Arizona – TooBusyForWork

North Rim Part 2

Ok, I will just come out and say the North Rim of the Grand Canyon beats the South Rim, hands down! I don’t know that I will ever visit the South Rim again.

We took 4 July to just drive around the area and see a few sights before our tour group got together. Here are some highlights.

On 5 July we met our tour group. We started off with an evening ride to a fire tour about 10 miles away. It was very, very, very dusty! There were about 45 or so rigs on this trip, and it seemed to take forever at the stop we made. The fire tower only allowed four people at a time, and it seemed a LOT of people wanted to climb it.

On Saturday we divided into two groups of 30ish rigs to do a ride. Our leader was fairly good, but not completely clear on directions. He also complained about the speed we were making but he stopped for a LONG time at each stop. I know it takes a while for folks to pee and drink water, but it doesn’t take 45 minutes! The ride was beautiful, but it made the previous dusty ride look clean. So much dust! I am just not used to a super dusty ride like that. In our club in Quartzsite we mostly ride on rocks, not dusty locations, and I have seldom riden with so many people, and then it wasn’t on dusty roads. But the views were good.

I did bump up the saturation on this to see the shades

On Sunday we only did a part of the ride with the tour group since we had already seen their last stop. At last I could breathe! We had a fabulous lunch all by ourselves in a beautiful grove of pines. There is a lot of virgin forest here.

Kevin showing just how big these Virgin Ponderosa pines really are

We were supposed to travel next to Marysvale, UT, but the fires there were on the west side of town heading east. I figured the smoke would be just as bad for me as the dust had been, so we cancelled our reservations. Hopefully we can get back there another time. On Monday, 8 July, we went to a cheap campground in Fredonia, UT, the Wagon Wheel RV Park. It was FHU for on,y $30 a night, so we didn’t complain. We got all our laundry done and stocked up on groceries in nearby Colorado City. We then had to decide what to do next since the fires interfered with our trip to Marysvale. We decided to just go back to the North Rim!

There are bison in the North Rim, but we hadn’t seen any until our last day there. We finally saw one just standing around (kind of boring) and another have a nice dust bath in a Buffalo wallow. Guess which one I am posting?

We generally just relaxed a lot, riding only another couple of days. The views were so lovely, the campsite so quiet, and the weather so temperate we just chilled reading books and such. We ate at Jacob’s Lake restaurant and the Kaibab Lodge, and both were excellent.

On Monday, 15 July, we started to head north. We spent one night at the Saint George Elks Lodge, and we were the only ones there! Then again, it was 105! Awful, but the views were nice. Tuesday we went to the Cedar City RV Resort, a nice place. We had reservations to see “Much Ado About Nothing”at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and it was a hoot, Shakespeare’s comedies are belly laughing funny and definitely not “high brow” stuff. We had intended to visit a small Renaissance Faire going on, but it was just too miserably hot since they didn’t open until 11:00 am. We did visit the Frontier Homestead State Park Museum, but I gave out from the heat before I got to all the outdoor exhibits. Nice museum though!

Did I mention it was HOT? After the 105 degrees in St. George and the 99 degrees in Cedar City, we decided to prolong the pain by spending time at Antelope Island State Park, UT. The island is in the Great Salt Lake, and it was one of our favorite spots when we lived in SLC. We also wanted to see friends in the area. Antelope Island was also really hot, 10 degrees above average, but what is “average” anymore? There was also a LOT of haze from smoke. We did get a bunch of shopping done, and we spent time with friends, so it was worth it. But we aren’t going to stay 3 nights like we planned. We decided to head to Island Park tomorrow morning. Temps are forecast to be in the mid to upper 80s, and we can handle that. Crossing my fingers!

North Rim, Part 1

After a fabulous trip in the Uintas, we needed to move on. Because the holiday is this week, we couldn’t find a really nice place to spend a couple of days. Everything was reserved! We ended up at a Love’s Travel Stop in Salina, UT, just off I-70. Good things: it was close for travel, clean, concrete patio, and amazingly quiet. Not so good things: expensive for a bare pull through with no trees, no landscaping, just concrete and black top. It met the need though. We did lots of laundry, got groceries, and we generally caught up with things. Not my favorite kind of place though, and it will be on my “if nothing else is available” list.

