Heading Home

We got word this afternoon that Steve's mom passed away today, peacefully, in her sleep. She was 99, and had been in an assisted living center for a little more than a year. Her quality of life hasn't been very good for some time, but she rarely complained, was always gracious and grateful, and kept her sense of humor right up until the end.

We are leaving Holtville in the morning and driving to my parents' in Sun City West to pick our Honda and drive home to Salt Lake. We will leave the Royal Palms at their place, or at my brother's in Prescott, so we can come back after the funeral.

Goodbye Quartzsite, Hello Hot Springs

We left Quartzsite yesterday, after visiting the RV show in the big tent one last time. It was an expensive stop. Steve has been talking about getting a little portable Honda generator ever since we started rv-ing. The Royal Palms has a generator, of course, that we need to use pretty much daily when we’re not hooked up to outside electricity, which is almost all the time. The generator powers the microwave and the electrical outlets that we use to run Mr. Coffee in the morning and the air popper in the evening. We also fire it up when the batteries run down, especially when it’s cloudy and the solar panels can’t do their work. It works just fine, but it runs on propane--two days of cold and/or cloudy weather where the solar panels aren’t working and/or we need to run the furnace, and we are out of propane, which we need to run the fridge and the stove. Hence, the need for an additional generator--one that is light, quiet, and efficient, and doesn’t use propane. The Honda fits the bill. It weighs less than 50 pounds and “sips” gasoline. A gallon of gas will last 12-15 hours with light use or four hours with heavy use. Unfortunately, such efficiency doesn’t come cheap. We paid $1000, which is a pretty standard price, I guess. It works like a charm, though, which is the important thing, since propane can be hard to come by sometimes, but gas is always available.

I can’t leave Quartzsite without talking about the bakery. We spent a lot of money in there, visiting it almost every time we went to town. The Quartzsite Bakery is housed in an old double-wide trailer, with tacky Western murals painted on the side. A sign out front proclaims “We’re Open! Get Your Buns in Here!” There are always cars parked out front, attesting to its popularity with both the locals and the snowbirds. Inside, there’s a big display case with an amazing variety of doughnuts, muffins, cookies, and pastries. The kitchen is in the back, and besides all the pastries, they make at least three kinds of bread every day, and eight or ten different kinds of pies. They have a few mismatched tables and folding chairs when you can hang out with your friends and have a cup of coffee and a cream-filled Bismark or an apple fritter or a sunshine muffin( carrots and coconut and raisins and bran) or anything else in the display case. Yum! They open early, and by noon, half the case is empty, which is when I took the photo.

We are now camped in the long-term area at the Holtville Hot Springs. We had hoped to go to our favorite spot back in the short-term area, about 3 miles from the actual hot springs, but this area got hit with the same storm we did up in Quartzsite, and the dirt road is a series of mudholes. Steve was worried about getting stuck, and reminded me that Good Sam Emergency Road Services would only pay for one tow-out per year; we decided not to chance it. We’re hoping it will dry out later in the week so we can still move out there by the weekend. Meanwhile, we are camped close to our good friend, John Ruch, and his dog, Heyyou, and it’s a 5 minute or less walk to the springs for a good soak. Life is good.

Storm of the Century

Well, maybe not the whole century, but it was a doozy! Remember how I reported that it began to rain on Tuesday, right after we returned from our trail ride to Dripping Springs? It rained all night, off and on all day Wednesday, and then Wednesday evening, the wind came up and the rain really started in earnest.. By Thursday afternoon, the dry wash we were camped near had turned into a rushing river and had overflowed its banks, and the wind had reached gale force, howling at a steady 50-70 miles per hour. Our campsite became a lake, and we moved to higher ground, tucking in behind a big rig for protection from the wind. In our hurry, we left our big “patio” mat behind. Although it was anchored down with rocks all around, that didn’t make much of a difference--that’s it in the picture, all crumpled up, along with someone else’s chair. I did manage to rescue it before it blew away across the desert. The pictures show the wash-turned-river, and what it looked like after the rain stopped, Thursday evening. Those tire tracks are from a jeep that was parked near our campsite; the owner got stuck in up to his hubs when he tried to move it, and had to be pulled out by another jeep.

We found out later that the storm devastated much of central and western Arizona. There were tornado warnings from Yuma to Parker (Quartzsite is halfway in between), and a twister actually touched down in Blythe, CA, 30 miles away, knocking over three semis. Wenden, another town about 30 miles away in another direction, got flooded out, and the whole population was evacuated to Salome, the next town over. Freeways were flooded and closed, power lines were down. Today, Saturday, you would never know anything had happened. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and there’s just a gentle breeze. Most of the rally folks left yesterday after the rain finally stopped and the ground began to dry out, but there are still a few of us here. I need to go to town today and do laundry, and to the bakery for some of their great bread and wonderful cookies and possibly a few of Steve’s favorite chocolate donuts, if there’s any left. We will leave tomorrow, destination still unknown. We have a week to hang out before meeting up with our friends, Jim and Janice, in Holtville.

