WIDE, but Doug managed to keep it on the pavement. 

 

 

 Just a bit under 42' in length. She's a big 'un.

 

 

We were both tired climbed in the Dogsled with Riley before we headed to Tonopah for some food. Doug generously picked up the tab. The food wasn't great but it was filling, and hot, our server was a charmer. 

 

 

 Doug went back to get the jeep so we could get hooked up and out of there.

 

 

This morning after a chat with Doug about plans for today ( we will be helping him with the transition from rig to rig)  and it was decided that he would venture out on his own with the White Lion to give it a bit more of a test run as well as get himself more used it. Riley and I headed off to Buckeye with a few errands we needed to accomplish. 

 

 Doug hooking up the jeep for the first time to the White Lion.

 

 

Desert Laundry on Monroe isn't as clean as it was in the past but we still managed to get all of our laundry caught up, managed to dispose of our trash, get some water and some groceries. We even managed to spot the White Lion with Yuma in the driver's seat at Walmart but failed to find Doug. 

 

 

This was the only sunset photo I managed yesterday as we were heading back to Tonopah. If you look closely you can see my reflection. All photos were taken with my phone.

 

 

From Walmart it was home and time to put away the groceries and laundry.  Have some food and just kind of relax. Doug and I did a short run to check out another location but definitely knew it wouldn't work and after chatting with a fella that had gotten his 38' Class A stuck it was a definite 'no go'.

 

So far the flies aren't too bad but I think they will be increasing in number as the heat returns. We are planning on finding a different location if that happens. We shall see how it goes.  A quick trip tonight and we found a spot that we think Doug will like better, flat, easy road access and big enough for both of his rigs and the jeep. A spot for us too but we will wait to check on the flies.

 

So that's it, my quick catch up. I hope you enjoyed your day, thanks for stopping by. 

 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

California and back today.....

Our Location:  BLM Plomosa Road, Quartzsite, AZ


Wonderful night’s sleep, temps are warmer and the vents are open all night. Nice weather for sleeping and I’m enjoying every night. 

 

 

Two wheels in the center of this trailer with no wheels on an side to side axle. Interesting. We also noted today but didn't get a photo, a tri axle trailer with only two tires on each side, the third hub was empty. He was rolling on down the interstate faster than I was going.

 

We had a bit of a lazy start but eventually got rolling along. A few texts with some friends had us with today open and we took advantage of that to head off to Blythe, CA for some groceries and a bit of a tour around Tom Wells Road near Ehrenburg, AZ. I’ve read about it a few times and so we thought we’d just check it out and see what’s out there. On the south side of the interstate it’s not too bad at all. We chatted with a few folks in the area, no camp host, it seems no one comes around to check on them either. It appears that some folks stay the entire winter. I have no idea where the nearest dump station/water would be but I think Blythe which is just down the road would be a likely spot. The roads on the south were pretty good, all dirt/gravel with some rolling hills but not bad for rough or washboard, holes or cracks. One particular spot has a pretty deep wash with what I call a V bottom. I was worried about that particular spot in the road but we witnessed some longer rigs than ours back there and eventually found a couple of these rigs with folks outside so we stopped to ask them. The trick it seems is to keep to the left of the wash or the east side both coming and going, the grade is different on that side and upon closer inspection on the way out I believe they were right. I think it would be doable but I’d have to give it some more thought first. It looked like there were a number of possibilities there. The north side was less inviting as it appears to be more permanent people with some junky places tossed in the mix. Also the road was terrible. Old Highway 80 but it’s broken pavement, big gouges and holes, long cracks and washboarded terribly. I would avoid this side of the interstate for certain.

Heading toward Blythe, California

Sorry reflection from the window.

 

On into Blythe we shopped first at Smart & Final. Having never shopped in this particular chain of stores, we enjoyed our visit and picked up a few things while there. The store was clean and friendly and for the first time ever I witnessed people DUSTING in a grocery store. In every aisle there was someone dusting the shelves and wiping clean the little ledge where the price sticker sits. It was impressive to say the least. The prices were okay but a few things seemed a bit more expensive than I would like to pay. 

 

 

Can you see the tinge of green?

 

Something on fire over there. That would be the Colorado River you can see in this photo.

 

Our next and final stop was Albertson’s grocery store. We’ve never been in this chain either and so we enjoyed our visit there as well. It too was clean and I thought well laid out. I found a few prices to be well over what I wanted to pay but I found most were okay although a little on the high end. We picked up a few items here too. Before long we were on our way home.
 

 

We crossed into California and then back into Arizona. We time travelled to the future and back to the past again.

 

The drive through the hills on I-10 is always very calming and serene. The hills are tinged with a green hue and it’s a much different view from last year when we travelled through. What a difference a little colour makes.
 

