Sunday, December 15 to Tuesday, December 31, 2024 (La Posa West LTVA and American Trails RV Park, Quartzsite, AZ)

Well, it's the end of December and time for a blog update. As usual, we have been taking care of the usual everyday chores, walking, reading and knitting (for me).

Sunday (Dec. 15) afternoon we walked into Kuehn Street...still not that many vendors here yet but each day more arrive. Come January, there will be lots.

We stopped in at Beer Belly's Adult Day Care for a brew and to listen to some music...

There's always a few ladies up dancing...

This beauty was parked in the lot, so Steve had to get a picture as we left...

Our good friends, Dave and Leslie from Alberta decided they needed some warmth and sunshine so flew down to Phoenix for a week. They rented a spot in Casa Grande and on Monday (Dec. 16) made the 3 hour (each way) drive out for a visit with us. How cool is that!

They arrived just before noon and after big hugs, we all headed into Silly Al's Pizza for lunch...

And then to Beer Belly's...have to hit the "hot spots" in Q!

Santa was making his rounds and stopped for a chat and a picture...

We went back to our home in the desert to continue our visit for a bit...until it was time for them to head back to Casa Grande. So wonderful seeing them and catching up! Thanks for making the trip out to see us!

Tuesday (Dec. 17) morning Steve had an appointment at 8:00 to have the truck checked for a coolant leak. Turns out there is a crack in the radiator and it's not repairable, so Best Auto RV and Truck Repair here in Q is trying to find a replacement and will get back to us.

The rest of the day...and next...were spent reading, knitting, going for our desert walks and/or walking into Kuehn Street...nothing very exciting.

It was another chilly start to the day on Thursday (Dec. 19) but it warms up nicely once the sun is up with temps going up to 75F/24C. 

The radiator appears to be leaking more now and Steve doesn't want to risk using the truck too much, so we decided to move into an RV Park in Q, close to the repair place. We called American Trails RV Park and they have plenty of room, so we pulled in there around 10:00. After checking in, and paying for a week ($227.93 including tax, water and a 4% charge for using Visa...electric will be metered and we'll pay that when we leave). Site 80 is a back-in site but with no one in the site behind, we pulled right through into our site. The sites are all gravel but fairly wide, so Buster fits in as well.

 Of course, with Christmas being next week, we will likely be here longer...it really depends on how long it takes for a new radiator to arrive. Best Auto RV and Truck Repair is trying to source a replacement radiator for us.

We heard sirens then saw a police escort for the motorcyclists as they pick up donated toys for Christmas...

The next few days were mainly filled with reading...lots of reading...for both of us and knitting for me. We decorated the trailer inside and out...

We also walked to Kuehn Street to see if more vendors had arrived...it's about a mile each way. We occasionally treat ourselves with a visit to Beer Belly's. 

Monday (Dec. 23) afternoon we had a visit from Fred and Terry who are camped at La Posa South LTVA in the same area we used to stay. We met them a number of years ago as they camped with Art and Janet (Terry is Janet's niece)....i.e. part of the "old" usual crowd who we often saw each year. It was great catching up with them...

Tuesday (Dec. 24) morning we decided to walk to check out some of the vendors on Main Street...and since we were hungry and Silly Al's was just across the street, we went out for Christmas Eve Day lunch...

This picture popped up on a memory...one year ago when we were back home and had our whole family together for Christmas at Rob and Angie's. Steve and I with our 3 grandsons...Conner, Bryce and Isaac (the little guy in the middle). It's amazing how much they have all grown in one year!

A beautiful sunset...

Wednesday (Dec. 25)...Merry Christmas to all our family and friends!

We had wonderful video calls with both of our sons and their families...sounds and looks like they all are enjoying their Christmas morning.

At 3:00 we joined the group here at the RV Park for Christmas Dinner...a wonderful and delicious potluck! Sandy, on the left, is one of the organizers who works here at the park. Unfortunately, I really don't remember everyone's name...we met so many!

We were welcomed to sit at a table with a lovely couple from Idaho, Tony and Gaylynn. We enjoyed our meal while chatting with them...

We had some beautiful sunrises Thursday, Friday and Saturday...

And sunset on Saturday...

The Arizona sunrises and sunsets are absolutely amazing! 

Friday (Dec. 27) Terry and Fred invited us to join them on a trip to Parker...fantastic! We get to stock up at Walmart and Safeway! We have managed okay picking up the necessities here in Q but I was getting quite a list of items that required shopping at larger stores. So the trip with them was perfect...thanks so much Fred and Terry! After a number of stops, with the final one being the Crossroads Cafe for lunch, we were home around 4:00.

Sunday (Dec. 29) morning we decided to walk back over to check out a flea market area...I find it amazing the amount of junk people are selling. What is that saying? "One man's junk, is another man's  treasure"...

Monday (Dec. 30) was another beautiful day...incredible weather so far this year! But it is extremely dry...last I heard, it has been over 136 days without any measurable amount of rain. It sounds like they're getting all the rain back home.

We decided to walk to Kuehn Street and found that the vendor selling outdoor mats and sunscreens has finally opened. We will be back at some point to purchase them for our trailer, as well as a replacement mat for the 5th wheel back home.

Beer Belly's was packed! It seems the snowbirds are really starting to flock in now! 

You can see in the background that the 'Big Tent' is already up for the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show. They've added 40' to it so it's now 650' long. The RV Show doesn't start until January 18th so they are early getting it up this year.

Line dancing...I love watching and find it amazing that they can remember all the moves. When I went to classes a number of years back, all I could do was laugh. Every time I got a routine figured out, they were onto another...too funny!

They also had a game of musical chairs...very entertaining! A 1:01 minute video...

Tuesday (Dec. 31) Fred and Terry were going back into Parker and asked if we wanted to ride along...sure! They rent a post office box in Parker while they are here and graciously let us use their address to have a parcel delivered.

We only had a couple of things to pick up at Walmart and Safeway...and so did Terry, so our shopping trip was much shorter than last Friday! With that done it was time for lunch again at the Crossroads Cafe. This place is always packed...great food and very reasonable prices. Thanks again, guys, for letting us tag along! We also really appreciate the use of your PO box! 

New Year's Eve was a pretty quiet one for us. We had planned on watching the Vancouver Canucks play the Calgary Flames but it kept buffering...so we finally gave up and played a few games of Rummikub. 

It was a good thing because they lost 3-1 to the Flames.

We watched CNN's New Year's Eve in New York...and once the ball fell at midnight, we wished each other a Happy New Year and went to sleep...it was about 10:10 pm Arizona time.

And that pretty much sums up our time since our last update. The radiator is scheduled to arrive here on Friday...fingers crossed it does, and it fits! There were delays due to the holidays and we also think a screw up on either Best Auto or their supplier. Unfortunately this means we will be here at the RV Park until at least next Tuesday, if everything goes smoothly. 

And that's a wrap for 2024!