Arizona - January - 2018

January 12, 2018.

I left Eureka at 8:00 AM. It did not rain. I stopped at the Coyote Casino in Ukiah for gasoline and propane. Actually, I had in mind to fill up the auxiliary Propane tank in Quartzsite. I did not want to carry the extra weight. When I saw $ 2.07 per gallon I changed my mind.

I ate my lunch at the parking lot and then drove to the casino in Colusa, where I arrived at 2:00 PM.

January 13, 2018.

It was foggy this morning. I waited until 8:00 AM and then slowly went highway 45 to highway 20. When I got to Interstate 5 the fog was lighter.

In Ripon I stopped for gasoline at the Love’s Truck Stop. The timing was perfect, it was lunch time. After lunch I drove to Fresno. The Walmart on Shaw Street had a lot of construction going on. I could not stay there for the night. The Moose Lodge let me stay on their parking lot.
When I turned on the television I received about one hundred stations. Usually I get between six and  twenty. Unfortunately, there was not one of the major networks. I listened to the news on a French and DW (Deutsche Welle), a German news station. Both broadcast in English.

When I left Eureka the step on the motorhome did not retract completely. All that rain had formed rust in the linkages. I sprayed all the spots with WD-40 and helped the motor by pushing with my foot. After soaking two days in WD-40 the step works again.

The radio does not work though. The speakers work intermittently. There must be some lose wires.

January 14, 2018.

The fog was not that bad this morning. The visibility was about half a mile. I left at 7:15 AM.

At the Rest Area about sixty miles west of Bakersfield I stopped for a while. I was early for lunch with Nelda. While walking around the car and motorhome I noticed the cable from the car battery to the motorhome battery had separated. I tried to connect the two sections and blew the fuses on both batteries. The cable is a two-pin affair. One pin is slightly larger in diameter. I misjudged and made some sparks.

When I arrived at the home where Nelda is staying I replaced the fuses.

Nelda’s granddaughter and her great granddaughter were there too. Nelda and I had roast beef, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Her granddaughter had the shrimp scampi. Dessert was cheese cake. They serve very good food at this place.

After lunch I drove to Barstow to the Elks Lodge. I had not done my homework; the lodge is not there anymore. The next lodge is in Needles. 130 miles west of Needles, at the Rest Area, I stopped for the night. It started to get dark and I was tired. This rest area has a large non- asphalt area. I parked there, away from the noisy trucks.

January 15, 2018.

This morning I got on the road at 6:45 AM. There was ice on the car windshield. It gets cold at night in the desert.

I arrived at the WIN parking area, in Quartzsite, at 11:00 AM. A lot of people are here already. This will be a big gathering. At the 4:00 PM circle meeting were a lot of happy reunions. Many of the members of the club had not seen each other for some time.
 

January 16, 2018.

After the Hugs and Mugs meeting I drove to the library and did my computer work. Then I went to the area where hundreds of vendors setting up temporary stores. It seems that half of them are ready for business.

The RV Show starts Saturday and the big tent will be open then.  Around the tent will be more booths with vendors selling items for motorhomes, trailers and traveling. Representatives from states and Canadian provinces will be handing out brochures and are hoping travelers will come to their places.

When I came back to the motorhome and tried to charge the battery of the computer the inverter shut off. The indicator showed an overload. I checked all four house batteries and the all showed over 13 volts. They were completely charged.

I got Dan involved and he unplugged the two 120 volt plugs for the computer and television. When he inserted the line for the computer the inverter did not shut off. There is something wrong with the power cable for television and DVD player.

I have a feeling there is a short where the cable enters between the side of the dashboard and the wall of the motorhome. The movement of the dashboard while traveling must have worn the insulation and created a short.

I have to remove some of the paneling next to the windshield. The cable goes to the overhead cabinets where the TV and other entertainment devices are located.

I finally fixed the radio. It is fixed but I did not find what was wrong. I took the radio out and the sound was perfect. All the connections were good. After putting the radio back all four speakers were still working. I hope nothing changes when I drive over rough roads again.

After the 5:00 PM meeting Mike set up his karaoke equipment and we listened to some good and bad singers.

I did attend the karaoke session only for a short time, so did other people.

We got ready for the dance at the Senior Center. It was a lot of fun. The band was great.

January 17, 2018.

The Escapee Camping Club had their annual Happy Hour one mile up the road from us. Since I am a member I went there to meet some old friends. They used to be WINs, but now travel on their own.

The gathering started of course with food.

This is a popular event and a lot of people showed up.

