176 miles from Yuma

Just a quick note to say "We made it".  We're staying in the Twin Peaks campground at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  Our cell reception is marginal at best, as we bounce between towers in Lukeville, AZ and the towns of Sonoyta and Puerto Penasco, Mexico.  Lukeville is the border point of entry, and Sonoyla is a few miles south.  I don't know how Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) gets into the mix, because it's 80 miles south on the Sea of Cortez.  I'm glad we told ATT where we are, or the roaming charges would kill us.  ATT will erase any international roaming for us for the length of our stay.

The campground here is very large and spacious.  Every space has a concrete pad for the rv, and a small concrete patio with a picnic table and metal grill.  Unfortunately, no fire rings, probably due to the fact that the wind appears to blow about 15 mph all the time. The spaces are separated by a wide area of cactus and various desert plants. We hope to go to the Visitors Center tomorrow, and do some hiking. Donna wants to drive to Lukeville to look at the border crossing while we're here, but I don't know quite why.....Oh, but wait, "Why" is the little town we drove through getting here this afternoon. An intersection, and two rv parks....why would anyone live out here?

Gotta go now, it's early to bed and early to rise!  Not our style at all, but the rules here only allow generator usage between 8 and 10 am, and then between 4 and 6 pm, and we don't want to miss our time slot!  We'll see if those rules are "bent" this coming Super Bowl Sunday!

Stuff and Dismay

Today was a day to prep for our next move and to feel bad because we forgot a dear friends birthday yesterday.  No excuses, just our bad.  So:

Happy, Happy Birthday, Suzi!!!!!

We spent the day filling propane and water tanks and doing laundry.  We're heading south tomorrow, to an area subject to inconsistent security reports.  In view of that, I replaced all the exterior locks on the trailer with a higher security set of locks.

These locks at least have a different key than the RV standard CH751.  Why the industry continues to put locks in rvs that all use the same key is beyond me.  It must be a matter of cents, 'cause it can't be dollars.

So, we are all cleaned and shined and will be taking the 8:10 from Yuma tomorrow.  We're going to a National Monument called Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. It's located on the US-Mexico border, south of the town of Ajo, AZ.  We'll be out in the middle of nowhere, and so the cell reception will not be very good.  We may not be able to update the blog or get email or play Words with Friends for a few days.  We hope to be back in civilization about Monday or Tuesday, but don't hold us to it.

TTYWWC!

It's the Peanutiest

Today was a day to relax and check the "What to do when in Yuma" handbook.  One of the things high on the list was a visit to the Peanut Patch.  This area south of Yuma was settled a hundred years ago by people who attempted to make their fortune growing peanuts.  The endeavor didn't work out very well, but left a "nutty" legacy for us to enjoy today.  The small store sells a wide variety of candy, raw and roasted nuts and collectables of all kinds.

We left with a selection of roasted peanuts, homemade fudge, and hot sauce.  That'll keep the stomach active for awhile!

One of their signs seemed appropriate.....

We went into downtown, metropolitan Yuma for dinner at Ronnie's Pizza again and a cup of Starbucks coffee.  We're trying to stock up since we'll be leaving for the jing-weeds south of Tucson on Thursday.

Score!

Contrary to popular belief, we are not eating 24 hours a day.  However, today we scored a real find for someone with a sweet tooth:

Salt water taffy!  The little store specialized in the gooey treat, and had some of the most unusual flavors that I've ever seen.  They had Black Jack (remember the gum?), Habanero pepper, a very hot peppermint, and of course, all the chocolate, orange and assorted flavors that we've all come to know and love.  And the price?  Less than a dollar a pound.....

We spent the day dodging rain showers. The weather was mostly cool and windy with thunderstorms on occasion.

This last pic was taken just as the sun set.  Another beautiful Arizona cloud!

Involuntary Confinement and International Relations

We woke to a wonderful warm Arizona morning, with partly cloudy skies.  The Doves in the Ficus trees outside were all a-twit with song.  We decided to take advantage of the weather and venture out a bit farther away from home.

Our first stop was the Yuma Territorial Prison.  An amazing place, it was situated on a perfect hill overlooking the Colorado River that allowed for natural cooling in the summer and temperate conditions in the winter. The inmates worked in the fields, growing their own food, and making items to sell to townspeople. In spite of its reputation, the prison was apparently considered to be a "country club" by the locals.


 Donna is looking for a special place to stash the crim whose mug shot appears below:

Communication with the outside world had to be done in a sly and secret manner!

There were a number of colorful inmates at the prison, but this young lady was one of the most notorious:













This story encourages me to practice my "Yes, Dear" response.











