Quartsite - So Much Fun...So Little Time

(Quartsite, Arizona) 56 degrees, clear blue skies

Sunset at Quartsite

Our week at Quartsite Arizona started with a spectacular sunset.  It is the best sunset we have seen in a long time and  right away we knew it was going to be a great week.  We had heard so much about Quartsite Arizona and planned to arrive in time for the "Main Event".  Thousands of RVers converge to participate in this event.  Most folks boondock (no hook ups) on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land.  It's free and so strange.  You just drive down the freeway, turn off the road, drive onto the desert, pick a place, and set up camp.  It's free for 14 days and the only downside is the dust.

We are continuing to travel with our friends J.C. & Bev and they encouraged us to stay out with the Boomers.  This is a chapter of Escapees, a club for RVers.  It's a fun group that put together their own activities during the event and camp in the same area each year.  Here is an example of some of the activities.  You can participate in any or all.  It only cost us $4 to join and is such a great deal!    Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. 

Monday, Jan 23

9 AM Walk
11 AM Smart Phones – fire pit
12 PM Artist Trading Cards – Time to Trade – fire pit
1 PM Military Campgrounds – fire pit
1 PM Women's Outing - tent
4 PM Happy Hour – fire pit
5 PM Potluck – fire pit
7 PM Burning Man Movie – rally 2011

Tuesday, Jan 24

9 AM Walk - tent
10:30 AM Personal Safety and Self Defense on the Road – Fire Pit
12:30 PM Artist Trading Cards – time to trade – fire pit
1 PM Tai Chi
1 PM Show and tell hobbies, art, crafts, marketing Etsy - firepit
3 PM Geraldine Fashion Show – fire pit – sign up sheet and info at tent
4 PM Happy Hour – Wine Tasting and Heavy Snacks
7 PM Aerial Photographs (Tom Doerr)


Wednesday, Jan 25

8 AM Pancakes - tent
8:30 AM Trash Run – tent
12:30 PM CARE Auction – Bring $$$$ and heavy hor d'oerves to share
2 PM Cast Iron "Dutch Oven" cooking and tasting – Pace's
4 PM Happy Hour – fire pit
6:45 PM RVing in Newfoundland – slide show (Joyce Space)

CARE Auction

 Most of these folks are experts at boondocking and many of them have solar panels.  J.C. and Bev continue to teach us ways to handle our generator, batteries, and how to conserve water. 

One day a large group of us went out to the The Desert Bar.  This solar powered bar is out in the middle of nowhere.  How the owner ever came up with this idea just amazed us.  It's only open on weekends and closes at dusk.  He obviously has good vision because it was very busy and the food was great and reasonable. 

The Desert Bar (note all the solar panels)

The "Main Event" is held in the town of Quartsite.  It was very busy with motorhomes driving in all directions.  Traffic is a bit nuts and finding a parking place took some negotiating.  This is J.C. and Bev's third visit to Quartsite and they were invaluable with helping us learn the ropes. 

It was difficult to photograph the tent area. The following pictures come from the Quartsite website.  The huge tent had every item a RVer would need and more.  Ringed around the tent area were lots of food booths, bead and rock shops, and lots and lots of flea markets.  It took us several days to see just a portion of everything.  We had a great time.  Bev and I especially liked shopping for beads.  I'm going to teach her how to make Christmas spiders. 



Big Tent

One day J.C. and Bev took us geocaching.  We were excited to try it.  Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunting game. You try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS and then log your experience online.  J.C.showed us an app on his phone that located a geocache that was hidden about a mile from our campsite.  Using his GPS we hiked out into the desert in search of treasure.  It was fun and after scrambling up and down a wash area we found it hidden at the base of a tree.  The treasures were inside a ammunition box.  We signed the register and J.C. added a small trinket.  Later on he registered on the website that we'd found it and this notifies the owner. It would be fun to try this again soon. 

We found it!

Our week at Quartsite went by quickly.  We enjoyed it much more than expected.  We will definitely return again in the future and encourage others to join the Boomers.  

We will be heading to Tucson for three weeks and volunteering with the NOMADS.  We said goodbye to our friends J.C. and Bev.  We will miss them very much but plan to get back together in a few weeks. Sniff, sniff, I miss Bev so much already. 

We'll close today with a spectacular sunrise.  This lifestyle sure has some great benefits. 

 

"I Speak For The Trees" Joshua Tree National Park

(Joshua Tree National Park, California) 55 degrees, blue skies

Joshua Tree (on right)

Dr. Seuss felt it was important to protect trees in the book “The Lorax”. We are so happy this National Park protects these beautiful Joshua Trees. They are a member of the yucca family and are spectacular. 

The park is huge and covers over 794,000 acres. There are lots of hiking trails and several visitor centers. There are even two deserts, the Mohave and Colorado. We were surprised by all the massive boulders piled up everywhere. It looked like a massive dump truck had emptied them all around the park in all shapes and sizes. 

