THE GREENING OF THE SONORAN DESERT

TUESDAY JANUARY 29/08
We just kept walking & walking & walking. It was such a beautiful morning & the desert just seemed to become greener with every step. The recent rains have really made a difference to the plant life. Little plants are springing up out of the desert floor, ocotillos are sprouting emerald green leaves, the creosote shrubs are filling in & the mesquite trees are taking on a fresh hue of green. Woodpeckers flitted between the Saguaros & I even saw a jack-a-lope springing along under a copse of green trunked Palo Verde trees. We hiked over to a rocky ridge & clambered up along a stony burrow path to a place on the other side we call, Saguaro Valley. It's my favorite place here at Hickiwan Trails.http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy You can sit atop the rocks & see for miles around. The majestic & mighty Ajo mountain range lies on the distant horizon to the south as the desert floor spreads out to the west. A very special place & I hope to return here many times before we leave.

The rest of the day was spent in much the same way as yesterday. I helped Ray with the computer setting up a third email account, adding the Picasa Photo program, continuing with Microsoft updates, removing unnecessary data, etc. etc. Kelly did a bunch of cleaning plus doing some research on the computer. We were also able to help a lady with a connection problem on her laptop. Always feels good to be able to help with things like that.

Took a bicycle ride out into the desert in the late afternoon. What a perfect place for a bicycle. Easy to ride on the desert floor & it's fun weaving around the Saguaros, dodging the creosote bushes, scrambling over the creek beds, & just racing around like a crazy kid again. To-morrow I will take my camera with me:))

Someone mentioned awhile back about the a desert being all sand. I always thought of a desert as being endless miles of big sand dunes as well. I think we've all seen, Lawrence of Arabia & to many of us, that is what a desert is. However, that is only one kind of a desert & here in Southern Arizona & southeast California is another kind of desert. Also in California is the Mojave desert as well. I once heard a park ranger describe the Sonoran desert as the tropical desert. I've included a link plus a brief description of the Sonoran......................................





The Sonoran Desert is an arid region covering 120,000 square miles in southwestern Arizon and southeastern California, as well as most of Baja California and the western half of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Subdivisions of this hot, dry region include the Colorado and Yuma deserts. Irrigation has produced many fertile agricultural areas, including the Coachella and Imperial valleys of California. Warm winters attract tourists to Sonora Desert resorts in Palm Springs, California, and Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona.
This is the hottest of our North American deserts, but a distinctly bimodal rainfall pattern produces a high biological diversity. Winter storms from the Pacific nourish many West Coast annuals such as poppies and lupines, while well-developed summer monsoons host both annuals and woody plants originating from the south. Freezing conditions can be expected for a few nights in winter.
Sonora Desert is rich in animal life as well, with many species in all groups derived from tropical and subtropical regions.
The western part of the Sonora Desert (sometimes called the "Colorado Desert") is closer to the source of Pacific storms and is noted for spectacular spring flowering of ephemerals when there is winter-spring rainfall. (This phenomenon is not limited to here.) However, the western portion is relatively depauperate, lacking many of the species such as the Saguaro that depend on good summer rainfall.

A STORMY NIGHT & A SUNNY DAY

MONDAY JANUARY 28/08
It was another one of those nights spent at the mercy of our old arch night time enemy, the wind!! Once again, the wind tried it's best to rip the paint off the motorhome & blow us all the way across the desert floor, up & over the mountains & into the Pacific ocean. And this time the wind brought along it's number one pal......rain!! And it rained most of the night leaving large puddles near the motorhome. But luckily the morning dawned clear & bright with the big Arizona sun bursting over the mountains to the east & flooding the Saguaro valleys with brilliant & warming sunshine. The up side of all the rain though is that it may spur the desert flowers to bloom in a couple days. We noticed this morning on our daily desert walk how green the far hills are becoming. There is greenery on the desert floor & some spots remind me of spring back home in Ontario with grass & green broad-leafed plants springing up. The creosote bushes are filling in as well. There is also a pleasant smell in the air after a desert rain & it was so nice walking this morning, seeing everything looking so fresh. Cloud banks sitting on the surrounding mountain tops & small birds in the air. We are one very fortunate Bayfield Bunch:))

The rest of our day was spent mainly helping Ray getting the campground's computer up & running. Kelly & I alternated back & forth, each working on different areas of problems. We're making headway but we've got a way to go before we have that computer to the point where we can start working on a simple website for him. In the meantime, Ray was good enough to give us a free RV site for as long as it takes to get things up & running.

