Quartzsite In The Rear View Mirror

We have moved from the desert of Quartzsite to the Palm Springs area. As usual "Q" was great fun. It was wonderful to see our old friends and to meet new people. The unusual part was the rain. I would never have thought that we would have a rain gauge in the middle of our RV Roundup. But we did and it was full one morning. I did take many pictures of the desert puddles and of our trips into the green hills for some rock hunting and gold mining, but alas, the reception is poor where we currently are staying and I cannot load them. So, you will need to use your imagination.

Since we are now traveling with our northern MN friends, you can also stay in touch through her site:
www.upnorthgetaway.blogspot.com

Mike will be on his own for a few days; I am flying to MN to see family - leaving 70 degrees and going to 20 (if lucky) - gosh, I am not too smart, am I. I am sure that pictures of snow and family will be posted next week.

A View of Quartzsite 2010

Who knew that Bobbi and David would take so readily to the mecca called Quartzsite. With cart in tow, they were ready to battle for bargains.

They won't have to battle too many, as attendance seems to be down a bit this year; I think the threat of bad weather and struggling economy may be keeping some people away.

It wasn't long before David got into the swing of things and had to buy some bits for drilling rock and then of course, some rocks. These should make nice buttons...

Throughout the day, the wind was pretty strong - the only outdoor vendor that really benefited was the fellow who sold flags.

Now here is a vendor with a "one of a kind" product everyone had to stop and look at.

Tradition dictates that new purchases be presented for show and tell at the end of the day - no one could top the new wheels that Dan bought for Sue.

It was cool and still a bit windy, but we did manage to have John's beef stew and Barbara's wonderful desserts outside by the fire. This was the view from our front window.

And then, this morning we had this view from our front window.

This is the first time it has rained here since we have been coming - someone actually put a rain gauge in the courtyard... It is hard, right now, to believe we are in the desert - it looks like Texas!

Just heard there is a tornado warning in effect for our area - now this is bizarre! I will keep you posted.

From Tucson to Quartzsite via The Center of the World...

Since my last entry, we have put on a few miles and had a few adventures. Our friends, Bobbi and David, are now traveling with us; they joined us in Tucson. It is so nice to have another photographer along - now Mike can wait for two of us to focus and shoot...

We enjoyed dinner with Bonnie and Barry one evening at Catalina State Park.

and we got out of the house before 8 and saw the sunrise. Since they arrived, we have seen the sunrise several times... I hope a trend isn't starting...

Just outside of Tucson, on our way to Yuma on Highway 10, David gave us a call and said he needed to pull over. Of course, we were in a construction zone, but we did manage to find an old truckstop ... and three hours later, their trailer had a new wheel bearing and we were once again on the road. Mike has definitely gotten his money's worth from those coveralls!

Once we got to Yuma, we settled into our campground while the Cougar wandered around the countryside, eventually settling about 10 miles from us - tough time of the year to be without reservations. The next day we went to Mexico for meds and booze - the bare essentials! (I actually said that to the customs agent at the border and I got a smile out of him.) And another day, we did the flea market and fruit stands - there are some things that just have to be done when in Yuma.

Then on Saturday, we went on a "tag along" (a bunch of people in Jeeps from our park) to this eating place in the desert. After about 25 miles of dirt roads, we find the spot...

and some spot it was. I enjoyed the sign telling the hours - made perfect sense to me.

They did have very good chilli french fries and lots of dollar bills... in fact there were dollar bills stapled to every available spot inside and outside - it was then I realized the reason for the heavy duty fence.

And they have a variety of signs - this one captured the guys's attention.

When we left, we found a paved road just three miles away... ah, but the journey going in added to the mystic or something like that. On our way back to the main road, we enjoyed watching the antics of young and old on the sand dunes. And then it was time to visit The Official Center of the World. I have reported on this unique spot named Felicity, California in years past. This year we actually paid our $3 each, saw the video blip and then entered the pyrimid and had our official visit witnessed. Yes, we each have certificates proving that we were at the Center of the World. This is the spot.

And here Bobbi is standing on the spot while making her wish... There are more granite tablets now as the history of the world is slowing being recorded by artisans.

I really don't know why I keep visiting this place; it is bizarre. For example, one section in the history of the world talks about the importance of bread in all cutures. OK, I get that. But it is immediately followed by "And Cheese" - a section that talks about the different kinds of cheeses. I am not sure who, I suppose the Frenchman who originally thought of this place, decides what is included, but they definitely have a sense of humor.

