Deming, NM, to Quartzsite, AZ was an easier run than expected. We heard the horror stories of the torrential rains drenching Southern California and knew we were driving into the storm. I had overnight spots picked in case we ran into the rain by Lordsburg, NM, Benson, Casa Grande, or Gila Bend, AZ. We must have had Lady Luck riding with us.
We passed through Benson, AZ seeing dark skies ahead, but far enough in the distance, we kept moving instead of stopping. The radio forecast heavy rains in Tucson, but we only ran into some light sprinkles—just enough to mess up all my car/truck washing and waxing. We continued to Gila Bend, AZ to spend the night at one of our favorite overnight spots: Steve Holt’s Shell station and campground. He gives Escapees a 50% discount, so the rate was just $13.
The storm caught up with us about an hour after we settled in. We rocked and rolled around a bit with high winds and heavy rain. Then we had light rain until about 10 p.m. when another gusty storm rolled through. We woke to clear skies!
And a dead car battery?? Larry had been starting the car every night as required by towing a Honda CRV, but his charging system that has worked for four years—failed us! So while he was putting the battery charger on the car, I went looking for the quail.
Can you count all the quail? They are the masters of disguises. they blended into the landscape so well, I had trouble counting how many were in the group.
We got a good start and headed north up AZ Hwy 85 to get back on I-10 at Buckeye, AZ.
Look at the color of the sky. It is hard to believe there was a big storm just about 10 hours earlier. Quartzsite had a lot of wind and rain; more than we received in Gila Bend, according to the stories we heard.
Tomorrow is Christmas and thanks to a dear friend, Barbara Sheeder, we have a tree. We exchange Christmas stocking and she told me to open the box and I would find a tree. How did she know we wouldn’t be in Livingston? We didn’t know until last Saturday.
We are HOME! Our tree is up, we are settled in, warm and safe, after driving 1400 miles in just 4 1/2 days. We have reservations at a local restaurant for Christmas dinner at 1:30. Life is good.
We watched fuel prices rise as we moved west. From about $3.07 in Livingston, to $3.25 here in Arizona.
The most interesting aspect of the travel at this time of the year was seeing all the cars loaded with dogs—and even cats. Every rest stop seemed to be filled with travelers walking, feeding, and caring for two or more dogs. I got a kick out the the number of animals we saw—a one-to-one ratio of one dog to one human “servant.” (Yeah, servant—you don’t see the dogs picking up their messes, do you?)
On a sad note, the world lost a wonderful soul Thursday, Joe Peterson, founder of the Escapees RV Club, passed on to a new audience in heaven. Mr. Joe was famous among his friends for telling jokes—not necessarily great jokes, but jokes that still made everyone laugh. You had to laugh because he got such joy from telling the jokes and stories. Mr. Joe never met strangers—Joe was too busy adding new friends to even consider someone might not know him. A new friend was a new audience—and more joy for Mr. Joe. He—and his jokes—will be missed by hundreds, if not thousands, of friends. Our heart-felt condolences go to Miss Kay Peterson, Cathie and Bud Carr and the rest of the Peterson-Carr family.
Meanwhile, we will continue RVing in Mr. Joe’s honor—He and Miss Kay made it easy for all of us—by creating the Escapees RV Club! Thank you Mr. Joe and Miss Kay.
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