SUNRISE AT OUR HOUSE THIS MORNING
SUNRISE THROUGH A WINDOW FROM OUR KITCHEN TABLE
Checking today’s weather we noticed Congress’s cold below average temperatures are finally on the rise & expected to be in the low 70’s by Tuesday. A predicted sixty two degrees today was good enough for us so we made the decision early this morning to pull up stakes & head ourselves back to Congress. We have company coming in a couple weeks & Kelly wanted enough time to relax & prepare for that.
WE SAID GOODBYE TO OGILBY ROAD THIS MORNING
SAID GOODBYE TO SKIP & JEAN TOO AS WELL AS THIS OLD RETIRED BUS JUST EAST OF US
Jean & Skip were camped just a few hundred yards from us so we stopped to say good-bye. Didn’t get over to see our new TDHOMESTEAD friends while here on Ogilbe road but I’m sure we’ll meet these good people again somewhere. Rather than roll through Yuma we just hung a right on Ogilbe Road & headed ourselves north on an old familiar route. Could have slipped south & picked up I-8 through Yuma then north on 95 to Quartzsite but it was a nice quiet sunny Sunday morning & I just preferred a slower paced relaxing drive through the desert taking in all the picturesque mountain scenery along the way. Lots of curves & gullies on this road so it’s more funner to drive:))
Found us a great spot in Blyth to dump our tanks. Nice clean facility all paved & cemented with 3 dumping bays. No potable water here for filling tanks though & there is an honor box asking for $7 a dump. It’s the Blyth Transfer Station at 4000 South Broadway on the west side. If nobody’s there it can be a little hard to see but it’s close to the road. Open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. seven days a week. Kelly found this location by using the site SANIDUMPS.
NICE CLEAN & LEVEL DUMP FACILITY HERE AT THE BLYTH TRANSFER STATION
Just a short hop, skip, & jump to Quartzsite. A little surprised there were not more RV’s around the Dome Rock area. Off I-10 & headed for McDonald’s & yes, a big difference in Quartzsite traffic from just a couple weeks ago. It’s revving up with more traffic & people wandering about willy-nilly everywhere. We were lucky to find a parking spot between McDonald’s & the Pilot gas station. Gas line-ups were so long we had to cut around behind the gas station through the diesel pumps when we left. But it was while at McDonalds I noticed something missing on the rig:((
IN ANOTHER COUPLE WEEKS TRAFFIC WILL BE BUMPER TO BUMPER HERE WITH SKADS OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE
While Kelly’s inside getting us some Yummy wraps & coffee I always take Pheebs for a walk around behind McDonalds. Heading back to the rig I noticed our water heater door panel was totally missing. Gone, vamoosed!! We have no idea how, why, or where it flew off. Somewhere between our boondocking spot on Ogilbe Road & McDonald’s in Quartzsite I guess. Of course I assumed the worse & figured we’d have a real deuce of time ever finding the right door panel to fit a 2003 Triple E Commander. However Kelly was on the phone right away to Quartzsite’s RV Lifestyles Sales & Service. Lady on the other end of the phone just needed our water heaters name & size. With that info she checked & sure enough they had a door panel to fit. Well fancy that I thought to myself but then figured most RV water heater panels would probably be a standard size anyway. We were only a few blocks from the RV place & minutes later we were in their parking lot & minutes after that we had a brand spanking new water heater panel on our coach. We were told it’s not uncommon for people to lose these things. It’s white of course & doesn’t match our coaches color or a brown detail stripe running through there but that’s Okay for now, at least it fits & covers up our water heater. But what a stroke of luck to notice the panel missing in the first place & then having an RV facility only a few blocks away with one in stock. Some days ya just can’t lose for winning. A classic bad news/good news story.
While at RV Lifestyles we did have us a wee look around at a few things comparing prices. For example a 50 amp step down to 30 amp plug device was $15 cheaper at RV Lifestyles than it was at Yuma’s Arizona Market Place & we noticed a same-same shower head was also cheaper by $4. Pays to shop around for sure.
MISSING PANEL & IT’S REPLACEMENT
INSIDE RV LIFESTYLES SALES & SERVICE
Line ups at all the gas stations but we managed to slip into the newer Chevron station just off I-10 at Quartzsite’s east end. Like this place. Neat & clean with an attendant walking around with a broom & scoop picking up litter. This station is also a Food Mart although we’ve never been inside.
LINE UP AT ALL THE GAS STATIONS WE SAW TODAY & THIS IS WHERE WE LIKE TO GAS UP NOW IN QUARTZSITE
Back on I-10 heading east & 15 minutes later we are already exiting the Interstate onto our quiet desert highway heading for Congress. Just a nice easy relaxing drive all the way back just enjoying the never ending & never tiring scenery all the way.