Trail Riding

It rained during the night on Sunday, and we woke up to dark, ominous clouds. The forecast was for “partly cloudy and 20% chance of rain.” There was some discussion about cancelling the day’s rides because of possible flash flood danger in the numerous washes you go through on these trails; in the end, however, the powers-that-be decided it was safe to give it a try, as there were several places we could bail out of the ride if it started looking iffy. Ten adventurous couples in their jeeps lined up behind us and off we went to find Tank Pass. Steve and I were both pretty nervous--not only about the weather, but also about being able to find our way through the maze of little dirt trails in the desert. For some unknown reason, we were unable to load the trail map into our nice big Garmin nuvii GPS. Instead, we had to rely on our little handheld GPS, which doesn’t have nearly the detail, is in black and white instead of color, and is much harder to use, especially while driving on bumpy roads and holding a CB radio mike to give instructions to the group behind you. We took a wrong turn. And then another. And then another. Luckily, each time, we figured out our mistake within a 100 yards or less and were able to get back on the right track. Steve also remembered where several of the really cool points of interest were along the trail (the “jailhouse” quarry and a couple of old miners’ cabins), and the group really enjoyed those, particularly a couple from Ohio who had only been out west once before. They had been motorcycling for years, came out last year on a Gold Wing motorcycle and went jeeping with some friends. When they went home, they traded in their motorcycle and their car for a jeep! We got through the whole ride without rain, although there were gale-force winds at the top of Tank Pass. Everybody seemed to have a good time, including us, once we got over our initial nervousness. We would definitely lead a ride again, although not until we can figure out the GPS map thing.

Yesterday, after rain again during the night, we woke to a clear, brilliant blue sky, and lined up for a ride to Hogback and Dripping Springs. A lot of folks didn’t go out on Monday because of the weather and were making up for the lost day. There were 24 jeeps, one pickup truck, and our Suzuki, lined up and ready to go at 9 a.m. Despite the cumbersome group ( an ideal size is no more than 12-15 vehicles), we had a great time. The scenery was beautiful, the terrain rugged, and the obstacles were within our capabilities. I took a lot of pictures, but I guess I need lessons, or else more practice. Steve says my photos look like they were taken in a K-Mart parking lot instead of a rough, 4 wheel drive trail. I have to agree.

It started pouring rain as we got off the trail, and it rained hard and the wind blew from late afternoon through most of the night, ruining any prospect of Happy Hour around the campfire. Bright, clear skies again this morning, and several rides went out. We’re taking a rest day. Heading into town to shop, see about the brake lines on the Samurai, and get on the internet. Our campsite here in La Paz Valley is too far away from town to establish a reliable internet connection. Sometimes we can look at email, and occasionally send it, if it’s a small file, but that’s about it.

Algodones, Sun City West, and Quartzsite Again

We camped at Pilot’s Knob, outside of Yuma, so we could have easy access to Algodones. Pilot’s Knob is not my favorite place--totally flat and barren, and the wind always seems to be blowing there. But it’s only one freeway exit away from Algodones, which makes it very convenient for getting all our Mexico chores done. We got here on Friday, January 8th; I called our dentist and was able to get appointments for us the next day. Cleanings for Steve and I, and Steve needed an old filling that had fallen out replaced. Total cost $125. While we were there, we strolled down the street to Navarro’s Shop to look into getting the seats for the Samurai re-upholstered. We had talked to them last year, but just couldn’t work it in. We told the guy that we absolutely, positively had to have it in and out on the same day--Monday--because we had to leave Yuma on Tuesday for an appointment in Phoenix. He said they could do it, so bright and early Monday morning, we drove both the RV and the Samurai to the border, parked the Palms on the American side, drove the Samurai into Algodones, and walked back across the border. On the walk back, we passed a stall with rugs from Oaxaca, and I stopped to admire. Oaxaca (pronounced Wah HA cah) rugs are similar in quality to Navajo rugs, but far, far less expensive. They are hand-woven wool, colored with vegetable dyes, in traditional Indian designs. I picked out a beautiful runner, about 16” wide and about 7 feet long, with blue, orange, green, and yellow glowing on a deep burgundy background. The seller was only asking $85, a phenomenal price. I bargained with him a little, mostly because they expect that, but happily settled on $80. Unlike the Navajo, Oaxacan rug weaving is traditional done by males. The selers showed us photos of weavers at work on their looms, and stated proudly that both his father and his brother were weavers. In fact, not only had his father woven the rug I was purchasing. He was right there in the shop. I asked to be introduced, and told him how beautiful the rug was and how much I loved it.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around Yuma, looking at real estate and big motor homes. I fell in love with a 37 footer that had French doors and a fireplace, but Steve managed to drag me out of there before I could consummate the relationship.
We got back to Algodones late in the afternoon, stocked up on liquor and prescription drugs, and walked back down the dusty little side street to Navarro’s. Sure enough, it was finished. I almost didn’t recognize our car, because they had washed it inside and out. The upholstery job was beautiful! And it only cost $200.