We're hoping to get over into the Ajo mountain range near Organ Pipe Cactus National Park in a few days for some good old photographic hiking again. Seems like it's been awhile since we've been out climbing & clambering over rocky mountain trails so it's about time we strap on the hiking boots & get at it. Can hardly wait, it's what we like to do best:)))))))

NO PHOTOS UPLOADED TO THE WEB ALBUM TO-DAY....... I WILL PUT TO-DAY'S PHOTOS IN TUESDAY'S WEB ALBUM.

A WINDY, RAINY, DAY AT HICKIWAN TRAILS

SUNDAY JANUARY 27/08
Sometimes rainy days are just fine. And so it was to-day as we busied ourselves around the coach fixing up little things here, cleaning there, & moving furniture around trying different settings, etc. Put the second coat of paint on the wall & am now thinking about painting the rest of the slide interior in that adobe (flower pot) color as well. We are relieved that things are beginning to take shape & we are happy with our decisions so far:))

Walked over to Ray's this morning & started working on his computer. Gonna be a lot of work. It's a pre-used computer (XP) but has a lot of games left in it plus a lot of other unnecessary clutter. Had to start by un-installing a lot of old stuff like Norton 2003, old photo programs, & just basically a whole lot of junk, etc. Kelly went over this afternoon & continued with the clean up, made a lot of progress & we're finally making some headway on getting this computer workable for him.

Our satellite/TV system is down to-day & I figure it's because of the heavy rain infested cloud cover. The satellite signal just isn't able to penetrate through the heavy clouds. This happened to us once before at Cottonwood when we had some inclement weather for a few days. We might have to drive the laptop down the road to a campground called Coyote Howls & park out on the road to pick up their WiFi signal just like we had to do last year. We'll keep an eye on the sky in the meantime but I think this storm front is due to hang around for a few days. Upside is.....I'm sure it will help to green up the already greening desert. It's even greener than when we were here about 6 weeks ago so we're really looking forward to some great desert hikes this coming week. Just sooooo great be back in the land of the Saguraros:)))))))

I PUT TO-DAY'S (SUNDAY) PICTURES INTO SATURDAYS WEB ALBUM.....PHOTOS OF INTERIOR:))
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy
IF PICS ARE NOT THERE YET IT JUST MEANS I AM UPLOADING THEM RIGHT NOW:))

Mon. a.m. Big winds blew the clouds out last night, re-aligned satellite dish & we are up & running.

HICKIWAN TRAILS......OUR FAVORITE PLACE:))

SATURDAY JANUARY 26/08
As nice & neat as the Buena Tierra RV campground is, there is one annoying problem. Noise!! The campground is located in the V of Interstates 8 & 10. But that's not what kept waking me up about every 40 minutes these past few nights. It was the trains!! There is a main line railroad running about a quarter mile north of the campground & there seems to be a never ending stream of thundering freight trains stampeding through there 24 hours a day & they have to blow their whistles everytime when approaching the road leading into the campground. This is definitely not conducive to a good night's sleep!!

Turned out to be a busy morning. Regardless of whether our Ikea mattress was going to arrive at the Tempe/Phoenix store or not we had decided not to spend another night in the campground so I began packing things up. At 10 Kelly phoned the Ikea store & they said yes, the shipment had come in this morning, so that meant Kelly had to head north to Phoenix with the car while I continued packing up the motorhome for a noon departure out of the campground. Somewhere in the mix I found time to actually put a first coat of paint on a small wall in the motorhome too. (it's supposed to look like adobe)http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy Because Kelly needed room in the car for the mattress we had to take a bunch of stuff out & I had to find room in the motorhome to put everything. Satellite dish equipment, lawn chairs, tables, etc. By the time I had everything loaded in there was standing room only. Even the doggy guys had trouble finding enough room to lie down. I headed out about 12:20, dumped the tanks & headed the short distance to a retail mall where we had agreed to meet if Kelly wasn't back from Phoenix by the time I had to leave the campground. Luckily there was a Wendy's in the parking lot so I was able to slip in & Wendyize myself with a burg & fries.

Kelly rolled in about an hour later so we didn't bother hooking on the car & just headed off in a southwest direction looking for Why, Arizona. Wasn't exactly sure of the right road but I had a reasonably good idea of which way to go. Hey, I've got 3 compasses don't you know. Nice paved road, no traffic, beautiful cloud patterns, majestic mountains, thousands of stately Saguaro cactus & a greening desert floor. No wonder this is one of our all time favorite southwest areas. It's about a hundred miles from Casa Grande to Why, Arizona & we made it to the Hickiwan Trails campground around 4 in the afternoon. Coming to Hickiwan is like coming to our second home & I always feel good to see the familiar Ajo mountain tops rising slowly out of the distant desert floor.

We know the fellow who looks after the RV park & it was good to see Ray again. We're going to help him get a computer set up & running & maybe try to put to-gether some kind of website for him. I'll take some nice photos around the park to put on the site too. We've got a nice quiet site so will stay here for a few days until we get Ray up & running & then we'll head back out to the desert & boondock about 2 short miles from here.

