Good Old Quartzsite
After sleeping deep and long (we went to bed at 9pm AZ-time) we got ourselves over to CJ's RV-repair in Yuma an hour earlier than our appointment.
After explaining yet again about the awning and that one arm was out of timing, a guy tried to tell us that nothing could be done to fix it as the straps came with a certain length and that was that.  
However, I had read about the full adjustment procedure on the Internet and explained HIM what and how to do it. When also suggested he could call Carefree of Colorado He all-of a sudden told me that he knew what i was talking about. 


????


Well, we pulled off the street and parked the rig. Pretty soon two guys started the work. and it took them less than half an hour to fix it. 


Next stop was drinking water then propane and Diesel at Superfuels. While the propane is still cheap the fuel was not. 


But you know that already.

Without these there would hardly be vegetables on American tables.

So after topping it all off, we hit the road, that is Hwy95 out of town to Quartzsite. It was now 11am and at 12noon we reached the Border Patrol Checkpoint on 95. We pulled off the road right behind the station and had lunch. 

Bea discovered 2 flying objects 

It was now very hot outside but still cool in the coach. 


Coming to Quartzsite at almost 2pm we dumped the water we had filled into the blackwater tank yesterday. There are still a lot of rigs at Quartzsite, but we could pull right into the dump station.

We spent the afternoon in the shade and didn't move much. 


Tomorrow we want to start early as it is supposed to start blowing across the Arizona desert later that day. And we certainly don't like being in a desert storm.


And that's it for today again. 


Thanks for your interest!

Not Bea!
After reading this mornings comments I realized that the lady besides the "bookseller" was taken to be -- BEA. That is not the case. In fact we did not see the bookseller ourselves, but because the guy is a Quartzsite institution I found this picture on the Internet and implemented it in the posting. I do that from time to time to make a better illustration. I don't know whether Bea would ever enter that bookstore!


We are now preparing for departure from Quartzsite. It is a cold morning over here, but no wind so far.

A stormy Day
Even though we had planned to depart for Joshua Tree National Park today, we stayed put here in Q-site. The reason was the weather forecast which had predicted winds in excess of 30mph at the park, while over here upto25mph were expected. And it is not wise to battle the wind on the highway. 
It started blowing pretty early and increased over the afternoon. 


Rather than sitting around in the rig all day I suggested a visit to the Quartzsite Museum, which offers interesting displays of the town's history. 

However, when we got there the place was closed, inspite that we were well within their advertised opening hours.

A bit disappointed we turned around and saw the sprawling fleamarket. At this market you won't find much new stuff, but everything between heaven and earth which might be classified as JUNK. Well it probably is junk for some people, while others value their historical uniqueness. And if I had been looking for a tool, a special book or record or an oil lamp, I would have found it there.
However, I wasn't really looking, but curiously browsing.


When I turned over a pair of shoes (they were brand new, but out of fashion, I'd say) the vendor sneaked up on me and started his sales pitch. But I didn't try them on.

The famous "book seller" in Quartzsite

Now, since the visit to the muesum failed I have found an account of the town's history on the internet, and if you are not too bored already, you can read it here:

"The town of Quartzsite is located on the site of old Fort Tyson, a privately owned fort built in 1856 by Charles Tyson for protection against Indians. Because of the water which existed at this place, Tyson's Wells soon became a stage station on the road from Ehrenburg to Prescott. In 1875 Martha Summerhayes described this place as being the most melancholy and uninviting that she had ever seen, saying that it "reeks of everything unclean, morally and physically..."
 
Although Hinton lists Tyson's as being the same place as Los Posos, maps show that the two were seperate, Los Posos lying about four miles to the east of Tyson's. Gradually as the stage lines disappeared, Tyson's Wells was abandoned.

