Quartzsite - Arizona - 2016

1-8-16

The motorhome is ready to go.

I will be leaving for Quartzsite tomorrow morning. Doris will come later. A new tenant moved into one of her apartments on January 1^st and the next day Doris was telling the young woman to move out.

She had lied to Doris and seems to be on drugs.

It is not easy in California to have somebody move. Doris will stay until this is resolved. Since she had to cancel her flight to San Diego when her friend had a stroke, and South West Airlines does not give money back, gives only credit for another flight, she will use that credit to fly to Phoenix after she has her problem solved.

I will pick her up at the airport in Phoenix.
 

1-9-16

This was almost a perfect start. It had rained all night and it was still raining when I moved the motorhome out of the side yard.

Doris wanted to help me but I did not want her to get wet. I was careful and moved slowly forward. I cleared the gutters on the garage and the posts for the gate. Suddenly I heard a scraping noise. I stopped and checked and it was clear all around. Then I saw the fire wood on the ground. I had a big plastic container with fire wood stored under the motorhome and had forgotten about it. I kept it there because of the rain.

The wood was out and the container which was wedged under the rear axle of the motorhome. I had to crawl under the motorhome and free it.

I left Eureka at 8:00 AM and arrived in Manteca at 3:00 PM. It had rained almost all the way.

I decided to stay at Walmart for the night. This way I did not have to unhook the car, which I have to do in a RV Park. It is no fun in the morning, and in the rain, to attach the car to the motorhome.

I called Denise, the daughter of friends of mine. I could only reach her answering machine. I would have liked to see her and her sister Alexandra. Both of them live in Manteca.

1-10-16

I left Manteca at 6:30 AM and arrived in Bakersfield at 11:30 AM.

I had left early so I could have lunch with Nelda, a friend from the WINs. I had planned to take her to a restaurant but she invited me to have lunch with her at the place where she lives. She always sits with the same group. Jack is one hundred years old and I would have never guessed it. His wife is ninety three years old. There was also another woman.

It is a wonderful group Nelda has lunch with. There were a ham and a pork roast dish on the menu. I had the pork roast and the meat, vegetables, and scalloped potatoes were prepared just right. Nelda made sure I had enough to eat. They had apple strudel for dessert.

The staff at this place takes good care of older people. We had a really long lunch and I enjoyed it very much. Jack is a very interesting person. He and his wife are married for 73 years.

I actually was glad that I had lunch at Nelda’s home. When I tried to open my car with the remote it would not work. The car battery was low on voltage. This is the second time this happened. When towing the car two fuses have to be removed to avoid draining the battery. The person who owned the car before me had a switch installed which does the same thing. I believe the switch was installed on the wrong fuses. As soon as I get to Quartzsite I will check it out.

Since I cannot drive the car I called a RV Park in Mojave and reserved a pull through camp site. I needed a RV Park anyway to fill up the fresh water tank since I will be dry camping in Quartzsite.

My site was too far away from the building to receive WI- FI. They have cable television but it costs extra. The radio has a lot of religious stations out here. So I did without WI-FI, television and radio.

1-11-16.

I left the RV Park at 6:45 AM. I almost did not make it. I tried to be a good neighbor and did not drive through the park that early. I took the side exit and got stuck at a fence and hedge. The steering wheel was all the way to the left when I hit the hedge. I stopped and went outside. The fence was only four inches from the motorhome and I still was not turned around. Normally I would unhook the car and then back up the motorhome. This would not work this time because the battery in the car is drained.

I had a choice waiting until somebody would get out of their motorhome and use their car to give me a jump on my car, or keep moving. I had the jumper cables ready.

I got back in the motorhome and slowly proceeded driving and cleared the fence. It is not good to have that much excitement in the morning.

In Needles, California I got some gasoline for the motorhome. I paid $ 2.79 per gallon. On a billboard Pilot advertised gasoline for $ 1.99 per gallon. The gasoline station was across the river in Arizona. I would have to drive 21 miles out of my way to take advantage of that price.

I got only twenty gallons which were enough to get me to Parker, Arizona where I filled up the tank. It was $ 2.24 per gallon there.

When I arrived at the camping area in Quartzsite I unhooked the car and turned the motorhome around and started the car with the help of the motorhome batteries. I ran the car for a while and it is fine now.

Tomorrow I will start checking the fuses.

At the 4:00 PM circle meeting the group discussed the schedule for this outing. There will be desert golf, kayaking, hiking, dancing, I Phone and I pad seminars, going to the desert bar, shopping, and playing games.

The weather is pleasant here. There were a few white clouds in the sky.

1-12-16.

It was cold last night. When I woke up it was 38 degrees F. in the motorhome. A cold wave is coming through.