We drove the rest of the way to the North Rim on Monday. We found an amazing boondock site just off FS 22 which branches off AZ 67, the Grand Canyon HWY. Two miles up a gravel road led to a huge site surrounded by aspens and pines with a few fairly level spots.

We have since put up the Clam shelter since there are a lot of flies and a few mosquitos. Monday night we had dinner at the Kaibab Lodge, and it was fabulous! They normally offer a buffet, but it was pretty quiet so they just had a few menu items for choices. Everything was done beautifully, and it tasted great. We had a nice talk with the cook. He stays at the lodge in the summer and in Yuma during the winter. He full-times in a 27’ travel trailer.

On Tuesday we drove to Hurricane, UT to pick up the RZR we had left for an oil change on Monday. We had a bunch of engine work done before we left Iowa, and it needed an out of cycle oil change. It was a bit before the 50 hours recommended, but we would have been over the hours if we had waited until we left. I also picked up some new fabric for a quilt top I am hoping to finish during this trip.

Today we drove to the North Rim visitor center. Lots and lots fewer visitors than the South Rim! I was so proud of myself walking for 200 yards or so with a brief stop in the middle. I could not walk 50’ before my nerve ablation, so life definitely looking up. After all the driving, we both took a nap! We had pizza for dinner, made on the Blackstone. Sausage, onions, and mushrooms made a fabulous topping.

For the next four days we will be doing a bunch of UTV riding, so more to come!

Lake Havasu, Casa Grande, and the Desert Botanical Garden

We took off on Sunday morning, 24 March, and headed toward Lake Havasu City. We had reserved 5 nights at the Elks Lodge full hookup campground. Very nice! We had an end site, and we were able to enjoy some fabulous sunsets looking over the town and lake. The place was pretty full each night with snowbirds on their migration, so advanced reservations were needed. This was definitely the biggest and most active lodge we have stayed at. Cheap drinks, decent food, and no smoking made it a hit. We came so I could attend a Staycation with the Lake Havasu Quilt Guild I joined back in June.

A quilt Staycation is like a quilt retreat except you get to go home each night! Breakfast goodies, lovely lunch, nice snacks, and prizes were to be had. I took my set of 100 4” finished triangle in a square blocks. I had to arrange them, and the big tables made it so much easier than the motorhome. I got them arranged nicely, sewn together, and then I got the quilt sandwiched nicely. I even started quilting it, but my thread got caught and broke the needle. Even though I tried all kinds of tricks to get the machine working again, I must have tweaked something wrong internally. Sigh. I really wanted to finish the quilt before I got home plus do some other miscellaneous sewing too. I have already made an appointment with a service shop.

Leaving Lake Havasu we gradually headed toward our eclipse reservation in Uvalde, TX. Or at least we tried! We made it a whole 60 miles before we had to pull off the road for wind. That had us spending Saturday night, 30 March, in Bouse, AZ at the Desert Pueblo RV Park. It was a bare bones snowbird park, but very clean and quiet. A single activity room and no pool, but it was only $500 a month plus electricity for winter. We took off on Sunday morning for Casa Grande and another Elks Lodge. This camping area was dry camping, but that didn’t bother us in the least. We stayed two nights since we wanted to revisit the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. Prepare for a photo extravaganza!

This is two shots of the wildflower garden.

The organ pipe cacti here inspired us to visit Organ Pipe National Monument a few years ago.

I love this view of a saguaro forest on a hill. I really want to come back some time in June to see them blooming.

It was an overcast day that threatened rain, so some of the flowers were curled up.

Look at this century plants (agave) putting out huge flower stalks. After blooming later in the season the plant will die.

There were numerous areas of lupines in all colors. I have a weakness for the dark oin of these.

Saguaro are not just popular with humans, but the birds depend on them. The lower bird was headed into a nesting cavity. The top bird had nesting materials in its beak.

We never did find the plant tag for this tall fellow. To compare, Kevin is 5’10”.

Barrel cacti are my favorite type. They come in a variety of shapes and spine types, but these orange flowering ones were showing off through the garden.

I am showing two pictures of these small barrel cacti to give you an idea of scale. The cacti “buds” were 2-3” high, and the flowers tiny but brilliant.

And I just think the white spikes on this succulent is interesting. The Palo Verde Tree behind it was lovely too. Palo Verde trees do their photosynthesis in their green trunks instead of their leaves.