Looking pretty cloudy out at the moment & we may be in for some rain to-morrow but that's ok because it would be a good day to spend inside doing computer stuff. We've also got a lot of re-organizing to do in the coach too, plus some more painting. It sure will be nice once we get over this big upside down renovation process & I think it will be the doggy guys who will be the happiest of all:))))) They sure have been brave little soldiers with all the confusion going on.

Note to our neighbors at Buena Tierra........ Nice to have met you folks & sorry we didn't have more time to socialize a bit. We didn't even get your name:(( Safe trip back to Michigan regarding the house deal:)) Take care.

A QUIET DAY IN CASA GRANDE, AZ.

FRIDAY JANUARY 25/08
Another beautiful weather day here in sunny Casa Grande, Arizona. Mid 70's temps with a light breeze. We tackled our last piece of Ikea furniture this morning & before we knew it, we had it assembled. Most unusual!! I guess the sweet young optimist won out over the old pessimist once again.

Our renovations are almost complete & we have pretty much accomplished what we set out to do, which was to simply make things more comfortable for two adults & three dogs. We'll never win any awards for decor design but our 2 poang chairs & dual purpose chair/bed are practical & comfortable. The way it was before looked very nice & was fine for people maybe doing shorter trips & spending limited time inside their motorhome, but when your living in your rig for 5+ months at a time, comfort & practability become prime concerns. Add 3 dogs to the mix, & it's soon apparent changes have to be made. And making those changes in a medium sized motorhome is no easy feat, so as we go along we'll continue making changes, moving this here, moving that there, adding this, & eliminating that. Will we ever have the perfect set-up.....probably not, but we sure have managed to stress each other out a few times over it all & we've even managed to have a bit of fun along the way too:))

Aside from a grocery trip to Wal-Mart & a bunch of furniture puttering this afternoon, it turned out to be a very quiet & uneventful day. With a bit of luck we might just roll out of here to-morrow. Ikea didn't have the mattress part of our chair/bed & we are waiting to hear from them if it will be shipped to their Phoenix store to-morrow. If not, we will leave the RV park & probably head for Hickiwan Trails. We'll just have to drive back up to the Ikea store whenever they get the mattress in................. But that's OK Ikea, we still love ya!!

NO PHOTOS UPLOADED TO THE WEB ALBUM TO-DAY

THE IKEA STORE...."WOW & DOUBLE WOW"

THURSDAY JANUARY 24/08
Well, what a totally pleasant experience that Ikea store was this morning. And getting there was an even better experience. The traffic on I-10 to the easily locatable Ikea store in Phoenix this morning was light & non threatening. Fortunately the store is in the south end of Tempe & situated only about a block from the interstate. We timed it to get there around 9 to take advantage of the in-store restaurant at Ikea. As we neared the store it reminded me of being on the grounds of large estate. Big palm trees, landscaping, & not at all like some ordinary run of the mill shopping mall. The super large yellow & blue store stood in the middle of it's own acreage.
We entered a very clean & well organized lobby, followed the arrows on the floor to the escalator, & let our noses lead us to the well laid out & colorful restaurant. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy Very, very, impressive to say the least. Breakfast is fast, & cafeteria style, & the prices are right out of the 1950's. As I ate my breakfast & looked around at all the colors, designs, windows, & decors, the thought occurred to me, "finally, a store that knows how to do things right!!"
And how to price things right as well, because as we made our way around the store looking at a ka-zillion million things I was amazed at the sensibility of the price tags. No gouging here, no silly "sale" signs, no gimmicks, no glitz & glammer like some stores. I think the retail industry should send their CEO's, sales staff & managers here to see how a business can & should be run. The showrooms are beautiful & tastefully done. Colors, colors, colors. An interior decorator's place to be, for sure. The whole store is like a piece of yummy eye candy.
And then we got to the warehouse. This place is humongous & it is set up in such a way that you pick up your own stuff that you had previously marked down while up on the sales floor. I've worked in warehouses for Eaton's & Sears many years ago but this warehouse dwarfed them many times over. Even the check-outs are different. You can scan your own stuff, which we tried, but gave up. Just a little too techno for us bumpkins from the north. And, when you leave the checkout, there is a bistro with 50 cent hot dogs, dollar cinnamon buns, etc. And the 25 cent coffee is great. Even outside, they have people there to help you load the merchandise in your car. And everybody is friendly.
I think all retail business would do well to take a lesson from Ikea & learn how to do things right, how to treat people right, and.............how to make cinnamon rolls right:))

It was an easy drive back from Phoenix & reminded me a bit of the days when I used to drive, almost daily, the infamous 401 in Canada between Kitchener & Toronto. Nice to dust off some good old superior driving skills again.

