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.