Thursday, February 18, 2016 (La Posa South LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ)

Thursday morning I woke up to the sound of the awning going down...and the pitter-patter of rain drops on the roof. Steve had gotten up to put out the awning to protect the chairs and barbecue from the rain...however, not long after, the light rain stopped. With all of the dust, it was just enough to make a bunch of mucky splotches on our quads and truck. It was very odd getting up to see a mostly cloudy sky...it's supposed to be a tad bit cooler today and the wind we still have will be nice for the quad ride we are going on.

The clouds made for a beautiful sunrise this morning...

With our riding gear on and lunch packed in our quad, we were ready by 10:00 and headed over to Earl and Allison's. Eric and Janet's son, Matt, and his girlfriend, Allison, had arrived yesterday evening for a short visit. Today, we were taking them out on a ride to see the area. There were six quads...lead by Earl/Allison, followed by Matt/Allison, me, Steve, Eric and Art. Our planned route today was Dripping Springs, to Apache Chief Cabin and then over Hogback and home. I swore last year when we rode over Hogback that I would never do it again but we had ridden in the opposite direction last year, making it a mostly uphill climb. This time we would be riding down...however, I still wasn't convinced I wanted to do it...but I decided to give it another chance.

 (Best to click on some photos to enlarge)

Break time...that's Earl, Matt, Allison and Allison on the left. I think Earl is giving Matt and Allison a lesson on desert vegetation...steer clear of those jumping Cholla! Art, Steve and Earl on the right...

The Ocotillo are really starting to green-up!

 And we're off again...towards Dripping Springs...

...through the canyon...

Eric and Art...

Once at Dripping Springs, Art, Steve and I stayed at the quads and chatted while Earl, Allison and Eric showed Matt and Allison the springs and the petroglyphs. More groups of folks on quads and jeeps started arriving...so it was time to head off.

We stopped for lunch at Apache Chief Cabin. No pictures were taken by my chief photographer...oh well, you've seen lots (and lots) of pictures of both Dripping Springs and Apache Chief Cabin! After lunch we headed to the start of the Hogback. Here are Eric and Art coming up behind Steve....

We stopped at the base for a final re-group before heading up. That's me up there taking a look and summoning up some courage...

Hard to tell in this photo but this hillside is full of holes...

And up we go...

I'm just below and Matt and Allison are at the top of the most technical part of the trail...

Eric and Art coming up behind Steve at that same spot...

The road below where we just came from...

 We stopped at a viewpoint...

...before continuing up the final bit...

 Then it was down...down...down...

Our road ahead...

Photos don't show how steep this hill really is. Eric and Art way back there...

Dianne, Matt/Allison and Earl/Allison ahead...

Eric and Art way back there...

The viewpoint was above that road, it's now too dangerous to ride...

Eric and Art...

Another stop partway down...Steve backed into a jumping Cholla while preparing for a group photo so Eric performed an extraction from the back of his pant leg...thanks Eric. They hurt!

 Time to continue on...

 More down...

 ...mixed with the occasional uphill...

If you look really close in the sky you can see a dark spec to the right of the mountain in the middle...

Very cool...

A C-130 Hercules...

Yay, we made it down to the bottom! Just this short little hill then we're off on the final leg of our ride...

It was going on 2:30 when we got back. Steve found he had been "attacked" again, so another extraction was needed. Earl to the rescue this time...thanks Earl! After saying thanks for another great ride (and goodbye to Matt and Allison), we soon had the quads unpacked and all our stuff put away.

Steve settled inside and read while I had my shower...and next thing we knew it was just before 5:00 and time to head off with Red and Pam. Fellow RV Dreamers Les and Sue (aka "Bigboomer") had invited us all over for dinner. Wow, what a spread...Les wasn't kidding when he said that Sue had been cooking up a storm all day! Time to dig in! Menu....salad, zucchini Parmesan, pasta with meat sauce...and a huge tray of roasted chicken, potatoes and peppers!

Left to right...Sue, Les, Pam, Red, Mike, Claudia and me...

After a delicious dinner, we moved over to the campfire...where dessert was served. Coffee, cheesecake and a huge tray of Sue's cookies...oh my, so good...and we were so stuffed! We enjoyed more conversation around the campfire and then waddled back to the truck (with plates of leftovers each!) and headed home. Thanks for a wonderful dinner and evening, Sue and Les!