My Trails

Lots of stuff!

This is the first time I have needed shade since arriving in Yuma two weeks ago. The temperature this afternoon hit 80. I love it! Give me 80 degrees over 60 degrees any day.

I rode to Yuma this morning to pick up some supplies. My refrigerator has been cooling good since the problem a week ago, and I though I would pick up some ice cream to really give it a test. I’m still a little gun shy of the trouble maker, so I’m not brave enough to load it to the gills yet.

I have been using my tanker trailer to fetch water. It follows along behind my motorcycle like there is nothing there. I see a lot of people pulling blue boy tanks behind their car, and the little plastic wheels only work at 5mph or less. I pull my bike trailer at 20mph with no problem. The tank is actually made for sewage transport and I get some funny looks when I pull it up to the water station. I have never used it to haul anything but water, and I suppose I should camouflage it with a blanket or something so as not to alarm spectators.

Yesterday I hiked one of the slot-canyons west of the LTVA. Each year the canyon changes slightly due to a fresh supply of eroding water cascading down the wash. It seemed to me the final vertical wall and boulder were much harder to get over than they were the last time I was here. I’m not sure if the wall was higher because of eroding, or it just seemed like it because I’m getting older. I’m going with erosion.

Because I have a good supply of water I do some laundry by hand. I’m not about to wash everything by hand, but doing a few things now and then stretches the interval between laundromat visits. It’s also nice to wash in hot water. Propane is available a mile down the road, and even though it is more expensive than it is in Yuma, the proximity makes it the better bargain.

I found an ingenious method to wash clothes. I fill a tub with socks and underwear, add a little soap, agitate with my hands, soak and then agitate more, and then wring them out and throw in the shower stall. Then I take a soapless shower and stomp around on the clothes – kind of like you would make wine from a tub of grapes – until they and I are rinsed.

I can feel the call of a date shake becoming very powerful. If it were not for the fact I had ice cream in my pack I would have stopped this morning on my way back. I think I may have to make a special trip!

I don’t know! Mexico in background. Where the wall will be built.

Not long after I moved to the Ogilby Road, I noticed my refrigerator was not working. When I checked the freezer compartment everything was soft and wet. This was not the first time I have had trouble with this fridge and it probably won’t be the last. But why does it always happen after I have freshly stocked the thing with food?

Appliances in an RV seem to develop problems a lot more than their counterparts do in a sticks-and-bricks house. I’m not sure whether it is the constant banging around from movement or maybe they just aren’t built as well. I have replaced refrigerator coils, microwave, water pump, and A/C thermostat. My furnace is not working at the moment and I have lost battery connection to the compartment under the coach. I guess it is a good thing I know the systems pretty well now, and I can fix most problems myself. If I had to take it to a shop each time something broke, my savings account would be broke, too.

Fortunately, I have a 12 volt refrigerator that I bought when I was having problems last year. Unfortunately, it is a lot smaller that my coach refrigerator and there is no freezer compartment. I transferred as much of the food that would fit – mostly expensive items – into the little portable, and inventoried all the frozen items from the freezer. There were several packages of meat: hamburger, hotdogs, and sausage; a few frozen dinners I resolved to eat that evening; and a box of ice cream bars that were a total loss and tossed into the garbage.

I knew the eggs and cheese would last a couple of days without refrigeration, and most of the condiments would be okay, but unrefrigerated meat is something you don’t want to mess around with for long. I fried up the hamburger and with the TV dinners cooking in the microwave, I just had room for the meat in the small fridge.

Over the next two days I felt like I was on the Atkins Diet. I have never in such a short time eaten so much meat. I literally fried up half a pound of bacon and ate it in one sitting! For lunch I had sausage and hamburger and more bacon. For dinner I ate the last TV dinner and washed it down with more hamburger. I’m not sure how much meat I ate yesterday, but my carnivorous ancestors would have been proud.

The wind finally died down on Sunday and I moved to Pilot Knob LTVA. I wanted to remain close to Yuma in case I needed parts for my propane supply to the fridge. Once I pulled out the little jet orifice that regulates the propane gas to the refrigerator, I knew right away it was just plugged. With a little cleaning and picking, I had the jet looking like new, and as soon as everything was back together and turned on, the unit started cooling again.

This LTVA would not be on my list of favorite places to stay. The area is quite barren – void of any vegetation except creosote bushes, there is no dump or water available, and the close proximity to the highway and railroad tracks makes it noisy. While I was out walking yesterday I asked a man I met why he likes to stay here and he told me it is because there are no crowds of people. He said the other LTVAs have too many people. I guess if you want to be alone this would be a good place to stay.

Right now the thermometer in my freezer says 3 degrees.

I did this to keep it from blowing away!

On my way to Yuma I stopped overnight at the Imperial Dam LTVA to check on cell signal. Imperial Dam is one of my favorite camps in the southwest. It’s equipped with many dump stations and water spigots, and the facilities are arranged logically so there is little or no waiting to take care of essentials. Although the terrain is quite stark, I have always found places to hike and explore the area. There are a couple of really neat slot canyons within walking distance of camp. And probably the best perk to staying at Imperial Dam is the fact you are only a short distance from the city of Yuma, AZ.

I drove around the roads in the camping area and finally found a place where I could pick up a little AT&T signal. With the amplifier I got from Richard I received a pretty good signal. I settled in for the night and the next morning drove to Yuma for groceries and on to meet Barb in the parking lot of the Quechan Casino.

Barb needed to have dental work finished in Los Algodones and I needed to pick up my yearly meds, so we went together to save money on parking and provide each other moral support while in a strange country. I always enjoy trips to Los Algodones and we finished our shopping so early there was no waiting at the border on our way out. Barb had another appointment the following day so she stayed at the casino parking lot while I drove west to Ogilby Road to wait out the weekend.