Hidden Valley Trail

We are continuing to travel with our friends J.C. and Bev. Unfortunately, Bev did not get to see much of the park due to catching a very bad cold. There were a lot of folks at the Indio Rally that could not attend due to this mean bug. We hope she gets better soon!

J.C. and John had fun pointing at rocks and saying what they thought it might represent. The one below looked like a big Hershey Kiss, one of John’s favorite treats.

We hiked several trails (Hidden Valley, Barker Dam, Key View, and Skull Rock), all well marked. Getting out of the car and hiking the trails really gave us a completely different perspective of the park.

 

Skull Rock

J.C. & John

John at Key View Overlook

Barker's Dam

We stayed four nights at one of the campgrounds in the park called Black Rock. It is the only campground that can accommodate a big rig ($15/night or $7.50/night senior or access pass). There is water available for fill up at several places and a dump site, however, there are not any hook ups at your campsite. Although the views were spectacular, the road was in very bad shape and it took some very careful maneuvering to get into our sites. It was also very difficult to level our rigs.

J.C. and Bev and are teaching us how to boondock. This means camping without any hook ups (no electricity, sewer, or water). We have only tried this a few times and usually just for one or two nights.

They have given us lots of great tips to reduce the drain on our batteries. For example, keeping the water heater off until about 15 minutes prior to needing hot water. Another great tip is to turn off the invertor at night. Both of these items requires a lot of energy and quickly deplete your batteries. To recharge the battery you have to fire up the generator. It can be loud and annoying but essential if your batteries are getting low or when running big drain items like the microwave or hair dryer. J.C. and Bev have six solar panels that keep their generator usage to a minimum.  It's been very interesting learning more about boondocking and solar.  This lifestyle has a lot of interesting learning curves. 

Our rig from a distance

Our next stop is Quartsite Arizona, also known at the “Q”. We’ll be joining the Escapee’s Boomers group out in the desert for a few days of more boondocking and fun. This is a huge annual event where thousands of RV’s gather every January. Check back soon for all the details. We have heard so much about this event and are excited to be able to attend. 

A Pirates's Adventure - Attending a FMCA Rally, Indio California

(Indio, California) 57 degrees, sunny, a little bit chilly

We spent six fun filled days with our friends J.C. & Bev at FMCA's Western Rally in Indio California. Area rally's are offered around the country by FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) and this is the third one we have attended (first time at this location).  It was held at the Riverside County Fairgrounds and they announced that 1333 rigs attended.  The facility was very nice and the seminars were conveniently located to where the motorhomes are parked.  We walked most of the time although there was a frequent shuttle service that came in handy at night. 

The streets were lined with lots of palm trees and was very attractive. We might volunteer to help out next time.  You are able to stay in this area (above) as a volunteer rather than the parking lots.

There were lots of seminars held each day.  Some of the choices included motorhome maintenance, fire safety, insurance, destination information, and lots of craft classes.  Bev and I learned how to make a sparkle t-shirt with iron on appliques and a crystal memory wire bracelet.  John and J.C. attended a wide variety of seminars.  John always finds the Spartan Chassis seminar to be very helpful.

We all attended a very informative seminar present by Mike and Terri Church about Alaska.  Our plan is to travel there next summer and we were even more excited after attending the seminar.  This delightful couple write some great books especially for RVers.  Their Alaska book is only $20 and packed with very helpful information. 

The vendor booths are always a highlight.  You can certainly spend some money there.  We are very interested in replacing our couch and liked a new flex steel one that has an air bed and feet that raise up.  We  bought small items this time and will probably purchase the coach in Indiana.  I found a great hat for hiking and stocked up at my favorite micro fiber vendor (Almost Heaven). 

There were also lots of motorhomes for sale (new and used). This year models have electric full size refrigerators.  They require additional batteries but sure looked nice. Most of the new ones were 42-45 feet long which in our opinion is too long.  We tend to camp in places were this size would be hard to manage and would limit where we could stay.  We are still very happy with our motorhome and find it is perfect for us.  Our friends have invested in solar panels and we are considering that as an option in the future.  

Cost for the rally was $125 per rig plus $50 for 30 amp electric service (no sewer or water).  We went in a day early and paid an additional $20. This includes your camping, seminars, entertainment, and access to the vendor area. 

Our favorite part of the rally was the pirate parade.  Members of local chapters built some creative floats.  This year the theme was A Pirates Adventure.  It was lots of fun.  Below are a few pictures of some of the pirates and ladies.  Arrh Matey!  (wanna talk like a pirate - click on this link). 

Not a pirate but they sure are cute

We enjoyed the rally and would attend again.  It is timed so that going to  Quartsite is very convenient.  Most of the vendors will be there too. One note of caution - we did hear that some people had bikes and personal property stolen.  This is very unusual at a rally and better security should have been arranged.  Taking the time to lock up your bike is also important. 