After the prison tour, we went into old town Yuma, to the old Quartermasters Supply Buildings.  This restored area is a large grassy area with historical buildings to explore, and, on Sunday's a Farmer's Market.  Today there was also a Civil War Re-enactment, complete with muskets, cannon fire, and people dressed in period costume, both men and women.  Unfortunately, pictures were discouraged without payment, so I can't share it with you.

The Farmer's Market was along the side of the large grassy area and included a variety of local produce.

One of the vendors was a very nice young lady selling hot sauce.  Ana Bella DeAnda has been making her own non tomato based hot sauces for years for her family, who encouraged her to market them to the public.  She resisted for years, but realized that the habanero salsa could be a fitting memorial to her late mother, Bella Gloria Gonzalez, who suffered from lung cancer even though she had never smoked. Bella Gloria's grandchildren had always called her Mama Bella, and so the name was born.  A donation is made every month to Hospice of Yuma in the name of Mama Bella.  The DeAnda family is working on creating a website for Mama Bella Salsa and their goal is to have an on-line store soon.  Look for it and enjoy the salsa!  Believe me, it is wonderful! 

We had a couple of hours to kill, so we drove to the Andrade border crossing to have a look at the area around Algodones, Mexico.  Algodones caters to gringos' needs for medicines, dental and optical work, all done by licensed (by whom?) practitioners at a savings reported to be up to 70%.  We've talked to several people who have shopped there, and all were satisfied.  We didn't bring our passports with us, so we couldn't go into Algodones and look around.  Maybe next time.

Then we drove a bit east to the Arizona town of San Luis, again right on the Mexican border.  This is the border crossing:

We were just in time to see a huge number of Mexicans crossing the border, probably after a day of working in the US.

One of the interesting things we saw in San Luis was this street sign. Please let me know how to pronounce it:

As I write this, 8:00 pm local time, we're enjoying a huge thunderstorm.  Wind, lightening and rain are pounding the trailer.  Yuma has already had more than 3 times the average rainfall for January, so they're concerned about flooding.  The agricultural fields are a mess and the crops need to be picked.  The cantaloupe season has already been delayed, and there's no relief in sight.  At least until about next Wednesday. Should be good sleeping tonight!

Fleas, Dates, Shakes, and Iron

It was still raining when we got up this morning, so we decided to stay local.  We started with a trip to another flea market, where we saw some of the most precious little pups. The one Donna is holding is just about a handful, and won our hearts. She is a teacup Chihuahua. Fortunately Pris was with us and brought us back to reality:  "I'm number one in this crib."

You know we're always on the lookout for something to eat, so these bacon wrapped brats caught our eye.

Fortunately, we were able to resist, and ended up getting 4 tacos and a quesadilla with drinks for less than $10 at a small stand run by a family.  All the tortillas were made on the spot, along with salsa and of course all the meals. The people were so nice that I had to practically force money into their hands....they didn't seem to want anything except happy people.  And they had alot of happy people!

After lunch, we went looking for a date, shake that is, and ended up at the Imperial Date Garden in Winterhaven, CA.

The groves of trees are very impressive, and so was the shake!











We had managed to get ourselves about 30 miles out in the fields northwest of Yuma, so the drive home was a drag, except that we passed the US Army Yuma Proving Ground and a roadside display of some of the massive equipment that has been tested there over the years.

Originally, this area was part of Patton's WWII desert training area, and has been improved and modified over the years.  The facility continues to test, monitor and "prove" equipment and ordnance during the equipments' production life.

Possibly due to the rain and cool weather, the Ocotillo Cactus plants are blooming a bit early this year.  I understand that they only bloom for a very brief time, so we were fortunate to spot this plant at the outskirts of the YPG display.

An Old Friend

The forecast has been for rain today in Yuma.  The concept is a bit foreign, given the terrain in this area, but that's what the weather 'cast has been saying for several days.  We decided to hang local today, catch up on some grocery shopping and laundry, and see what happened.

Our first stop this morning was for breakfast at a restaurant chain that we miss in California:

Nothing quite like an old fashioned breakfast to get the day off to a good start!  Eggs, thick sliced bacon, potatoes, grits, and biscuits and gravy.  Oh yeah!  Donna had a more sane breakfast, I must admit, and felt much better for it.

Our next adventure was to stop at an indoor marketplace (read flea market).  We have just about had our fill of this kind of thing, but we heard that the entry fee always goes to a local charity and that today the local SPCA got the money.

Most of the vendors catered to snowbirds with rv related items, jewelry, and inexpensive tools and housewares.  Same stuff that we've seen before in Quartzsite, and in fact some of the same vendors!