Between the talks of the higher ups of the club there was music.

Bob and Donna are friends from my early WIN days.

In between meetings and going to the library I worked on the wiring problem. As I suspected the cable had a bare spot. I went to the hardware store in town and bought a six foot and a nine foot heavy duty extension cord. I needed fifteen feet.

Tomorrow I will bring them back. I found one long extension cord in the storage bin where I keep electrical stuff. This cord is long enough since I am doing it different this time.

January 18, 2018.

Today we did the Palm Canyon hike.

We were a group of twenty fife.

The trail was kind of rough and we had to conquer some elevation.

We ate our lunch at the overlook. One person actually went up to the palms. The rest of us were happy and satisfied with the beautiful view.

The palms are in a narrow canyon at a higher elevation. Only a few people went up there.

Our cars are way below.

In the evening twenty- five WINs went dancing at the Gold Star RV Park. The music was lousy because of problems with the sound system, but we had fun anyway.

So far we have perfect weather. The day temperature is about 73 degrees F. In the night it goes down to about 45 degrees F. A cold front is expected on the weekend.

January 19, 2018.

On my morning walk I observed some of our members exercising. They stretch, jump and do all kind of movements.

Our city in the desert is growing day by day. We have now over 130 rigs and more are on the way.

I went again to the shopping area and bought some gloves and 12 volt fuses for the car and the motorhome.

There is a lot of traffic in town now. In the evening we danced again at the Senior Center.

Over seventy of our group will be heading for Mexico soon. I am still undecided whether I am going. Paul, the host of the Mexican gathering, will give a seminar before the trip starts.

January 20, 2018.

Most evenings we have beautiful desert sunsets.

In the morning I drove to the QIA hall (Quartzsite Improvement Association) to inquire about the Paul Winer concert. At the moment the Gem and Mineral Show is in progress there. It is the second largest in the country. Since the RV show started today there were not many visitors at the Gem Show. There are displays of beautiful, colorful stones from all over the world.

My next stop was Burger King. The library was closed today so I tried to do some computer work there. The system was as slow as molasses. There are many visitors in town and it slows the system down. People who have their own hot-spot telling me that they have the same problem.

I enjoyed a Whopper though. Once every six months I have one.

From Burger King I went to the big tent. It is not smart to go there on opening day. But since I was alone and only looked for LED bulbs, I was able to get what I wanted in a short time. It was very crowded.

I bought two bulbs and will buy some more next week after I install those two and see how they work.

The LED bulbs in the motorhome are getting old and some of them flicker.

I finally have the electricity problem for the TV and DVD fixed. A new line is in place and there will be no more chance to wear the insulation off the cable.

The radio works now good too, but the CDs do not eject now; I have to use a small knife to facilitate the ejection. 

The motorhome takes a beating while going over some of those rough roads. Today, I also had to fix the cornice over one of the bedroom windows. The screws had only a quarter inch to hold on to in the wall. The cornice was just hanging there. I opened up the holes for the screws and installed plastic anchors.

January 21, 2018.

Today, we did our annual visit to the Desert Bar. This was the last time I drove my own car on the dirt road to the bar.

It is in very bad condition now. One person ended up with a hole in the engine oil case. Oil was all over the road.

The bar is getting larger every year. They added more seating places.

The lower part has now a larger facility for preparing food.

Most of us went for the dancing.

The WINs are always staying in the upper part, near the dance floor.

January 22, 2018.

After my visit to the library I went to the big tent and bought twelve more LED bulbs. I replaced the flickering ones in the motorhome and now I have some spares.

My next stop was the Senior Center where I had lunch. They served a wonderful Mexican meal.

In the afternoon I walked across the highway where the Solos, a chapter of the Escapees Club, had their annual desert dance. A four-piece band provided the music.

Some of the Solos are also WINs. We know most of their group. On our side of the highway we have now over 150 rigs. I believe this is the largest gathering we had in Quartzsite.

In the evening we danced at the JR- RV- Resort. Where ever we go they have to get extra chairs. We filled up the place.

January 23, 2018.

Some of our kayakers headed for the Colorado River this morning.

In the evening we had our annual “Burn your own steak” at the “Somewhere in Arizona” bar in Bouse.

Bouse is a small village in the middle of no-where. It was started during World War II when General Patton trained his troops before going to Africa.

On the way to the bar I stopped at the county park outside of town, and visited Cindy and Butch. They were my neighbors at the Moose Lodge in Eureka. They are hosts in the park.