Visitor Center

Before the rally started we also went out to the Whitewater Preserve to hike the Canyon View Loop Trail.  I had seen pictures of this preserve on Rick and Paulette's blog and we were looking forward to hiking near some water for a change.  It is a very pretty area.  We arrived a little late in the day and did not complete the trail (trail signs and information were confusing) but it was very enjoyable. 

Rainbow Trout Pond (catch/release)

Canyon View Loop Trail

We enjoyed our time in Indio very much.  Our next stop is Joshua Tree National Park and then Quartsite.  Happy Trails!

I'll leave you today with my favorite quote about "going out" by John Muir. 

Four Wheeling Near Why Arizona

(Why, Arizona)  64 degrees, blue skies

Petroglyphs

Driving our jeep out into the desert is lots of fun.  This is definitely 4-wheel drive country.  A couple of days ago we drove the Pipeline Road which traverss the Valley of the Ajo.  This Cabeza Prieta land is  protected heavily by the border patrol and we were "interviewed" a few times.  We crossed several large washes and saw remnants of stocking pens. It was a great place to stop for lunch.   Mal did a great job of driving the bumpy dirt road.  It took some careful maneuvering but well worth the effort.  

Wild Burro

There were lots of burros and several wild horses along the way. 

Stocking pens

The highlight was finding this  amazing cristate saguaro cactus.  It is not really understood why this phenomena occurs but it is very rare (one in 10,000 plants)  Some resources say it may be a cell mutation, or caused by injury or disease.  But, whatever the cause it is an amazing sight.

The next day we were joined by Jerry and Cindy (our neighbors at the campground) stopped at the Cabeza Presta NWR center in Ajo and obtain passes to enter the Barry Goldwater Air Force Range. This pass gave us the gate code to enter the Crater Range.  Our friends took us on a great hike of this volcanic range.  We saw a few petroglyphs and Indian grinding stones.  It was a beautiful day and a really nice hike.  There were also lots of tracks in the sand of mule deer, big horn sheep, horses, and much more. 

One really tall saguaro

Marsh, Jerry, Cindy, & Mal

This was our last day together and we enjoyed a nice dinner of fried chicken, cucumber salad, potato wedges, cheesecake and refreshing margaritas.  We watched the full moon rise and talked about our great week together.  We hope to see each other again this spring.  It was a fun filled week and we appreciate Mal and Marsha arranging all the great activities.  It was wonderful to spend time with them again.  

Our campsite @ Coyote Howl

We are traveling in the morning to FMCA Rally in Indio California .  We are meeting up with two of our blogging friends J.C. &  Beverly.  We met them last summer in the Black Hills.  These rallies are very informative and lots of fun.  Stop back soon for all the details. 

Why? Why Not!!!

(Why, Arizona) 67 degrees, bright blue skies

Our visit continues with our friends in Why Arizona (population 116).  This town may be small (one community center and two gas stations) but there sure is a lot to see and do in the area.  A very active community center offers many activities such as a weekly flea market, jam sessions, hiking club, quilting club, inexpensive meals, and much more. 

The Sonoran desert is so beautiful and very lush.  A few of us decided to hike the Alamo Canyon located in the Organ Pip National Monument.  We learned so much about the plants and birds from our knowledgeable friends.  This three mile hike was once a road used by ranchers (1920-1970) and is bordered by the Ajo Range Mountains.  It runs across a wash at several points and we enjoyed listening to the birds and babbling river along the way. 

Remnants of Bill and Birdie Miller Ranch

Indian grinding stones

It was a very enjoyable hike and we had a nice lunch together at the trailhead.  This is a primitive campground for tents only. Afterwards we drove to Ajo to attend the opening of an art exhibit where Marsha is displaying four of her paintings.  We love her landscapes and one had already sold before we arrived.  She was very happy about the sale. 

Today we went to the flea market and picked up a few bargains including some tasty sour orange marmalade.  Afterwards, we went out to the boondocking area and checked out where the "desert rats" hang out.  Their term...not mine! 

Here is Mal's solar set up installed this winter.  He has been very happy with the set up.  It's on caster wheels to ease following the sun. 

Mal's solar system

Marsha has a separate trailer (1957 Airstream) that is set up as her artist studio.  It is so cute! She has set it up so nicely and she loves working out there. 

Inside Marsha's studio



We then went over to their friends place (Rudy & Debbie).  Rudy loves to tinker and is so handy with adapting his "finds" in the most amazing way.  Their home is called Second Hand Rose due to his ability to reuse items from flea markets, Habitat from Humanity, garage sales, and gifts from friends. 

They have two Airstream trailers on their property.  This one is divided in two.  One half is used by Debbie for quilting and the other half as Rudy's workshop. 

Workshop

Quilting sewing room

Rudy custom designed this trailer almost like a toy hauler.  He is an amazing craftsman. 



We are not ready to stay in one place right now but someday this would certainly be a great place "nest".