My Trails

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.

Campsite

Ready to fly

I enjoyed the time I spent on forest road 525 outside of Sedona, AZ. My campsite was close to a model airplane runway where I could sit outside in the morning and watch the pilots flying the little planes through all sorts of aerobatic maneuvers. One morning I talked with one model pilot that offered to let me try my hand at flying his airplane. Sadly, I left the area before I could try it. Probably just as well that I didn’t learn to fly his plane – I would get hooked and have to buy one!

The temperature in the Phoenix area finally dropped back from the high 90’s to a more tolerable range in the low 80’s. I found a free, dispersed camping area near the Salt River called Bulldog Canyon where I can stay for a few days while I visit Mom.

Campsite

Bulldog Canyon is accessible only by obtaining a combination from the forest service for a locked gate. The locked gate is designed primarily to keep people from trucking their trash out for disposal in the desert and driving where they can damage fragile vegetation. You can never stop all the abuse on public land, but the gates give the forest service a little more control.

This is an area used heavily by OHVs. So far it has been very quiet and dust free, but I imagine that in two more days the weekend warriors will bring their machines out to play and the silence will be broken by the roar of ATVs. I usually try to camp back away from the traffic, noise, and dust, but the only campsites were right along the road.

Mom is still struggling with shoulder pain. She is taking some heavy medications for pain and becomes very confused at times. She stays mostly in her room and sleeps a lot. The Doctors are still not sure what is causing her pain. If we could resolve the issue of her shoulder pain, I’m sure she would return to a more normal life.

I’m not sure how long I will stay here. There is a time limit on how long you can camp in this area, but if the weekend is chaotic with off-road racers, I may have to move out before my time is up.

First fast food in two weeks!

The 14-day time limit was up at my Cottonwood camp so I packed up and moved this morning. Where I am now is only about 15 miles away, but it is in another national forest so I should not be bothered for a few days. The weather for this weekend is still too hot to return to the valley but I’m hoping next week will be more normal.

I really enjoyed my stay at the Cottonwood campground. A couple of days were pretty warm, but for the most part it was lovely weather. Remember that I have been in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico for the last month, waking to freezing temps every morning. For the last two weeks, it has been good to soak up some Arizona sunshine.

I met some nice people while camped in Cottonwood. When I take walks in the evening I sometimes stop and talk with people I meet along the way. I follow a blog called Me and My Dog and My RV, dewelldesigns.blogspot.com, and one evening I met the owners of the blog, Barb and Katie(a cute little K9) by their motorhome as I was out walking. We saw each other several times during the time we were camped together and always had great conversation whenever we would meet. She introduced me to Dean, another camper living the lifestyle we share. We will all be in the southwest this winter and hopefully see each other down the road.

I plan to be here for the weekend and then head back into Phoenix on Tuesday or Wednesday. Richard has been exploring some dispersed camping areas near Usary Park and I hope to stay there for a few days. It will be good to see everyone again.

After the storm

It has been almost two weeks since I’ve posted so I guess I should catch myself up to date.

My travels continued south through New Mexico to Bluewater Lake State Park. I noticed on my map that west of the park was the Cibola National Forest, and when I saw a sign announcing forest access, I turned to check it out. About a mile up the road I met a forest ranger and asked her about dispersed camping. She told me of a meadow a few miles further where a lot of people camp. The road was good, void of potholes and washboard unlike most of the forest roads I have been on lately, so I continued on up the road.

The road climbed higher up the mountain until I was above 8000 feet. I could already tell there was a chill in the air, and when I checked for cell signal, the dissapointing circle with a line through it stared back at me. It didn’t take me long to find a place to turn around and head back down the hill.

On my way up I had seen a few places that looked like good camping spots. One particular side road disappeared over a rise and I parked to walk back and check it out. Imagine my surprise when I discovered a cute little clearing, open to the southern sky, out of sight from the main road, and offering good cell signal. It would become my home for the next week.

I made a few trips exploring the forest roads while I was there and even rode several times into the town of Thoreau, NM to shop at the Family Dollar. Daryl even had a tire for my motorcycle shipped to the post office by Amazon. The weather was good the whole time I was there. It got a little chilly overnight but warmed up nicely during the day.

After much communication with the family about Mom’s medical problems, the realization that the weather would be too cold to stay in the mountains much longer, and the fact that I had no desire to see any more of New Mexico, I decided to head into Arizona and make my way to Phoenix. I did take a quick detour and spent an afternoon at El Morro National Monument, an interesting place of petroglyphs and history of early explorers.

By the time I made it to Payson the weather was once again perfect and I spent the night a few miles from town in a secluded spot not many know about. I contacted Donna to ask if I could park in her driveway for a few days and the next day made my way into Mesa.

It was nice to see family again and especially good to visit Mom as she fights the affects of a painful ordeal with shingles.

Mom has been in and out of the hospital and nursing home for the last couple weeks with awful pain in her shoulder. Just today she has finally transitioned back to her apartment and it seems that the pain is under control. Let’s hope she gets back to normal soon.

On the day I had planned to leave town I found a note on the door from the city of Mesa. It was a form letter of rules and regulations for how to live in town. One regulation about RVs parked in the driveway was highlighted in yellow. I knew it was probably frowned upon but thought that being there for only a few days would not attract any attention. What I didn’t know is that some neighbors were already complaining about another RV parked down the street, and I was caught in the crosshairs.

Have to follow rules here too.

Right now I’m in Cottonwood. It is still a little too warm here but in another couple Weeks the temps should be just right. I am only a couple hours from Mom in case I am needed in town.

Mom sure gets a lot of loving care even without me there. Daryl, Donna, Richard and Dianna, and Heather all live in town and are constantly at her side making sure she gets the best care and support for all her needs. My brothers and I have never been a kissing and hugging bunch of guys, but not many families can match the love and empathy we feel for one another.