The next day, Tuesday, as planned, we drove back to my parents’ in Sun City West, so we could take the Royal Palms in to get the levelers repaired on Wednesday. Our son, Chris, and his girlfriend, Sharon drove up from Tempe , and my mom made a delicious dinner of stuffed green peppers, smashed potatoes, and corn bread, and a stupendous chocolate torte that I now have the recipe for. Yum!! Wednesday night, my dad made plotski (Polish potato pancakes), and both Steve and I ate far, far too many. It was a good thing we left bright and early Thursday morning, or I wouldn’t have been able to fit into any of my clothes.

We are now back in Quartzsite, camping in a short term BLM area called La Paz Valley, about 6 miles outside of town, with the FMCA 4 Wheelers. There were a few familiar faces from the Kingman rally, and lots of people we didn’t know at all. I’m not sure of the exact total, but there are at least 50 rigs here for the rally. Today was the official start of the rally, kicked off with a potluck hot dog dinner. You were supposed to bring a main dish containing hot dogs, and/or a side dish or dessert. I’ve never seen so many ways to cook hot dogs! There were beans and wienies, sweet and sour hot dogs, hot dog burritos, even hot dog lasagna. It was all delicious, weird as it sounds. I made Thai rice pudding (no hot dogs!) and it was a big hit.

Tomorrow we lead our ride to Tank and Cottonwood Passes. Steve got the trail loaded into the hand-held GPS, although not the nuvii, our lunches are made, supplies packed, and we are ready to go. I even remembered chocolate for the gate-closing “thank you.” I just hope nothing embarrassing happens, like getting lost.

Quartzsite and Beyond

Happy New Year, everyone! We spent a quiet New Year's Eve with my parents in Sun City West. Sad to say, we didn't stay up late enough for 2010 to make it New York, much less Arizona. Our son, Chris, on the other hand, had big party and was up until the wee hours of the morning. I think New Year's Eve is a celebration for the young. Although, looking back, I don't remember ever really partying late. What I remember most is small parties with friends, with great food and no obligation to stay up till midnight. Or parties with the kids when they were young--we'd have lots of treats, watch movies, play board games, and bang pots and pans on the front porch at midnight the same way I did when I was a kid.

We left Sun City West on January 2nd, and headed to Quartzsite for what was supposed to be a day or two before moving on down to Ajo. We ended up staying almost a week out at the Hi Jolly BLM Short Term Camping Area. Steve found us a great spot way out at the end of the campground, under some trees and beside the wash, where the dogs could run free most of the time without bothering anyone. We were disappointed that our Quartzsite friends from last winter, Jim and Emily Christensen, didn't make it down this year; we were looking forward to hitting the trails with them in our Samurai. However, we ended up meeting up with and 4 wheeling with two couples from the FMCA 4 Wheeling group. They are hosting an informal rally in Quartzsite from the 17th to the 23rd, and were asking for volunteers to be trail leaders. Steve signed us up, which I thought was pretty brave, considering we've barely joined the group and have never led a trail ride, much less a trail ride in unknown territory. Mary Sue and Larry invited us out to their place in Brenda (maybe 20 miles from Quartzsite?) to pick up the trail map so we could pre-run it, and then offered to go with us, inviting another couple, Russ and Carol, along also. The four of them had driven this particular trail, called Tank Pass, many times; they also knew a lot of the history of the area, and stopped to point out remnants of old mines and miners' dwellings. We had a lot of fun with them. Despite having the trail downloaded into our Garmin GPS, I took copious notes of each turn, hoping this will help when we have to lead the ride on January 18th.

We spent so much time in Quaartzsite that a trip to Ajo would have been rushed--we have to be back in Sun City West on the 13th for an appointment to get our levelers on the Palms repaired. Instead, we opted for Yuma to see our dentist and to get new seats for the Samurai, both in Algodones. That's where we are now. Saw the dentista this morning, so we have clean, shiny teeth. Made an appointment for bright and early Monday morning to get the seats done. Till then, I'll read, sew, knit, and take the dogs for walks. Temps are in the low 70's here, and the nights are mild as well.