Thursday and Friday, January 5 and 6, 2017 (La Posa South LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ)

Thursday morning after breakfast Steve headed outside to move everything away from the trailer in preparation for the mobile RV wash fellow. Everything is covered in road salt, especially the truck. While he was doing that, I cleaned up inside and got ready for Larry, the fellow who fixes day/night blinds, to come.

Shortly before 10:00, Steve received a call from Larry...he had just arrived at La Posa South. So Steve hopped on his quad and went out to meet him and direct him in. After checking out which blinds needed to be fixed, Larry got started. He was working at it while Steve looked on...when the phone rang again. Garrett, the mobile RV Wash fellow, was here...so Steve again rode his quad out to direct him in.

So it was busy at our place...with our blinds being fixed and the fifth-wheel and truck being washed.

On one of my trips into the trailer, the refrigerator was beeping away...at first I thought it was out of propane but Steve had just filled the propane tanks yesterday. Then we realized it was the error code for the 'high limit module'...exactly what had happened when we first got our rig out of storage and were setting up at Peace Arch.

Steve went out to check it and found the compartment full of water...while washing that side of the trailer, Garrett had sprayed a lot of water through the vents (which he denied...but it was kind of obvious). Steve told him this was going to cost him. No payment for his services until this was resolved. This is a photo of our old high limit module replaced at the end of November...

As Steve was doing some online research on troubleshooting, he found out from a forum that to reset it, you run a strong magnet underneath it near the red light. He tried that a couple of times...and it still beeped when fired back up. He decided to call RV Lifestyles here in Q to see if they had the module but they didn't stock it...it has to be ordered in. Sheesh! As he was talking on the phone, Earl happened to come over...and he went to work on seeing if he could fix the problem. Being an electronics issue, this was right up his ally!

They took the module out, opened it and, as suspected, found water in it. After letting it dry out, he ran the magnet by it a couple of times, put it back together and wired it up.
And it worked! Thanks for your help Earl! The fridge was on again...whew! Thank goodness! Lesson learned...be careful to ensure that water is not sprayed directly into the vents!

Garrett did a good job washing, hand drying...including the windows. But the trailer was in dire need of a good waxing. Ray and Deb were having Robert's RV Wash come in and wash and wax, including oxidation removal, tomorrow so Steve called them to see how much it would cost to have our trailer done. They needed to send someone out to give us a quote, so at about 4:30, the fellow came by. It was a bit rich at $260 for oxidation removal and wax but we decided to go ahead with it anyway. Since we had a quad ride planned for tomorrow, Ray and Deb said they'd watch our rig...Robert's would do ours after finishing their's. We walked over to give them the money to pay Robert's...and of course, took our drinks with us and had a visit as well. Thanks so much, Deb and Ray...we really appreciate you taking care of this for us tomorrow!

We all met over at Bob and Sue's at 10:00 Friday morning...time to go for our first ride out on the desert! There would be six four-wheelers heading out today...four quads (Earl/Allison, Bob, Steve and me) and two side-by-sides (Jim/Barb and Sue). It was a beautiful sunny day...but chilly, with highs only to around 55F/13C. It was quite windy, though, making if feel much cooler.

Our first stop was at one of the entrances to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Then we were on our way to "the towers" on top of one of the mountains...

Great view from up here!

Looking west towards I-95...

Kofa mountains in the distance...

Hard to see but there are 3 machines in this photo...

We stopped to take a look at this Tank...

These are wildlife watering stations...

Another Tank as we approach Crystal Hill....

Time for lunch...at Crystal Hill...

Steve, Bob, Allison, Earl, Jim, Barb and Sue....with Bandit, Dakota and Daisy all longingly waiting for someone to drop a morsel of food their way....

After eating, it was time to wander down to the wash and up onto Crystal Hill in search of crystals.
Sue, Earl and Allison searching on the hillside and I'm down in the wash with Bandit...
Crystal Hill, located in the northwest corner of Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in the Livingston Hills, is the only area within the refuge where recreational rock or mineral collecting is permitted. Quartz crystals are hidden in the washes and on the rocky slopes of Crystal Hill, making this an ideal location for rockhounding or collecting. While searching for quartz crystals at the top of the hill, visitors can also enjoy the 360 degree view of the surrounding area.

With everyone finished their rockhounding (with varying degrees of success), it was time to head home. Forgot to take any photos of the crystals found. They basically look like clear broken glass...

It was shortly after 3:00 when we arrived back at camp. It was so nice getting back out on the quads here...the area is great for riding!

We got cleaned up and managed to sit outside in the sunshine against the trailer (out of the wind) for a bit before heading in to get ready to go to a gathering of RVillagers. New to RVing, Cindi and Roger were hosting it for all of the early arrivers to Q. They have a beautiful...and unique...Momentum fifth-wheel. It is a toy hauler but the living room is up front with the bedroom at the rear with a smaller garage spot at the rear under the bedroom for their side-by-side. It's always interesting to see what new designs the manufacturers come out with each year. This is the nicest Toy-hauler we've seen to date.

I'm not sure how many people were actually there, but there must have been about 14 to 16.

Roger had two campfire pits built side-by-side to accommodate everyone...what a great idea! Everyone brought their chairs but while we were there, no one sat...choosing instead to 'rotate' in front of the campfire for warmth.

We called it an evening shortly after 7:00...a great time and fun meeting new RV folks. Thanks for a great evening Cindi and Roger!

Tuesday and Wednesday, January 3 and 4, 2017 (La Posa South LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ)

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent finishing our set up, cleaning and getting settled in.
Steve captured this beautiful sunrise Tuesday morning when he went out to fire up the generator...

Steve got our yard set up...mat, chairs, barbecue, solar lights and also off-loaded the quads and swept out the truck box. Then he went into town to fill the propane tanks and get gas. While he was doing all his work, I was inside cleaning and finishing my set up.

At about 4:00, our friends Deb and Ray pulled in. There was a spot across the road from us...and after some humming and hawing about whether they'd be able to get their motorhome in, they decided to give it a try. After a bit of maneuvering around all of the bushes, they managed to find the perfect spot.

Needless to say, the day slipped by quickly and then we had a small gathering at our place. Left to right..Steve, Allison, Earl, Ray, Barb, Jim and Deb...


 Now from the other end...Ray, Barb and Jim hiding behind the bush, Deb, me, Allison and Earl...

Wednesday we got out for a walk...and were out for quite some time as we stopped and had a visit with friends along the way. It was an absolutely beautiful day...clear blue sky and sunshine...yes!

A couple of pictures of our new site, Art and Jan behind us..

The rest of the day was spent doing odds and ends. Steve called the fellow that fixes day/night blinds...we have three that need to be re-strung. Larry strings them differently from the factory and guarantees them for life. We appreciate your offer to do it for us, Dale...thanks anyways!

He also called a fellow that comes out and washes RV's. Jim and Barb had their rig washed and were happy with it so we decided to go for it too. Our rig is so dirty including salt from the roads up in BC, so Steve is anxious to get it all cleaned up. The fellow will be out tomorrow at 10:00...it's going to be a busy day with both the "blinds" fellow coming out and the RV washer!

Shortly after 4:00, we walked across the road and joined Ray and Deb for a cocktail sitting out in the late afternoon sunshine. About an hour or so later, we headed home...so good to catch up with you guys!

We had dinner and settled in for an evening watching our favourite shows on TV...ahhh...it's so good to be settled here for a bit!