Thursday, January 27, 2011

Jan. 27, 2011, Quartzsite, AZ – Happy Hour and Big Tent

The past week has been busy.  First, Susie and Denny Orr, Escapees RV Club Chapter Directors, hosted their sixth annual Happy Hours last Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.   I am embarrassed to admit that I had such a wonderful afternoon visiting with Escapees friends that I forgot to take any photos.  Larry would probably say:  She was so busy talking, she forgot to take photos!

And he would be right.  At the special gathering place along the I-10 frontage road on the east end of Quartzsite, at least 300 Escapees members came together for two afternoons of entertainment, snacks, and fellowship.  Some actually camped there, some drove up from Yuma and down from Parker—and some of us came from other boondock spots in Quartzsite.  We brought chairs, refreshments and lots of hugs to share!

Denny and Susie do the planning and set-ups—and the rest of us show up to enjoy the energy they bring to the gathering.  Denny and Susie, thank you for all your time and hard work—done so we can come and meet and greet long-time friends and take away a feeling of belonging to a very special group!  You are the best!!

Following in the lack of photography efforts, I failed to take photos of the Big Tent Show that opened last Saturday.  It is impossible to photograph the tent and surrounding area to illustrate the scale of the size of the tent and number of parked cars surrounding it.  Highway 95 headed north was backed up almost three miles with cars pouring into Quartzsite from the south—and probably almost as far from the north.

We are long-time attendees and I have to say:  The number of RVs parked in the BLM free and long-term visitor areas as well as traffic clogging the highway feels much higher than previous years. And the show attendees were spending.  I bet the vendors leave with big smiles after this show.

I had the opportunity to re-visit some Escapees commercial members and introduce them to the new Escapade Director, Bob Pinner.  I know he will do a great job setting up the Escapade Market Area for the upcoming Escapade in Gillette, WY, this summer.

More Quartzsite information in the next blog, because we are:

Back on the road…..

Part of our story is living with a serious medical issue.  Larry’s kidneys are failing and have been for over 10 years.  When we first heard about it, we were devastated!  We saw a very uncertain future with only scary things littering the path we were going down.

  We did some basic diet readjustments and the failure rate slowed down.  Life might have gone on with minor inconveniences such as blood tests every three or four months and doctors’ visit once or twice a year.  In Feb. 2008, he developed a blood clot that lead to the discovery of an aneurism behind his knee.  The vascular surgeon was well aware of our concern and tried his best to flush the dye from Larry’s kidneys, but the damage was done.

Since 2008, we changed our diet even more.  We adopted a modified version of the dialysis diets, limiting protein consumption and strict monitoring of sodium intake.  And, it has been working.  His creatinine levels have hovered between 3.0 and 3.5.  We have chosen to continue to travel and do what we want—working around the monthly lab tests and Procrit prescription for treating CKD’s anemia.

Last summer the creatinine level dropped back down to 2.7 for three months running and we were thrilled!  Unfortunately, the numbers started climbing in Livingston.

We are heading to Antioch, CA, to do the lab work back where it was 2.7 in September and find out if his kidneys are now failing at a faster rate—or if the reading was an aberration.  You know what we are hoping for—so please keep us in your prayers.

IMG_1291 We expect to be back in Quartzsite around Feb. 6th.  I promise to take photos while in the Antioch, CA area.  In the meantime, enjoy  one of the many beautiful Quartzsite sunsets.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Jan. 12, 2011 Quartzsite, AZ Roughing it -- Part 2

It’s too cold to be outside, so I am going to share how we rough it living “off the grid” in Quartzsite, AZ.

We have two solar panels (80 and 100 watt) on the camper roof to charge the batteries.  We have 12-volt chargers for our cell phones and the computers.

To use 110-volt appliances, we start the Honda 2000i generator.  It’s been reliable and is conservative with gas. Larry rigged a shelf at the back of the camper to carry it.  The best part is that even I can start it!

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Because it is close to the camper and emits exhaust, we also have a carbon monoxide detector inside the camper.

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It runs on batteries and has a read-out pane to monitor any carbon monoxide in the camper as well as an alarm if the readings get too high.  We also use it to monitor the heater (see below).  We have had higher readings (38-42) from making stove-top coffee than any other function.

Today we started the generator so I could bake a loaf of bread.  My close friends know I “rescue” Panasonic bread machines from garage sales and thrift shops.  They make the best machine-made bread.  I make our bread at home and while staying in RV parks; I have cut the salt in the bread recipe (one teaspoon down to 1/2 teaspoon per loaf)--allowing Larry to enjoy two slices of toast with his breakfast and still have a sandwich for lunch. 

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I rescue the one-pound machines because they no longer sold.  We like the one-pound loaves baked in the machine, and I use the two-pound loaf machines to make bread dough and bake it in the oven.

Don’t ask how many machines I have; it is a sore spot with Larry.  :).  There is always room for another Panasonic machine in our home!  I also pass them on to friends who might enjoy baking fresh bread—if they will use it.  If later they don’t want it—and I will find another happy home for it..

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Here is our generator project.  It was delicious.  In the spirit of roughing it, we watched TV while it was baking. 

