Monday, February 24 to Monday, March 10, 2025 (La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ)

The last couple of weeks, we have seen (and felt) temperatures go from hot, to hotter and windy, to breezy, to cold and rainy...and back to warm and breezy. Most days, we have gotten out for our morning walk and sat outside when possible, but we did spend a fair amount of time inside, out of the wind, dust...or rain. 

Monday (Feb. 24) we saw a FedEx semi come in making a delivery...that's a first! Apparently their axles were bent so replacement axles were being delivered...

Tuesday (Feb. 25) and Wednesday (Feb. 26) were both very hot days...30/31C (87/89F). Tuesday night it cooled off nicely by bedtime but Wednesday, Steve had to fire up the generator in the evening so we could run the A/C...that was a first!

Thursday (Feb. 27) was a super windy day...and of course, 'dump' day. Steve headed over to La Posa South LTVA to dump the black/gray tanks and fill up the fresh water tank...leaving me to sit with my back to wind "guarding" our stuff.

Steve here...
Holy crap...this dust storm blowing across the water stations seen from the sani-dump is not going to be fun!
I'm now heading to the water station...
Luckily for me this was the last blast of dust as I prepared to fill with water...Phew!
Friday (Feb. 28) we had just a slight breeze, but it was very hazy...perhaps from all of the dust in the atmosphere, or the controlled burns that they have been doing in the fields near Parker.

On our walk to Beer Belly's Adult Day Care, we passed this vintage car with a trailer from Alberta parked at the gatehouse...
Saturday (Mar. 1) afternoon we walked over to Beer Belly's again...this time to meet Fred and Terry. We had another great visit with them, as we enjoyed a few brews and listened to live music.
Sunday (Mar. 2)...and an inside day due to another wind storm with gusts up to 58 km/hr (36 mph). Luckily come Monday (Mar. 3) and Tuesday (Mar. 4), the winds were fairly light. We had a trip to Parker with Fred and Terry on Monday...thanks for letting us tag along!

Wednesday (Mar. 5) and time to dump the tanks again. At least it wasn't during a dust storm this time! This fellow was flying over distracting Steve as we were about to hitch up...
Steve ended up being gone a little longer than usual...our permit expired yesterday, so we knew we had to purchase another one today. We thought we'd do it once he got back...totally forgetting that with the expired permit, he would not be able to use the sani-dump and water station over at La Posa South...sheesh! So he had to purchase a permit...and to make matters worse, the gatehouse at La Posa South was closed today, so he had to go across the highway to La Posa Tyson Wash. 

That afternoon, we walked to a very busy Beer Belly's Adult Daycare to attend their customer appreciation day. Lots of people enjoying good music and a free meal, along with some rather whacky door prizes.


The grand prize winner...
Thursday (Mar. 6) and another wind warning. When a wind warning is issued for Quartzsite, you know that it is going to be very windy! We ran a couple of errands and when we got home, Steve parked the truck beside the trailer to help block the wind. Needless to say, we were hunkered down inside for the rest of the day.

Friday (Mar. 7) morning we woke to rain...it had also rained throughout the night. This was the first measurable rainfall since we got here last December. It was also a much cooler day with temperatures not getting much higher than 13C/55F. The wind started up again by late morning but not as bad as yesterday, thank goodness. With the wind and higher humidity, it felt very chilly!
After lunch, we braved the cool, windy day and headed to Main Street laundry to take care of 4 loads of laundry. I hate doing laundry but it was great to get it all done...that will be our last trip there.

Saturday (Mar. 8) we were back to sunshine and a high of 19C/66F. We are in preparation to leave mode now...Steve checked all of the tire pressures on both the trailer and truck, while I rearranged the pantry, checking what was left.

We met Fred and Terry at Silly Al's Pizza for one final visit...
Sunday (Mar. 9) we took care of more odds and ends around the trailer and then met Colan and Marilyn at Beer Belly's at 2:00. We had a wonderful few hours catching up...it had been 2 years since we last saw them and a lot has happened to them both since. Thankfully, they are both doing well, and it was absolutely great spending time with them...not sure when we will see them again. Such wonderful memories of all the happy hours we have spent together over the years!
Monday (Mar. 10) morning we were busy packing up the last of the outside stuff. We decided to get it done first thing in the morning as it is going to be a hot day...temps up to 28C/82F. Once that was done, we headed off to take care of a bunch of errands...fill our drinking water containers, top off the diesel in the truck, fill the gas container, get propane and pick up some weather-strip for the truck box doors (we will be heading into a rainy climate, after all).

