Friday, January 30, 2015

12 HOURS OF STEADY RAIN HAVE LEFT US IN A RATHER SOGGY STATE OF AFFAIRS HERE IN THE DESERT

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Looking out our door first thing this morning I said to Kelly, ‘Well we might just as well just stay in our jammies all day’.  Rain had began Thursday evening & continued through the night.  We had a small stream running through our back yard right up till about noon when the rains finally stopped.  By evening I was heartened to see some clearing on the western horizon.  Hill tops & mountains around Congress & to the east were still cloaked in fog though.

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ABOUT 7:30 THIS MORNING IN OUR BACK YARD

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Pheebs wouldn’t even go off the porch.  Lights were on in our neighbor’s work shop so figured he was probably in there hastily building himself a boat.  Still a bit dark out when the rains let up enough for me to zip outside for a few water pics.  Had to be quick because water on the ground here in the desert does not pool for long & drains away quickly.

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Thought Marianne from frugal-rv-travel. com had a good over-all assessment regarding the phenomena of Quartzsite Arizona.  Aside from all the razzle-dazzle we normally associate with the Q every January there is probably an even bigger reason for RV’ers making their annual pilgrimage to the small dusty desert town out there in the middle of just about anywhere.  I think Marianne got it right.

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Do you ever find the hardest part of doing anything sometimes is just making up your mind to do it?  I’m kind of like that when it comes to attending any social gatherings or going anywhere I’m really not fond of going.  If I’m asked to go somewhere or do something my first inclination is to say no.  Right away my mind comes up with about 3 good reasons & a 176 in-excusable excuses not to do something or go somewhere.  Happens to me all the time & that side of me usually has it’s way.  But occasionally another part of my personality comes through, kicks my butt out the door & sends me on my way to do something I’m not really wanting to do.  Blogger-Fest 2015 in Quartzsite was a good example of that & it was a good example of what quite often happens when the ‘yes’ side prevails over the ‘no’ side.  Right up until Saturday morning a week ago my yes & no sides were tussling back & forth with my yes side finally winning out & off we went.  And as sometimes happens I really enjoyed my time at Blogger-Fest meeting everyone.  Any monstrous fears I had conjured up before hand quickly dissipated shortly after arriving & despite my usual feelings of nervousness I found myself even speaking up when it was our turn in the group to say who we were.  I had previously said to Kelly, when that speaking up time comes around ‘you’ can do that!!   When I heard our number called my hand shot up & my mouth took off.  Luckily I didn’t embarrass myself with a lot of blabbering.  Believe it or not I have been known to do that on occasion.  Heading back to Congress later that day we both had the same thought & came to the same conclusion, we were both glad we went.  It’s like my very own tag line says at the bottom my posts……….’It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something’.

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THIS STREAM THROUGH OUR YARD WAS ACTUALLY FLOWING

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RAINY DAYS ARE GOOD FOR FINDING LOW SPOTS ON ONE’S PROPERTY

In my January 23rd post I had this thought:  “I sometimes wonder about fellow RV’ers traveling solo & I often wonder what their true thoughts are & how they really feel about that”.   Judy over at Travels With Emma talks about that a bit in her post Some Thoughts About Traveling Solo, And Other Wonderings‘Be sure’ to read all the great comments to Judy’s post & see how a number of other RVing folks feel about that as well.  Some humorous & some very heartfelt.DSC_0005

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WE HAVE OUR VERY OWN TEMPORARY BACKYARD SWAMP RIGHT NOW & IT’S NOT OFTEN YOU SEE  DESERT CACTUS STANDING IN WATER

Here’s a good article entitled, The Power Of Positive Purging Your Stuff.  This will be of particular interest to folks planning on selling their house & dealing with all their stuff before setting off down the road on a full time RV adventure.