Anyway, we have now moved 75 miles north of Yuma and are drycamping in the desert for a week. This is our opportunity to meet up with friends we only see once a year and drink too much, talk smart, eat too much, and find unbelievable crap to buy. (This year, it has rained in the desert, something I have never seen before.) After day two I can report that all of the above list has been satisfied. I can't wait till tomorrow to start over and do it all again!

This and That

It seems like we have really been busy lately; we may not have accomplished a lot, but we have been busy.

We have been reading real estate ads online and in the paper... and we have been checking out houses. NO, we are not ready to "settle down" and come off the road, but with low interest rates and lots of houses on the market and monetary incentives - well, we decided it might not be a bad idea to look. And since we really do love Arizona mountains, what better place to look than in Tucson area and south.

This one has a nice view but may need more work than we want to put into it. (This is really the remains of a silver mine town just outside of Sierra Vista.)

We thought it might be nice to be in a well established community. But, this one might be a little too well established. Besides we don't have our "conceal and carry" permits so we may not fit in. Bisbee is a nice old town; maybe that would be a good place to look for a house. If you look closely at this picture, you can see Barry's "white knuckles" as he navigates the side streets in this 1800's copper mining town. (This was a two lane street!) And this house is already a museum, so I guess we will have to look somewhere else.

While in Bisbee, we enjoyed lunch at the old Copper Mine Hotel.

Now that hotel would convert to a very nice home, great views of the surrounding mountains. OK, back to reality. We had to take a break from serious house hunting so we took to the golf course. Mike was able to do 18 holes with minimal pain - it was a very good day!

Turquoise Hills Golf Course in Benson, AZ is a beautiful Par 3 course. You play up and down the hills and over ponds. This pond just about did in Mike - at least the sign did. We did loose a couple of balls and we did not try to retrieve them.
It was a wonderful way to spend a sunny Arizona day.

Now we have moved to Catalina State Park in Tucson and we spent yesterday looking at a few places. In fact we met with a real estate agent today. It proved to be a great fact finding mission. I don't think we will be doing anything real soon... but, you never know.

If we could find a place for, let's say under a $100,000, with this view - maybe.

It sure is nice to be Mobile!

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Cactus Country

This celebrating prickly pear cactus was spotted in Saguaro National Park near Tucson. (OK, so I added the adornments... but he looks kind of cute don't you think?) And we do want to wish each and every one of you a wonderful new year. I am sure we all hope that 2010 will be less "prickly" than 2009.

On two separate days, we visited Saguaro National Park East and West. This must be the only national park that has two totally separate locations. When we drove to the eastern side of Tucson, we were greeted with some great old cactus. It is hard not to admire, and photograph, these stately cactus with such graceful arms - no two are ever alike.

Consider that is me next to this brut and you get some idea of how very big this cactus is. Remember it takes about 75 years before they get their first "arm" and that the average saguaro lives to be 200 years old. I'd say this one must be nearly that and still growing straight and strong with new growth starting on several of the arms.

In addition to the grand and glorious, we saw some of the birds that use these cacti as homes. It is hard to believe, but many different animals burrow and peck their way into this cactus and use the cool interior as their home. The hawk makes a nest where the arm attaches to the body of the plant. But we see them perched atop the tallest one around.

I don't know how the woodpecker avoids the needle like super sharp thorns when making a hole in the body of the cactus.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the eastern park, until we visited the western park - by far the best one in my opinion. We took the time to hike three different trails and found the most unusual cactus we have ever seen. Mike didn't really need the binoculars he is carrying as most of the views were up close. Seems almost like this one was reaching out to give us a hug.

And there really isn't anything to say about his one, but wow! But there is a funny story. It seemed like this would be a great place to have our picture taken together so I asked a fellow who was hiking behind us. What I got was a closeup picture of MY right boob - he was evidently the wrong boob to ask! So here's another one of Mike.

The overall scenery was beautiful and we couldn't have asked for a better day. The sun was shining bright and it hit 70.

In Minnesota, my mom was celebrating her 91st birthday and many of the the family gathered to honor her and enjoy the day and each other. We found our visit to the park a good distraction as this is one time, we really would have liked to have been in Minnesota...

The western side of the park overlooks a vast valley and a short walk took us up to a spectacular view.

It was a good day and a beautiful park. (And thanks to modern technology, I got a cell phone picture of mom, with her birthday cake, while we were walking around - made us feel closer.)