In 1897, the development of mining in the area resulted in a small boom. It was reported that Tyson's Wells had three stores, two saloons, and a short-lived post office. Apparently when it became necessary to re-open the post office because of renewed mining activity, a new name had to be found since the post office did not permit offices to re-open the post office under formerly used names. Therefore, George Ingersoll suggested the name Quartzsite, since quartzsite is actually found in the vicinity, but quartz is not. However, the post office in error apparently added an "s" to the name. The resulting "Quartzsite" erroneously implies that quartz is found locally. Actually Quartzsite is approximately nine miles east of the old Tyson's Wells which lay nineteen miles from Ehrenberg. Therefore, a different name was doubly suited.

Travelers through Quartzsite today may visit the grave of Hadji Ali, who was a camel driver for Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale on his trip across Arizona. Hadji Ali (b. Syria c. 1829; d. December 16, 1902) who was known as Phillip Tedro in later years, came to Arizona as a camel driver in 1856. When camels were abandoned for use of transportation of supplies, Tedro kept several animals and used them to haul freight in southern Arizona. He was then living in Arizona City (now known as Yuma). In 1868 he turned the animals loose near Gila Bend. 

For many years it was reported that camels were seen in the mountains and other parts of southwestern Arizona. The simple headboard for his grave was replaced by the present stone monument and plaque in 1934. His name has been anglicized to "Hi Jolly".

(source:http://jeff.scott.tripod.com/quartzsite.html)

Old Mines and Old Cars
First thing this morning we went into town to get another two solar lights. Had to look around the maze to find that booth again. 

Time in a bottle...

We went down Dome Rock Road W. and turned onto Cholla Road. The pavement ends at the intersection with the Pipeline Rd. and climbs up into a remote wilderness area. Pretty soon we saw the first old mine down to the right. On the left side towards La Paz Valley we saw the outcropping of another mine, this one much bigger and fenced. It looked like it was still in operation. An old trailer and a car was parked behind the fence - either a guard or the owner.

Oh Shit...

From here we had the choice of going down to La Paz Valley or following the "Oh Shit Run" higher up into the mountains. Whadda ya think we did?
At another fork a sign announced the "Yellow Dog Mine", and no trespassing please. So we didn't trespass but followed the main trail, which by then had narrowed a lot.

Yellow Dog Mine

From the side we were on, we got a good view across the valley to the Yellow Dog Mine, featuring a couple of wooden buildings, one being living quarters. However, there was no sign of any life there.

A long-dead Saguaro

Now the road became even more adventureous and since our Jeep is a front-wheel-drive only, we parked and hiked up the road. Molly was excited being able to sniff up all the wonderful new spots.

Mighty Saguaro Cactus, Cholla and a full variety of all kind of prickly plants were decorating the desert floor. 

While being around this old mining area I imagined the oldtimers, driven by their hope and greed to find the big riches in the bone-dry rocky ground. Every drop of water had to be brought up here, except when it rained and the flashfloods brought enough water for a couple of days.

While the sign for the "New Hope" Mine warned us that no prospecting is allowed in this staked-out claim, we had no intentions to start any other prospecting than for a good photo shot. However we did find a couple of old bottles which we confiscated as souvenirs.

Mighty Saguaro Cactus

With a beautiful deep blue sky above we had a perfect day, and it wasn't even too hot. However, the dry air requires us to drink a lot of water and it didn't take long before I felt the thirst. So we returned to the car where we all shared water from a big bottle. 
We made it down again to Quartzsite before noon, but I had to stop at another very interesting place, the desertgardens where an antique car enthusiast doesn't want to leave ever again. If it hadn't been for Bea waiting for me in the car, I would probably still be there. 

So, I am done for now. Tomorrow we will be driving to the Joshua Tree National Park. It will be the first time for us to see this great park.

The two Jims and a visit to the market
The morning broke with bright sunshine from across the mountains. After a delightful bacon+eggs-breakfast I went to the water posts to fetch som water in a bucket for washing the worst of the desert dust off the car.
The two taps in front of me were taken up, so I started to look around, and what I saw on the opposite site made be stare a long time. 


