Quartzsite 2017

January 11, 2017.

I moved to Martinez Lake this morning. A group of WINs have been here since the 4^th of January.

After setting up the motorhome I took a walk along the road where the houses are.

Most homes are located at the lake.

I checked out the dump station and the water faucet at the fire house. When I leave here I need those facilities.

Eight WINs had gone kayaking and they came back during the 4:00 PM meeting. Randy came first to the meeting and he told us not to believe what the other kayakers would be telling us. He had turned over his kayak and got wet.

In the evening I spent a short time at the camp fire.

January 12, 2017.

Some of the group went today to the Castle Dome Mine Museum. I was there two years ago.

I did some walking in the morning and in the afternoon I cooked red cabbage and mashed potatoes. I had beef roulade in the freezer. Today I ate one of my favorite meals.

January 13, 2017.

Twelve of us went to the Yuma Proofing Grounds where the military tests all kind of weapons. We took part in a tour. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and he loved his job.

I did not take many pictures because I visited this place before.

January 14, 2017.

Most members of the group went today to Yuma and see movies. I went also to Yuma and did grocery shopping and went to the library.

In the afternoon I went for a walk. A man in a four wheeler asked me where I was going. I told him that I was wondering what was going on at the end of the road. He told me that people lived there. He offered me a ride. I climbed on board and we were speeding on that dirt road. Suddenly he stopped and then turned around.

He had lost some of the Netflix movies he had picked up at the post office. I found two and he retrieved some further back.

At the beginning of the houses I got off and walked back the three miles. The houses are on the north end of Martinez Lake and are big, beautiful homes with a lot of land. 

Some people like to live alone in the desert. These people are away from the road in the middle of nowhere.

At the afternoon meeting we got a report of the movies. La, La Land seems to be a favorite.

January 15, 2017.

Only a few of the group are still here. We are leaving tomorrow morning for Quartzsite.

This afternoon we went dancing at the Rio Loco Bar. The music was great. One guy was singing just like Wilie Nelson.

January 16, 2017.

The Quartzsite gathering starts today. I arrived here at about 10:00 AM.

When I came to the parking place the fire wood delivery track was unloaded. There will be a lot of camp fires.

After setting up the motorhome I walked across the highway where the Escapee Solos are staying. Some of the WINs belong to the Solos and several other single camping clubs. I met some of the people I know from the trips I did with the WINs.

At the 4:00 PM meeting, the white boards listing all the things to do in Quartzsite, were presented to us.

There will be no time to be bored.

January 17, 2017.

In the morning I went first to the library and then checking out temporary stores around the big tent.

The big tent will open on Saturday but vendors, near the tent, are selling already their wares.

In the evening we went dancing at the Senior Center. The Travelers were providing the music.

We had a long 4:00 PM meeting. Elaine had scheduled some of the thirty one items on the “To do List”.

Members requested time changes because of interferences. It is not easy to schedule all the activities. We also talked about the summer schedule. I plan on going on the Texas Circuit.
 

January 18, 2017.

During the morning meeting we had a surprise visit. A hot air balloon appeared.

In the afternoon I went to the Escapee RV Club meeting. There were a lot of people in attendance.

This year it was held at Plomosa Road, one mile from where we are staying. I walked there.

There was finger food served.

There was also music. I met some ex WINs and people I met during my travels.

January 19, 2017.

After doing my computer work at the library I drove to the area where they still sell old, rusty stuff. This area shrunk in the last few years.

They sell also old books and DVD’s and records.

In the afternoon I participated in the desert golf tournament. The WINs created a three hole golf course. Buried coffee cans are the holes. We were four, four member teams. Instead of golf balls, tennis balls were used.The morning players had better weather. We played while there was sprinkling of rain.

I have never seen so many cloudy days in all the years I have been coming to Quartzsite.

It was a lot of fun. The balls sometimes hit a rock and went their own way.

In the evening we went dancing. I went with a group to the Goldstar RV Resort. Other WINs went to Silly Al’s.

January 20, 2017.

The weather was terrible today. It was windy and cold. People from the northern states and Canada might not agree with me, but as far as I am concerned the weather was lousy.

In the afternoon it started to rain.

I drove to the Senior Center in the dark and heavy rain. We had a good size group there. Half of the dancers were WINs.

All the WINs left after the break. They went to the Yacht Club for more dancing. I liked the band at the Senior Center and stayed.

January 21, 2017.

A large group went today to the Desert Bar, near Parker. I stayed behind and went shopping for a while. I also tried to go to the big tent but could not find a parking spot. On the first day of the RV Show there are always too many people.

Today was a beautiful day. The rain storm has moved on.

January 22, 2017.

This morning Marjorie and I went to the Big Tent. We dropped off Marjorie’s Blue Ox tow bar. For    $ 35.00 the company will check out and repair the tow bar.

Then we walked through the tent and marked locations of vendors we want to visit again. I am comparing prices from different vendors.

In the afternoon we went dancing at the Solos camping area. The Solos had removed stones and put down large floor mats and taped them together. They had made a wonderful dance floor in the desert.

The three piece band was very good.

It looked like it would rain any minute but it did not rain.
 

January 23, 2017.

Early in the morning I borrowed a ladder and took care of my awning problem. The little lever which controls the up or down movement of the awning was stuck. I sprayed some oil and silicone in the opening near the lever and it worked. Then I helped Marjorie with her compartment door problem. She could not get into one of her storage compartments. One of the little slides was stuck. I used a large screwdriver and pried the door open. I broke the plastic slide. She had a spare part since she had that problem before.

After Hugs and Mugs I went to the library and to the big tent.

 I bought two LED bulbs. Some of my old bulbs are flickering. I have my eyes on a vacuum cleaner which two vendors were demonstrating. It is rather small but seems to work very well.