Both trucks in the top picture are from British Columbia. The bottom picture is the agricultural inspection station which didn't matter we were coming back with groceries  taking any in to the state of California.

 

Back home I sent ‘how to find us’ instructions to our friends after checking them carefully on our way home. After that we settled in to wile away the afternoon with lunch, reading and gazing out the window. The big door open most of the afternoon with a nice breeze coming and not too hot in the sunny side of the Igloo either. A quick call to my dad around 2:30 pm (4:30 pm his time) found him just out of the shower after trying to get warm. Dad and brother Rick cleared snow all afternoon and weren’t finished but Dad was cold and came inside calling it a day. My dad has a large semi trailer box that he uses for storage tucked down in the bush and the snow was about 3 feet deep on the top. They used a snow blower to clear it off. That gives you an idea of how much snow they have had in the last few days. Also news from dad, my nephew Jason made it safely back to Chelmsford, Ontario from Kelowna, BC where he spent a  month’s holidays just having fun. His wife Leah travelled out with him but flew back home a couple of weeks ago, while his brother in law Craig flew out the same day Leah flew back to Ontario. However Craig flew out on Saturday and Jason began the long solo drive homeward after dropping Craig at the airport. Jason arrived late in the day Monday. His first day back to work was today. Welcome home Jason!!! I’m glad you made it safely.

 

I would enjoy hiking through here sometime.

 

So that’s it, our day here in the Quartzsite area. Not too exciting to read about but exciting enough for us.  Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had an excellent day where ever you may be!

 

Sunset tonight was pretty with liquid gold in the sky before it turned coal red as it faded.

 

Until next time… take care, be safe,

 

Goodnight from Quartzsite, Arizona

 

 

 

 

Deb

 

 

 

 

 

A very accomplishing kind of day....

Our Location: Quartzsite, Arizona

I woke for the first time shortly after 2 am to the sound of a half dozen coyotes yapping just outside our little Igloo. I’m willing to bet that if I’d gotten up and looked out the window I might have been able to see at least one or two of them. However I didn’t, I simply rolled over and went back to sleep, after a trip to the ladies room of course. 

The moon greeted me first thing this morning...

As I write the beginning of this post it is 5:09 am and not a sound can be heard except the tap, tap, tap of the computer keys, and of course HRH Miss Kitty at her food bowl. She has heard me stirring up stairs and wants me to know that she expects breakfast as soon as I’m down stairs, or perhaps sooner if possible.

It's going to be a beauty....

At some point today or Monday we’ll be heading out to Blythe, California as that seems to be where the nearest blood lab is, or at least the nearest one I could find. Before we started full-timing I was required to have blood work every month, I’ve since convinced  the good doctor that once every two months is more reasonable as I have to pay for it myself down here in the USA. Of course him being the good doctor that he is, agreed to the two months. I tried for 3 months but he wouldn’t go that far. So I had my last work completed just the day before we left Ontario back in late October. I’ll have it done once more before I get back to Ontario where I don’t have to pay for it.

Look at that colour...

Outside by shortly before 7 am, the sky was still dark, the moon bright and a few stars twinkling merrily as they prepared to fade away in the upcoming daylight. Warmer this morning, 48F/8.8C with no wind of any kind. Truly a wonderful morning.

Love those changing colours...

I called my sister while I was snapping pics of the sunrise, we chatted for about an hour and in that time I had more than enough pictures of the sunrise to do for my blog. We chatted about numerous things and caught up on a few other things. 

All along the mountain top.....

While chatting with my sister Jan, and snapping pictures of the sunrise, my neighbour Jim stopped and told me that he was off to pick up his wife Karen today. Determined to be nothing more than low blood sugar they are releasing her. I’m assuming it was from Las Vegas but I don’t know that for certain. As I’m writing this post at 7 pm they still haven’t arrived back home. 

After finishing up the call to Jan, and the sun being up I headed inside to chat with Miss Riley about the up coming day. Over hot drinks we discussed a few things and decided I would go by myself to Blythe for the blood work and she would stay home. Any walking would be done on the road and not venturing any cross country, a text to me when she was leaving and when she returned was also part of the requests. 

I prepped lunch, made our salads and cleaned up the kitchen while finishing up my hot drink. Nothing like having that out of the way. I’ve also checked on the list of things we cannot bring into California and so we’ll not be grocery shopping until we cross into California during the up coming week.

So I headed off to California around 9 am MST, toting the garbage to the dumpsters on my way out. The ride was pretty, quite and uneventful, just the kind I like. I found Lab Corp with no issues. I won’t tell you all about the experience but let’s say that an hour and a half later I had finally had my two vials of blood taken, paid my bill and left. 