A Lazy Daze rig was parked there and a guy was fiddling around with a water hose. I had a feeling I had seen that rig before on Belle Starr's ranch in southern Arizona.  I walked straight over to see the license plate. Before I even saw it,the guy turned his face over to me and I saw it was Jim Melvin from Jimbo's Journeys. I had tried to contact him by email but never received an answer. Jim hadn't checked his emails the last days. :-)) So here I had found the man. Last winter we had teamed up and helped Belle with the repairs of the old ranch house. Needless to say it turned out to be a great surprise for both of us.


I invited Jim over for a coffee and we caught up on what was new and what not.


I introduced Jim to Jim Dixon and Jim said to Jim I'll remember your name! Haha... Here we had two Jims. Soon we were all standing around chattering away.


After Jim Melvin went back to his group of Lazy Days owners we went to town to look for a solar light. 

 

Quartzsite wasn't too busy this morning, and yet it was hard to find parking for the car. Up and down we walked the aisles, stopping here, looking there. We found the type of solar lights we were looking for and bought two. Halfway through the maze, we had to get some nourishment and helped ourselves to two Cheeseburgers with a drink.

Then it was time to head back to the rig. La Posa South is only about 2 or 3 miles from town, but when they start the big RV-show next week it will get awfully congested.
But by then we will be back at the Hot Springs enjoying the peace.


Peace to You!

Quartzsite!
Capital of all snowbirds as it is. Only a small distance from Yuma, so it seems, and yet a different world of wide open spaces with room for thousands of RVs to park.

We took off from the Hot Springs early this morning and were heading east to Yuma. Our propane tank proved to be empty and was filled up with 28.2gal. 


We never got more propane in it than that, and it has never been that empty.
Filled up with Diesel too and then we were on Hwy95 towards Quartzsite. We were going to meet Sandie and Jim from Where are the Dixons today?


We were rolling in on La Posa South LTVA at 12.30 AZ-time and were "picked-up" by Jim, meeting us at the Dump Station. From there we were guided over to where Sandie and Jim were parked together with their group of "Escapees".

Let me just say that the "welcome committee" was overhvelmingly welcoming and we felt right at home.

We spent the evening around a blazing fire and with a lot of laughter and bonfire-stories the time just flew by.

Great RV'ers these folks!

Besides of Sandie and Jim we also met bloggers Jeri and Terry from "Just Wanderin"  and Denise from 

SASSY'S ON 'DA ROAD.  Denise is the proud owner of a Harley Davidson and she has come all the way from Newfoundland to find the sunny parts of Arizona. It's always nice to meet fellow bloggers and there seems never to an ending of campfire stories.

Cross your Fingers
We can all make plans as much as we like but that doesn't mean it happens all after the recipe we have in our cook book.
There are sure coming up a few red flags for our 

departure here. Bea has been at the local medical center a couple of weeks ago and they have sent her off for an ultrasound.


Bea's got an enlarged thyroid gland and needs to see a specialist. With the ways the health system is working here it can take weeks or even months before that happens. And the outcome is not guaranteed. The best scenario is a heavily delayed departure (hello winter..) or worst we are not going anywhere. (I hate skiiing...)


Maybe this is the time for a solo trip to Australia. Well, we have to wait and see what happens. 


Anyway, Sunday I am hitting the road with my truck and the 27-foot Cargo trailer. It'll take me 6 days to screech through the continent, provided I don't have a meet-up with Mr. Winter somewhere in North Dakota. I'd hate that.
In order to make sure everything is working on the trailer (lights and such) I did the hitch-up today. There was airpressure needed in 3 tires and 1 on the truck. Amazingly all lights were working. That is definitely NOT normal on a trailer which hasn't been moved for more than a year.


