The Big Tent and Rocks, Rocks, Rocks

January 01-22-2018 thru 01-28-2018

Monday - After being here for about a week we decided we needed to do wash and restock our pantry. Since the grocery shopping in Quartzsite is very limited and expensive we decided to travel the 35 miles up to Parker. There is a Walmart and larger grocery stores there. We stopped at the nearest laundry in Parker but it was very busy and all the washers were being used. We went to another one which had one washer open. So we started our wash and waited a few minutes for a second one to open up. After finishing our wash we went to Walmart and purchased our groceries. We should be good for another week.

The rest of the week we hung around the camper, made a few trips into Quartzsite and visited with our desert camping friends. Wednesday morning I gave one of our Escapee lady friends a haircut. Dennis had given me a very short haircut a few weeks ago and she liked how it looked and wanted one too. She really liked it and got lots of compliments. Yeah!! Thursday Dennis and I had our Lapidary and Silversmithing orientations at the QRGMC. In my orientation we did a small sample project where we soldered a small piece of bezel to a flat piece of silver. It was pretty easy. Dennis however cut, shaped and polished and completed a finished cabochon or cab. It turned out really well!

Friday John and Donna Wagner came from Surprise and hung out with us for the day. Dennis and I spent the morning at the Rock Club. He shaped a polished a stone for me to use in my ring project. Around noon we met John and Donna at a gas station on the east side of town. We stopped for a burger then went to Desert Gardens. This is another area in Quartzsite with lots of gems and mineral for sale. We spent the afternoon shopping. Donna purchased a some pieces to have one of her friends made earrings. Afterwards we went back to the camper and had supper. Had some excitement while cooking on our Traeger grill. We line the drip pan with foil before we cook anything however we hadn't changed it for a while. As we were cooking the grease on the foil caught fire and flared up. It went out once we turned the fan off. Thank goodness we had the cooker far enough away from the camper that it did not hurt it and the meat was fine as well. Whew!

Our orientation projects.

Saturday Dennis and I went to the pancake breakfast at the Rock Club. Then we went and perused the RV show one more time. We purchased two new chairs for our camper. After dark we visited with Mike and Terri around the campfire.

On Sunday Dennis went with Mike into Quartzsite. They needed diesel and water in their camper. Dennis let them borrow our water bladder. Mike and Terri have an extensive collection of games in their camper so Terri and I played a few while Mike and Dennis were gone. Despite Terri winning all three games it was lots of fun. We smoked a pork roast on the Treager for supper. No flare ups this time!

Smoked pork roast

Quartzsite Plomosa Road Short Term Visitor Area – (33.7674661,-114.1694770) We parked at the extreme eastern edge of the visitor area. The Escapees Chapter 21 folks were a short walk away. This is free dry camping area with a 14 day limit.

Buddy has a friend, Mike and Terri's dog

Enjoying Quartzsite

January 01-15-2018 thru 01-21-2018

We have been very busy here at Quartzsite, visiting, shopping and exploring. Everyday we have spent some time with our Escapee friends and almost everyday there are new arrivals to meet. Most evenings we visit around the campfire and look for stars and satellites.

Visiting with the Escapees group

Playing Corn Hole

There are many things happening in Quartzsite as well as places to explore. We visited Tyson Wells Market Centre and Sell-A-Rama a few times. This is a ongoing flea market selling anything and everything you can imagine. We purchased a few things including two sets of solar string lights to put under the camper. The theory is the lights keep the mice and pack rats away. We shall see.

Tyson Wells

Thursday we headed east to check out the nearby town of Bouse. On the way we saw a sign for a historical marker and when we got to the parking area it was full of cars. We were thinking that this must be a very interesting place however found out it was the Quartzsite Roadrunners Gem and Mineral Club (QRGMC) on a rock trip. They were searching for Green Banded Rhyolite. Huh? Pretty green striped rocks. We spent some time talking to the trip leader. Recently Dennis has been interested in Lapidary (cutting, polishing and engraving stones and gems). Well we found the right group to help us out. They have a clubhouse with lots of equipment to cut, polish and finish rocks and gems of all types which members can use for a small fee. In addition there are plenty of classes to learn about working with stone, glass and beads and making knifes and weaving baskets. We were sent back into Quartzsite to the Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) Gem and Mineral Pow Wow to sign up to become members of the QRGMC. We will have to attend some orientation sessions next week before we can make anything.