I had to park my car away from the parking lot. When I was done in the tent and went back to my car I watched a driver trying to move a big forty foot t long motorhome out of the sand. The back wheels went deeper into the soft sand every time he tried to move the vehicle.

He had no business coming to the big tent with a motorhome.

In the evening a large group of WINs went to the “Somewhere in Arizona” bar in Bouse for burn your own steak.

We cooked our own steaks on the grills and went inside and picked up a baked potato, corn on the cob and a salad.

After the meal we danced to a two and a half piece band. One of the musicians hardly moved his fingers on the guitar. He came late and we believe he is in training.  The two other guys were good.

January 24, 2017.

In the morning Marjoire and I picked up her refurbished tow bar and then went again through the big tent. I bought the vacuum cleaner and two more LED bulbs. Marjoire wanted to buy a dog leash which is lit up by tiny LED lights. She changed her mind though.

Besides her little dog she has now a five month old poodle. When grown up it will be a full size poodle.

I believe some of the WIN women prefer dogs over men.

When we were finished in the big tent we enjoyed a large ice cream. Then we walked around the area with the small tents.

The Adult Care Center is new. It is like a beer garden, and it was busy.

Back at the camping area WINs were dancing to the music of Karaoke Mike.

In the evening we went dancing at the Senior Center.

January 25, 2017.

This was a cold night. When I woke up it was 39 degrees F. in the motorhome. I turned on the catalytic heater and went back to bed. I could hear the furnaces of my neighbors. Thirty minutes later I got up.
I was at the library at 8:00 AM and at the big tent five minutes before they opened it. Parking was easy and it took me only twenty minutes to see two LED vendors.
One vendor had given me a LED bulb to take home and try it out. I could not get the bulb in the socket.
The bulb is for the cheap, double light fixtures I bought last year. The bulbs in the fixture over the dinette are used every day and they did not work very long. Since the bulbs are not the bayonet type I could not get replacements. Some vendors in the tent have them. I had taken the fixture down and installed the old fixture again.
I saved the new fixture and wanted to show the vendor the problem. It was a fly by night outfit and they were not at Quartzsite this year.
I took this fixture to the tent and the lady who had given me the bulb for trying out was able to install the bulb. I did not use enough force.
I bought four bulbs, two for the fixture which is still in use with flickering bulbs and two for the fixture I had replaced with the old fixture.
Now I am all set.

At 10:00 AM we took off for the Quartzsite Sign made with stones, with a directional arrow. The military had made that sign and painted the stones with silver paint. It was for airplanes to see. The letters are about three feet high. The paint is almost gone.

Our next stop was the Intaglio. It is the Bouse Fisherman. It is similar to a petroglyph, only it is on the ground. It is difficult to see from the ground, much easier from the air.

At 2:00 PM we had our annual ice cream social. All singles were invited.

Maynard welcomed all the guests.

Keith, our Santa Claus, was there. He does not need a false beard or a cushion for his tummy.

Bagpipe Bob made an appearance.

Everybody enjoyed the ice cream.

Bob likes the women.

A small group went by bicycle to Bouse. It is a twenty mile ride. They left at 10:00 AM and came back at 5:00 PM. 
 

January 26, 2017.

While we had our Hugs and Mugs meeting nineteen of our kayakers left for the Colorado River. They went eight miles down the river.

After the meeting I went one more time shopping outside the big tent. There are temporary stores selling everything from canned and packaged grocery goods to clothing and items required to run recreational vehicles.

After lunch I went to the refuse transfer station to get rid of my garbage. They had closed early and now I have to wait until Sunday unless I find an open bin in town.

My next stop was the library. I could not get on the Internet with my computer. Everybody else had no problem.

I had to use a computer from the library, which made it more difficult for me.

After the 4:00 PM meeting the musicians in the group had a jam session. There is a lot of talent in the WINs.

In the evening some of us went dancing at the Gold Star RV Resort. I like it there since there is much room on the dance floor. A larger group went dancing at Silly Al’s Bar. They serve alcohol there and some people prefer to dance there.

When I left for the Gold Star Resort I enjoyed another fine desert sunset.

January 27, 2017.

This was a cold, windy, miserable day. We had our meeting to discuss all the summer trips. I plan on going with a group to Texas and also attend the dance rally in Bandera, Texas.

I was able to use my own computer again at the library.

Late afternoon we had hot dogs with hot chocolate. Mel and crew did the cooking. They did it in Elmer’s large trailer to stay out of the wind.

In the evening we went dancing at the Senior Center and from there we went to the Quartzsite Yacht Club. It was crowded and noisy there. We left at 11:00 PM. The last hour it was only noisy. Most people had gone home.
 

January 28, 2017.

In the morning I went or a short time to RV Lifestyles, a RV repair shop and parts store, for free hot dogs, pop corn and soft drinks, they do this every Saturday and Sunday. 

A one man band provided the music. I danced a few times but left because there were more male WINs than females.

I stopped at Burger King and did my computer work.

In the evening we went to the Quartzsite Yacht Club and celebrated Donna Lee’s, Jeanne’s, and Dave’s birthdays.

We danced until 10:00 PM. It is always crowded but we managed.

January 29, 2017.

We are finally back to normal weather. We had blues skies today and not much wind.

Marjoirie and I left at 10:00 AM to go shopping and came back at 2:30 PM.

We walked where all the old stuff is for sale. Marjoirie bought a fishing rod and I tried to buy nothing. When we came to a booth with groceries I bought eight bars of Ritter Sport chocolate. The cost is usually $ 2.50 per bar. I bought them for one dollar. The expiration date was last week.

We had a light lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then continued our hunt for bargains. There was not much more which interested me.

Our group had grown to 126 people. Today several WINs left. Tomorrow is the last day of the gathering.