As soon as we got back to the rig we started on the assembly of the Ikea furniture we bought to-day. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy Unfortunately that is an area where I do not posses any superior skills so it's always a stressful event, but between the two of us we managed to put to-gether 4 pieces of furniture. We're saving the hardest one, the chair/bed, for to-morrow & that will probably wreck up most of our day. Kelly says we can do it but she is just being her usually silly optimistic self. Me, I'm the eternal pessimist. We ain't got a chance in hell of putting that chair/bed to-gether!!!!

P.S. Can you tell I really liked that Ikea store:))

THE BAYFIELD BUNCH MAKES IT TO CASA GRANDE

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 23/08
We had the wheels rolling by 8:20 this morning as we said good-bye to our quiet little Quartzsite campsite near Pipeline Rd. Wanted to get into Quartzsite early before all the hustle & bustle let loose for the day. Found a parking place right in front of the Gambler's RV Supplies where we had pre-sold our couch. Couple fellas came out & within minutes our RV couch.....was their RV couch. It is looking sooooooo empty in here now. Even the doggy guys are looking sad. I had to take some time & sit down with Max, Checkers, & Cora to have a little heart to heart with them & explain where their favorite couch had gone, & that very soon we would have something new for them to play on. I really don't think they believed me though because the little faces were pretty long.
They paid us cash for the couch & we were on our way. Kelly kept telling everybody that we were selling all our furniture for gas money to get back to Canada. I kept telling the same people she's just joking. I don't think those people thought she was joking.

Our trip to Casa Grande was rather uneventful. Picked up some fuel east of Quartzsite & later stopped in Gila Bend for propane. Rolled into Casa Grande around 2 under cloudy skies. The Buena Tierra Campground is sandwiched between I-10 & I-8 & because we knew right where it was from last year, we decided to go there again. This is a well groomed RV park, but expensive, & with a list of rules & regulations as long as my arm. Glad we're only here for a short time.......................................

To-morrow we get to go & play in the Phoenix traffic:((

OUR LAST DAY AT QUARTZSITE, AZ.

TUESDAY JANUARY 22/08

A neighbor from Bayfield sent us a picture of our snow covered house in Canada. Brrrrrrr, glad we're not there!!!!

Cold morning but the wind was gone. Kelly headed into Quartzite early with a big bag of laundry, a grocery list, & an urgent mission to do some last minute browsing before we blow out of town Wednesday morning. My day was spent straightening out bins, securing bicycles, reading, burning up some garbage, vacuuming, securing the solar panels, short siesta, a bit of dusting, etc. A much better day than Tuesday simply because it was productive. Kelly was back by 2 & the rest of the day was spent tidying up things for our early morning departure. Took a few pictures from the roof of the motorhome while putting the solar panels down too. They show the large open spaces around us. The desert floor is made up of hard packed rocks & stones.

Aside from our bad day last Sunday, having to move twice, our time here at Quartzsite has been pleasantly memorable for our quiet & relaxing time boondocking in the desert. Warm lazy days just catching some rays. One of the best things is just being able to leave our door open all day long. The doggy guys can come & go at their leisure. No rules, no regulations, no people hassles. This is our 33rd straight day living without being plugged into electricity or hooked up to water & it has been a real positive learning experience. Still much to learn but we are actually doing better than I thought we might. It has opened up a whole different way of living & doing things for us & one that is favorably growing on us day by day.

To-morrow, when we get to Casa Grande we are going into an RV park for a couple of nights (oh dread!!) because we intend to take the car & slip into Phoenix for a bit. Not looking forward to the Phoenix part of the plan but I'll be glad to get back out into the desert again once we leave Casa Grande & get away from the rush & crush of all that people stuff. While at the RV park we will get our batteries charged, fresh water tank filled, & black & gray water dumped before then heading southwest to Why, Arizona where we plan to boondock north of Organ Pipe Cactus National Park until sometime in February.

So, with any luck, to-morrow night I will be blogging from Casa Grande, Arizona.....:))

,

THE WIND DAMAGES OUR SATELLITE DISH

MONDAY JANUARY 21/08
The wind blew hard all night & was still blowing hard when we got up this morning. In fact, it continued to blow hard all day until it finally had it's way with us & smashed our satellite dish to the ground.

Figured a drive north to the town of Parker this morning would be an ok thing to do so off we went. Bumper to bumper traffic going through Quartzsite. I'm at the point now, especially after yesterday, where I will be very happy to put the Q experience behind me for another year. It's time to see some new things, travel some new roads, & experience some new adventures.