On Friday we were contacted by a couple heading to Quartzsite in their Heartland Bighorn. They had contacted Dennis through The Heartland Owners Forum and were interested in talking to him about our solar setup. Mike and Terry are from Washington State and have a house in Port Townsend. They are retired and are younger than us (49 and 51). They are touring the country in there RV just like the rest of us. We had a nice visit with them and later invited them to the nightly Escapees campfire.

Saturday – One of our neighbors invited us to go for a UTV ride in the desert. First we needed to go into Quartzsite to attend orientation for the QRGMC. We were able to sign up for orientations sessions for Lapidary and Silversmithing which will be on Thursday.

Shortly after we returned to the camper we took off in the UTV. It was a little cool and windy (60's and 15 mph wind) so we had to bundle up a bit. We wore face and eye protection to protect us from the wind and dust. After riding through the desert and between the mountains we headed back to Quartzsite and stopped for lunch. By then there were showers in the area. We got a bit of a chill on the way back but it was still a very fun day.

UTV Ride

UTV Ride

You'd think it was cold out!

Sunday – Today we took our truck on a trek into the desert with a group from QRGMC. This was a rock trip to look for red, white and blue agate. After arriving at the meeting place we all headed east on I-10 then took the Hwy 60 exit and continued east to the town of Brenda. Then we turned off onto a dirt road. As we got further and further into the desert the road became narrower and rocker. We were on this “road” for about 3 miles. Once we reached the parking area everyone got out and spread out to search for the agates. We were not sure exactly what we were looking for but we found a few stones which we thought were good. We will see once we do an exploratory cut through the stones. The ride back over the rocky, bumpy road did not seem to take as long as the ride in. Once back in Quartzsite we stopped at the Pow-Wow then went across the road to the RV and Sport Show.

Red, White and Blue Agate Rock Trip

Back at the camper we spent most of the evening talking to Mike and Terry. They told us all about their truck and fifth wheel purchase miss adventures. They purchased both of them used and ran into some major issues. I felt bad for them but they can laugh about it and have put it behind them.

Quartzsite Plomosa Road Short Term Visitor Area – (33.7674661,-114.1694770) We parked at the extreme eastern edge of the visitor area. The Escapees Chapter 21 folks were a short walk away. This is free dry camping area with a 14 day limit.

Yuma and Quartzite

January 01-08-2018 thru 01-14-2018

Monday – Left Cotton Lane around mid morning and headed toward Yuma. Headed west on I-10 then turned south and took 85 down to Gila Bend then I-8 to Yuma. We ended up dry camping at the Quechan Casino RV parking lot and parked along the north side. Had left over pork roast for supper and enjoyed ice cream in the casino for dessert. We were worried there would be a lot of generators running at night but all was quiet.

Parking spot at Quechan Casino

Parking spot at Quechan Casino

Tuesday – Headed to Algodones for our dental appointments at Amazing Dental. Dennis was getting a bridge and I went for a cleaning. We arrived a little early so filled out some paperwork then waited about 20 minutes before they called us. My cleaning went well ($25 exam plus $30 for cleaning). Dennis was very happy with his experience as the doctor was very careful with the Novocaine shots, he hardly felt a thing. They prepped the area and he will go back tomorrow to finish. Afterward we walked around the town and stopped for bite to eat. We bought a new blanket for our bed as well as some liquor (Kahlua $7.75, Brandy $6.53, Vanilla $1.25) and Albuterol (3 for $6) for Dennis. We got back to the camper in early afternoon and then it started to rain. First real rain we have encountered since we have been down here. That's OK as they really need the rain here.

New blanket

Cool! Its reversible!

Booze and booze filled chocolate!

Wednesday – Dennis had a follow up appointment at noon. We went back over the border to the dentist and he was done in less than an hour. So far he is real happy with his procedure. The total cost with a cleaning was $805. Not too bad. Later that afternoon we went to Imperial Date Gardens to purchase some Medjool dates. They are sooo good and good for you. Here is some information about the Medjool date.

The date is one of the oldest cultured tree crops with some records indicating it was cultivated more than 5000 years ago. The date was introduced to the western hemisphere by Spanish missionaries in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries. The Medjool date originates in Morocco. It was first introduced into the United States in 1927 and first planted in southern California. In 1944 the first Medjool date trees were planted here in the Bard Valley (Yuma).