This barrel cactus was in a container right at the entrance. It was a good opportunity to get a better view of the flowers.

These Chihuly glass sculptures were also at the entrance, sparkling even under the overcast skies.

Kevin and I both agreed we need to plan a trip to the area later in the year, heat and all, to catch more blooms.

After Casa Grande, we spent a night in Deming at the Elks Lodge. They don’t officially have a camping spot, but they said we were welcome to park overnight. Dry camping on the edge of bunch of WWII barracks foundations and across the street from an old Army Aerodrome from the same time. The lodge looks abandoned, but then, a lot of Deming looks the same way. We spent Wednesday night in the Van Horn RV Park which meant lots of laundry. They have a decent little cafe there with standard diner food but delicious home made cobblers. Ft. Stockton RV Park was the last stop before we landed in Uvalde, TX where we are staying at Qual Spring RV Park. Very nice place! Live oaks give lots of shade, and the sites aren’t bad sized. We aren’t fond of Texas, but this is definitely one of the nicer places we have stayed in the state. We won’t leave until Wednesday morning, 10 April. Clouds are expected to put a huge damper on our eclipse viewing, but that is the luck of the draw. We talked about trying to chase the totality zone to a place without clouds, but decided it wasn’t worth it.

Leaving Quartzsite tomorrow

I just looked at my last post, and it was three weeks ago! Time flies when you are having fun I guess. We spent the day just generally sorting and organizing gear that has been spread around inside and outside. When we stop for a night or two some place, we keep things nicely organized. But when we stay someplace for long periods, things just have a tendency to explode! We actually have never stayed this long in a single place, and things were scattered everywhere! Got that pretty much done, so we are just relaxing in the peace and quiet of a mostly empty boondock location.

As I packed I realized I haven’t posted much about our travel companions. Luna is the black one, 10.6 pounds, friendly, and outgoing. Her sister Minnie (short for Minerva) is a petite 7.4 pounds, shy and anxious. They both love motorhome life.

I have been cooking of course. I tried to make pizzas on the Blackstone grill. I made the dough in my breadmaker. A 1 pound dough makes four personal pizzas. While I was trying for “round” I got “artisanal shaped” instead! The hardest part was shaping the dough.

We had an absolutely fabulous Valentine Day dinner. Kevin sous vide’d two steaks, and I made Parmesan and garlic asparagus. I also made light as air rolls from dough made in the bread maker, it was fabulous. The only issue with the bread maker is the power used to bake, whether in the machine or in the convection oven (the rolls). The convection oven is a real power hog!

Steaks, asparagus with Parmesan and garlic, home made roll

As expected we took more rides on the RZR, some with the SunRiders club and some on our own. I was impressed with the KOFA cabin built by the CCC. I think it is available for rent through the BLM. The stone work was lovely, and it was in great shape.

I wish I could remember the name of this fabulous site! Two arches, maybe 30’ high with a number of windows on either side. You might have to blow up the picture to see the windows though.

Double arches plus windows on either side

I took a “Ladies Only” ride with the SunRiders too. We went to Dead Horse Canyon which was rather uninspiring. Lots of sand, few rocks, and I love rocks. This was one of the sights on the way there though.

And the flowers have really stated coming out in the last few days.

Cholla and 2-3” wide Desert Gold flowers

The hills east of us have really turned green, or at least as green as the desert gets.

I have also done quite a bit of sewing. I finished up all but the binding of the donation quilt I am making for the FMCA convention in March. I am quite happy with it, though the final result was quite different than the initial plan. I thought I had carefully calculated that I could get four cuts from each fat quarter I had, but it turns out I could only get four cuts on the fat quarters without selvedges! Oops! I bought some more yardage and found the fabulous print to tie everything together. And yet more serendipity happened when the variegated thread my daughter got me for Christmas as a perfect match! It just got a simple all over meander. I might do some more quilting in the border, but I will decide later. It will only be if I get time.

I also finished my class samples for the sewing class I am doing at the FMCA convention. All of the project kits are completed including the binding all cut. I have 10 spots open, and I cut 12 sets so the students have some choices. And since I like them all, any leftovers will be fine with me! I also finished 100 triangle in a square blocks out of the remnants from the quilt. I will put them together for another baby sized quilt which will be fine when I add some borders.

I will end with this morning’s fabulous Arizona sunrise.