BYE BYE I-10 SEE YA NEXT TIME
It was just a few minutes after 2 Arizona time when we pulled into our front yard through our south gate. Everything looked just as we had left it & I was relieved to see no waterline breaks with our 2 outside taps after the areas chilling cold temperatures a few days ago. Everything was A-OK in the house as well except the place felt like an ice box. Always nice to reach one’s destination each day & when it’s coming home from one of our southwestern trips it’s always extra special nice. I was impressed with how neat our yard looked now that I’ve been able to cut in some nice flowerbeds. Just makes the place look so much neater:))
Although we were both tired we just got right to work emptying the rig & getting things organized. Satellite dish set up back in place, bird feeders up in the trees, hitch off the Jeep, all food into the house, etc. etc. It was about 3 hours before I finally got into my long endless hot water supply shower. When showering in the rig while boondocking with a limited tank of water one has get the job done very fast to conserve that water. Ya have to kinda get yourself really speeded up like a Charlie Chaplin movie.
Looking back on our nearly 2 weeks away we have to put the stamp of success on the trip. No problems with the rig other than loosing a panel today. Weather could have been warmer but it was what it was & we did Okay. Happy with the places we went & the things we saw. And I feel a little better inside for having made the conscious effort to get out & meet a few folks for a change. Not our normal way of doing things anymore but we did enjoy our time with the folks we did meet. Didn’t quite get around to see all the people I had hoped but the winter isn’t over yet:))
KELLY OPENS THE GATE & IT’S NICE TO BE BACK AT OUR ARIZONA HOME BASE AGAIN
GROANER’S CORNER:(( In my day, we couldn't afford shoes, so we went barefoot. In the winter we had to wrap our feet with barbed wire for traction.
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I think I have found the secret to inner peace.
I read an article that said the way to achieve inner peace is to finish things I had started. Today I finished two bags of potato chips, a chocolate pie, a bottle of wine and a small box of candy. I feel better already.
Welcome home, again. I liked that RV Lifestyles even if they didn't have the part I was looking for. You really lucked out. Thinking of moving to Ogilbe Rd later this week. Nicer here now that the temps have increased.
ReplyDeletewelcome back home! glad you landed safely and the trip was a success...one lost part..not bad..
ReplyDeletenow you can sit back and relax and let the Q people do their thing before you venture out again!
Welcome home! So glad you made it out this way. We are expecting warmer temps the next few days, thankfully! You were sure in the right place when you noticed that missing panel.
ReplyDeleteAs long as you didn't lose Pheebs, it's all good!! Loved those sunrise photos through the blinds and window.
ReplyDeleteGlad all worked out OK. I thought you had forgot your Jeep as I read the story. You have become quite the social butterfly in the new RV.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good getaway, you had. But just loosing the panel was not a bad deal after all.
ReplyDeleteThe Q is ramping up getting ready for the crowds.
We tried to fuel up at the Chevron but the lineup was almost back to the lights, so whipped into Arco further down, no lineup and 2 cents a gallon cheaper. Just had to prepay inside
The Q comes through again. Welcome home.
ReplyDeleteNice to have a home base, but when and where are you heading out for again? Soon I hope. We plan on spending more time in the West next winter.
ReplyDeleteWow, you get things done, welcome home!
ReplyDeleteSerendipity strikes again! Having a Kelly-can-find-it with you at all times is your best asset :-) The place looks so different than that first introduction when you made the offer - like someone who loves it lives there. Welcome home. I suspect the socializing may continue with the whole crew back at North Ranch now :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad, too, that you guys had a nice break and are home safe & sound (except for losing that door cover). We are going to have temps up to 77 degrees, maybe even 80 here mid-week! :-)
ReplyDeleteCheryl Ann
If you are going to lose a part of the rig, you were at least in the right place to get a new one:)
ReplyDeleteToo bad you lost that piece but lucky to have got a new one so easily. We used that place in Q just a few years ago when our kitchen fantastic fan died. They just happened to have one in stock and were able to install it for us. Great service.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago my Wife and I were on a trip to the LDMA Property in Stanton, AZ. We had a problem with a propane leak while we were staying in Quartzsite, We called RV Lifestyles, they told us to come right in. The shop manager took three of his employees and put them on our rig to find the leak. Seemed like they were working on our RV for a couple of hours. They only charged us 1 hour. fixed the leak. (a handle on the stove) they also installed us a new sewer vent cap. I would recommend these folks above most dealers. I would go out of my way to go there for repairs.. http://www.azrvlifestyles.com/
ReplyDeleteAl & Kelly, I think we might have just seen your rig over there on Ogilbe Rd. when we passed by last Saturday. Can't swear to it but we did think of you two when we passed. Sounds like you had a really good time boondocking the past few weeks. RV Lifestyles reads like a great place to count on for many good reasons. Good to have those resources to add to the 'file' Thanks. I may have been able to use them for wheels today!!! Take care.
ReplyDeleteAlways something...