We nailed ourselves down…

 

Our Location:

Road Runner BLM, Quartzsite, Az

If the blog looks blurry it’s due to the wind shaking the Igloo. The winds have been relentless for 24 hours and we are looking at another 10 hours at least. The winds are coolish, out of the north, and make it uncomfortable to be outside. It has been partially sunny with temps hovering around 70-72 F/21-22 C during the day, around 50 F/ 10 C over night. 

Three views of this beaten up Saguaro.

On Saturday while we were continuing our resting from the day before, I noticed a very big, shiny black truck pulling into our yard, our friends from Ontario came to visit. Bill, Patsy and Mr. Gibbs all climbed out and visiting commenced. Time slipped by so quickly as it does with friends, we have no idea where the couple of hours went. Soon our guests were climbing  back into BB and heading off. We will visit some more before we leave the area.

Not the best photo but you get to see their happy faces!

Sunday morning we were up and headed off to Parker for groceries and took only cash as we have had so much trouble with the card machines in Walmart there. In fact the couple ahead of us were having trouble trying  to use their card, she held the card with two hands while  he punched in the pin, it was the only way it would work. Cash payment had no issue! 

It is easy to see two of them are related.

Deb D, I looked down and found this ancient being at my feet.

I’ve been in touch with folks back home, Dad, sister, SIL Barb. All is well, rain is in the forecast for a number of days. Jason and Leah’s house is moving right along, it sounds as if a move in date is coming closer. We are excited for them!

Can you see the sleeping Indian?

1- forehead
2- nose
3- chin

The road to Parker is vastly improved with a new surface most of the way. Kuen Street here in Q is also vastly improved but Bill informed me it was fixed last spring, which we didn’t know.

The road to Parker.

We always like to this RR car!

As I typed this I thought I could see a dog running loose but I think it may have been coyote, a black tipped tail was visible and no one was visible in the area.

Taken from inside the Igloo, he is definitely a coyote.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time…

Take car, stay safe,

Deb

In a new time zone today….

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Effingham, Illinois 

My sleep patterns are erratic at best, they have been this way for most of my life. Hours of sleep for me vary greatly from 2 -6 hours a night. I can go for months like this, functioning well. Then I will crash, as yesterday proved. I napped for at least 2 hours straight and then drifted in and out for another couple of hours during the afternoon. I climbed into bed and fell asleep around 10 pm, awake about 4:30 am. Finished sleeping for the night I have been checking blogs, weather and maps for a couple of hours. Usually I’m coming home from two morning coffee stops by this time but during travel times I find ways to amuse myself while Riley blissfully sleeps snug in bed.

Still lots of green.

A pretty welcome to Delphi display.

The bridge to the left of the display.

It is not a travel thing that I have heard many speak but a regular night for me. Noise is not a factor, nor is light. I am a morning person, but I can also be a night owl, it is dependent on the moment. So yesterday was a much needed day of rest for me and we have discussed possibly doing more of this kind of stopping. We are not park people but it is always an option. Ah the daily dilemmas of life. 

US 25 S was not as rough as it looks.

Pretty drive on this short road.

A park at Odel, Illinois 

I have noticed the sun is later rising on these fall mornings and the darkness creeps in earlier in the evening every week. It is that time of the year and we  will soon be back to the dreaded Standard Time. I love the nip in the air that is gone by 9 or 10 am, the flashing colours of the leaves, the rustling of dried plant stalks in the breezes, the warmth of wood heat, the smell of soup in the slow cooker. The good smells of fall. 

Central Daylight Time 

Welcome to Illinois welcome centre

Our day started with wheels rolling around 9 am EDT, a quick fuel stop, and a couple of rest stop visits rounded out our day.The plan was to stop at Green Creek Rest Area near Effingham  Illinois but we didn’t like the spot we had there and so came a bit farther along to the Walmart. It was not our first choice but it will do for the night. Tomorrow night’s landing place is tentative. 

Some information for future reference for us, or anyone taking this route, is as follows.

The idea was to take US 24 West to I-57 but things changed. We opted to take 25 south as we neared the turn off for Logansport. However we did not go thru Logansport, which was very nice. US 24 and 25South are divided highway, 4 lanes. Overall the roads are good, some rough patches and lots of construction but other than narrowing of lanes, no stopping.

Now the  bad part: Google Maps took us right into downtown LaFayette. Narrow, narrow streets, lots of cars, tight turns, lights and of course construction including ‘ road closed’ right at the spot I wanted to turn. Right, left, right, left and on and on. Next time I will have hand written instructions to follow instead of the gps. After LaFayette the road was a twisty and turny country 2 lane road. We connected to I-74 West, then I-57 South and here we are.

I called Dad when arrived, explaining we are now in a different time zone so our landing calls will be later in the future. I will chat with him again later. I also texted my sister.

The weather is cooler today, we reached a high of 69F. We needed a sweater when outside! Shocking isn’t it?

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

A night out….

 

Our Location:

Road Runner BLM, Quartzsite, Arizona 

A lazy start to my morning yesterday , I didn’t head out for my walk until after the sun was up. It was just too cold. 

We were off to the races!

Riley and I headed off for town to do a few errands, bumper stops for the kitchen island, fuel for the Dogsled, a quick stop at Park Place Rv to drop something at Bill and Patsy’s ( we even managed a quick hello with Bill), and the last stop was ice at one of the grocery stores. After that it was back home.

These were the little guys.
The track was very small but they had a great time.