Our drive up to Parker was uneventful & I noticed the traffic was heavy both ways. Parker is probably a nice place but it was just about as crowded as Quartzsite so needless to say, my nose was a little out of joint. A lot of RV's heading to & from Quartzsite go through Parker. Picked up some gas, groceries, & dog food & headed back to Quartzsite via Ehrenberg. Nice highway, scenic green fields, no traffic, & picturesque mountains. A much nicer drive than the crowded highway 95 we had just taken to get to Parker. Slipped into Quartzsite the back way & avoided all the downtown mess & congestion by following Pipeline road through the desert right to our campsite. Parked the car about 30 feet from the motorhome & satellite dish. Winds were still gusting & blowing hard. I was standing in the doorway of the rig when a huge gust of wind came round the car, swirling the gravel into a spinning cloud of dust like a small tornado. It headed straight for our satellite dish, smashed it to the ground, & then it was gone.

What a sickening feeling to see our precious satellite dish lying broken & twisted upon the stones. The electronic box (LNB) that relays the television signal from the satellite was broken right off the bar it was anchored to. I was convinced our internet & television days were over for sure. Kelly said, let's get some tape & fix it. Ya right!! Dis-assembled the bar from the dish & the dish from the tri-pod. Took the bar inside, got some crazy glue & attempted to put the broken piece back to-gether. After much swearing by Al, & TLC to the LNB by Kelly, we actually had the broken pieces back to-gether & holding. With a bit of electrical tape & generous helpings of duct tape, we carefully re-aligned the LNB on the bar, tightened down the one remaining screw & headed back outside to put everything back to-gether. Within minutes we had our internet working but the television was still non-operative. Noticed a bent metal bar & as soon as we got that straightened out, our television signal was fine again. WoW, we had dodged a nasty & expensive bullet. It's now after 9 p.m. & everything is still working perfectly normal. Strange huh!!

As the rest of the day dissolved into basically nothing we began discussing our departure from Quartzsite. It was decided Wednesday morning would be good because we are beginning to run a bit low on propane. We will head east on I-10. Unfortunately there is no way out of Quartzsite except to go right through Quartzsite so we'll have to endure some bumper to bumper traffic. However, we have the "pull out couch" to unload first so we'll start out early.

Overall, this wasn't one of the Bayfield Bunches better days..........maybe to-morrow.

NO PHOTOS UPLOADED TO THE WEB ALBUM TO-DAY

NOT A GOOD DAY.....WE HAD TO MOVE TWICE!!

SUNDAY JANUARY 20/08
Our day started out well enough although it was very cold again. We were planning on either driving up to have a look around the town of Parker or maybe slipping over to Ehrenberg to have a look at something called, Red Schneider's ranch. However, sometimes the best laid plans of mice & men sometimes go astray & so it was to be to-day.....twice!!

The Class A motorhome rolled leisurely into our area this morning, slowed down & stopped. Oh oh!! We watched ,& had our fingers crossed that he would move on because there is lots of room here. He didn't!! They got out, unhooked their car, made a slow pass around the area in it, came back & moved their motorhome even closer to us. We had a sinking feeling that our quiet & peaceful little corner of Eden was about to end. When we saw the driver get out & start placing colored traffic cones around a large area we knew the writing was on the wall for us. Obviously more motorhomes were on the way for some kind of rally. We were beat & our only option was to pack up our whole campsite & head off in search of a quieter spot. I'm sure they were fine folks in that motorhome but many rigs mean much big people noise & people noise is not one of our favorite things. We did wonder however, why he picked this area close to us when there were numerous other spacious areas all around. Just one of those people things I guess I'll never understand.

Took us the best part of an hour to get all packed up. Awning up, outside furniture loaded, bicycles put on the rack, flagpole down, satellite dish dismantled, mats picked up, wires unhooked, firewood loaded, doggy toys picked up, inside things stowed away, slides in, jacks up, etc. etc.

On one of our morning walks last week we had walked to an area about a quarter mile away & decided that if we had to move because of congestion, this would be a good spot to go, so that's where we went. Took us 3 trips with the car carrying things to the new site but soon we were in the process of re-setting up our new site. It was actually a nicer site than the one we just left. A few more trees, a nice creek bed & further away from all the other rigs & rallies. Kelly made some nice stone Inukshuks & set up her Ghost Mountain agave stocks in a little desert landscaping bed. Got everything re-assembled without too many problems & it wasn't long before we were sitting in our favorite gravity chairs relaxing on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon again. The turmoil of having to move had settled down, Kelly was on the phone talking to her Mom & Dad in Spencerport, New York, doggy guys were snoozing on the new outside mat & I was happily tipped back in my chair reading my book. Nobody near by, lots of room all around us & everything was right with world once again.

