Dec. 10, 2011 Quartzsite, AZ, the Count-down to 2012

2011 has turned out to be quite a year! We are eagerly awaiting 2012!

This year the camper has been demanding a lot of attention—and money! We put the six new tires on as per the “right” size, but it turns out we really do need the oversize tires for stability in the rear. Not sure if we are going to change them out and ship the current “new” tires to Texas or drive it home to change them out.

Monday morning as we were leaving Antioch, CA, we stopped by our doctor’s office and leave a little thank-you gift. As “no good turn goes unpunished,” we then had to stop by Camping World in Bakersfield to replace the bashed-in refrigerator vent cap. The city had closed an inside lane of a major road and forced us into the outside lane—and they forgot to check heights of the trees. And yes, of course, their branches were lower than our refrigerator vent cap.

We give are happy to give Camping World a “thumbs up” rating. They really came through for us. We called while heading south on I-5 that morning to see if they could get us in Tuesday morning. Just in case, I asked if they had overnight parking—as Bakersfield had been “fogged in with zero visibility” that morning.

They did have parking—and we used it. We missed out on a 30 amp. plug—but considering we were heading to the desert for 2 months, we didn’t feel deprived! The next morning, a young man rushed over and opened the door for Larry and found him a comfy chair to sit in. The waiting room’s eight seats were already filled with RVers’ seats. Fresh coffee made about every 30 minutes and I was able to use a plug to charge our computer.

In about 90 minutes, the top was repaired. The part price was VERY reasonable and so was the labor cost. They also gave us the 10% parts discount with my Good Sam membership. We do have a President’s Club card, but won’t have to renew next year if the Good Sam card works.

It is difficult for Larry to have to give up doing all our repairs and depend on shops and other techs to do all the things he used to do for us. He was very pleased with Camping World’s service.

Going up Tehachapi Pass was a breeze. We had a few minutes of heavy fog near the base that faded out as we got up about half way. The hills are starting to turn green.

We had a quiet run back to Q. Parked in “our” spot and got settled for the next few months. We have had some really nice weather, some rainy days, some very windy days—and cold, cold nights.

Within a day of getting here, the refrigerator decided it was tired of working. With a bit of detecting work, we realized it had to be one of the two propane tanks. That particular tank had cause problems last spring. The stove worked fine, but the refrigerator and hot water tank would stark balking after about 2 weeks on the odd tank. We replaced the tank with a new one and the refrigerator has been running since.

Larry had to get his hands dirty Thursday morning. The hot water heater then decided it didn’t want to run more than a few seconds. It must be his magic touch—as he took things apart and put them back together and it worked. What is it with this year???

As we are going to be here a bit longer this year, I am trying to find some new activities to fill our days. We have gone to a few RV-park yard sales and bake sales. Last Sunday we attended a local hand bells holiday concert. It was very enjoyable to sit back and watch the ringers. It looks like a lot of work and we appreciated their efforts.

We have dinner reservations for Christmas Day at Palo Verde Restaurant in town. I can’t see trying to cook a fancy dinner in my little kitchen.We dined there last Christmas and had such a pleasant experience, so we are going back. We have opted for the prime rib dinner. Yum, Yum!

Well, that is about all from the quiet desert for this week. We enjoy watching the RVs roll in and get parked for the winter. Many return to their exact same spot where they have parked for years. We are waiting for Fred and Arlene to come down from Alturas to park next to us on New Year's Eve--in the same spot they have used for years. We view ourselves as adventurous, however, we all seem to feel the call of returning to “our home spot” out in the desert. Go figure????

The two old RVers in a Shoebox wish you a joyful and merry Christmas filled with love and laughs as well as a fun-filled and healthy 2012.