A new day has dawned...

I stopped at a car wash just off of E Hobson Way and gave the Dogsled a decent bath. I wasn’t too worried about getting  it spotless, more just so I could see out the windows. The Big Dog is shining like a new penny. He also has a full belly, which I topped up just before crossing into California at $2.69 per gallon. This for the Canadians that have trouble not having a zip code when paying at the pumps with a credit card, try using the 3 numerical digits from your postal code, followed by two zeros. Example: L8K 3K1 would then punched in as 83100. It’s worked at the last three pumps I’ve tried.

Can you see the two birds on the far right hand side near the top?

Leaving Blythe I headed out on  I-10 East and just let the Big Dog run along at a nice steady pace. Riley sent a text message saying she was going for a walk (I pulled into a rest stop to check the message, not while I was driving). I literally pulled back on to the Interstate and my phone rang, my friend Linda was calling. I let if go to voice message and called her when I pulled into the BLM area and chatted while I drove home from the check in cabin. I also passed Riley about 2 minutes from home just a speeding down the dusty road with little tufts of dust kicking up around her feet. Reminded me of that guy on Charlie Brown that is always walking around with dust about him.

Almost looks like normal bark from a tree....

 

Further up it split into two....

And again further up....

After having chatted with Linda for about an hour and Riley having made it home it was about 1:15 pm when I pulled my salad out of the fridge to start enjoying my lunch, as I was hungry. The salad hit the spot but left me hungry enough to enjoy my lunch about an hour later. Today I worked the Weber as it was too hot for Riley outside, even under the awning. I didn’t mind, it was nice sitting outside and soaking up some rays while reading my book. It took only occasional effort from me to turn things on the grill.

The camera was close up to a Teddy Bear Cactus...

Today’s lunch was of course a nice green salad (actually multicolored), followed by mixed veggies with Sweet Basil, and Parsley (fresh mushrooms, asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, spaghetti squash, celery)  We also had grilled potato wedges brushed with oil and to those I also added a little Parm cheese to the tops of the wedges. Lastly I dropped a sweet country Ham steak on the grill. I can tell you it was very good and we have no left overs. Riley finished off her meal with some peaches, I choose to have a Granny Smith apple instead. 

Interesting wood from this dead part of the cactus....

This might be a goats head sticker.....grow everywhere and are sharp little buggers...

After cleaning up inside and out, I grabbed a stool, a towel, keys and the drill. Once again I pulled everything out of the side cubbie, crawled in, removed the panel and had Riley turn on the water pump. I adjusted the check valve that Bill Richards, (On Our Way) mentioned a few days ago, and sure enough, it shut off. Thanks again Bill. Afterward I put everything back in the cubby and sat down to read my book for a while. 

Around 5 pm I was inside just getting things together so I could slip out and take sunset pictures when my Dad called from Manitoulin Island. My Dad’s name is Doug. For those that that don’t know I’ll give you a little information about the Island. Manitoulin Island is located in Northern Ontario in the Georgian Bay/La Cloche/Killarney  area of Lake Huron. There are two ways to get on or off the Island from late April to mid October, but from October to April there is only one way on and off. During the summer months one can use the ferry from South Baymouth on the south western tip of the Island to Tobermory on the mainland, which is 27 miles away. The ferry schedule is 2, 3, and 4 trips depending on time of season and day. The ferry is called the Chi-Cheemaun which means Big Canoe in Ojibway.  The other alternative is Hwy 6 which crosses a single lane swing bridge at the northwest end of the Island at the town of Little Current. The swing bridge stops traffic during the summer months usually every hour on the top of the hour to allow marine traffic to pass into/out of the North Channel at the town of Little Current.

Beginning to decline....

Among the news my dad shared was numerous accidents on various highways in the north which claimed a number of lives  over the past few days. We chatted about the weather, the temps, updates on this and that and before I knew it 20 minutes had passed. Dad had lots of news today. 

An dying cactus , love the 'head' shape...

After hanging up the phone I slipped outside and started taking pictures. I walked around and took pictures from a number of angles and locations. Wasn’t an extraordinary sunset but it was nice. I was back inside around 6:30 pm to chat with Riley for a bit before starting to write this post and I still have to edit the pictures taken today. 

Loved the sunset in the hoop of the branch...

So there you have it, our day. I managed to accomplish the three things I wanted to do today, blood work, bath the Dogsled, and check the check valve. I didn’t get out for a walk, it was just too hot when I got home but tomorrow I plan on having a good long walk. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment. 

A different kind of 'skeleton'  in the desert....

Until next time…. take care, be safe, 

Goodnight from Quartzsite, Arizona

Deb