Still in Quartzsite doing Quartzsite things

We plan on staying in the Quartzsite area until the last week of February. I have posted about the area a number of times, so I don’t want to supply too many comments about things that haven’t changed. But I do have a lot of pictures and even some videos!

We took a trip with the SunRiders club on 13 January. We saw a bunch of old cabins from miners who had lived in the area.

Someone had fun “installing” a satellite dish

The only thing blooming in early January

The Arizona desert does occasionally get rain, and we had about 3/4” between 22-23 January. The results were fabulous. And no one ever complains about rain in the desert.

During the big RV show in town we also have a rally with an internet group I have participated in for 10 years or so. I have been coming to their rallies since I retired. I was the rally coordinator this year, and I will be next year too. It is a very unstructured rally. People show up, some tell me in advance, some don’t. Each day we have a Happy Hour where folks BYOB and someone brings snacks. Sometimes someone will say they are going to do XYZ, and others can come along if they want. Some do, some don’t. I call it the Unstructured Rally! This year I led a trip to some of the modern rock art folks have created in La Posa South. I called it “Quirky Quartzsite.” Folks said they enjoyed it. We had a potluck lunch on Saturday where I cooked my famous peach cobbler and New Mexican style layered green chili enchiladas which are fabulous if I say so myself. Sunday we took a trip to the Desert Bar. “The Rock” is a long standing fixture of the rallies, and it is at the front of our firepit each year.

sunsets and sunrises can be unbelievably beautiful in Arizona. Dry air, clouds, and a bit of dust creat outstanding color. These aren’t retouched at all!

After folks finally left the rally (we always have some early birds and some stragglers), Kevin cooked up two waygu steaks out son bought us for Christmas. Wow! He seasoned them with garlic and herbs then used the sous vide and finished them by searing them on the Blackstone. It was absolutely the best steak I have ever eaten.

Waugh steaks are as fabulous as their reputation

Yesterday we went on another SunRiders ride to see Patton’s Cave by Bouse. It was the most challenging ride we have ever taken. The ride leader apologized for the difficulty, but two spots had washed out and we barely made it through. One had us on two wheels! We were both exhausted when we got home. The sights were good though.

Mesquite limbs, flowers, and pods all at once

Patton’s Cave used for secret radio testing during WWII.

I also attended a 3 day “Staycation” with the Lake Havasu quilt guild. Great fun! I got 96 4” triangle in a square blocks done. Still need four more, but I will get those soon. I have also completed eight 16” circle in a square blocks. Just need one more of those too before I start assembly. Hopefully I can get at least one of the quilts finished before the FMCA convention in March.

Oh, and I really do have some videos! As before, just click on them to watch.

A rough section of trail, but not the worst we were on!

First time riding in sand.

Quartzsite, AZ and the way to get there

We never made it to Williams, AZ as I said we would in my last post. Kevin woke up at 4:30 am in the cold, and he realized we had lost all battery power! Poor fellow had to go buy a new electrical multi-meter because he had left the one for the rig at home. He finally got it and figured out our battery charger wasn’t running and our batteries had gone into self-protection mode due to low charge. He finally got everything working, but not until he spent 3+ hours in the cold and dark doing it. I sat wrapped up in 3 quilts with a cat since it was only 21 degrees when we woke. Ugh. I told him it was time to head south, so we did!

We spent the night at the Elks Lodge in Willcox, AZ after traveling south on I-25 to Hatch, NM. We had hoped for a green chili burger in Hatch, but it wasn’t to be – the famous place was closed for the holidays. New Years Eve found us arriving in Quartzsite! We spent the first night in the Hi Jolly free BLM camping area. I took this picture the first morning of 2024.

There is something magical about sunrises and sunsets in the desert. The colors are otherworldly, and it was a great start to the morning.

We got out and about moving to the Long Term Visitor area on New Year’s Day. We needed to find a place with space for 10-15 big rigs with easy to follow directions. I am coordinating a rally for the RVForum.net group during the big RV show at the end of the month, and the place where we met for years got removed from consideration due to construction. Who wants to camp next to the new sewage lagoons? Ugh. Think we have found a good spot in Tyson Wash LTVA.