The bar owner handed us the raw steaks and we cooked it on the grills and then went inside and picked up a baked potato, corn on the cop, bun, salad and cake.

After dinner we danced to a two-piece band. It was a wonderful evening.

January 24, 2018.

This afternoon we had our Ice Cream Social. Members from all the singles clubs were invited. There was plenty of ice cream. Chocolate Mint, my favorite, was served too.

Former members visited us. It is always nice to see people, with who we had so many wonderful adventures.

In the evening I saw the International Space Station in the sky. It moved very fast.

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January 25, 2018.

I had a busy day. When I got up this morning the temperature in the motorhome was 41 degrees F.

The catalytic heater would not start. I looked at the refrigerator and the no gas light was on. I had to get dressed and go outside and turn off the empty five-gallon propane auxiliary tank and turn on the main tank.

Usually I turn on the heater and go back to bed. Since I was dressed already I stayed up.

At 7:45 AM I was at the Pit Stop and had the five-gallon propane tank filled. At 8:15 AM I was at the library and did my computer work.

From the library I drove to Parker and went to the Wells Fargo bank and got some cash. If I go to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, I probably have the large decals on the side of the motorhome removed and replaced with paint. I rather pay with cash; it is easier to negotiate a price in Mexico with cash.

About seventy of the group will go for a month to this town on the Sea of Cortez. While in Parker I also went to Walmart and stocked up on groceries. There is a Walmart in Puerto Penasco. They take American money and give back change in Pesos.

In the afternoon I went across the highway where the Low’s (Loners on Wheels) had their wine and cheese gathering.

There was music and we did some dancing.

January 26, 2018.

Today we had Open House. About ten WINs had their motorhomes and trailers open for inspection. Some handy people make changes inside their rigs. It is always interesting to see what other people have.

One of our members has a Prevost motorhome. It is 45 feet long, but has no slide-outs. It has a lot of windows and mirrors. Prevost builds buses and also motorhomes.

Just before we left for the Senior Center for dancing I took a picture of the sunset and people at the camp fire.

We danced at the Senior Center until 8:30 PM and then went to the Quartzsite Yacht Club and danced there until 10:15 PM. It was a very good day for me. My favorite dance partner had just arrived and we danced together a lot. Unfortunately, she leaves tomorrow morning for Yuma.

January 27, 2018.

Tomorrow is the last day of the RV Show, and our last day in Quartzsite. I was at the big tent today at 9:00 AM. There were not many visitors and I took my time covering all three isles. I also talked to vendors at the outside of the tent. All I wanted was information. I did not buy anything.

My next stop was McDonalds. Their WIFI is just as slow as Burger King. There are too many people using it. I drove to the library and sat outside and did my Email. The library is closed on the weekend.

Paul and Linda, the hosts at Puerto Penasco, left today for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to set up the time for buying Mexican Car Insurance. An insurance agent will come to the park.

Yesterday we had a meeting and Paul gave us some information about the place where we will be staying in Puerto Penasco, and he answered questions we had. From Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, we will be caravaning ten rigs at a time. About seventy people will be going.

In the evening we danced at the Q, the big exhibition hall. This was our last dance.

January 28, 2018.

After spending some time outside of the library, I went to the large shopping area on Kuehne Road. I went only to look but bought about $ 30.00 worth of stuff. Three leather belts for $ 10.00 was a bargain I could not resist. I also bought a big hat and some small items.

At 2:00 PM we finished the leftover ice cream and some apple pies and short cake with strawberries.

In the evening I sat at the campfire for a while.

The car is attached to the motorhome and I am ready to leave Quartzsite tomorrow morning.

January 29, 2018.

I left Quartzsite at 7:00 AM and arrived at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument at 11:00 AM. It was hot and I did not do much.

On the way I heard a noise on the passenger side of the motorhome. When I stopped at Gila Bend for gasoline I checked my trousers on the passenger seat. I thought the belt buckle hit the wall while driving over the rough road.

Then I checked the outside and noticed a broken 120 Volt, three wire cable hanging in the front, right side wheel well. I could not find the other end of the cable. I tight the cable down so it could not swing around.

When I arrived at the park I turned on the generator and checked the TV and CD player: both had power when on 120 volts.

The micro wave oven is working too. It is going to take a while to figure that one out.

At 4:30 PM I went over to Carolyn’s camp site where a small group of WINs had gathered.  
The sites in the campground are spacious and beautiful.

January 30, 2018.

I drove today 34 miles to Ajo, an old copper mining town. When the mine was open three thousand people had a job.

The town is the gateway to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and tourism supports the town now.