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Well it took me awhile but between Google Earth, my California Bench Mark Atlas, the Mojave National Preserve website, & Sue Malone’s post Boondocking Sites & Camping In Mojave National Preserve I finally managed to get an idea of the layout at the Preserve.  Ten day weather forecast for that area has temperature coming up into the 70’s next week with low 80’s by a week from Sunday.  All sunny days of course.  Monitoring the Preserve areas weather I have noticed it mirrors our Congress weather.  Congress likewise is headed for 70 & 80 degree temps by the end of next week. 

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WATER IS RUNNING THROUGH OUR BACK YARD FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Two husbands were discussing their married lives. Although happily married, they admitted that there were arguments sometimes. Then the first man said, "I've made one great discovery. I now know how to always have the last word."  "Wow!" said the second, "how did you manage that?"  "It's easy," he replied. "My last word is always 'Yes, Dear.' "

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- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

15 comments:

  1. My friend in Phoenix says that in Arizona, "flooding" is defined as when there is water in the rivers.

    Years ago a bunch of us spent a month teaching at Fort Huachuca and we almost got swept down a river when I unwisely decided to drive through a flooded part of a road. The lesson that I took from that adventure is that the desert is not so much created by a lack of rain, as by the inability of the soil to absorb water.

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    1. So true. As a native desert dweller now relocated, I've seen my share of flashfloods from rain falling in the higher elevations, running down to the desert. Combine that water with local rain, ergo...flashfloods. A good reminder for boondockers not to camp too close or IN the dry wash during and after rainstorms.

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  2. I have a lake outside my door and would expect water runs in the wash but I didn't feel like wading to find out. Sometimes moving outside our comfort zone turns out better than OK.

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  3. I think you could grow a good crop of salamanders in your back yard about now haha! Bet you will have some nice spring blooms in the desert as a result of the rainfall.

    I understand completely about that tug of war in social situations. I am a homebody and have a bit of social anxiety disorder, but when I make the effort to get out and do something, I usually have a great time. I will never be a social butterfly, but I do enjoy meeting people and visiting from time to time. I think I would have enjoyed Blogger-Fest...just hanging out for no other reason than to enjoy the company. I know my spirits are lifted and I have a more positive outlook when I make the effort to do something fun.

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  4. Yikes! That's a lot of water! We were just west of Yuma, and only had a few drops overnight.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  5. Wow! look at all that water. Did it enter you mind at all to start building a boat.................

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  6. I can so relate to the social thing...I usually say "yes" and then immediately have an upset stomach about it, but then 9 of 10 times it all turns out great in the end.

    I'm guessing the desert is happy with all the rain...

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  7. That rain will freshen things up and you will have some major new growth, beautiful in the desert.
    Sometimes we do things that we don't want to do but end up enjoying them after all, we have done that quite a few times.

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  8. All the rain we got in the Phoenix area kind of reminded me of the Pacific NW in February!

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  9. I was more social when I was younger. Now I enjoy getting together with one or two couples more than groups.

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  10. Rain stopped early yesterday in Kofa. Turned out to be a nice day. Some nice boondocking sites on South side of Kelso Dunes rd.

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  11. All that water is such a two-edged sword - one side being all the plants inside your designated planters getting lots of moisture and growing green and lush - the other side being all the grasses and weeds lying dormant in the rest of your property getting lots of moisture and growing green and lush....I used to think I could hear the ground sucking up all that standing water because it is gone so fast! I have an event to attend with friends tonight that right now I'm wishing I could cancel. Tomorrow I will be going on about what a great time I had - every time!

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  12. We've had just enough rain that the Desert Lilies are popping out of the sand. The air is sweet and moist. I simply can't do large gatherings. Think I'd have a panic attack. We still have a small indentation from the hole that Pheebs dug, to remind us of your visit!

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  13. Waterfront property!! Hopefully you won't see it again anytime in the near future. Glad you were happy with your decision to go the Bloogerfest. Life is all about change, even if only in tiny degrees.

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  14. Could there be a John Deere in your future? ;)

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