At about one this afternoon, the skies opened up, and as I write this it is still raining hard some 9 hours later.  We've found out this afternoon as we shopped for fruit and vegetables that this area is a huge agricultural area and grows a tremendous amount of row crops: lettuce, carrots, lettuce, parsley and the like.  They even have a tourist industry that revolves around agriculture, where tours are conducted into the fields and visitors are allowed to pick vegetables.  Sounds like pretty cheap labor to me.  Anyway, the rain will be much appreciated by the farmers in the area, I'm sure.

Oh, yeah....and the laundry?  $21 and 4 hours later, we got it all done.  What a lovely way to while away the afternoon.

Back to Civilization

We left Quartzsite about noon today.  We would have left sooner, but we got to talking to a couple from Indiana who also have a Boston Terrier dog.  Of course we had to compare notes!  Their dog "Babu", is more of an active ball dog than our Pris, who kinda likes her comforts.  Pris has been complaining lately about the rocky ground in Quartzsite, and prefers the warmth and soft blankets inside the trailer.  Smart dog.  Babu's parents are in the business of repairing and refurbishing parts for small aircraft.  They have an enclosed trailer that they tow behind their motorhome that contains their Smart Car and at the moment also has two wings for a Cessna that are being delivered to a customer.  It's so interesting to see the niche's that small businesses find to fill.

When we woke up this morning, it was raining in the desert.  The rain soon dissipated but the wonderful smell of the desert after a rain was with us all morning.  The cloudy skies were fascinating to watch, as the clouds continually changed shape.

As we got into Yuma, we were greeted by a hot air balloon a couple of blocks over.  For awhile it looked like it was going to land, but finally got some lift and eventually disappeared in the distance.

We're back in town now, and out of the desert.  We're in Bonita Mesa RV Resort.  I picked this park from online reviews, but we're a bit disappointed.  They are never quite like the pictures on the internet!  We had to purchase a weeks stay, which wasn't too bad at $200, and we wanted some refresh time after 3 weeks in the desert (can you say laundry?), but when we got here the assigned space was much too small for our rv, and as I attempted to squeeze in, I was reprimanded by the neighbors for not leaving enough space for parking. As we were "discussing" the situation, the manager/owner came by and suggested an alternate location. Whew! We moved, and found that the neighbors were extremely friendly and helpful, and in fact are from the same part of CA that we are and that we have friends in common.  Problem solved. I'm still looking at the park rules and puzzling about the requirement to pick up after your pet, including urine.  Not quite sure how to do that.

We went out to dinner tonight, because we were having a pizza fit. Stopped at Ronnie's Pizza on Avenue A between 16th and 24th. Great place.  Only 4 stars out of 5 due to a limited menu, but what they have is superb!  Just happened to pass by a Starbucks on the way back to the trailer, so yeah!

I just couldn't let the Arizona moon get away without a pic, even though we're in the city.

Winding Down Quartzsite

Now that we are past the subfreezing low temps and sub 50 highs, and into the normal temperature range for January, Donna and I have decided to vacate the premises.  Todays high was 79, and the low tonite is predicted to be 55.  Way too nice for us.  We've got to get out of here.

The day was spent making one last spin through Q.  The flea markets don't seem to have anything new on display, and the RV Show is still rockin' along, with not much new to be seen.  We picked up some last minute items and fueled up the truck, and went back to the trailer to wait for the awning repairman but when we got "home", there was a card in the door from Ron saying that the work had been completed ahead of schedule while we were gone.  We checked the awning and it worked perfectly! If you ever need some awning work done in SoCal or Quartzsite, call ShadePro or contact them online.  Great people and Ron, the tech is a super nice guy, and conscientious as well. It's wonderful to find a company that cheerfully does what they say they will do.

We spent the evening outside in another beautiful Arizona evening.  A bit of overcast clouds to make the moon look interesting. We were able to enjoy on of the few campfires of the trip, as there was no wind, and besides, we had hot dogs and chili to cook!

We have many great memories of Quartzsite, from the crazy vehicles to the crazy people, but one sight in particular describes the eclectic nature of the people that gather here in the Winter.

You should've seen the Princess's owner......

A New Experience

Donna and I found ourselves with an unplanned day today.  We're waiting for some repair parts to arrive for our awning arms. The arms have little wheels that roll up and down as the electric awning is extended and retracted, and a couple of the wheels have decided not to roll anymore.  There is an awning repair facility here that will do mobile work, and so they're scheduled to come out on Wednesday afternoon and replace the rollers. This is a job that I would normally do, but the awning is under warranty and the repair cost will be paid by the manufacturer.

