My Trails

I keep telling Richard that he should blog more often. He thinks everyone will be bored to hear about the things that he does everyday, reasoning that no one cares or will be interested, that it is just the same old same old, so why tell about it. I reminded him that we have gone many places and seen many interesting sites since we moved here. Even if it is only a walk in the desert, we go someplace almost every day, and my opinion is that there are people out there that want to hear about it – so he told me to write a blog. I’m without a doubt the poorest writer of my entire family but that hasn’t stopped me from posting for quite some time now.

With Richard’s help, I have made quite a few improvements on my van. Besides mounting my solar panel on the roof, most of the jobs have been minor. I have developed an adequate system for a shower, added storage space, rewired and rerouted most of my interior wiring, and organized some of my electronics. It is always a compromise when you are designing for a small space. You are forced to keep it simple and it helps prevent any impulse buying.

We have made a few trips into town. Yesterday we walked through the Yuma Marketplace, really just a tent covered flee-market of shops set up with everything from crafts, art, clothing, RV paraphernalia, and tools, to snack bars and country singers. I saw a few things I need but I knew I could get them cheaper at Walmart. It was a fun time, but walking on pavement for a couple hours tired our feet more than several miles out in the desert, so we didn’t stay at the marketplace long.

Contrast

Richard and I rode our motorcycles to the Imperial Wildlife Refuge last week (keeping a close eye on my gas consumption), and also stopped to see the military display of tanks and guns near Yuma Proving Grounds. Richard told me stories about working on several of the sighting mechanisms for the Howitzers while serving in Vietnam. A few days later we obtained a visitors pass for the base and toured a museum detailing the history of testing at the facility. Almost every morning we can hear them firing guns out in their test range. The booming sounds like a thunderstorm approaching.

Dianna likes to go for walks a lot more than Richard and I do. I try to get into regular hiking but I’m still having some foot pain and wonder if more rest will help it. We have, however, hiked a few times looking for geocaches and that’s always fun. On these nice days it is great to be outside enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.

Today we went to Algodones, Mexico. Richard and Dianna had dentist appointments for checkups and cleaning but ended up having more work done than they were anticipating. Dianna and I walked to the pharmacy to purchase medicine, strolled through a few shops, and stopped for a beverage at one of the outdoor bistros, while Richard sat through a root-canal at the dentist. Can you tell which of us had more fun?

I was a little worried about getting back into the US. I had applied for a passport at the courthouse a few days before and learned I could use the application along with photo ID to legally cross the border. I thought that maybe the border guard would give me more of a check than normal, but I passed right through without any hassle.

In a couple of days we will head back to Mesa. After a short visit with family, we will once again head west toward California. Our general direction will be the same but our paths will diverge. It has been so great spending time with Richard and Dianna. They have helped me with transportation, repairs, supplies, and I can’t tell you how many numerous times they have had me over to eat. Dianna is a wonderful cook!

I know I will miss hanging out with my brother most of all. The times we ride our motorcycles together, work on a project, or just spend time relaxing and watching TV, bring back the memories when we were kids growing up and inseparable. It has been a wonderful trip.

The afternoon weather has been delightful for several days now. There were some high clouds this morning, and tonight will be quite chilly, but every afternoon brings us sun and 70’s. It is the reason so many people call southern AZ their home for January and February.

Yesterday we drove our motorcycles up Route 95 to Parker and Lake Havasu City. Lake Havasu totally owes its existence to the tourist trade. The town is spread out over many miles of scenic highway, dotted with numerous fast-food restaurants and resorts. Besides enjoying the lake and resorts, tourists can visit the nostalgic London Bridge, dismantled in England and reconstructed here several years ago.

We had lunch at one of the nicer burger restaurants, checked out a couple gift shops, strolled across the bridge, and drove a loop road around the island. It was getting along in the afternoon so we headed out to the highway and road south back to Quartzsite.

I had driven about three miles from town when I noticed the low fuel light pop on. I assumed there was still enough gas in the reserve tank to reach Parker, about 20 more miles to the south, so I continued on. After five more miles, my heart sank as I felt the motorcycle sputter and quit, leaving me no option but to coast to a stop along side the highway.

Richard and Dianna pulled in behind me with puzzled looks, and were as surprised as I had been to learn my predicament. Dianna waited with me as Richard drove back to Lake Havasu to buy gas and a can to put it in. Now I know that when the low fuel light comes on I had better be very near a filling station.

Tomorrow we will move down near Yuma for a couple of weeks. There are new things to see, and of course, the town itself is a trove of markets and stores; it will be nice to have a place where I can get some fresh fruit.