That afternoon, we had our last visit to our favourite spot, Beer Belly's Adult Day Care. We met Fred and Terry there and spent a few hours enjoying the music, people watching, chatting...and of course, a few brews.
It was a rockin' this afternoon! I took a 17 second video...
And that wraps up our time in Quartzsite. I must say that we are definitely looking forward to moving on. Tomorrow we hit the road to the Palm Springs area where we have a great time planned for 10 days. A couple of days in an RV park, followed by a week in a 2-bedroom condo with our son Chris and his family joining us. Can hardly wait! Stay tuned to hear all about it!


Monday, February 17 to Sunday, February 23, 2025 (La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ)

For a change, this past week was much busier than usual. We are also heading into a stretch of much warmer weather with Monday's (Feb. 17) high 26C/79F...and even warmer temps next week. We went to the bank ATM for some cash...ugh! Not so happy with the currency exchange this year...it's costing us big time! Oh well, it is what it is...and why we are staying planted here in Q at $40 every 2 weeks until it's time to start home.

Tuesday (Feb. 18) morning just after 8:30 we headed back down to Los Algodones, MX for another dental appointment for Steve. He has another tooth that is bothering him. 

Rather than taking the turnoff to Fortuna, then to I-8, we continued on highway 95 until we hit I-8. I took pictures of all the fields with Mexican workers picking the crops...


Watering in the heat of the day...
The backside of the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park as we travel on I-8...
Colorado River...
It was about 10:30 by the time we parked the truck and walked across the border...yes, that's the border wall on the right...
Our dentist's office...Bernal Dental Group...
Steve's appointment was at 11:00...he was finally taken in as 12:10! I think that is the first time we've had to wait so long.

After x-rays were taken, it was found that an implant he had done 2 years ago was infected, so it had to be taken out. We have been coming down to Dr. Bernal for a number of years and both of us have had a lot of dental work done...this is the first time that there has ever been a problem with the work he did. He tried to tell Steve that it was due to the lack of dental hygiene but Steve doesn't buy it. It's a tooth that has always felt pressure sensitive and traps food when eating. He faithfully uses dental pics to keep it clean, along with flossing and/or using our Water Pik. Well, the good news was that there was no charge for today's extraction. When Steve asked if he'd have to pay for another implant, the dentist said they'd "give him a deal". That's now two implants required in the future, so we'll have to consider if it's worth returning here with the exchange rate and travel expenses. It's 4-6 months before an implant can be done then another 4-6months for the crown.

Post Operative Instructions: No alcohol, avoid greasy foods, dairy, hot and carbonated drinks and spicy foods. NO FUN! 

After a stop at the pharmacy to have the prescriptions for antibiotics and pain killers filled, we headed back to the border. Steve took a couple of pictures along the way...

We arrived at the border crossing at 12:55...to a long line up that went for blocks...ugh! We were so lucky last month with basically no line-ups returning across to the States. It took an hour and a half before we were finally across. 

Armed guards...
We had planned on stopping in Yuma on our way home to pick up a few groceries but after the long wait to get across the border, we decided to just head straight home. 

Unfortunately, once the freezing came out, poor Steve was in pain...he had a rough evening as the pain killers took their sweet time kicking in. Once they did, though, he managed to sleep the night.

Wednesday (Feb. 19) morning, Steve was feeling much better, thank goodness. We had some chores to take care of...starting with laundry, followed by fuelling up the truck and picking up a few groceries at Roadrunner Market. By the time we got home, it was noon. 

After lunch, I was inside doing some banking when I heard the drill...Steve had decided to take care of another chore that was on his "to-do" list. Once we converted to lithium batteries they were mounted in the storage bay, leaving the rusty battery tray exposed. Time for some Rust-Oleum paint! This might be a good spot to store our sewer hoses...

Buffing off the rust...
After that, he decided to take up his drone to show how empty it is now that the Show is over.

Towards the end of the Show...After the Show...1:57 Video of La Posa West and surrounding area with the Show over...
Thursday (Feb.  20) morning Fred and Terry picked us up just after 9:00 a.m...we're going on a day trip to Joshua Tree National Park! 

Cool cloud formation...
Before reaching Joshua Tree, we had another stop to make. We have passed the General Patton's Memorial Museum located at Chiriaco Summit numerous times but had never stopped, so we were looking forward to checking it out.


