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.

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.

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!

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

 

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. 

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..

 

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

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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. : )

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Christmas on the Road, Part 2

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.

December 21, 2010--Christmas On the Road

We were leaving Livingston, TX right after Christmas to travel to Quartzsite, AZ, for a few months in the desert sun. As with most of our plans, they were firm when we made them. However, like most of our plans, they were subject to change at a whim.

Our whim was the fact the weather was warm and dry across Texas. Why wait for rain or snow on our route? Why not just finish loading and head out when we were ready? No reason to not go. So, Sunday morning, we hooked up the loaded car to the loaded truck and camper and headed west.

We spent Sunday night at an attractive Texas rest stop between Luling and Seguin, TX. A freebie night! The weather was warm, the place was clean and had video cameras for safety.

I have previously mentioned we see some unusual things on our travels….this trailer was parked in the rest stop.

See Larry standing next to it? It doesn’t look too big, does it?

The young man working at the rest stop didn’t know what this was…but we did. Remember the windmills we saw last May? This is the little box behind the windmill blades.

This is one of those little boxes--that hangs behind the blades on the windmills—and it’s headed for the Palm Springs, CA, wind farm. Little? However, it brought up another question. We see these containers on the freeways and we see trucks with long trailers hauling one blade at a time, but we haven’t seen the part that attaches the blades to the this box? Have you see one? I wonder what it looks like????

The following day, we cleared San Antonio, TX early in the morning. As we crossed the scenic Hill Country on Interstate 10, we noticed the temperature outside climbing. By 2 p.m., we gave up and turned on the air conditioner—it was 85 degrees outside on Dec. 20th.

We stopped in Fort Stockton, TX at Parkview RV Park, a Passport America park; it was just $10 for a full hookup site.

Today we crossed El Paso, TX at lunch time and found ourselves in heavy traffic. I would hate to see their rush hour traffic. We continued west to Deming, NM. We are at Escapees Dream Catcher Park. It turned out to be the most expensive night so far--$17.00. I did take the opportunity to do a load of laundry and we will be running the heater tonight. It is supposed to get into the high 30s during the night.

We are going to run into rain tomorrow which may derail our travel plans. We had hoped to make Gila Bend and then Quartzsite, AZ the following day. Instead, if the rain isn’t too heavy, we will probably spend the night at the Casa Grande Elk’s Club.

Stay tuned for the adventures of the shoe box bumping across the U.S.

October 7, 2010 – Back in Livingston, TX

 

Where did September go?  We were headed back to Livingston, TX, the last time I posted.  Now it is almost mid-October??  What happened?

We returned safely to our little cottage in the pine trees.  We quickly discovered the house central air conditioning had failed back in July or August.  The first thing we had to face was replacing the system…at the cost of a small used vehicle.

Next we moved back into the house and cleaned out the camper.  I waited for the cooler times of the days--there was a reason we immediately replaced the air conditioning system.  It was hot and humid for a few weeks.  Now we are enjoying the wonderful, cool, drier weather of early fall.  It is so invigorating!  I finally feel like getting some of the chores done.

I am looking forward to having some time to do some pottery and pottery firing.  Larry ordered a new element for the kiln.

Larry’s medical tests have shown he is in a good holding pattern, so we will stay here until December.  At that time, I will resume blogging as we head west to Quartzsite, AZ, to spend two or three months boondocking the in desert—camping without hook-ups.  We had the solar system rewired in Eugene, OR last summer (AM Solar) in order to get a bit more from our two solar panels.

Check back around the middle of December to see what is happening in the Shoe Box!  In the mean time, enjoy your fall weather; it is such a great time of the year.

Sept. 17, 2010 - 320 miles to Livingston, TX.

We have come a long way from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington in a few weeks. We are nearing the end of this summer’s journey.

Larry had good test results from his kidney doctor in Antioch, CA, so we started the 2,000 mile journey back to Livingston, TX, Sept. 9th. We planned on a easy run by going north to I-40 rather than through all the heat in Arizona and New Mexico on I-10. We stopped at the Bakersfield, CA, Elks the first night ($10) and at a little RV park just east of Barstow, CA for the second night.

Newberry Mountain RV Park ($31) has two lakes and an inviting swimming pool to add some interest to the dry, dry desert surrounding it. I sat under the little tree on the left and read for an hour.

The next day we went back to the Zuni Valley RV Park (C2C $19) in Kingman, AZ, to use as a jumping off spot to visit Laughlin, NV. I paid for two nights so we could drive 28 miles west to Laughlin.

When we last drove the route, back in the horse and buggy days, it was a narrow two-lane road. Now it is four lanes over the big hill. The scenery was breathtaking.

