The days are just flying by...especially those ones that are spent doing routine chores around here. The weather has been quite chilly with lots of wind, making for some indoor days.
Saturday it was sunny but windy. I spent some time behind the laptop checking our bank accounts and recording expenses. While I was doing that, Steve relaxed in his chair reading some magazines. We did get out for a walk in the afternoon (second for me...I went out for one after our resistance exercises this morning). Once back, we tried sitting outside for a bit, but eventually retreated inside because the wind was just too annoying.
Sunday we woke to mainly cloudy skies...and a beautiful sunrise...
...and even a sunrise rainbow...
Today we decided to ride our quads into town to check out all of the fifth-wheels again. We really like the new floor plans out this year, particularly in the Grand Design Solitude and Momentum and wanted to take another look. To our surprise, there was only one left...seems the rest had already been sold. Obviously popular!
We hadn't planned on going through the "big tent" until the crowds had thinned out a bit...probably Tuesday or Wednesday but it wasn't all that busy yet today, so we decided to take a look.
We stopped and chatted with Les and Sue (Bigboomer) who were manning the Escapee booth...
We walked around the outside of the tent...
Our conclusion of this year's Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show...even less RV-related booths. Very disappointing, actually. Lots of "wrinkle cream" booths though! :-)
It was definitely getting much busier by the time we were heading back to the quads. We tried to stop for a brew at Beer Bellies but there wasn't an empty table to be found, so we carried on to the quads. One thing we were amazed at were the number of vehicles parked in Tyson Wash. In past years, we have seen vehicles including a Class A motor-home getting towed out after getting stuck in the gravel...obviously not a worry this year.
On our ride home, we stopped to say hi to Doug and Candice in La Posa North. They are from our ATV club back home...Cowichan Valley ATV Club...and Doug is also a Director for ATV/BC. Good to see them down here!
After a quick lunch at home, we hopped back on our quads and rode down to see Krya...a fellow RV-Dreamer that we first met at a rally in 2012. She is parked further down the wash with three other rigs...also RV-Dreamers. She introduced us to Rowdy who has a brand new Can-Am side-by-side, is new to the area and would love to join us on a ride. Rowdy and his wife, Missy are from Alaska and recently retired. We chatted a bit about the trails in the area and invited him on a ride this week...likely Tuesday or Wednesday.
This is the Blue Bird motor-home rally...
Monday was a very windy day. Since it looked like we were going to be "holed-up" inside all day, I decided to get out for a walk after our resistance exercises. I bundled up and battled the wind and did my 3 mile route...and was glad when I finally got back inside. The wind was brutal.
We spent most of the afternoon doing some maintenance on our GPS's...cleaning up old files and uploading a track of the route we want to go on on Wednesday. It's amazing how fast the hours can melt away when you have your head stuck on the laptop! Next thing we knew, it was 4:00 and time to join Deb and Ray for happy hour. We enjoyed an hour or so chatting with them and then battled the wind back across the road home.
We woke to blue sky Tuesday. The wind had also died down and we got out for a pleasant morning walk. Once back, we put the sun shade up and then Steve prepared to head into town. He had a few errands to run...propane, drinking water and Discount Solar for some LED light replacements.
While he was gone, I gave the trailer a good cleaning...and by the time I was finished, Steve still wasn't back. Apparently it was extremely busy in town and the traffic was horrendous!
As the day progressed, it got windier and windier...so once Steve got home, we tried to figure out the best place for our happy hour tonight. We decided on a spot in the sun, against the trailer and Steve moved the truck over for added protection.
Shortly before 4:00, the phone rang...it was Kelly saying they were at the garbage dumpsters. So Steve hopped on his quad and went to meet them to direct them to our spot. Kelly and Darrell follow our blog and we met briefly last year when we ran into them at the RV Show (and again when we were in Yuma). They are from 150 Mile House in BC and are in the area for a week and wanted to get together. Sounds good...come join us for happy hour!
Jim and Barb and Ray and Deb also joined us....
Wednesday was a beautiful sunny day...but a tad bit chilly. So we bundled up...including long johns and heavy socks and headed out to meet the group going on the quad ride with us today. Steve thought it was easier for everyone to meet at the garbage dumpsters.
It was shortly after 10:00 when we hit the trails...there were five side-by-sides (Jim/Barb, Rowdy/Missy, Guy/Sue, Roger/Cindi, Jim/Brenda) and Steve and I on our quads. Steve led the ride and I brought up the rear as tail-gunner, being able to stay in touch with Steve with our radios.
We headed off towards Dripping Springs...(we've ridden this route many times over the years, so you'll probably recognize the pictures)...