Date plants are dioecious, the male flowers that produce pollen, and the female flowers that produce fruit are borne on separate tress. On the date farm the pollination is done by hand. The fruit is thinned by hand while still young and again once more when more mature. This helps to ensure their large size. Prior to harvesting a bag is slipped over the each bunch of dates to protect the fruit from light rains, bugs and birds. The dates are harvested by hand in late August through early November. They must have a moisture content of 30% before they can be shipped. Dates contain no cholesterol, almost no fat or sodium, and are rich in potassium, iron and fiber.

Thursday & Friday – Thursday we moved to SKP Kofa Ko-op RV Retreat southeast of Yuma. We moved to this park so we could dump our tanks and fill with water before we head to Quartzite. We were going to stay one night but enjoyed the outdoor hot tub so much the first night we decided to stay two more nights.

Dry camping at SKP Kofa Ko-op

Dry camping at SKP Kofa Ko-op

Ahhh! Sunday morning dip in the hot tub!

Citrus grove near Yuma.

Saturday – Attended the Yuma Woodworkers Event at the Yuma Community Center then spent the rest of the day relaxing at the camper. I made curried chicken soup for supper.

Sunday – Quartzite here we come! Left the park in the morning and headed north on Hwy. 95. We arrived on Plomosa road around noon. We saw signs for several Escapees groups but not Chapter 21 which is the Arizona Chapter. We met some of these Rvers in Benson and wanted to hang out with them at Quartzite. We didn't find them at first but after parking and walking around a bit we discovered them a little ways away. We moved the camper closer to them with a nice view of the mountains to the east.

Boondocking at Quartzite

Dry camping at SKP Kofa Ko-op

Playing corn hole with our friends.

View from our camper.

Where we are parked: Quechan Casino RV parking lot – Gravel boon docking area adjacent to the casino. No facilities except for a few dumpsters. The Casino security patrols the area which is nice. It is only 2 miles from the Mexican border.

And....

SKP Kofa Ko-op – Dry camping area site 5 – This area has no hook-ups but the fresh water spigot was nearby so we were able to get our hose to it to fill our tank. Cost for dry camping -$7.50/day plus $10.00 to use the dump station. There are 154 full hook up sites and 11 dry camping sites. The facilities include a clubhouse with pool tables as well as a pool, hot tub and laundry.

And....

Quartzite Plomosa Road Short Term Visitor Area – (33.7674661,-114.1694770) We parked at the extreme eastern edge of the visitor area. The Escapees Chapter 21 folks were a short walk away. This is free dry camping area with a 14 day limit.

Tortilla Flat and Hiking

January 01-01-2018 thru 01-7-2018

Monday –Happy New Year! We got back to the camper after midnight last night and slept in this morning. Finally made it to John and Donna's around 11:00. We spent the rest of the day with them and got home around 8:00. We had a wonderful visit, great food and Donna and I even made cookies. Thank you both for your hospitality!

Tuesday - We headed east of Phoenix to Tortilla Flat today. It was quit a ways from where we are in Goodyear but a very nice drive. There was some areas road work in the mountains leading into the valley and the pavement was pretty bumpy in places but still very picturesque. Dennis and his friends visited here back in the 70's and he said it is very different. Dennis and I split a burger at the outdoor restaurant then we headed back.

Tortilla Flat Trip

Some of the variety of currency tacked to the wall of the restaurant at Tortilla Flat

Wednesday – Participated in the golf tournament in the morning and played boccie ball in the evening. The weather was suburb again with highs in the mid 70's.

Nice Swing!!

Thursday – Today we decided to take a hike in the desert and headed to Skyline Regional Park near Buckeye. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Buckeye for breakfast. At the park we followed the Quartz Mine trail then took the Skyline Trail, then Lost Creek and Mountain Wash trails back to the parking lot. Whew! What a workout. Almost 4 miles and about 1000 feet of elevation gain! Back at the RV park we took a dip in the pool and relaxed at the camper the rest of the evening.

Skyline Regional Park

Saturday – We headed south to Estrella Mountain Regional Park to do some more hiking. There are multiple trails and you can pick and choose a route that fits your needs. We started on the Quail Trail. Then continued on the Rainbow Trail to Baseline Trail then back to Quail. The Baseline trail had a few steep sections but the change in elevation was not great so it was not difficult. We hiked about 3.8 miles. There are several more trails throughout the park which can be used by hikers, bikers and horses. Once back at the camper we cooked a pork roast and sweet potatoes on the grill. We went for a swim before we ate supper.