In any case, we decided to take a ride on our bicycles into the RV Show. By now you know that we're in the desert, with no improvements, and certainly no roads. So we had the unique experience (for us) of doing some offroad biking. Donna was a bit concerned because her bike isn't really set up for dirt and rocks, but she did a fantastic job of navigating over hill and dale (and through the rocks and gravel).

Here's Donna at the Show!



















As you can see, the crowds are still coming into the Tent!











The bike ride was 6.5 miles round trip, and very enjoyable on a warm Arizona day!


After an afternoon nap we enjoyed a beautiful sunset:

And then went into town for taco tuesday at Taco Mio!  All the exercise and desert air makes a person hungry, don't you know!  Sorry about the two bites out of the first taco, I couldn't wait!

I Tawt I Taw a ....Sock?

While visiting with some new and some old acquaintances yesterday, the subject of what to do in Quartzsite came up. After you've seen the 1000 or so flea market booths, the 5000 or so RV's for sale, and the 10,000 or so items displayed in the Big Tent, what's left?  Turns out the answer is: More than you would imagine.

We were directed to Oasis Books, a weatherbeaten wood structure on Main Street, a goodly distance away from downtown. We could tell from the outside that this bookstore was a bit different.
There was a collection of mismatched dishes inside the outbuilding, and a huge gem collection, but the main attraction turned out to be inside the bookstore.  While perusing an eclectic collection of used and (some new) books, we came across Paul Winer, the proprietor. Now Paul is a one of a kind person in a one of a kind town; as an accomplished pianist and boogie woogie musician, he has a reputation in the music world that is outstanding, but his claim to fame these days is his preference for a knitted sock as his only article of clothing. You'll notice that there is not a picture of Paul, as nice as he seemed to be, because this blog is supposed to be for a family audience. I'll leave it to your imagination and Google to fill in the missing pieces.

He did have a colorful sock on, though.

I had to chuckle at a couple of Paul's books, and the sign on the wall is pure Groucho, yes?

8:07 MST

8:31 MST

 There was a unique sky event this evening, and since we were in the crystal clear Arizona desert with a minimum of light pollution, we stepped out to enjoy it. The planet Jupiter, the Moon, the Pleiades, and Aldebaran were very close together. My apologies for the dismal pics, but you get the idea of how Jupiter passed by the Moon. It was so cool!  Thank you Uncle Bill for the email this morning telling us of this!

A Visit With Canadians

Today we renewed a friendship with a Canadian couple that we met last year about this time.  Bob and Karen live in Alberta, and travel the US for about 6 months at a time during the winter season.  They have been away from home since November, and have visited Branson MO and several locations in Louisiana and Texas.  They have been "full-timing" for several years, and know all the tricks to extend financial and medical resources as well as living "off the land" with an extensive solar system and a number of tricks to conserve water and provide for disposal of "stuff", so we have been learning from them. We are amazed at how much the "old-timers" are willing to share with us "newbies".

Earlier today we visited the RV Big Tent Show again, and made a significant purchase.  We found a booth selling replacement rv storage compartment locks.  After discussing our options, and doing some research on the background of the company, we purchased a set of locks for our fifth wheel.  They should be delivered in a few days, so we'll report again as we install them.  The new locks replace the standard, universal CH751 locks with a barrel lock with thousands of possible combinations, and should be a good upgrade to our "home"!

The traffic through the Big Tent was light again today, but as we walked from our parking place to the show, we passed this pup crashed in the dirt.  His/her owner was nearby, but I guess the poor pup had just had enough of all the hubbub and decided to take a nap!

Opening Day!

Donna and I were surprised today when we found parking that was only a mile away from the Big Tent RV show!  We found out later that early in the day, the parking was even worse, so it seems that the afternoon is the time to visit the show.

As you can see, the crowds are much like what you would expect from a good state fair, but everything in the tent related to rv's or eating in some fashion. We found several things that we'll have to "think about" and revisit.

It's appropriate that the first thing you see as you enter the tent is an instant money machine!

We found all the vendors to be very friendly and helpful, and most of the public was congenial.  You would think that with so much buildup that just getting in the door would be impossible, but it was easy to navigate from booth to booth.  Of course the vendors were doing all they could to entice people to stop and chat, so we selected a few that looked good: Escapees Club, Alaska RVing information, and Indian Tacos on Fry Bread.....Oh, skip that last, I meant to say Healthy Living with 187 varieties of Aloe Vera (actually, the lotion was very soothing in the dry Arizona climate!). Before we left the inside of the tent, we (almost) bought some socks:

Outside we checked out a couple of cool golf carts:

and a sign for the patch of sand we're calling home:

Tomorrow it's more of the outside stuff.