Feb 1 - 6, 2019 Desert boondocking in Quartzsite

Feb1
We set an alarm so that we could be up a little earlier than normal today. We did the usual morning routine and then got going on the tasks we have to get on the road. Leslie does all the inside stuff and I get the outside ready. We pulled in the slides at about the time I had hoped for, around 9:30. We said good bye to Leo, Sandy and Duane as they are across the road from us. We have to do a loop of the park on the way out just because of the way we're parked. It looked like Karen & Wayne are gone somewhere so we continued around the park. A quick stop at the office to say good bye, not like when we left Pioneer RV, and a stop at Randy & Shelley's rig. Big hugs and handshakes and a "see ya later" to them as we'll stop in Tri-Cities on the way home. Miss you guys and the whole crew at High Chaparral. What a great find that place was! Thanks to Steve & Dianne and Deb for telling us about it and the introduction to Karen & Wayne.
Speaking of Steve & Dianne.... we'll be enjoying happy hour with them this afternoon!! As mentioned before we are stopping at Total Wine & Beer in Phoenix to buy a selection of craft beers for a beer tasting in the desert. We plan to stay the month of February outside of Quartzsite, AZ in the desert with them and some other folks we have met through them. From full hookups for the last 2 months to no hook ups for a month. Switchin' gears so to speak. The stop at Total Wine was pretty easy really. They have a large parking lot and easy access. We got some beer for tasting and some extras for the month. Back out on I-10 through Phoenix and onward to Q. It feels good to be on a travel day again. I really enjoy seeing what's around that next curve.

Beautiful mountain west of Phoenix, so green this year.

Margaret is pretty excited too.

Around 2:15 we turned off I-10 to I-95 south towards Yuma and our destination, La Posa South, LTVA (Long Term Visitors Area) about 3 miles south of Q. La Posa is actually 4 different areas, North, South, East & Tyson Wash which encompasses approximately 11,400 acres of desert off of I-95. It is a huge area that is packed with RV's in January for one of the largest outdoor RV shows in Arizona and the southwest. The show is over now so it's not quite as busy. Yes, we planned our arrival for AFTER the show. Lol 

 We have been messaging Dianne along the way and we'll message Steve when we are filling with water and he'll meet us on the quad to show us our spot.

There are several of these areas along 95.

A quick stop to pay for our stay. $40 US for 2 weeks.

Looking out into the desert, lots of Rv's here.

We registered at the gate with some super nice ladies and put the stickers on the truck and the trailer. They have fresh water stations and 2 dump stations onsite here so we are stopping to fill the fresh tank. We started filling and hey, there's Steve on the quad ready to show us our spot that they had saved. Hugs and handshakes with Steve and thanks for saving us a spot close to you guys! We got topped up and followed Steve through the desert. So glad they are here to help us with our first time here with the rig.

Steve leading the way.

We pulled in to our spot and got ready to set up. Here comes Dianne! Hey buddy, long time no see. We both gave big hugs to Dianne and learned that there is a happy hour at Harry & Vicki's at 4 pm. It's after 3:00 already so chop - chop! haha. 

Our site by the wash beside Steve & Dianne.

Looking south out our door towards the desert.

We joined Steve & Dianne for the short stroll to Harry & Vicki's with our chairs and a cooler for happy hour. We met another couple that are camped in the white Momentum in front of us, Colin & Marilyn and we said hello again to Red & Pam who we have met in previous years here. Leslie and I have been here twice before and stayed in Steve's truck box to experience the desert. Now we have our rig here. Sorry Steve, but it's much more comfy this time :)  Not that we didn't enjoy the hospitality in Buster, mind you. Happy hour was great and unfortunately we didn't get a pic but there will be more I think. ;)  We thanked Harry & Vicki for hosting and moved back to Steve & Dianne's for supper. They kindly made supper for us on travel day even though it was a short trip. Thanks guys. Great burgers and salad and perhaps another cold beverage or two. So good to be back with these two great people! 

Les got this pic on their feeder on their rig window.

Feb 2

We are having a slow start today and finishing all of our set up tasks that we cut short yesterday. It's a really windy day but the sun is strong so it's not too bad. We have been watching the weather in Alberta. So sorry guys. It's been -40 at night for a few days and doesn't warm up much during the day, ugh! We don't miss that at all!  

We all jumped in our truck for an orientation tour of Q by our expert guides lol. We found where to get propane and drinking water and fuel at the best price. Perfect. We pulled into the QIA community centre and there is a craft show going on so we'll have a look. Some nice stuff but all we bought was a jar of raspberry jam. Leslie found a schedule of events and they have indoor pickleball on Tuesday! We'll give that a go for sure. Never played indoors but with the wind out here I bet it will be nicer.