On 2 January we took an 80 mile UTV ride with the Arizona Sunriders Club. We went into the KOFA Wildlife Refuge through McPherson Pass and to Big Eye mine. It was 80 miles round trip mostly on OHV trails from our start point, and we had to trailer the RZR there and back, so a long day. I was using a new mount for the GoPro, and I didn’t get nearly the pictures or videos I hoped for – nothing of the mine or the “Big Eye” (an interesting geological oddity) or Castle Dome. Here is something though. Click on the links to see each short video. It might take a few clicks to get them started!

This was a basic desert view on a fairly level stretch.

This was a bit rougher section though the auto smoothing of the GoPro gives it a misleading smoothness.

Ignore the first few seconds of the video showing the RZR’s roof! It gets better, I promise.

Today we attended the monthly meeting of the Sunriders, heard some interesting stuff, and bought some swag – sweatshirt jackets, a hat, and a flag for the UTV, all with the logo on it. Nice stuff.

Lake Havasu part deux

We are back at DJ’s RV Park, a nice older park that is very quiet. Site sizes are decent, and the pool (which we never use) looks nice. It is also $15 less a night than the new place next door! I would not stay here for a season because I would want activities and such, but for a week or so, I prefer a nice quiet place like this.

Kevin got his dentistry done, so that was good. We also got all the basic necessities of laundry and shopping done too. We even got to eat out some! Cha’Bones is our favorite. Upscale, but really good food in a casual atmosphere. We did get some sightseeing done though. We originally planned on Joshua Tree, but they are still recovering from recent fires. We decided to visit the brand new Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. It means “Spirit Mountain”, and is a large swath of BLM land surrounding the town of Searchlight, NV. We visited Nelson, NV, an old mining town that is mostly a privately owned ghost town. Fun place!

The place is full of stuff. While the mill is pretty decrepit, it was obviously really something in its day. The area sent millions of dollars of precious metals out. The owner’s daughter was staffing the cash register, and she described her parents as hoarders who only became respectable after the TV show “American Pickers” became popular! There is a mine tour I wasn’t interested in (claustrophobia), but I bet it would be interesting. There were old workings ranging from small glory holes to more extensive workings all through the area. I would love to come back in a cooler season with the RZR and explore.

On our way back, we decided to explore a part of the Mojave Preserve we hadn’t traveled before. We took the Nipton Road (NV 164) to the Walkng Box Ranch. It was owned by famous silent movie stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow, and they lived there with their family from 1931 until the mid 40s. It was owned by a variety of people before receiving. Atonal Historic Preservation designation. Sadly it is closed right now, though a number of volunteers and seasonal staff have RVs on the property. I did get some pictures.

The ranch house is a long way from the fence

The barn cladding hides railroad tie construction, seen a bit on the far left side

There is a modern visitor center, but closed

The creosote plants had the coolest seed pods like little puff balls

We continued on the Nipton Road to Ivanpah Road then Lanfair Road and then into Goff. Some hard surface road, some gravel, but very little “bad”road, just some minor washboard. We stopped at the Goff Schoolhouse Museum and wandered around a bit. The Schoolhouse itself is impressive, but the surrounding open air mining museum is truly fabulous. They have a walking tour guide you can take, but we just kind of wandered around because it was so hot!

A two stamp mill showing clearly the pistons. I tried to take this in portrait mode. Obviously I failed.

The pride of the museum – a working 10 stamp mill brought from Montana

The have special public days when they operate the stamp mill, and I would love to attend some time. I better bring my ear protection though; the mills were deafening.

I did get some sewing done. My tumbler quilt is completely bound and in the wash. I also got all the Accuquilt cutting done for the next Hunter Star. I decided on a 3×4 layout to make it a bit bigger and more rectangular. I also made some pizza with dough from the bread maker, so I am feeling quite accomplished! We even did some real house cleaning, something g we were desperately in need of.

Tomorrow we head to Saint George, UT on our way to Koosharen, UT up near Fish Lake in the mountains. Lots of trails to ride there. I am definitely tired of the heat here, though I have been pleasantly surprised at how well our two ACs have kept the inside of the motorhome.

Lake Havasu then dispersed camping near Flagstaff then back to Lake Havasu

Odd title I know. We went to DJ’s RV Resort in Lake Havasu to get the RZR set up to carry in the F-150 bed. Kevin had some additions to make to it too like adding a winch, a cargo rack, and some new mirrors. Knowing it might get complicated, a friend in town let him work in his air conditioned garage and use a few big tools he owned that Kevin didn’t bring with us. It took 5-6 days of 3 hours or so a day since they are both retired and worked slowly. He got it all done though! The picture makes the truck seem bigger than it is, but that is just the perspective.