Estrella Mountains (where we hiked) in the background, Goodyear Airport in the foreground

Sunday – Today we did some chores and wash including washing the bed sheets. We played 8 holes of golf in the afternoon then went out for supper to Cafe Zamora in Avondale.

The weather all week has been great with highs in the 70's and lows in the 40's. Pretty nice!

Where we are parked: Cotton Lane RV Resort – Goodyear Arizona – Site 38. We paid the Good Sam weekly rate $206.13 which included water, sewer and electric. This is a resort park with many amenities including an indoor pool and hot tub, boccie ball, shuffle board, pickle ball courts and 4 golf holes. There is laundry and exercise rooms. Our site was in an area for short term guests and was very small. The sites for the monthly guests were much more generous in size. There are also permanent single and double wide manufactured homes in this park. 

Mt. Lemmon and on to Goodyear AZ

December 12-25-2017 thru 12-31-2017

Monday – Merry Christmas!! Today's big event was Christmas Dinner at the park. The dinner was pot luck arranged by table of about 22 on each table. You only took the food from the dishes brought by your table mates. It worked out well as there was no long line to get your food. However I had table envy has I saw some really delicious looking cheesecake on the neighboring table. But all the food on our table was delicious as well.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Dinner

Christmas Dinner

Tuesday – Mostly stayed at the park and enjoyed Christmas Dinner leftovers. Another nice day.

Wednesday – We did a day trip to Tucson today. Last week I was shown how to do woodcarving. I borrowed some tools from the park but since we are leaving tomorrow I wanted to purchase a few tools to keep going. We stopped at Harbor Freight in Tucson and picked up a cheap set of tools for $10.00. Then we went to Woodcraft of Tucson. I picked up a better quality gouge and knife along with a beginners carving book.

After that we headed up the road to the top of Mt. Lemmon. Holy cow what a road!! It was about a 22 mile trip one way and we climbed 3000 plus feet! We drove through a saguaro forest, along the sides of rocky canyons, over mountain side bridges and up into pine forests. We stopped at the ski lodge at the top and ate at the Iron Door restaurant. We both had their signature chili which came in a big bowl with a large hunk of corn bread. On the way back to Benson we stopped at Saguaro National Park and took the 8 mile scenic drive through the park. It was a lovely day.

Mt. Lemmon Scenery

OMG!!

Saguaro National Monument

Thursday – Moving day. Headed to the Phoenix area today. We are staying at Cotton Lane RV Resort in Goodyear for at least a week. We are hoping to be able to get together with John and Donna as well as Bill and Sue. I had worked with Bill at Kohler Co. Both couples live in Surprise. I also was notified by my cousin Cathy that they will be in Mesa next week. We may try to hook up with them as well. We had a late lunch at Olive Garden, stopped at Walmart then went back to the park and took a stroll. It reached the mid 70's today and there was a beautiful sunset.

Cotton Lane RV Resort

Indoor Pool

Golf Course

Golf Course

Friday and Saturday – We stayed at the park both days and participated in some of the park activities. Both days we enjoyed playing best ball golf at the parks 4 hole golf course with other park guests and residents. In the evenings we played boccie ball. Took advantage of the pool and hot tub on Saturday evening. High temps have been in the mid to upper 70's with lows in the 40's.

Sunday – New Year's Eve – Today we visited with our friends Bill and Sue. They came to visit us at our camper to check out the RV lifestyle. We visited at the camper for a while then went to The Haymaker Restaurant to grab a bite to eat. We sat and talked until 5:00! Had a great time and will let them know when we come back in February and try to get together again.

In the evening we attended a New Years Eve party and dance at the park. Lots of fun with dancing, food and a champagne toast.

Where we are parked: Cotton Lane RV Resort – Goodyear Arizona – Site 38. We paid the Good Sam weekly rate $206.13 which included water, sewer and electric. This is a resort park with many amenities including an indoor pool and hot tub, boccie ball, shuffle board, pickle ball courts and 4 golf holes. There is laundry and exercise rooms. Our site was in an area for short term guests and was very small. The sites for the monthly guests were much more generous in size. There are also permanent single and double manufactured homes in this park.