Lots of good stuff to buy.

Vendors outside too.

We were all getting hungry so Steve suggested The Yacht Club for lunch. Of course there is a yacht club in the desert, well sort of. It has good food and beer at least.

Small yacht ?

Good food with our good buddies.

We continued the driving tour after lunch with a stop at Lifestyle RV.  We looked at some really nice fifth wheels and just for fun a couple of motorhomes as well. The second motorhome really stunk of something awful. That ended our looking at RV's. I'm surprised they would show that one.  We hopped back in the truck and headed to a community just outside of town called Rainbow Acres for a driving tour. It's a large community of mixed types of living spaces. There are park model trailers, houses with stucco and of course the adobe look outside and then there are many units with a shed and a fifth wheel or motorhome on them.

Impressive landscaping here!

Big lots with room for a couple RV's.

Some with sheds and storage units.

One of the most impressive houses, love the colour.

There is ATV access from several spots out into the desert and Steve said they ride by there often. They also have a garage sale about once per month that all the residents can sell some stuff at. Cool. I really like the area and the nice big lots with really nice 4 foot brick fences around them. If I was thinking of buying, I would seriously look here. 

We slowly worked our way back to La Posa South and our rigs to relax a bit. Around 4 pm we walked over to Steve & Dianne's for happy hour and then all went back to our place for a really nice taco salad supper that Leslie made. So good and good for you! We said good night to our friends and just watched a little TV after that before bed. We get about 10 watchable channels on the antenna out here so that's awesome.

Feb 3

It's Super Bowl Sunday! I have been watching the finals like a tourist fan so I at least know who is playing the Super Bowl. I think Tom Brady is an amazing athlete and to play this good at 40 years old is awesome so I'm cheering the Patriots. I'm inspired by Brady to get some exercise so I'm going for a run for the first time since the race. I'm excited to get my trail shoes on and check out some of the desert around us. Leslie is going on a long walk while I'm running. It felt great to get out and I found a path by the road for a little bit and then cut over to the wash and followed ATV trails for a total of 5 km's. Leslie got back right after me and she had put on over 3k on her walk. Good action. Time for some chores around the rig. I have carried a Blueboy waste disposal cart all the way down here and now I'm going to try it for the first time. Well, I had hoped I was. I need a different elbow to be able to hook a hose up. Grrrr! That project is done. Maybe I'll build a lizard out of rocks by our rig.

Nope. Need a new elbow before this will work :(

Look what I made!! Yeah right, this was here already.

Somebody did a great job.

It was so nice out that I grabbed our lawn chairs and just sat for a bit in the sun. Sorry Alberta, but this is why we drove all this way. Time to relax before the game.

Chillin' with my dog.

I went inside at 4:00 to watch the game which everyone knows the Patriots won in a defensive, low scoring game. Brady was amazing of course and they showed his beautiful wife Giselle so it was great to watch. Steve & Dianne were watching something else at their house and Leslie watched now and then but I pretty much was on my own for this one. Margaret gets scared and shakes a lot when you cheer for anything. Trauma from living with Ryan in her early years while he screamed for the Oilers, I think ;) When Brady threw the long pass that led to the touchdown I made the mistake of clapping my hands and yelling a bit. I realized my mistake but perhaps too late. Margaret was shaking like a leaf in the wind. We realized later that night, at bedtime, that she had peed on our bed. Aw man noooo!!!! We changed the sheets and we'll definitely be doing laundry tomorrow. I felt sorry for her sort of because she knew she messed up. That never usually happens with her. My bad for sounding like a gunshot while clapping and then yelling real loud. Lesson learned.

Feb 4

We made plans to go to Parker today with Steve & Dianne for groceries, laundry and a second look at their laptop by a computer tech. We'll also tour Parker Dam and check out the area a little. We all jumped in our truck and drove about 35 miles to Parker, Az. First stop is to drop off the laptop and then continue across the Colorado River to the California side and up to the dam from there.

Left side California, right side Arizona.

We stopped at some BLM campsites to have a look along the way. There are some beautiful RV sites along the river in some of the private RV Parks! Nice beaches and strips of green grass along the riverside just look so nice.

Did we flash back to New Mexico? Alien rock lol.

Beautiful scenery on the drive.

A resort on the AZ side. There are resorts on both sides of the river.

We stopped a couple times for pictures along the windy road to the dam and soon stopped at a lookout for the Parker Dam itself. We drove across the Dam, which is a narrow restricted access road. Definitely no pulling the trailer through here. We turned left just after the Dam and checked out the boat launch and another viewpoint on the high side of the Dam. What a beautiful day to be out here. You can smell the water and see all the green grass and mountains. Beauty spot.