Deb (Celebrating the Dance  )dropped by for a visit around noonish. Shortly after she left Riley and I headed over to see Lorne and Sue ( A place called away )for a few minutes. Riley and Archie were staying home alone and she wanted to know a few things. Satisfied that she knew what to do, it wasn’t long before she headed home and Lorne, Sue and I climbed into the Dogsled and headed off to the Yuma area. 

A little blurry but they were moving fast.

Drifting on the turn. The spin outs always happened
at this end and on this turn. 

We managed to do a little shopping for some things that could sit in the truck for a few hours. A stop a Cracker Barrel for some food, and it was off to the races. Thanks folks for your generosity in paying not only for my meal but my entry into the track.

The two at the bottom were soon lapped by the leaders.

The night air had a bit of a bite but overall the night wasn’t too bad. We had coats and blankets, hoods but no mittens. We are Canadian after all!

A later race, with a large number of cars.

The races were fun to watch, some pretty close ones, a few spin outs, one roll over, but no injuries of any kind. Ironically the roll over was in the kids race as he headed off the track, over the berm and toppled over. He was unhurt and waved to the crowd after crawling out. A few of the later adult races were jammed with cars and the action was fast, lots of drifting and even some lapping of the slower cars. It was a great evening.

I don’t recall on spin outs at this end but the drifting was higher
and higher as the night went on.

Lorne handled the Big Dog on the way home, night time driving for long distances is difficult for me and I was happy to pass the keys over. We were home before 11:30 pm! A very good time, thanks again for including me.

It was the last race night for this year at this track before they 
switch to the winter circuit.

Until next time….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

More fun days….

 

Our Location:

Road Runner BLM, Quartzsite, Arizona 

I must apologize, I have no photos to post today. 

Thanksgiving was a wonderful day, good friends , good times and good food. We ended up having 10 people around our circle for a meal with another one coming before dessert was served.  For an American Thanksgiving there were only 2, with the remaining 9 being Canadian.  Our wonderful host and hostess of course were Deb and Tom (Celebrating the Dance  ).  Thank you for including us in your day. Everything was wonderful.

Other attendees were of course Lorne and Sue ( A place called away ), Ken and Kim ( Journey with Ken and Kim), Bill (On our way) and Patsy ( Chillin’ with Patsy) with Ivan (Roadtrip) being our surprise visitor, as well as Riley and I. Lots of laughs, chatter and good times were had by all.

Friday of course was a very quiet day here at home dirt. Coolish temps for the most part all day. A relaxing day with all the ladies gathering at Sue’s front yard for coffee time and most of the gang at the Stinger Bee for happy hour. 

Some plans for the afternoon today so hopefully I remember to take some pictures. Thanks for stopping by. 

Until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

A walk in the wash.....

 

Our Location: 

North of MM 4, Ogilby Road, Winterhaven, California

 

It's a photo kind of day. A few days ago I went for a stroll and here's a little of what I witnessed. 

 

The recent rain made ripples in the sand.

The wind helped to dry it out.

In those shadows it's very moist. You can see the different colour.

Can you see the pink way down there?

 

 

Chatting with my dad yesterday I learned they had a big dump of snow again. It seems the snow comes and goes as much as the wind. 

 

This is the  pink that was way off in the distance in the above pic.

Blooms in the future. The spikes are about 6 " long. I love the colours.

 

Between the wind blowing and my shaking, it is a pretty good pic.

Until next time....

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

A bit of a walk today.

 

 

Our Location: 

Saddle Mountain, Tonopah, Arizona

 

A coolish night last night, we woke to temps of 39F/3C. It warmed up quickly once the sun came up and yet it hasn't been overly warm today, the breeze is very cool.

 

The power line Saguaro.

As you can see it has some interesting growths.

A short walk this morning to the power line Saguaro and then Riley returned home and turned myself back once again to the mountain behind us. I approached from a different path than yesterday. 

 

An interesting Saguaro on our walk to get Riley closer to home.

Same goal as yesterday but from a different direction today.

The Guardian of the cave on the right, can you see him sitting there?

 

I was careful to watch and listen for rattlesnakes and decided to forego too much climbing on my own. A nasty fall would not be good out here and it was a long way back home.  So I was only gone a couple of hours before I was saying "hello the Igloo" to announce my return. It's a common thing when either of us are out and returning home, so as not to startle the other.

 

Yesterday I approached that flat spot from behind.

There are many 'holes' or 'indentations' in the side of the rock. Can you see them?

I've walked across that flat looking area before and thought today might be a good time to do so again.

A few quick contacts with Doug, just keeping in touch and seeing how things are going. I've spoken with a few folks back home over the last number of days but since it's usually after I post my blog, I forget to mention it in the next post.

 

I climbed up that way, a lot steeper and rockier than it looks.

I thought I'd go up not far from that twin Saguaro on the left.

I wonder what that looks like in there? I've never been quite that high.

 

It has been a truly quiet day here and we've enjoyed it. We have done nothing exciting and so I have little to tell you. I can however show you what I viewed today on my lone, short, hike. 

 

It is actually pretty flat up there and it should be easy walking along.

The little white spot a bit left of center is the Igloo.

And the mountain that changes every hour!

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

I could have climbed up there, but decided against it.

It would have meant climbing up here, and it is very steep, not quite straight up.

That is the way I came up and it's the way went back down as well.

 

Until next time...

 

 

Not quite all the way down yet but looking back up.

That bare spot is a campsite.

Lots of saguaros down there.

take care, be safe, 

 

I believe that is a Palo Verde tree in the back, and a Mesquite bush in front.

Deb