And then..............we saw another Class A motorhome coming, followed by a 5th wheel. Oh no!! Surely these people will have some respect for our privacy, right. Wrong!!!! They circled the large open area & then came right over & pulled in just a stone's throw away from us. And worse yet, they were towing ATV's!!!! We couldn't believe it. With all the room & open spaces in this desert area they came right in on us. I know this is public land & they have as much right to be here as we do, but...%$@^&**. I understand being close to people in campgrounds because that is what's expected. It just comes with the territory. But out here in the desert with acres & acres of room?? Then they unloaded & started up the dreaded ATV's & I heard in a loud gruff voice, "I WANNA RIDE!!!" That was it for me right there & then, & to say my anger was over the top would be putting it mildly, but there was absolutely nothing we could do, except.......move!! And, so it was, as we once again began the process of packing up the campsite. Awning up, outside furniture loaded, bicycles put on the rack, flagpole down, satellite dish dismantled, mats picked up, wires unhooked, firewood loaded, doggy toys picked up, inside things stowed away, slides in, jacks up, etc. etc. And I'm not going to say this time, "I'm sure they were fine folks in those two rigs."

We moved to a different area further back in the desert which we scouted out with the car first. Once again, nobody near us except for one Class C rig which we were considerate enough to give a wide berth. Both Kelly & I have great respect for people's privacy & would never ever pull into an area & go park beside the one rig that might be there. We consider that extremely thoughtless & rude!!

Ok, now that I've got all that off my chest, maybe I'll sleep better to-night. But wait, what is that I hear approaching across the quiet desert floor again..........awwww, it's just the wandering desert wind coming upon us under another clear moonlit Arizona sky:))

SHUFFLING & JOSTLING AT THE RV SHOW

SATURDAY JANUARY 19/08
We knew there was going to be a crush of people & a lot of traffic for opening day of the Quartzsite RV show under the big top, so we went early & stood in line waiting for the gates to open at 9. Didn't matter much because within minutes of filing through the gates we were basically shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other early birds under the big top. Only took me about 3.6 minutes to wish I wasn't there. Toughed it out for the next couple of hours shuffling & jostling along with the throngs trying desperately to avoid eye contact with the vendors. Once eye contact is made, your probably gonna pulled in for a big sales pitch!! Kelly does marvelously well at these kinds of things, stopping and looking at this & that, chatting with vendors, asking questions, scanning for free stuff, looking for deals, etc. But, even Kelly began to tire after a couple hours. We did however manage to find a couple of things we had been looking for & as soon as we had them I made a bee line for the car.........and stayed there!! Took Kelly another half hour to reach the parking lot.
No doubt about it, this is one very large RV show & is definitely the Mecca for buying anything from high end Class A motorhomes right down to washers for your garden hose. If it isn't here at Quartzsite.......it probably isn't anywhere!!

As we left the grounds for the short drive back to our campsite the traffic was bumper to bumper coming the other way heading for the show. It was a good feeling to be leaving & not just getting there. The show continues for the next 9 days but we plan to leave here maybe around the middle of next week but I'm sure that won't discourage Kelly from making a couple more trips back there before we depart. As for me, I'm staying put right here in the desert where the only eye contact I have to avoid, is Kelly's when she says to me, " well, lets go back to the big tent, I want to show you something!!!!

OH, THE WONDROUS HONEYWAGON:))

FRIDAY JANUARY 18/08
Outside thermometer said it was 35F this morning so I was back into my winter clothes again. Of course, I've never really been out of them much. Winter clothes in the early mornings & late afternoons with spring, summer, & fall clothes in between depending on the wind. Basically, the air is cool in the southwest but the sun is always warm. When we were walking the dogs this morning near one of the big motorhome club sites, a fellow was out putting up the American Flag while over the loudspeaker they were playing, Frosty The Snowman:))

Had an egg Mcmuffin urge early on so we headed into Quartzsite & dropped into McDonalds for breakfast. The town was a lot busier this morning with line ups at the single traffic light in the main intersection. Lots of rigs pouring into town because to-morrow (Saturday) is opening day for the big RV Leisure & Travel show under the big top. The show will run for 10 days. To-day was the big Sell-O-Rama day for the outdoor vendors. Picked up some groceries, oil for the generator, & a small bottle of propane for the barby & headed back out to our desert serenity. Kelly is able to tolerate that sea of humanity much better than me so she headed back into town to mix it up with the masses & check out Sell-O-Rama.

I love my quiet time here at the campsite, tipped back in a comfy chair, coffee, nice ambient music, reading & playing with the dogs in the warming rays of the Arizona sun. A good time for reflection & contemplation & I'm sure when I look back on our trip some day in the future, these quiet times here at Quartzsite will come peacefully to mind. A few years ago I came up with an original saying that goes something like this....."The only thing better than right now, will someday be the memories of right now." I have found this to be pleasantly true, over & over.