The BLM area on Ogilby Rd has always been another favorite place for me to park. There are trees along the washes where you can tuck in out of the wind, the rest area four miles away has free water and dumpsters, I get good cell reception, and it is close to shopping in Yuma. I drove back along the access road to one of my favorite sites and set up camp. The wind was predicted to pick up over the next two days and I was prepared to hunker down until it passed.

Just after dark I heard a knock on my door. It was a BLM Ranger. He told me – to my shock and disbelief – that I was not allowed to camp here. I have been camping here for several years now and was really puzzled why this was the first I had ever heard of it. He said the only place legal to park was within 300 feet of the road. I asked him if this was something new because I know hundreds of RVs park here every year. He said they are all parking illegally and he would be enforcing no driving on roads and no camping anywhere it is legal past 14 days. He then mentioned something about this area being protected because of the desert tortoise. He then told me something that made me roll my eyes in an “ah” moment. He was a brand new transfer to this area from NV and said the other rangers that used to cover this area were terminated. I told him I would move in the morning.

Throughout the night the wind increased until my rig rolled like a boat slapped around by rough seas. At times in the night I could smell dust as the wind forced puffs of sand through cracks in my doors and windows. In the morning the wind still raged on with what seemed like hurricane force. I expected to look out to find my lawn chair gone, my satellite dish tipped over, and my solar panels smashed on a distant fire ring. Fortunately I had weighed everything down with rocks so nothing was harmed. When I opened the camper door it was all I could do to hold it against the wind. I resolved then and there to wait until the wind let up before I would move. To pick up my panels in this wind would turn me into a test pilot on a glass wing! The ranger would just have to understand if he returned. It is hard to believe he would want a glass panel shattered over the desert floor.

If the wind dies down tomorrow I will probably move back to Imperial Dam LTVA. If the weather would warm up a little – temps mostly in the 60’s now – I would ride into Yuma to see a movie. It is actually a better ride to town from Imperial Dam than it is from here. And, I may even stop for a date shake along the way.

Oh My!

I have moved around several times while here in Quartzsite. Two days ago, I found a spot in the La Posa South LTVA, close to facilities where the dump and water fill are located. My plan was to experiment with my motorcycle trailer to supply water for my rig as I became gluttonous with showers. Now, I’m not even sure I will unload my motorcycle. The cold nights, relentless wind, and the limited supplies in a tourist town have got me to thinking about traveling to Yuma.

Yuma is only about five degrees warmer than here but it makes a difference to these old bones of mine. And besides the warmer weather, there is always the city itself. It is nice to buy groceries without paying the inflated prices of a small market, there are tons of fast-food places to eat, you can get hardware for projects on the rig, and it will be nice to see a movie once in awhile. The biggest problem with moving to Yuma is that the LTVA north of town has no cell signal for me. That’s kind of a deal breaker.

The nearest Walmart to Quartzsite is in Parker, 40 miles north of here. I rode my motorcycle there a few days ago but I didn’t enjoy the trip. Route 95 to Parker is a narrow two-lane road with a speed limit of 65 for most of the way. Of course you know that a speed limit of 65 means most everyone is driving 75 or 80. Route 95 has a lot of traffic, and with that much traffic drivers get impatient waiting to pass, making me uncomfortable when they think I should move over to the edge of the road so they can get by whether anyone is coming or not.

Old naked people!

Where I’m parked now is right across the wash from the nudist section of the LTVA. When I found this nice spot I wondered why there was no one parking here. As I walked around I came upon signs scattered along the boundary and on all roads warning that you may encounter nudity in this area. Their website talks about the lifestyle they believe in and emphasizes that there shall be no display or approval of sexual activity. That makes sense to me considering they are mostly retired people with bodies well past the sexual stage. I’m far enough away so that I’m not being offended and disgusted by their shameful activities. Why… I can just barely see them with my binoculars!

20th Century Artifact

I arrived in Quartzsite late Thursday night and found a temporary place to park. The plan was to pay in the morning and search for a nice quiet, out-of-the-way, piece of desert I could call home for a few weeks. What I didn’t plan on was that everything was closed for Veterans Day and I would have to wait until the next day.

It was sort of ironic because I used the dump station, filled with water, and threw away a couple bags of garbage, all with great intentions of paying tomorrow. Now, with no one here to collect my money, I will have another day to contemplate dishing out the money for an LTVA or moving out to a desert boondock. I hate parting with my money but an endless supply of water for showers is a very tempting thing.

There are a few tasks that keep us vagabonds tied to the realm of civilization. As long as we can find a place to legally park, get food and water, and find someplace to dispose of our poo, we can pretty much live off-grid and under the radar. It usually takes a little planning, but we get good at it.

I rode around town this afternoon. There are a surprising number of RVs at the four La Posa sites and Hi Jolly was filled almost to the same level I have seen in January. Only the Plamosa Road – several miles out of town – was sparsely occupied. No venders are in town yet.

While riding through Hi Jolly this afternoon I saw a van I thought I recognized. It was Sheri and her little dog Tony. I met Sheri and Tony a few weeks ago in Cottonwood and we became friends and spent time chatting on our walks in the evening. She has been in Chandler at the same time I was in Mesa. How nice we got to see each other again here in Q.

Barb is still camping in Yuma. She has been crossing into Los Algodones, Mexico for some dental work but is planning on coming to Quartzsite in a few days. I was happy to find out that Dean is still traveling with her and I will get to see him, too.

There are other things to talk about – like a new phone, a Bulldog Canyon hike with Daryl and Les, babysitting Donna’s little dog Hanna, and trying out my new metal detector, but I have never used this phone to post and worried it will be a problem. I’m going to stop now and try it.