Friday, January 14 to Wednesday, January 19, 2022 (La Posa South LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ)

Friday (Jan. 14) morning started with a beautiful sunrise...

Earl texted to see if we wanted to ride to the Black Rock Cafe in Brenda for lunch....sure, but first Allison and I wanted to get out for our planned walk. Long story short, by the time we got back, we had 20 minutes to get ready to leave...for me that meant no shower and no dishes...at least I didn't have to make a lunch for us! But at 10:30 the six of us, Earl/Allison, Jim/Cec and Steve and I headed off with Earl leading the way.

Here is the short Relive video....Ride to Black Rock RV Village Cafe.

Over to Steve...

The trail is now leading us in the wrong direction...

Jim and Cec took the trail up the hill on the left for a view, finding no other trails we turned around...

Jim and Cec catching up as we take a break...

Flag whips down and under we go...

Jim and Cec...

Unbeknown to us we took the wrong trail. This hill was brutal as it was off camber and full of large rocks and boulders! From here you can't see the top as it continues around the corner. Earl went first and immediately tried to contact us by phone unsuccessfully, not to come up. Dianne got started then suddenly stopped. She froze in fear and couldn't move so I had to run up to help ease her back down until it was safe for her to get off. Turns out that was a very smart choice on her part! In the meantime I had seen an ATV'er very slowly coming down the hill to the right out of view of this picture and mistakenly assumed he was going cross country to avoid us. Instead of checking that out I made the mistake of riding Dianne's quad up the hill and almost lost it!! Once I got going there was no stopping as the pucker factor kicked in big time and now I'm fully committed...or I should have been committed for attempting this:) I made it though with no injuries or damage to Dianne's quad. I've been riding since 2003 and this was the scariest hill I've ever ridden up! The next thing I know Jim and Cec were on their way up. Now the side x sides have a lower centre of gravity with a longer and wider wheel base plus a roll cage for protection...on our ATV's we just have our helmets:) It was still a hell of a ride up for them too! Turns out that once we were at the top of the hill we saw the correct trail below where I had seen the ATV'er coming down. I radioed directions to Dianne below to take the other trail with my quad and said we would link up with her a little further ahead. 

All back together now...

Three hours later, we arrived in the small community of Brenda...and the Black Rock Cafe, which is connected to the Black Rock RV Village...

Lunch out on the patio...the beer sure tasted good after that ride! Steve, Allison, Dianne, Jim, Earl and Cec...

After a great lunch, we were headed back. We crossed under the I-10 freeway at a different spot this time. Much nicer trails!

I-10...

Time for a break...

Beautiful views along the way...

Jim and Cec catching up at the viewpoint overlooking Dripping Springs. We've found that many of the trails have gotten much rougher since we were here last. 

The arrow points to Dripping Springs and the petroglyphs where we can no longer ride to...only hike in.:(

Looking back at the trail we came up...

Down and down we go...

None of the ladies stayed in their rigs for the ride over the rocky ledge...

Once again I got to do it twice!

Jim has constructed a roll cage all around his machine for protection and managed to put a dent in one of the bars here. Left front tire up in the air!

Earl spotted a geocache on his GPS, so up the hill we went...

Allison and Earl at the geocache...

It's been a long hard ride...we didn't get home until almost 5:30!

Saturday (Jan. 15) ended up being cooler with mostly clouds and wind but a nice sunrise.

I got some work done inside while Steve took my quad down to Jim and Cec's. Jim is going to change the worn out inner CV boot on my left rear axle. Jim's a retired mechanic with all the right tools and knowhow. Thanks Jim!

With it being cooler out for our happy hour this afternoon Steve brought out the Campfire-in-a-Can...Colan, Marilyn, Jim, Cec, and Earl joined us for our "social hour".

Sunday (Jan. 16) morning we were off at 8:30 with Earl and Allison to Yuma. We all have appointments with CMD Ultrasound, a mobile ultrasound company. For $70 they provide 12 screenings...Thyroid, Carotid Arteries, Heart, Pancreas, Aorta, Liver, Spleen, Gallbladder, Kidneys, Bladder, Leg Arteries, Pelvic (Ovaries for women/Prostate for men). This is our third time having it done...well worth the money in our opinion. And we're happy to say, we're all good!

After a shopping trip to Harbour Freight for the guys (Allison and I waited in the truck), we headed to Old Town Yuma and Da Boyz Italian Cuisine for lunch. It is right next door to Prison Hill Brewing Company, another spot where we have had lunch in the past.

We sat out on the patio and enjoyed a delicious lunch! It's a huge restaurant and was quite busy inside.  We would definitely come back here! 

We made a couple of stops for a little shopping before heading back to Quartzsite. Steve had to take a picture of this license plate from Alberta..."#1 Baba". With the last name Colibaba, Baba became his nickname 'back in the day'...it is also one of our sons (work) nickname. Steve was hoping to talk to them but we left before they returned.

Monday (Jan. 17) morning Steve and I headed into town to get drinking water, propane and gas. As we were turning back into La Posa South LTVA, a large group of motorcyclists road by...

Once home, Steve did his pumping. This time however, he filled the fresh water tank but left the dumping for early the next morning since the line up at the sani-dump was long...yup, it's getting busy around here as we near the big RV Show.

At 3:00, we had the "gang" over for another Core Crash challenge...Guy,/Sue, James,/Cindy, Jim,/Cec, Fred,/Terry, Bob/Sue, Colan/Marilyn...and more ATV friends from Vancouver Island who arrived yesterday, Bill and Janet.

Left to right...Terry, Fred, James, Cindy, Sue, Guy, Earl, me, Janet (taking her turn throwing), Cec, Jim, Bill and Sue S...

Sue S. taking her turn...

The sun and warmth were definitely back...a very warm day!

Tuesday (Jan. 18) was basically a chore day. Steve was out just after 7:00 taking the poop-mobile over to dump. He didn't have to wait, but by the time he was finished the line up had started.

We were at the laundromat by 8:00...clothes all washed and back home by 9:00! We had breakfast and then I hung the laundry. I was a little worried when we were about to head into town as it actually started raining! It didn't last though and by the time I had the laundry on the line, the sun was out and there was a brisk wind to dry things quickly.

The wind Wednesday (Jan. 19) morning was calm, so Steve headed out back in the desert to fly one of his RC planes. He had 3 successful flights. 

Once back, we went into town to top up one of the propane tanks and pick up a couple of parcels at Quiet Times. Other than some chores around here...that was pretty much our day.

And there you have it! We're all caught up for now.