It has been nice reading the book, Marshal South & The Ghost Mountain Chronicles. An Experiment in Primitive Living, especially since we hiked up Ghost Mountain a couple weeks ago in California & walked through the old homestead. (January 3/08 Web Album http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy ) Reading that book here at our tranquil campsite has been a very enjoyable experience for me.

We have been at our present location since January 8th so our fresh water tank was getting low & our black water tank getting full. Time for a dump but I noticed a few days ago that rigs were lined up to get dumped at the stations in & near Quartzsite so we opted for the "honeywagon" to come out & do the service right at our site & have our water tank filled at the same time. Costs a few dollars more but in this case it was well worth it for us in not having to drive the rig into the much congested town & waiting in long line ups. It was 2 young fellows who came out with their truck & tank & in no time at all they had finished the deed. Another RV fellow rolled up on his ATV, talked to the boys & made appointments for his rig & other rigs in his group to be serviced as well. Great service!! And necessary too:))

To-morrow, the main event opens under the big top & I have steeled myself to be there in the morning with thousands of other people, shoulder to shoulder, shuffling, shopping, looking, more shuffling, more looking, line ups for this, line ups for that. Oh dear.......wish me luck:((

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BAD WINDS IN THE NIGHT

THURSDAY JANUARY 17/08

Bea & Herb from Edmonton, Alberta

Herb is probably thinking, "oh no, there is a cactus growing out of the top of Bea's head!!"

Boy oh boy, did we ever get beat up by big gusts again last night. Not sure when it started but I was jolted awake around 10:30 with the howling sound in the rigging & the motorhome shaking. The wind gusts intensified & before long I realized these were the worst wind gusts we had experienced so far. Once again, the sounds coming from the roof area were absolutely alarming. I was outside in my pj's with a flashlight 3 separate times between 11 & 2 in the morning fully expecting to find solar panels on the ground. Wind gusts were too powerful for me to get up onto the roof so I just had to trust once again to the strength of the installation job. The winds were hitting the panels from behind which is their most vulnerable point. Our satellite dish was ok because it is set up in the lee of the motorhome out of the wind, plus I had it additionally weighted down with a heavy plastic jug of water.
Laying there last night I couldn't help but wonder if there is any logic in the ways of the wind. I noticed it would come in great billowing gusts that would last for an average of 15 or 20 seconds, then abruptly die down to a dead calm. Nothing for about half a minute or so & then I could hear it coming again. Felt like we were a tiny bowling pin at the end of a long narrow bowling alley. Could hear the rumbling of the huge bowling ball as it bore down on us. Louder & louder & then, "wham!!" The motorhome would shudder under the impact. The wind in the vents of the 2 air conditioners would scream & vibrate. The slide awnings would snap & whip themselves into a frenzy. Every square corner on the motorhome would set up it's own set of defiant howling. The big bowling ball of wind would ram itself into the air vents & shake their very innards. Sounds of metal moving & snapping. It was those sounds that always scare me the most because I don't know what they are. Could it be the solar panels coming apart or an air conditioner working itself loose.

It was sometime after 2 in the morning before I finally fell asleep & by the time I woke up this morning the wind had blown out of town. Everything was calm, shrubs weren't moving, no bad sounds coming from the roof, no shaking, & the morning sun was beginning to rise into a clear blue Arizona sky. And best of all, the roof was still on the motorhome. How could that be. In fact, how could everything look so normal outside after such a blow. Aside from a few things tipped over, I didn't see any damage anywhere. Swung myself onto the motorhome ladder & made my way up onto the roof where, everything looked OK. Vent covers were fine, air conditioners in place & most amazing of all, the solar panels were just as solidly secured as the day they were installed. Nothing loose, screws were all tight, no bent or twisted metal, in fact, everything was totally fine. How can something that sounds sooooooo bad in the night, turn out to look sooooooo good in the morning. Don't figure I'll ever understand that wind stuff!!

The rest of the day was quiet & we had some rare company. While we were staying at Hickiwan Trails over in Why, Arizona last month, a couple had driven by one day & noticed our satellite TV dish set-up. They stopped & chatted for a bit with a few questions about the set-up. Before they left I gave them our Bayfield Bunch web address & a couple of weeks ago they contacted us on the internet saying they would be in Quartzsite this week. A few more emails, one phone call, & to-day they dropped out to our rig for a coffee & chat. We don't often have visitors so it was nice to have Bea & Herb from Edmonton, Alberta drop in. Had a good look at our satellite TV set-up. Always good to talk to experienced RV people because there is always something new to learn. Thanks Bea & Herb for all the info:))

As soon as the sun slipped behind the mountains we beat a hasty retreat inside to warmer territories & that pretty well wound up another day in the life & times of, The Bayfield Bunch:))

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CLOUDY, COLD, & WINDY

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 16/06
Our nice sunny warm weather has gone into the dumper. Woke up to cloudy skies & much cooler temperatures & the north wind is back. With the wind chill factor figured in it's probably only somewhere in the high 40's & low 50s. Haven't seen a lot of people outside moving around their rigs at all. It'll be another tough day for the vendors in Quartzsite.