While Kevin and Bill were working on the truck and RZR, I went to the local quilt guild “Staycation,” a 3 day retreat in a local community building, 8-4. I didn’t stay that long, but I did get a lot done. I finished the piecing for the scrappy tumbler the night before, and I got it quilted. Still need the binding though.

I got 6 blocks completed of the 9 needed for my Hunter’s Star top at the retreat. Here is the completed top with borders I finished yesterday. I give the credit to Accuquilt for those almost perfect corners and joins! Aren’t they lovely? I felt I was a walking advertisement for Accuquilt since I had so many people come over to see it.

While we were here, we took a drive to Quartzsite where we always stay some in the winter. Lots of changes, but I won’t detail them here. However I saw this adorable line up of little “people”. They really stood out because there were so very few real people in the huge area. It was almost spooky to see it so empty.

We left LHC on Thursday, 15 June, to find a dispersed site in the Coconino National Forest west of Flagstaff. We wanted to do some riding! We found a great place off Forest Road 171, and enjoyed gorgeous weather and some nice riding. I experimented with my new Go Pro, and I got some great videos. This post was later than I intended because I can’t figure out how to post them to Facebook or YouTube! I keep getting errors. But I decided I wouldn’t wait any longer, so you will get no videos until I can figure out how to get them on YouTube. Loading them here is just too resource intensive, and the uploads over a few seconds long always fail. The forest was lovely. It reminds me a lot of the Black Hills with open forests alternating with prairie meadows. We were at 7200’, so it was in the 30s each morning, warming up to the 70s. We took one long day or 60+ miles, and a couple of days of shorter trips.

We would have stayed longer on the forest, but Kevin had another dental issue from his recent tooth implant. He saw an emergency dentist in Lake Havasu the first time we came through, and it happened again when we were in the forest. He couldn’t find a dentist or oral surgeon within 100 miles that could get him in quickly except back in LHC with the same emergency dental clinic he used the first time. This time the oral surgeon back in Iowa coordinated the care with the dentist here, and we are crossing our fingers it worked. We decided to stay around here for 4 nights and do some more sightseeing plus cleaning and laundry. The dirt from UTV riding is no joke! Plus I need some more fabric!

Salt Lake City to Lake Havasu

We got to Salt Lake City on Saturday, 3 June. Easy drive, so we got in before 2:00. We stayed at the KOA on North Temple as we usually do. We thought about Antelope Island, but the biting gnats were out, and those things love to take bites out of me! We connected with a good friend on Saturday, and I made my first pizza crust in the bread maker. It came out pretty well, but I don’t know how to stretch the dough well enough! It was a bit smaller and thicker than I like. Wish I had taken a picture, because it tasted great. The recipe for my 1 pound bread maker makes 2 crusts, so I froze on for later use.

Sunday we went to a fabulous concert held at my old church, First Presbyterian in SLC. They did the Rutter Requiem, and it was fabulous. It is one of my favorite choral pieces. If I had brought concert black attire I would have sung with them, but my black polo with worn blue jeans just didn’t fit the vibe LOL! Even better than the choral music was the first piece, an incredible organ piece performed by Larry Blackburn, my favorite organist. The church is a big city church with a gothic style, and it takes a big pipe organ to fill the space. Luckily they have one, and Larry makes good use of it. I don’t know if this link to the amateur recording will work, but here it is. You might need to copy it and place it in your browser.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NeT4rr9IgR15XZv_B_asjfbsmQ0MLysY/view?usp=sharing

Monday we had dinner with more old friends, and we repeated the joy with different friends on Tuesday. So nice to see so many of the people I enjoyed in Utah. I am not sad we moved, but I do miss the people. We also took the mandatory trip to Trader Joe’s and stocked up on freezer meals and treats. We also had the meeting with our financial advisor that was the official purpose for the trip.

We left on Wednesday, 7 June, and spent the night at the Eureka Casino parking lot in Mesquite, NV, just over the border from Utah. We have stayed there before in January heading to the southwest, and it always had 7-10 rigs of various types parked overnight. This time there was just 3 of us. It was pretty hot when we arrived, so we ran the generator for AC until about 9:00 pm when it cooled off enough to open the windows and turn on the fans. Kevin hates heat, but even he was comfortable with the temps that night.