And heart stopping! The signs counted down the miles. See the bottom line—at the end of a 12-mile, 6% downgrade and then……

Yes, after 12 miles of downhill, there is a stoplight at the bottom! It was an easy run in the car, but if we had been driving the truck and camper, we might have found the ride a bit more “thrilling!”

Laughlin had changed quite a bit since our last visit in about 1992. There are more casinos…more casinos offering to take your money.

However, the food is still delicious at the Laughlin Riverside Buffet. We met my sister Diane and her husband Roger for lunch at the Riverside. Larry said that was the best meal he had eaten in a long, long time. And I may add, it was the most food he has eaten in a long time; he did fill his plate—several times. We can recommend the Sunday Champagne Brunch.

We talked as much as we ate; we hadn’t seen them since we met up in Hermiston, OR in July. While enjoying the conversation and food, I snapped this view from our table. The Riverside Buffet overlooks the Colorado River just below Davis Dam. Doesn’t it look like fun? If it had been cooler, we might have gone for a ride too.

It was hot in Laughlin and even hotter down in Lake Havasu City (107 degrees), so we stayed north.

We moved on to Williams, AZ to spend two nights at Canyon RV Park (Passport America $22) so we could go back to Sunset Crater National Monument and the Wupatki Ruins; it has been almost 23 years since we had been there (1987). We visited the Grand Canyon in 2008 so we didn’t go back this trip.

Williams, AZ is an interesting town. Neat little shops on Main Street to explore and, it boosts some of the highest fuel prices we have seen all year. We had been paying about $3 a gallon for diesel in CA and AZ:

We discovered two of our favorite type of campgrounds--Forest Service campgrounds--just outside of Williams—with trees. First was Cataract Lake with a small campground of about 16 sites for $9 for seniors:

Next, was Kaibab Lake, a real gem just off the Highway to Grand Canyon—a Forest Service campground with a sewer dump—Life is good. (Again $9 for seniors.)

Kaibab Lake was so peaceful that we just sat with the car doors open and relaxed in the quiet. If we ever get back to Williams, this is where I will stay.

The next day we packed our lunch and headed toward Flagstaff, AZ and Sunset Crater. We stopped at the new Visitor Center and learned a bit about the volcanic area.

Hikers are not allowed up on the crater to prevent erosion and degradation of the National Monument. I wasn’t disappointed; starting at 6,000 feet plus, I wasn’t planning on a hike anyway.

Further down the 34-mile loop road is the Wupatki National Monument. The first is Wukoki:

It looked like a proud ship adrift in the sage brush. As I walked up, it took my breath away…both from the 6000+ ft elevation and the beauty of the building:

Built by hands! How did they do it and how long did it take to build? And it has lasted 800 years!

This is Wupatki which grew from one to about 100 homes built during the 1100s. By about 1190, as many as 2,000 people lived within walking distance—out this plateau with limited rainfall. We were so glad we made the trip as it humbles one to see what people have built without computers and heavy equipment. Add a day to visit the Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments to your travel list when you go to the Grand Canyon.

We noticed that Larry’s blood pressure had been climbing since we moved above the 5,000 ft. elevation level so we decided to cut out any further exploration and head for lower altitudes. Rather than drop down into Phoenix and 107 degree weather, we headed east to Albuquerque, NM to drop down to El Paso, TX on I-25. The next night in Albuquerque at the Enchanted Trails RV Park (Passport America rate: $16), we decided to head for Lubbock as it would save a day of travel and get us down below the 5,000 ft. level. We pulled into Lubbock RV Park, TX (Escapees rate of $26) in time to do some laundry and cleaning chores—including covering the windshields of both vehicles.

As soon as we plugged in and I turned on the TV, the news reported grapefruit-sized hail and 70 mph winds north of us in Palo Duro Canyon as well as other storm cells, with various sized hail, circling Lubbock and headed our way. The storm hit us after 10 p.m. with rain and then lots of wind, but luckily, no hail. I was up early saying a prayer of thanks while uncovering the vehicles, and drying the heavy towel I used on the Honda windshield. Yes, we are back in Texas with the weather-alert radio on the table.

Tonight we are in Ranger, TX at RL RV Park (Escapees 50% discount for $15). We have electricity for the air conditioner and I could have used the free clothes washer and dryer, except I did all the laundry yesterday in Lubbock. Isn’t that how life works?

This is tonight’s sunset. With good luck and tail winds, we will be home in Livingston, TX tomorrow, four months and 6,300 miles driven in the Truck and camper since May. And we are still talking to each other!