Took a drive into town, grabbed some breakfast, picked up a few things, made a water stop, & it was right back out here to the desert again. Now, how's that for an exciting day!! I didn't even have a photo to put in the blog to-day so I went back to our trip last year when we were here in Quartzsite. We had heard about the bookseller with no pants so we drove out to the east end of town & found the, Readers Oasis Bookstore & sure enough, there was the owner walking around with no pants on. He's still here wearing the same hat & coat because we saw him last week when we came into town. So, here's the pictures I took last year. Notice Kelly's shorter hair last year........ Well, that WAS the first thing you noticed......wasn't it!!

OUR QUIETNESS IS DIMINISHING

TUESDAY JANUARY 15/08
Our quiet & solitary little RV boondocking site is slowly being eroded away. A lone Class A motorhome wandered in this morning setting up camp just across the wash from us. It was soon joined by a dozen more rigs. All nice folks I'm sure but where people gather, there will be noise of some kind. A much larger group has settled in a little further to the northeast of us & when I was outside late this afternoon they even had a loudspeaker going over there. To-night I can hear some kind of music stuff coming from over that way. But, if that's as bad as it gets I think we might survive. We are right on the edge of a very large opening & so far no big group has come in there yet so I had better stop my complaining before I jinx myself. We are on our 27th day of boondocking & we are totally spoiled now. It's going to be real hard when we have to book into a people populated RV park again someday:((

No wind to-day & the temps got up to about 75F. It's amazing how the temperatures differ from one side of the rig to the other. On the south side it's short sleeves & shorts, but walk around to the shady side & it's long pants & coats. And, that's no exaggeration!!

Kelly made her daily run into Quartzsite for groceries, browsing, & shopping for bargooooons while I got busy with my new hobby of doing totally nothing. Relaxing & reading, playing "sticks" with the dogs, peanut butter sandwiches, more reading mixed with generous doses of short zzzzzz's, more peanut butter, check the computer, a game of frizzbee with Checkers, walk around the site & kick a few stones, peanut butter, check the computer again, throw the stick for Max a few times, put some smooches on Cora, coffee, & more zzzzzzzzzzzzz's:)) Yep, it's gonna be hard to go back home again alright.

Have had some people ask a few more questions about things on the website.............
1. WHAT IS AN OLD FASHIONED CANADIAN MOOSE SALUTE??
I took a picture of myself to-day & will put it in yesterday's web album demonstrating an old fashioned Canadian moose salute. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy Nothing personal & I bet you all have used this same gesture on friends & family far & wide over the years & especially when you were younger. But remember, you are never to old to let fly with a good old moose salute to your neighbor, spouse, fellow motorist, boss, or whomever!! Do it & feel better:))
2. In the photo of Cora with her front paws on the steering wheel there is a pink hair clip on the wheel and, what the heck is that for...... Whenever we put up the television antennae we always put that clip on the steering wheel to remind ourselves not to drive off with the television antennae still up. And why would we have the television antennae up when we have satellite TV. The antennae is for the television in the bedroom while the satellite feed is for the bigger television in the front of the coach.
3. Another person wondered why our email address is not on the website so people could email us. If we published our email address we would immediately be flooded with spam mail & that is one of the reasons I put a guestbook on the site. Public or private messages can be sent to us that way.
4. Another reader wondered where the doggy guys will go when we get rid of our couch. Well, that was a big concern, especially for Max because he is our number one couch potato. We are hoping to put a much more practical & comfortable futon type dog friendly bed/chair in place as soon as we can get to Ikea in Phoenix in about a week & a half. It will sit at the other end of the slide where the dinette used to be & we'll find a small table for where the couch is now. Well, it sounds good in theory anyway. In the meantime we'll have to sit on pop crates or something. Couldn't believe how cheaply made that dinette set was that we took out of here a few days ago. Scary!!
5. And what was that word in yesterday's blog........... ass-paragus??
I didn't want to use the word "ass" in the blog so I tried to tie it in with the word asparagus.......or something. Ok, so everything doesn't always work. Well, that's my story & I'm sticking to it!!!!

To-morrow is Wednesday.............maybe something exciting will happen. D'ya figure!!

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