They have a wonderful Spanish style plaza.

The church is near the plaza.

On the way home I stopped in Why. I forgot to ask why they named the town Why.

An old car is a water fountain.

It was cloudy today and not so hot. Yesterday the temperature was 84 degrees F. It felt like it was more than that.

January 31, 2018.

Today, I attended two Patio Talks at the Visitor Center. The first talk was about Columnar Cactus, like Organ Pipe, Saguaro, and Senita Cactus.

The second talk was about termites, the deserts recycling crew. Termites are hated because they destroy houses. In the desert they have an important function. It is very dry in the desert and the decaying process is very slow. Nutrients are not getting back to the soil. Termites are chewing up wood, grasses and other materials. 

I also saw a film about the Sonora Desert.

Other members of the group went four wheeling, hiking and visiting Ajo.

Some of the group left already for Mexico, and new people arrived.

In the morning I spent some time filling up the fresh water tank. The faucets in the park have no threads to attach a water hose. I tried to use my water thief but there was not enough pressure to open up the flat water hose. The two twenty five foot and one ten foot regular hose were not long enough to get to the faucet.

I had to use a six gallon container and pump the water from there into the fresh water tank. I actually did only about four gallons at a time, since six gallons are pretty heavy to carry.

There is a dump station with water, but the way the park is laid out, one has to make the whole loop through the park to get back to the camp site. When leaving the park it is easy.
 

February 1, 2018.

After the Hugs and Mugs meeting I drove to Ajo to do some grocery shopping. I also went to the library do get my Email.

The Visitor Center has WIFI, but since I went to Ajo anyway, I took advantage of being able to use a desk and the mouse. 

In the afternoon I went to another patio Talk. This time the ranger talked about what plants in the desert humans used in the past. Native people used plants for shelter, food, medicine, tools and other uses.

At 7:00 PM I went to the outdoor amphitheater for a program on Desert Flora.

February 2, 2018.

This morning I did some house cleaning. At 11:00 AM I went to another Patio Talk. This time a ranger talked about birds.

Then I took a cold shower at the restroom. The sun did not shine much today and the water in the solar powered shower was cold. The other day the water temperature was perfect. I try not to fill the holding tanks before I leave.

At 7:00 PM I went to the amphitheater for a talk about stars. This time I was smart and wore a jacket. It cools off fast in the desert. Because I had the jacket with me it did not get that cold.

More than ten WINs left this morning for Mexico.

Today we had one of the most beautiful sunsets. Unfortunately, my camera does not capture the full spectrum of the colors.

 

February 3, 2018.

This morning, when I woke up it was 60 degrees F. in the motorhome. I needed the heater for only a short while.

The insurance people were supposed to come to the park at 10:00 AM. When by 11:00 AM nobody had shown up; Paul, the host for this outing, went across the border to find out what happened. The person who was there knew nothing about the arrangement. Paul came back and shuttled people to the insurance kiosk.

 I drove to the border, parked my car, and walked through the Mexican border station.

Coming back was easy too. It took longer for cars to get through the American border station. The agent looked at my passport, gave it back to me and said: “Dankeschoen”. I said: “Bitteschoen” and I was on my way. I never talk when I deal with border patrol agents. I only answer in yes or no. This agent had obviously looked at my place of birth.

I could have bought the Mexican automotive insurance in Lukeville, but it would have cost a lot more.

The whole thing was an unnecessary aggravation.

The weather was wonderful again.

Paul decided to have Happy Hour after the 4:00 PM Circle Meeting.

At 7:00 PM I went to the amphitheater for: “Cacti to the rescue”.   It was a wonderful slide show and talk about several kinds of cacti.

February 4, 2018.

This morning I went on the Ajo Mountain tour. Ranger Andrea and a driver took us on this twenty one  mile loop.

We saw a rare crescent organ pipe cactus. There is no explanation yet why this shape appears.

We also stopped at the Two Arches outlook.

It was a three hour tour. We stopped at four places and Ranger Andrea talked about the plants in the Sonora Desert and the geology of the mountains and desert.

The Sonora Desert is different than other deserts; it is a green desert. It rains during the summer and plants have adopted and conserve and store water.

When we came back to the campground we were informed that our cohost Linda is in the Phoenix hospital.

She had gone a couple days ago to Puerto Penasco to prepare for our stay at Concha del Mar Campground and RV Park.

She got sick and two of the women who were there too, took her to a doctor in town. He recommended that she should go to a hospital. The two women drove here to the border where an ambulance picked her up and drove her to Phoenix.