We decided to take the slower route from Mesquite to Lake Havasu by driving NV 169, the Northshore Road that is mostly in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Lovely drive. Here are a few pictures.

Lots of little islands in the lake at this low water level

The bathtub line is >100’ above current lake levels

We arrived in Lake Havasu City to a reserved site at DJ’s Campground on the north side of town. It is a well-kept, older, very quiet place, but handy and priced well. It is HOT here, so boondocking wasn’t an option; we both wanted AC. We picked up the RZR from the Needles storage lot where it had been living since we left the SW, and Kevin is off today with a friend in town doing updates and modifications to it and the truck for transporting it without the trailer. The friend has an air conditioned garage, and all the tools known to mankind. I am sure they will have a blast.

I intend on starting a donation quite out of scraps cuts with my tumbler die. It is nice, mindless seeing, but the result is cute and for a good cause. However I never seem to get the scrap pile lowered!

First week in Quartzsite

It has been busy, so that is my excuse for not posting sooner. Be prepared for loads of pictures!

We arrived on Saturday, 14 January. We basically got settled in to our site, and Kevin spread out all the outdoor paraphernalia we don’t often pull out. he has a new kitchen set up for the Blackstone grill, plus the rug and chairs all got pulled out. On Sunday we took our first ride with a local Side by Side (UTV) club called “Arizona Sunriders.” We had been following along their Facebook page, and they welcomed us on their ride. Here are some shots from the trip. We started out at the somewhat still active marble mine. I didn’t take any pictures because we did that last year.

We also visited a local landmark called Deer Run B&B. To put it mildly, it isn’t a real B&B. Instead it is a quirky spot at the end of a VERY rough trail filled with a hodgepodge of chairs, tables, and cute signs.

Part of the group at one of our stops. That’s Kevin at the back of our little RZR.

While on FB the trip had been identified as a relatively short, easy ride, it turned out into something that really stretched our skills and comfort! Luckily they later said it was probably the third hardest tour they do! We made it, so we feel accomplished.

On Monday we took a trip to Yuma and Algodones, Mexico. Kevin wanted to get new glasses, and he took his prescription from our ophthalmologist in Iowa to Western Optical there. He is quite happy with the new glasses, and they only cost $160 for frames, bifocal lenses, and coatings, about half the price back home. We ate Mexican food (of course!), and on the way back we saw three groups of feral donkeys along US 95 through the Yuma Proving Grounds. We only stopped to get pictures of this small group.

The weather has been wet and cold, both unusual for this time of year. On Wednesday it finally cleared up.

We spent some time just driving the RZR around the local area too. The top of a nearby hill shows part of the Long Term Visitor Area (LTVAs) near Quartzsite. Yes, it really is that crowded near town! However it gets a lot less crowded a mile or two away from town. Note this was middle of last week, before even more crowds came for the big rock show and the RV show (“The Bog Tent”).

We also took a trip to Parker, both to pick up the sticker that allows us to ride the RZR on Indian land, but also to grab some fabulous donuts at the little bakery there and to have lunch. We found a fabulous Indian place called Dee’s Cafe that I would recommend to anyone.

Yesterday we took another trip with the Sunriders to Swansea ghost town. It was a very active place with up to 750 people and multiple mines. Surprisingly most of the ore was originally transported to Los Angeles where it was shipped across the Atlantic to Swansea, West Wales, for refining and steel making. Eventually the mills were added to the town, and the town took its name from the former milling location. These are big ruins in remarkably good shape considering they are over 100 years old.

Rows of mountains from the site. Note the saguaros.

So far today we have driven the RZR some pictographs that are quite near our camp.

I have also been sewing. I now have all the rows done for a donation quilt that needs to be finished by the FMCA convention in March. Shouldn’t be a problem at all, which is reassuring.

The huge Big Tent RV show began yesterday, but opening day is a madhouse. We might go in the middle of next week, maybe at 9:00 am or 3:00 pm. Too crazy for me to be interested in prime time viewing. Besides, they always have good state fair type of food vendors – fry bread, funnel cakes, turkey legs, Asian bowls, all kinds of stuff! I do love my fry bread.