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We have not enjoyed good reception with the new digital TV stations—even in downtown Salem, OR.  And we had even worse luck setting up the DISH tripod antenna.  The setup process was so frustrating, we didn’t bother bringing the satellite system.  And then the Winegard CarryOut antennas came on the market.  It seemed like an affordable fit for us.

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The Winegard CarryOut has two lines, the 12 volt power line and the coax cable.  It actually finds the satellite by itself.  It doesn’t require our help—which is so amazing!   Another problem was the receiver.  We didn’t have a place for it in the camper—until Larry came up with this great idea:

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He hung a basket from the ceiling for the receiver box and then ran a coax cable out behind the refrigerator box to the outside.  He made a 12 volt plug directly off the battery box—so the two cables for the CarryOut don’t come inside.  This year we are watching satellite TV instead of cursing the digital stations.

On cold days—we use Mr. Heater Buddy to warm our shoebox.  It burns the small propane canisters and has an oxygen sensor to turn the unit off if the carbon monoxide gets too high.  We keep a small window open for fresh air exchange and use the CO2 detector.  We couldn’t stay here dry camping in cold weather without this heater.

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We don’t run it at night when we are sleeping.  We have had some 30 degree weather and we stay warm and toasty under our winter blanket, even when it is 40 degrees inside.  If it is really, really cold, we add stocking caps and sleep like babies—warm and cozy.  Larry is lucky, I get up first and start the heater to warm the camper before he has to get out of bed.  (Yes, he is spoiled, smile.)

As you can see, life is different out here without any hook-ups, but not really difficult.  With some modifications in the rig and in our attitudes, “roughing it” is fun.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Dec. 29, 2010 Where and what is Quartzsite???

Are you wondering where Quartzsite is and why we are here?

Quartzsite grows from about 1,000 heat-loving hearty souls during the summer months to 10,000-15,000, mostly RVers, in mid-January. Quartzsite sits at the intersection of I-10 and AZ Highway 95—about 20 miles east of Blythe, CA and about half-way between Lake Havasu City and Yuma, AZ. Yes, it is basically, in the middle of the AZ desert. The big draw: Quartzsite is surrounded by BLM lands that allow dry camping. Visitors can choose between free 14-day camping without services or pay permit fees of $40 for 14-days or $180 for long-term (between October and April) for dry-camping with a BML-maintained sewer dump, water faucets and garbage services. Or stay in one of the numerous RV parks in town with full hook-up services.

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The Jennings and Cray’s homesteads for the winter. We stay in the BLM’s La Posa North Long-TermVisitor Area ($180 for the season).

The area first developed into a tourist area because of rocks--lots and lots of rocks—all for sale!

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Quartzsite, AZ became a popular place for desert camping and rock hounding in the 1960s. In the beginning, local rock hounds gathered at the intersection of the two highways to sell or trade rock to be used in lapidary and other crafts. Eventually “flea markets vendors” added their products to the mix and set up shop up in every vacant lot on the main street of town—attracting more visitors.

And the gathering grew every year. Vendors came from all over the US to spend the winter selling rocks, jewelry findings, and RV items. Today’s biggest draw is the Big Tent Sports, Vacation and RV Show held during the 3rd and 4th week of January; it starts on January 22 this year and is held in a block-long tent for 10 days.

And why are we here? We drove through the area in 1988 on our way to spend some time in warmer weather down in Yuma, AZ and enjoyed the atmosphere of the area. We shopped the flea markets back in the “old days.” We could wander through for hours looking at all the different hand-crafted items for sale. Today the items are mostly Chinese imports and with so little space left in the camper, we aren’t tempted any more.

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If you collect something, you will find it for sale in Quartzsite.

We are drawn back by the drier weather—fewer aches and pains in these old bodies, a friendly community of RVing friends, and an excellent local library that carries the newest books by authors we enjoy. Plus our cell phones and broadband card keeps us up in the digital age.

We spend a lot of time at the library. They offer free use of about 16-20 online computers and a great selection of the newest books, which saves us money during the year. When the new books come out in paperback, I don't have to buy them. : )

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We visit the local laundry mat (A.K.A. “Washateria” in TX) about every five days—wiht our limited space, we don’t carry a large supply of clothes in the camper.

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And right across the street from the Laundry is the General Store where I pick up the items I forgot to buy in Parker, AZ, or Blythe, CA, on our stock-up shopping-trip days.

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We also fill about two gallon jugs with filtered water for each day from the blue machines at the General Store for drinking water and making coffee.

And just in case you think we are really roughing it out here, this is our neighbor on the other side—pressure washing his car the day after they arrived from Iowa. He brought his electric-powered power washer and connected it to his RV’s water system.

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Some folks find it hard to leave their toys home—they want to play in the desert. The methods of transporting toys are as varied as RVs.

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Fred built a quad rack so he can have his toy to play out here. He has rigged a winch to lower it down the ramps instead of driving it down backwards like two years ago. It was a heart-stopping moment to watch!

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These folks wanted their quad and tow car—and brought it all. That is a lot of weight hanging out behind his motorhome.

We will post more photos as we encounter the explorers coming to Quartzsite this year—looking for good weather and fun-filled times.