After Hugs and Mugs I went into town and looked for a lens for a side running light on the motorhome and a LED bulb for the light above the dinette. The lens came off somewhere and the bulb above the dinette is not bright enough. I found one but it does not fit correctly and I have to keep on looking.

The gambler has many lenses and I have to bring one to make sure I buy the right one.

I bought four pairs of cotton socks.

I also went to the library and did some computer work and stopped at the Dollar Store.

When I came back to the camping area games were in full swing. There was a lot of hollering at the bean bag game.

The fire wood had arrived and there will be some big camp fires. Around the camp fire area are Tiki Lights. We will have Hawaii in the desert.

I admired the new paint job on Elmer’s trailer. He was in the Air Force and the picture show it. While the group was in Mexico he had it done. The trailer has a hydraulic lift in the inside. On the bottom is the jeep and above is the motorcycle.

At the 4:00 PM Circle Meeting Les talked about his six mile hike. He went to the nearby mountains and saw big horn sheep.

Karen reminded everybody to have instructions in the motorhome in case of an emergency. 

The group is getting larger every day. The RV Show starts on Saturday and the big tent will be open then.

Some of us went dancing at the Senior Center tonight. The band “On the Road again” was providing the music.

We knew two of the members of the band from the WIN Dance Rally in Wickenburg. They played from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM.

In our group were actually more men than women. That does not happen very often.

1-13-16

Les and I drove into town after Hugs and Mugs. We stopped at The Gambler where I bought the amber lens for the side light of the motorhome.

We went through some stores and looked for the LED bulb for over the dinette, but could not find one. Next week I will find one at the big tent.

We also stopped at the refuse place and got rid of our garbage and went to the library.

In the afternoon I went to the Escapee Happy Hour.

I knew Bob and Donna would be there and I was correct.

There was also Pat. She loves chocolate.

The members of the Shanty Shakers, the Southern California chapter of the Escapees, will be there tomorrow. I will be back to see them. This is a two day event.

The daughter of the founders of the Escapees Camping Club gave a little speech.

There was a good sized crowd. People brought finger food and sweets and there was plenty of it.

Back at the camping area they played desert golf and other games.

In the evening was a dance at the QIA but nobody was interested. Somebody told the group that the band was not good.

I did some computer work and watched The Lucy Show. The DVD of the show was on the ”Free Table”.

I love the desert sunsets.

1-14-16.

It was a bit warmer last night.

In the morning there was another desert golf game. I watched them for a while.

The hole is a two pound coffee can and they use a tennis ball. It is a lot of fun watching the ball hit a rock and find its own way.

Larry hit the side of the can and missed the hole. The rain and wind had moved the dirt from the outside of the can. The players added some more dirt. The cans are left in the ground, a pile of rocks marks where they are, so they can be found from year to year. While the playing is going on a pole with a red flag shows where the hole is.

This is the golf course. The Wins have a solution for everything.

My next stop was the library. From there I went to Kuehn Road and bought ten amp mini fuses and electrical wire connectors. The Saturn uses those small fuses.

The Escapees had another Happy Hour and I went there to see whether the Shanty Shakers where there.

They had not arrived yet.

I saw Jerry and his wife. They used to be WINs.

There were again three tables with finger food.

The DOVE chapter of the Escapees had a table and gave out information. They volunteer for the Red Cross.

The Boomers had a table too. Some of my friends belong to that group.

The crowd was not as large as yesterday. Today ends the two day affair.

Some WINs were there too.

After the 4:00 PM meeting we had a pot luck. There was plenty of food too.

The WINs are very good at eating.

Some of the group went dancing tonight. I had enough excitement today and I stayed home.

1-15-16.

After Hugs and Mugs I went to the library. I was able to up load text but had a difficult time with the pictures. The system was too slow today.

From the library I drove to the Greasewood camping area and visited with Rhonda and Frank, friends from the San Diego area.

Three rigs from the Shanty Shakers are camping at the same place. I did not see anybody and continued on to one of the shopping areas.

I got my exercise for the day walking up and down the rows of booths.

I bought some small items.

A large group went on a hike with Chuck to the Crystal Hill. Some members of the hike found small crystals.

In the evening we went dancing at the Quartzsite Yacht Club. They have a fantastic band.

Besides regular dancing, line dancing becomes more popular. Women like it and now guys get up and dance too. I like to hold on to a partner.

1-16-16.

I have a cold and spent most of the day on the couch. Unfortunately I missed dancing at the SOLOS. They are parked across the highway from the WINs. They remove stones from the ground and put down large floor mats. Duck tape keeps them together. This makes a good dance floor.

A three piece band provides the music.

1-17-16.

A large group of WINs went to the Desert Bar today. I would have liked to go too but It was better for me to stay on the couch.

During the day the weather is fantastic. It is still cold in the night.

