Quartzsite, Arizona 2015

1-19-15

This was a driving day. We made it to Fresno, California. I did not feel like going to a RV Park and disconnect the car from the motorhome. It was easier to stay at Walmart.

Last week was a strange and busy week. Doris was four days on the computer attending a seminar. I was busy with the motorhome. I had to bring it to Dan’s Auto Electric since the battery light was still on after I installed a new battery.

They found a broken wire, not the one which goes from the alternator to the battery.

Saturday we had Doris’s University Women’s group over for dinner. It was a pot luck but the house had to be super clean and Doris provided a lot of food. Husband and boyfriends were invited.

There was a table set up in the sun room.

The living and dining room were the main eating areas.

There were two snack stations.

In the kitchen was a traffic jam.

Mr. Big was totally relaxed and enjoyed the couch in the sun room.

Some people like to be near the food.

The TV room was used for a little social gathering.

There was plenty of food. The theme was sea food. Doris had bought a lot of smoked salmon. A gentleman brought a large pan with fish prepared by the cook of the Ingomar Club at the Carson Mansion. There were all kinds of side dishes.

1-20-15

Another driving day is behind us. We are almost there.

We stopped in Bakersfield and visited Nelda.

She has not lived in a stationary place for twenty five years. But she enjoys the retirement home. She gets her meals in a beautiful lunch room.  There is entertainment and little buses take the residents shopping. She sold her motorhome in two days. She is still a WIN and follows many members on Face Book and blogs.

I hope I still can drive a motorhome when I am 86 years old. Nelda had a big bucket list and did all of it. She jumped out of an airplane, flew ultra lights, flew in hot air balloons, helicopters and sail planes. She crossed the country many times in the twenty five years. It was wonderful to see her.

Off highway 58, east of Bakersfield, we stopped at a fruit stand. It was actually a big store with a fruit processing plant. Women were sorting oranges on conveyor belts and packaging them.

I got interested in the place when I saw a sign, on the site of the highway, telling motorists that they had date shakes. I asked Doris whether she would like a date shake. She never had one. So I had to stop. She told me to get one and she would taste mine. After she took a spoon full and tasted it she got her own and liked it.

The store had sampling containers with different kind of dates and nuts and chocolate covered nuts. It was fun to graze. Beside the date shakes we spent over $ 50.00 dollars in the store.

The night we spent at the Rest Area 35 miles west of Needles. Tomorrow we will have a short drive.

1-21-15

Since we had a short drive and we were early we decided to stop in Havasu City for awhile.

We parked the motorhome at the Visitor Center and walked across the London Bridge. At the bridge is the statue of Robert P. McCulloch, who brought the bridge to Arizona and the architect who laid out the village and location of the bridge.

  

Every stone on the bridge was numbered and some of the numbers are still visible.

 

The village is suffering now. Some of the stores are closed.

  

Doris bought some soap at the Soap Store. Red Hat Ladies were doing the same.

  

A copy of a fountain in London is also on the premises.

  

From the bridge we walked to the In-N-Out Burger restaurant. This was Doris’s first visit to the inside of an In-N-Out Burger restaurant. She and her grandson had gone through a drive through at a restaurant in Oregon.

We arrived in Quartzsite just in time for the 4:00 PM Circle Meeting.

1-22-15

We arrived at the big tent, when it opened at 9:00 AM, and there was not a big crowd. It was easy to talk to the vendors. Doris was impressed with all the wares sold at the RV Show. If you cannot find it in Quartzsite it has not been made. She bought some of the cleaning liquids and pastes. We will test them.

The balloon lanterns, which attach to the motorhome awning, were new. They fold flat when not in use.

At 2:00 PM we had an ice cream social where all the single people were invited. Some of the former WIN members came and it was a pleasure to see them.

Maynard addressed the troops and opened the social.

After eating a lot of ice cream, and I mean a lot, we went across the highway where the Solos had a dance. They made a dance floor by removing the stones from the desert floor and taping floor mats together.

The music was very good and we really enjoyed it. Doris is surprised about the thousands of motorhomes standing in the desert and what people do out here. There is never a dull moment with the single clubs.

There was also some line dancing. When it got dark we watched small paper hot air balloons come over the camping area. When the fuel runs out they come down. There was also some fireworks. The weather is fine. It feels like the lower 70ties.

1-23-15

Today was a shopping day. We went to the Tyson Wells area and bought several items. It took as four hours to cover this area. Doris is still surprised how many vendors are selling stuff.

At the last row are vendors selling geodes and other stones.

From Tyson Wells we drove to the Q, the exhibit building, where the gem show is in progress. It is the second largest in the U.S.

In the evening we went to the Senior Center and enjoyed Paul Miner playing the piano. He always puts up a good show. He entertained us from 7:00 PM to 9:20 PM.

Our next stop was the Quartzsite Yacht Club, where we danced until 11:00 PM. This was a full day.

1-24-15

Today we took our annual trip to the Desert bar near Parker, Arizona. I could not wait to show Doris this unusual place in the middle of nowhere.

It is the last time I am driving the Saturn to the Desert Bar. The road is very bad now and next time we will ride with somebody who has a four wheel drive vehicle.  

We ate lunch there. This time we chose food from the lower food service area. The menu is better than hamburger, hamburger with chili, hot dog, and hot dog with chili. Many people still prefer that kind of food. I had a chicken fajita wrap from the lower area and it was delicious.

Doris took pictures in the women’s toilet in the upper area. The owner must like steel, with a lot of welding. The doors for the stalls are made of solid steel and have big hinges. The facilities in the lower area are more modern.

The buildings are covered with a lot of solar panels. This is the only electricity they have out there.

The family home is nearby.

A four piece band was playing all kind of music. We did a lot of dancing.

We were a small group since the regular Desert Bar outing was last weekend. Donna Lee celebrated her birthday today and her friends showed up.

The country side is bare rocks.

The weather was perfect. I wore 0nly a T shirt and should have worn shorts.

In the evening Doris and I sat at the camp fire for an hour. There was a small lively group. It was fun.

1-25-15

We did some more shopping. Doris found seven dinner plates which are the same as one of her sets.  She also bought silicone covers for pots and all kind of containers. They can be used in the micro oven and cover hot and cold food.

Doris does what most of us did the first time we visited Quartzsite.

 I bought a device which charges also the starting battery when the motorhome is stored. Up to now the house batteries were fully charged by the solar panels and the starting battery ran slowly empty.

We also went to the Hi Jolly monument. He is buried in Quartzsite.

This is our last day in Quartzsite.