I'm gonna be so cheap that I'll take a couple of seatpillows to sleep on in that trailer. I have the habit of getting tired after xxxxhours of driving. Well, I'm hoping that it's not getting too cold at night though. Otherwise I might find myself limping into some motel reception in the wee hours begging for a bed.


Ok, enough from today. I've gotto look whether I can find some other goodies here.... like seeing a Canyon.

The following account is about a trip on Dember 07 2006 when

we decided to do a drive to famous Quartzsite today. Quartzsite is the renown capitol of the snowbirds in America. Several TV-crews have published footage about Quartzsite and its millions of winter campers coming from all over North America.

So we follow Hwy 78 east and north. At Palo Verde the road touches the banks of the Colorado and the County offers a nice free campground right besides the river. On both sides of the road farmers are growing cotton, and now is the time of harvest.

Passing Ripley the 78 soon connects to Interstate 10. At Blythe we stop to buy some lunch.  And then we reach Quartzsite. The first thing you'll see is ---- RV's. There are RV's everywhere. Parked in the desert within the town, at RV-Resorts, the reason why Quartzsite is known to the world. It simply is the capitol of all winter vacationing campers of North America.

Besides of coming here for spending the winter people love the Gem and Rock Shows. It all kicks off in January when the big RV-show is on.  But right now we are interested in visiting the flea market. And what a flea market that  is. You have been looking for that rare kitchen item what your grandma had in the fifties? You'll find it right here. Looking for a part for your 56 Chevrolet BelAir or a couple of used tires or an old gun? You like old records of the sixties? Ok start looking at the Quartzsite flea market. Chances are you'll find it all here.   Here we also meet Joe, standing by his sales booth ready for a talk with a potential customer. I don't know what Joe actually is selling, because his personality takes all of my attention. I assume him to be around 75 years old. His face, marked by  wrinkles as deep as the Grand Canyon, is framed by gray hair growing wildly from everywhere where a mans face might show hair, forming a collar around his neck.  He's holding his 1 year old grandson (?) on his lap, while he is telling us about Quartzsite. "You wait until next month and there will be approx. 1.5 mill. people here leaving you no chance to park your truck anywhere close to town".

After parting with Joe we are heading down Hwy 95 south towards Yuma. And here, right after leaving Quartzsite we discover the biggest campground in the world.  11,000 acres (4,500ha's) of desert land are giving space to several hundred thousand campers. This is the biggest LTVA within the BLM-system. Besides of that you are free to park anywhere else outside of designated areas for max 14 days without a permit.

The area borders to the KOFA Wildlife Refuge east of Hwy 95. Here we admire peaks, towers and pinnacles striving against the blue sky out of the flat desert landscape making the perfect  backdrop for a Mel Gibson Fiction movie.

Far to the west Bea notices a huge dust cloud moving through the desert. Oh, that sure looks like the Santa Fe Stage Coach crossing.  We wonder what that might be and stop for taking a picture of the huge old giants of the southwestern desert, the SAGUARO CACTI.  A Saguaro gets many hundred years old, and it is said that it takes 100 years before the first arm starts poking out. The process of dying takes not less than 40 years, but you'll rarely see a completely dead Saguaro as their stems are popular for making lamps, selling for hundreds of Dollars at tourist places like Sedona, AZ. Meanwhile the dust cloud has moved across the desert and towards Hwy 95. Finally, a mile ahead we see a big tank truck appearing out of the cloud, and turning onto Hwy95. Of course we are disappointed of not seeing that Stage Coach we hoped for. When reaching Yuma the sun is about to drop behind the horizon. And shortly after it is dark. We have to shop some groceries and fill diesel and propane. Rolling in on our campground at 6.30 Ca-time we have a quick supper and then join our neighbors at the bonfire.

Good night folks! See you tomorrow. after that there will be a break for approx. a week as I have to be DRIVING not looking at the Internet. MAYBE, MAYBE a short notice will appear about my progress.


Go West Cowboy, Go West!!