Some people went to the big tent.
 

1-18-16.

I am still sick. I drove to the library this morning. When I arrived there I noticed there were no cars in the parking lot. Today is a holiday. I went to Burger King and did my computer work there.

The rest of the day I was laying on the couch.

1-19-16.

I did not feel like doing anything today. Now I am coughing besides blowing my nose all the time. My condition is not getting any better.

Caroline brought me some pills. I hope they help.

I went to the big tent though, early in the morning. It took me about an hour to cover the whole tent.

Instead of buying a LED bulb for the lamp above the dinette table, I bought a new double light. It came with the two LED light sources and cost only $ 14.00. I asked several times whether this is the correct price and the sales person said yes and gave me a hand written receipt. At other booths that is the price for one bulb.

I also looked for a Wilson booster antenna for the car. I have one for the motorhome. There was no Wilson dealer in the big tent.

My next stop was the library. I stayed only a short while and went back to my couch.

Some of the group went kayaking today on the Colorado River. In the evening there was a hot dog roast at the camp fire. I miss a lot of good things this time.

This coming fall I will get a flu shot. This is the first time in many years that I did not get one.

In the evening I removed the old light and installed the new one. It works perfect.

An ultra light airplane flies over our camping area once in a while.

1-20-16.

I spent most of the day on the couch. In the afternoon I felt a little bit better.

We had Open House today. My motorhome was on the list for showing but I did not feel like showing people my motorhome in my condition. I would have liked to see other members homes though. It is more seeing what other people changed and improvements they made.

Today was : ”Cook your own steak” at the Somewhere in Arizona bar in Bouse.

I had bought the ticket a few days ago when I felt fine. I went and the steak was good, not as good as the steak at the Elks Lodge in Eureka. But there is a price difference. In Eureka the dinner costs $ 20.00 and in Bouse $ 12.00. In Eureka the steaks are larger and top quality.

Some members of the group sat outside on the patio.

Paul is cooking his steak on one of the grills.

The rest were sitting inside.

I ate my salad, roll, corn on the cop, steak and baked potato and then went back to my motorhome. I believe the ladies would not have appreciated me breathing on them while dancing. The music started after the dinner.

The weather was fine again today. We had blue sky and the temperature was 72 degrees F.
 

1-21-16.

Today we had our annual Ice Cream Social. We invited all the other singles clubs, and single people who are in Quartzsite.

The timing was not good. The Loners On Wheels had their Cheese and Wine gathering one hour later. Some of them did not come.

There was plenty of ice cream left over and we have to eat it before Sunday.

Five different flavors were served.

There was also whip cream, chocolate and different syrups to add to the ice cream.

Everybody seems to love ice cream.

Paula, Pat and David provided the music.

I went back to the big tent and tried to buy one more LED light. I could not find the vendor. But there is no empty space. I cannot figure out where they went.
 

1-22-16.

I feel better, no more coughing, only occasionally blowing my nose.

It is more comfortable for me to stay around the motorhome right now, this is what I did today. I only went to the library for a short time.

Most of the group went shopping.

1-23-16.

I went one more time to the big tent and then I spent some time at the Main Event. In the past, at this place, there was a lot of old stuff for sale. Now there are only a few vendors.

Quartzsite is changing. I talked to vendors and some of them are not coming back. The rent in the tent and outside is going up too much. They cannot make any money.

There were less visitors this year. We had only 100 WINs at our camping area. Normally we have a lot more.

1-24-16.

Today is our last day in Quartzsite and also the last day to go shopping in the big tent.

Les, a Chinese lady from Santa Monica, California and I went early to the big tent. It was easy to get around. I believe most people spent their money during the week and are taking a rest.

I found the vendor with the double LED lights and bought another one. I also bought a few cheap gadgets and a fresh water pump. The pump cost 79 Dollars.

When we left the tent there was a vendor who sold the pump for 60 Dollars. I went back and returned the pump and bought one from the outside vendor. This vendor charged tax though and the pump cost me 66 Dollars, still a saving of 13 Dollars.

The Chinese lady is in Quartzsite to check out our camping club. She bought a Sprinter van. It is the same as Lester’s. Hers is still bare in the inside. She is looking around to see how to install furniture and a kitchen. We are still trying to pronounce her name.

When we came back to the motorhome I replaced the old light with the new LED light. Then I took a nap and at 2:00 PM we ate the rest of the ice cream.

Since the group who is going to Mexico left early this morning we had a lot to eat.

While we were eating ice cream, Allen, Maria and Margaret were flying their kites.

Later I watched Elmer putting his motorcycle and Jeep in the trailer. The trailer has a hydraulic lift. The motorcycle goes in first and the Jeep below it.

Before it got dark I visited Lester and Mel at the camp fire. They were early.