For the last few days I have been homesteading in Quartzsite, AZ. Well… homesteading may be a misleading term, but I have staked out a small piece of desert real estate where I have parked my house. No one seems to mind or even notice that I’m here – I’m only one of thousands of recreational vehicles camping this public land. The town of Quartzsite is hosting it’s annual, giant tent sale (really just a huge flea market), drawing droves of retirees and vacationers to the area.

Richard and Dianna are parked at the La Posa LTVA south of town. It is only 5 miles from my site so it is easy for us to get together. We’ve walked through the market place a couple of times, browsing numerous booths of tools, clothes, jewelry, hardware, housewares, hats, and bangles, everything you could ever imagine never needing.

I’ve been devoting a couple of days for making improvements to my van. Thanks to Richard, my solar panel is now generating all my electrical needs. Richard is an expert at solar-systems for RVs, and he walked me through the process of hooking everything up. Yesterday I built a battery box and mounted the solar controller under my bed. The next step will be to fasten the panel to the roof of my van.

I also found a reasonably priced antenna for my TV. We are in such a remote area of AZ, my rabbit-ears just wouldn’t cut it. With this new amplified antenna I mounted on the back of my van, I now get several stations from Phoenix and Yuma.

We have enjoyed riding motorcycles around town, and yesterday we rode south to a place called Stone Cabin where they have delicious ice cream. Dianna said that the girl who usually works the counter, dips huge cones. It was probably good that we didn’t eat more of the sweet desert and resolved to make it our dinner.

Today was a hiking day. We drove to a place called Palm Canyon, situated at the end of a washboardy, dirt road about ten miles south of Q. Although it was a short hike, the terrain and rock-scramble made for a good workout. At the end of the main trail we came to a sign that pointed to a grove of Fan Palms, high in a side canyon above us; it is the only place they grow in the southwest.

Tonight it has started to rain. The forecast is bleak for the next few days so we may be spending time resting, more repairs, or taking the car on an excursion. Hey, its kind of nice to be able to do whatever we want.

Everytime you drive from Yuma to Quartzsite, you pass through a Border Patrol checkpoint. The Agents are always polite and nice, and I knows I have nothing to hide, but I still get a little nervous when I pull up. I think in the back of my mind I’m paranoid that I will act suspicious, and they will tear the van apart piece by piece looking for contraband.

I’ve been spending some time in Quartzsite. The snowbirds are here in full force and many more are coming in every day. It is always easy for me to find a good spot to park in the campground, though – I can get into a lot of places the big rigs don’t dare go. I like to park way back in, preferably near a grove of trees, situated out of site of the camp host. You are supposed to register with the host, even when you park in the boondocks, but I don’t think many do. Most of the time, the camp host is off-duty anyway. I don’t want to register because I’m afraid they will ask me if I’m self-contained, and then they will tell me to move on when they find out I’m not.

Tomorrow I will drive my motorcycle to the town of Bouse – the scene of the crime so to speak. It is something I am compelled to do. I’m not sure why, and it really makes no sense. Logic says to stay away and reason says don’t go back there, but until I see the place again and pass through to the other side, I can’t put it behind me.

I will spend a couple more days here and then head back to Phoenix. I have some modifications on my van that I want to make, and parts are easier to find in the city. The timing will be good too – Richard and Dianna should be arriving soon.

Yesterday was a gloomy day here in the desert. It’s quite unusual for gray, overcast sky to prevail for any length of time in the southwest, but prevail they did for almost the entire day. In the campground where I spent the night, rows of monster RV’s, with plates of black, shiny, solar panels reaching from their roofs, were denied Arizona’s most natural resource – sunshine. I was denied the warmth of a solar bath.

I stayed last night at the Imperial Dam LTVA, a few miles north of Yuma. Of all the LTVA campgrounds I’ve been to, this one is certainly equipped with the most services. Flush toilets, trash service, drinking water, 4 dumping stations, and even showers (as long as you like cold showers), were situated in the main parking area. The only drawback for me was the absence of any cell signal. I tried every knoll and knob but to kno avail.

This morning I moved a few miles north to a place called Fishers Landing. There is a dry camping area, equipped with restrooms, showers, and a small store nearby. I will stay here for a couple of days and then inch slowly back toward Quartzsite.

While passing from CA into AZ, the road takes you by the Yuma Army Proving Grounds, a desolate Army base, built by design in the harsh conditions of the desert. The base was and is one of the major places used to train soldiers and test equipment in the extreme environment of the desert.

Tanks

A few miles from the base is a display, featuring all types of war machines. I stopped and spent an hour or so browsing rows of obsolete tanks, rocket launchers, and howitzers. It was quite interesting to read their statistics and how they were used.