On a long and lonesome highway....: smell

Our Location: Quartzsite, Arizona

A nice night for sleeping but I put my fleece jammies back on and that helped. I wondered if maybe I was cold since I had changed my sleeping apparel from fleece jammies to short capris cotton jammies and if perhaps that was the issue with my Sunday night sleeping problems. Last night back into my fleece, and I slept better. Think I’ll just keep wearing fleece for a while.

The early morning sky....

I heard Riley’s even breathing before I shut my computer down last night after posting my blog so I knew she was asleep. Although it was an excellent day I think it was stressful for her as well, plus the fire last night, and a long walk yesterday, it all added up to make her tired.

It looked dark over there...

I woke up at 4:30 am but told myself to forget it, I wasn’t staying up, rolled over and went back to sleep until just before 6 am. A much better time for me to be thinking about staying up all day, or at least until nap time.

A long time later the sun was starting to paint the sky...

It’s very quiet here at 6 am, the coyotes aren’t making any noise this morning. Of course I haven’t stepped outside yet but I’m confident it will be just as quiet then as well. We’ve chosen an excellent spot.

Taking longer than usual due to the cloud cover....

I was outside before 7 am snapping pics, although it was pretty dark and it’s hard to hold the camera still, so often I use the Dogsled’s nose, or top of the box corner as a tripod of sorts. It helps to keep the camera steadier. I wandered around to new places taking pictures of anything that caught my fancy. Found a couple of new spots that looked interesting but not sure we could make it across the wash.

Sunrise as seen from behind a Teddy Bear Cactus...

I heard the Igloo door clicking shut and knew that Riley was up, so I headed back home. The sun was up but we didn’t see it for a bit until it was above the lower layer of clouds and since I was waiting for it to pop, it’s the reason I was a bit later than usual getting back home. Riley knows that I wander when taking my pictures and so this morning she knew I’d be home shortly.

You can see the cloud cover, or is that fog due to the temp drop....

We discussed the day and changed the menu as we hadn’t taken the meat out of the freezer last night and I didn’t think it would be thawed in time to actually work with to make a meatloaf. So I pulled sausages out, made up a veggie packet and some salads for lunch.

A nice gentle type rain, actually will soak in some...

We went for a short walk and enjoyed the warmth but the cloud cover was still in the offing. Although we could see blue skies as well. Back home I spent some time clearing some rocks from our turn off to make it a bit smoother. I know we’re leaving on Thursday but should we come back to this spot in the future it’ll be less bumpy. After that I sat outside reading for an hour or so. It seemed that the wind just kept picking up and picking up and picking up. Finally the temps seemed to drop as the sun disappeared as well. After a few tries I managed to get a soft rope over the big slide topper to snug it down some in the wind. It’s got a bit of play in it and flaps more easily in the wind, so by snugging it down it makes it less likely to have a tear.

Almost everyone was staying inside today....

The wind was pretty strong and there was no way to BBQ in this weather, so we once again changed lunch plans. Salads of course but just some macaroni/tomatoes/cheese for me, but Riley added some fried up sausage removed from the casing, to hers. Not a spectacular lunch but it was good.

You can see where I turn around to back in....

We did some dishes and closed the big door as it was just too cool with it open. Before long it started to rain, not hard but big drops and with the wind they were streaking across the windows. It started and stopped all afternoon. At one point I could smell something that to me smelled like something scorched or burning. I hurried outside, checked all around, and could find nothing. I checked the batteries, water level was good, they weren’t hot, no smell in the front compartment, checked the breaker panel, no smells, same for the fridge and stove. We truly couldn’t figure it out. We shut the windows and the smell seemed to go away. Stepped outside and it was very strong. Eventually I figured it was probably the smell of the desert but to make certain we grabbed HRH Miss Kitty, and the garbage, heading out to the dumpsters. The same smell out there, so I was pretty certain it was just the desert smell.

I didn't see that double rainbow until I was looking at this picture...

On our way out we had noticed a couple of cars, along with a K-9 unit, and a sheriff’s pickup pulled off to the side of the roadway and they were still there when we came back. I stopped and asked the fella in the Sheriff’s pick up if that was the desert I was smelling. He assured me it was and off we went home. I was very happy to know we didn’t have some other kind of issue.

Wonder if someone found a pot of gold?

Back home the rain still continued to fall off and on, we could see some water puddles here and there, the wind seemed to die down but pick up again, though not as strongly. I spent the afternoon on the couch reading. I noticed later that the two law enforcement vehicles went down the main road further than our turn off. I didn’t think anything of it.

The sun just popped out from behind the clouds unexpectedly tonight...

The sun popped out about 5 pm and I grabbed the camera to get some pictures, and along with the sunset there was a rainbow off to the north of us. It had cooled off quite a bit and so I didn’t really want to go outside but donned my fleece sweater anyway. While snapping pictures I noticed numerous flashing blue lights off in the distance, and heard a siren as well. I still was paying attention to the sunset but noticed two more vehicles coming with their roof lights on too. We hopped in to the Dogsled and went out to the main road. There must be a half dozen vehicles down there off on the left with their lights on. An EMT truck was pulled off to the side not getting involved. I’m guessing it’s a law enforcement affair and he was there ‘just in case’. However that is a guess. We turned around at the main road and came back home. It is 6:35 pm and the lights are still flashing over there, lots of them. We noticed a number of vehicles coming from the front of the BLM area and going directly past the ‘excitement’ but I don’t think they all had units back there!

What an amazing show it was....

It seems that the rain has stopped at least for now anyway. Lots of fog around the area, and you can see it lifting off the mountain to the southwest. The wind is still blowing, not hard but at times you can hear it.

Almost anywhere you looked to the southwest was stunning skies...

Riley is off in her room where is quietly making faces at me thinking I can’t see her. No, no just kidding, although it’s possible since I can’t see her and it’s something she would do. I’m out here editing pictures and writing my blog.

See that fog?

So there you have it, our first rainy day here in Quartzsite, Arizona. Nothing exciting but certainly educational to say the least with a dollop of excitement tossed in. Thanks for stopping by, hope you had a wonderful day no matter where you might be.

Someone is not having a good night...lots and lots of vehicles with flashing lights...

A birthday wish goes out to my niece Amber today as she turns another year older. I recall her being just little thing not that long ago but my how time flies. Happy Birthday Amber.