That's the Salton Sea on the right. 

General Patton had many training camps throughout the deserts of Californian and Arizona. In fact on some of our previous ATV rides near Quartzsite we have come across some of the training camps as well as tank tracks that are still visible! 




This was a beautiful wooden replica. There were artifacts from various wars as well... 


Model of Patton's staff car...


Hmmm...does this quote remind you of anyone?








Fred and Terry checking out the turretless tank...
Steve's turn...
Inside the tank...
Tank engines...
On the left is the tank turret display...
Inside the turret...
Comfy!
Time to check the outdoor display...


1:51 Outdoor display video...
The museum was huge and very well done...we spent an hour and a half there but could have easily spent many more hours if you wanted to read absolutely everything!

Onto Joshua Tree National Park now...the turnoff is about 7 miles further along I-8. There is a boon-docking area on the way in before you enter the south side of the park...
Once we got up top it flattened out...
After a stop at Cottonwood Visitor Center for a park pass and to check out the exhibits, we continued further into the park. Our first stop was at Turkey Flats


All of a sudden we entered a grove of Cholla Cactus...
After a short distance they were gone...
We're now entering an interesting area of rock formations... 

Jumbo Rocks Campground...
Bathroom break at the campground. Most of the 500 campsites are not big rig friendly, however years ago we stayed at the Black Rock Campground and it fit all 63' of us...

Finally...Joshua Trees!
Such cool rock formations!


The landscape is forever changing...

Sorry about the finger!
We checked out several day-use areas looking for a spot out of the wind to have our picnic lunch. 





Finally decided on spot off Keys View Road at Juniper Flats Back Country trailhead. Still very windy, though, so we used the truck as a wind block...

We continued up Keys View Road until we reached the viewpoint...
Amazing views of mountains, the San Andreas Fault and Coachella Valley...too bad it's quite hazy though...
Salton Sea...
It was so cold, 13C/56F and very windy! Steve and I walked up to the viewpoint for the above pictures and a video.

0:16 Video of hazy views of the Salton Sea, Coachella Valley, Indio, and Palm Springs area...
We stopped again just a little further back down the road at another small lookout. We managed to get a selfie picture of all of us...
Time to head back the way we came...


Skull Rock...so many parked vehicles and people checking it out! Amazing how busy the park is and it's not even a weekend!

Back through the Cholla Cactus grove...
It was about 5:30 when Fred and Terry dropped us off. We went from 13C/56F at the Keys viewpoint  to 27C/81F on our return to Quartzsite. What a fabulous day...thank you so much, Fred and Terry for inviting us to tag along with you!

Friday (Feb. 21) morning, it was time to dump the trailer tanks and fill up with water. We pretty well have our process down pat...it takes about two hours by the time Steve takes care of getting the outside ready, while I do the inside. Steve is gone for about 50 minutes (from the time he leaves here and pulls back in); and we get all set up again. I also pull all the carpets out and give them a good sweeping, as well as the inside.

Although a warm, sunny day...it was windy, as usual. So after lunch we sat inside while Steve edited pictures and I read. At about 2:30 we walked to Beer Belly's Adult Day Care for a brew, music and people watching. It was a busy Friday afternoon...
Saturday (Feb. 22) we had another outing with Fred and Terry. They were going to Blythe CA to the Car Show and Open House at the Museum and invited us to tag along. It has been really nice tagging along with them on these outings...making our time here so much nicer!

They picked us up at 11:00 and we were off to Blythe and the Museum, where the cars were parked out front. It was a small car show with only 6 cars. Nice rides!


We then went inside the museum...I am talking to one of the volunteers who is telling me about the history of the area... 
Lots of local history and old relics from days gone by, mining, farming and military service...

They also had a section outside of old equipment...





A final picture outside of the museum before we leave. They had hotdogs and snacks but we were looking for something better...
We went to Garcia's for lunch...an excellent Mexican restaurant! Mexican is not usually one of our choices for a meal (because we don't know what to order) but we had read about it in a local magazine and the menu looked interesting and varied. We really enjoyed it!

With our bellies full, we did a little grocery shopping and then headed home. Thanks again, Fred and Terry for another fabulous day!

We had a very lazy start to the day Sunday (Feb. 23). Once we got moving, we went for a long walk in the desert and then headed out to fill our containers with drinking water, get gas for the generator and pick up a couple of things at the dollar store.

The rest of the day was spent picture editing and then working on this blog update. It was another warm day...26C/79F.