Parker Dam. You drive across where the big windows are.

A great pic as we are crossing looking downstream.

The power generating station.

The high side of the Dam.

The boat launch on the other side is a dead end parking area. There are many campsites that are water access only along the Dam and you can park here for a maximum of 10 days while you camp. All paved and really nice spot with the gates closing at night. We all used the dock for selfies and I stuck my hand in the water to see how cold. Not swimming today!

Steve & Dianne on the dock.

The selfie on the dock.

There were some nice folks parked at the dock just enjoying the sun and the water by their van. Leslie figured with a little work that Dianne could crochet some wheel covers for their truck! Maybe mine too if she gets the pattern right lol.

Crafty wheel covers ! Would be so pretty on Buster.

We continued the tour on the east side of the river and decided to stop at 2 State Parks for a look, just quick drive through tours. We only grabbed pictures of Buckskin State Park.

Really nice place.

A desert garden.

Beautiful park on the water.

We're all getting hungry so we decided to stop at a place where Steve & Dianne have stopped before. A place called Strokes just north of Parker.

Nice stop for lunch on the patio.

It was a good lunch and we had a big table on the patio outside. It's fenced in so all the tables are out of the wind and the sun was shining. Perfect day for sitting out there. With full bellies we got back in the truck and drove back to Parker. We still have chores to do today. I dropped the ladies at Walmart to do some shopping and Steve and I drove over to the computer place to pick up their laptop. Steve said he would walk over to the laundromat after he got his computer. I dislike shopping so much that I offered to do the laundry! I got our stuff in the washer and sat down for the duration of the wash. Steve walked in after a bit and we chatted until the girls texted that they were done and we can pick them up. Steve took my truck over to get them while our stuff dried. The timing worked out and our stuff was ready when they got back. Leslie  helped with folding and we were on our way back to our rigs. Leslie snapped some cool pics of the clouds on the way home with the sun behind them.

Cool rainbow colors

Looks like a bird??

We enjoyed a short happy hour after putting our stuff away and then just relaxed for the evening.

Feb 5 

We woke up to a cool and windy day here in the desert. We took our time with the morning routine and after lunch we drove to town to try out the indoor pickleball at the QIA. We haven't played for a few days so we are looking forward to getting back at it. They normally have 2 courts set up in the hall. There is a big meeting on the one side so we only get one court today. There were only about 10 people so far so it worked alright. Leslie & I played as a team and we were doing pretty good. There is a combination of newer players and some much better ones.

Normally another court on the other side of the wall, not great but okay.

We got 2 games together and then Leslie went outside to walk Margaret around. I partnered with another lady for a third game. We were doing pretty good and I went to move forward to hit a backhand when I felt like something hit me in my left calf muscle. Crap! I've felt this before. Another calf strain and this is a bad one. I went down on the floor and my calf was really hurt. One of the other players thought it was a cramp and tried to bend my foot forward which hurt like hell. Leslie walked back in about then and knew instantly what happened as this is the third time this has happened to me. She helped me off the floor and we left the QIA. Unfortunately we still have to get drinking water, propane and gas for the generator. I tried to help but Leslie did almost all of those tasks and I sat in the truck with ice on my leg. I hate these calf strains! I'm out for a few weeks now. We drove back to the rig so I can put my leg up and cycle the ice on and off. Another thing we noticed is that Margaret has been really slow today and she is not right. She has had to go outside often and had an accident in the house which she normally never does. Poor Les. I'm next to useless and Margaret is sick. Good thing Leslie is feeling okay. Steve & Dianne joined us for a short happy hour and then we just relaxed after. Rough day.

Feb 6

It's cold and windy again today. Darn Canadian polar vortex is messing with the warm temperatures everywhere. Our friends in Alberta have it way worse though with overnight temps around -40 and worse with the windchill. We'll take this I guess. I can't put any weight on my left leg so we are just hanging out inside today. Margaret is still sick and really low energy. We did hobble over to Steve & Dianne's for a quick visit in the afternoon while their neighbours Earl & Allison were there. We talked about how Margaret was doing and Earl asked us about her food. We mix Caesar dog food with whatever type of meat that we have chopped into small bits. Earl & Allison gave us a Glad container full of the food they mix for their dog Abbie, a Shih Tzu. They said Abbie was having similar trouble until they started giving her homemade food. Interesting. We are thawing out the food and we'll try it for sure. Thanks guys. We walked back to our rig and I put my leg up while Leslie had to do everything else. Thanks Leslie for looking after both of us, as usual.

I'll post this much for now and we'll update you on the food experiment next post. RICE recovery for my leg and lots of work for Leslie. Cheers everybody.