Arriving at Dripping Springs...
Not much water at the Springs considering how much rain they've had this season...
Jim and I inside the cave....you can actually stand up inside...
Checking out the Petroglyphs...
A Petroglyph and some very colourful lichen...
This one has been shot at a few times. Whats wrong with people??
Time to head off...
You can't tell from this photo but that's a very steep hill we're climbing up...
Lots of blue green rock at these old diggings...
Lunch time at Apache Chief Cabin...
It's interesting to see the changes in items from year to year...
Gold Nugget Mine with Guadeloupe Mountain behind...
The group rode up to the top of Guadalupe Mountain...Barb and Jim kept me company down below. I don't do steep (or open heights) very well. They all made it! Rowdy said he was going to have to pull his seat out of his butt from squeezing so hard...LOL!
The valley we came through...
Quartzsite is in the distance on the top left...
Gold Nugget Mine below...
Left to right...Brenda, Jim, Susan, Guy, Roger, Rowdy, Cindi and Missy. Looking east along the I-10 and the town of Brenda...
Hey...where is everyone?
Here they come. It's much steeper than it looks!
Next stop was at Belle of Arizona Mine...
There is another mine near the hilltop. This looks to be a long trench that followed a seam...
Hilltop mine with a large granite seam...
Looks like it caved in...
About to start another steep downhill through Teddy Bear Pass...
Again...it's steeper than it looks...
Spanish Cabin....
Mitchell Mine area...
Our last stop at the viewpoint above the current Mitchel Mine area...
And we're on our way home...
We got home just before 4:30 after 44 miles...what a great day! Lots of fun out with a great group of folks!
Thursday was chore day...shortly before 10:00 with the laundry loaded into the truck, we headed off into town to Main Street Laundry. The parking lot was packed, so we thought we'd give one of the other laundromats in town a try. Well, the one we thought we'd try was closed this year, so I guess there is only two now. The other one is much smaller, had a line-up plus there was water leaking all over the floor. That told me they didn't keep good maintenance on their machines...so we headed back to Main Street. Steve pulled over, put his four-way flashers on, I grabbed a laundry buggy, and we loaded it with the three bags and I headed inside while Steve headed off to get some more gas and exchange a couple of the LED lights that we just got that were incorrect.
The timing was perfect, I hit three empty machines together just before a bunch of other people came in. I had the laundry done and was waiting for Steve when he pulled back into the parking lot. We made a quick stop at Shade Pro to find out the status of our new awning. Apparently it will be here sometime around the first week in February.
Once home I got on with the task of hanging the wet laundry on the line to dry. It was a sunny day with a light breeze...but it was chilly. Steve puttered around inside a bit and then walked down to see Earl. His "poop mobile" wasn't being used, so Steve hopped on his quad and went down to get it...and got started on his chores. The main sani-dump has had long lines each day...there were 15 in line when we left to go into town and still the same number when we got back. It's not uncommon lately to have well over 20 RV's lined up...busy time around here with the big RV show happening. It ends on Sunday so it should quiet down around here after that.
Steve emptied the black tank and headed off down to the smaller dump for 'blueboys' only which is quite a bit further to go. He was back fairly quickly. He had hooked up the hose, pulled the lever, removed the bung and had just stepped away when the hose broke...spewing sewage all over the place. Thank goodness he hadn't been standing right in front of it! A valuable lesson learned...always stand to the side because you just never know. So he apologized to the fellow that monitors the area...and came back to grab our sewer hose to finish the job. So instead of the normal two trips it took three.
No longer trusting that old hose Steve is still standing to the side...LOL!
While he was making his trips back and forth, I checked laundry...folded what was dry and hung more. He had finished filling the fresh water tank shortly after 4:00...just as Deb and Ray came over to join us for happy hour.
We enjoyed a couple of drinks, finished up the dip I had made the other night (along with a few stuffed peppers that Deb had brought over) and as the sun got low, it chilled off...and we called it a night. We even had a lovely sunset...
Well, that brings us up-to-date again...it was a good week. Stay tuned for more...
Steve captured this fellow making his way over to check out the seed on the ground around the bird feeder. Steve's seen a few but it's the first Roadrunner I've seen this year....
Lots of people were sitting in the area enjoying a drink and listening to the outcome...so we bought a beer and after finding out what we had missed, we walked around in hopes of finding any of the 150 BBQ competitors that was still serving. No such luck, though...they were all packing up and heading out to their next competition.
We gathered at Jim and Barb's for a late happy hour and after a great visit sitting around the campfire, we headed home. Thanks for lending us a flashlight, Jim...it would have been an interesting walk home in the dark without it!
