Wind Rips Through Quartzsite

We spent a couple weeks last year in Quartzsite. During that time we experienced a humungous storm. All of the folks in our little group hunkered down in their RVs as the winds and rain ravaged the area. Antennas were down, slides were in, 5th wheels were hooked back up to the trucks and smaller units faced into the wind. It was nasty but I sure don't remember it getting as cold then as it has been this time.

After the storm water filled the creeks and low areas. Some spots were difficult getting out of. The good part was that much of the BLM in Quartzsite is rocky. In Yuma it’s sandy. Thank goodness we weren't there then or some of the RVs might have really sunk in and needed a tow to get out.

Wednesday night the winds ripped through the area again. We pulled our antenna down but left our slides out. I know this is winter and other areas of the country are experiencing ice and snow but this is also southern Arizona! It’s not just been cool here. It’s been downright cold! By morning the rain was gone but the wind blew all day long.

Our mission for the day was to visit the little town and all the vendors in it. And, that’s just what we tried to do after checking up on “cousin” and saying so long to “brother”. However, many of the vendors were closed up so we didn't stay out long. The wind was still whipping through the area and not a lot of folks were around. Even the little consignment shop we love to browse through was all buttoned up. We did find K & B Tools open and, of course, made a few little purchases.

We didn’t let the day go by though without rattling a few cages. Actually, we didn’t rattle the cages we jingled them and set up a time to meet for dinner at Palo Verde’s …… again. Lee (IYQ) and Dave (Sailbad) were more than happy to get together for another meal out. I think that’s what RV’ers do best --- eat together. After a day of being homebound due to the chilly wind, it actually gave everyone an excuse to get outside and go some place.

Lee does a lot of whittling. Check out his work. Isn’t it fantastic? He’s definitely a man of many of talents.

Dave brought along his best girlfriend, Millie the mooch. And, of course, we had to say hello to her. As Dave says, she loves people most and is always so happy to see everyone. She was excited to see Terry and loaded him down with lots of kisses.

Friday? Well, we were ready to try the vendors again. The wind had finally died down a little. In it's place was a thin layer of ice on most everything left outside. Yes ... I did say ice!! The wind didn't stay away too long. By mid-morning it was back!

All over the nation people are putting up with terrible weather. Well, except those in south Texas. They've been bragging like crazy but we know their time is coming when we'll be rubbing in the Arizona weather and they'll be suffering too.

I have a cousin on his way to Yuma. They've been fighting strong winds too. Highway 58 across Tehachapi was closed down Wednesday. They sat it out in Bakersfield along with a lot of other RV’ers but at least they were warm and safe in their motorhome. Arrival in "Q" was slated for Friday.

With our Saturday plans changing, we've decided to head to Yuma a day earlier than thought. So, now we'll arrive some time on Saturday ... some time. We don't know exactly when or exactly where but somewhere there.

Luggage Update -- Actually there is no update because Southwest still doesn't have a clue where they lost it. However, I did discover both of my camera battery chargers were also in that bag. That's bad news for someone who likes to take a lot of pictures. I am hoping Best Buy in Yuma has a generic one.

Happy New Year

RV Membership Sales Pitch

We’re all settled in on the Quartzsite BLM. We have just about everything we need for the next few days. Our original arrival date was supposed to be Monday but we arrived Tuesday instead. Every day we seem to put something on our agenda. We’ve gotten pretty good at erasing plans though and adding in new ones.

On Wednesday we had an appointment with the sales office of a membership park north of Parker. We wanted to keep this appointment since several nice gifts were dangled. In order to get those gifts and take them home with us we had to listen to a 90 minute sales presentation at Havasu Springs. It sounded like a good deal. Besides we used to do this all the time when many more parks were offering gifts from TV sets to sleeping bags and even cash to visit them.

An RV park within one hour from the U.S.

We have been to several of these parks and have liked the ones we’ve stayed at. Most of them have everything one could ask for and the locations are good. We actually almost bought one of their memberships a while back. We do like their parks. However, with two memberships already including Thousand Trails, the RPI and ROD systems plus Elks, we felt we had plenty. We just can’t imagine being on the road as much as we are without a park membership of some kind. We save a ton of money using our memberships and feel some folks just don’t get it but that’s a personal opinion and it just doesn't work for everyone. However, we really weren’t interested in another membership. We went just for the free gifts and when asked we were honest with them. Dangle the gifts and if they’re good enough, we’ll be there. The problem is it’s much easier to embellish some gifts than others. A sleeping bag is a sleeping bag just like cash is cash. We just didn’t think to ask the right questions about the gifts.

What were we offered? First of all we were invited to stay free for 4 days / 3 nights around the same time as our sales presentation. We opted out of this since we were already set up in Quartzsite. Had they offered this in Yuma, we probably would have jumped at it. That option was not available. We know because we tried to get in to the Yuma park. The park at Havasu Springs has very limited internet service and our cell phone didn’t get a signal. We had already figured out it might be difficult to get reception there.

Secondly, we were offered $100 in a gas rebate certificate. This is how that works. It’s actually a reimbursement once you’ve spent over $100 at a Shell station. Only $25 in fuel is allowed for credit within a 30 day interval so it takes about 4 months to play the game. After four stops and four receipts, the receipts need to be attached to the original certificate and mailed back to the park to await their $100 refund check -- timeframe unknown.

We were also given a one year trial membership. What is this really? Well, according to the restrictions on the certificate, it’s for 20 nights -- 4 separate stays with a maximum of 5 days at a time and at least 60 days apart. You can’t stay on weekends or holidays and it can’t be used during peak season. Since peak season is January to September, it’s really not possible to get in 4 stays in the last four months of the year with these restrictions. About the most you can get is two stays of 5 days each or 10 total nights instead of the 20 listed.

And, last but not least, the real item we were interested in was the FREE netbook. Did we get it? You bet we did. The netbook wasn’t quite what we thought either. They did say netbook but I actually heard notebook. I heard what I wanted to hear and not what they said.

This netbook has a WinCE operating system with 128 MB of Ram and a 2 GB hard drive! Evidently these are intended for use just like the name … netbook for internet usage. With the internal memory, I would guess that some of what is on the internet would not be viewable on this netbook. Maybe I'll try it out. Maybe I won't. I guess I was expecting a notebook with all the bells and whistles. I should have asked. Silly me.

Just like I said, all the parks do this. I'm sure Thousand Trails does too. It's a way to get folks in. It was a good day and I’m glad we went. I’m not sure if we’ll use any of the gifts. We just need to think about it. We like the parks and we sure hope folks purchase their memberships so that we can continue to use them under our RPI membership.

It was cloudy, cool, rainy and windy. We’re hoping the weather improves.

Rain, rain go away

Tomorrow we hope to check out everything new and old in Quartzsite. It's hard to believe that we've been here several days so far and haven't even been to the vendors. There are a lot of them here and that's next on our list.

P.S. Southwest hasn’t found my suitcase. It’s still in space … someplace.

Thousands of Stars Over Quartzsite

Remember the eBike I mentioned a few days ago? I’m talking about the one that Terry had to have and not the one I wanted him to have. This was the one that you plugged in and it did the pedaling for you. Since it was bigger and heavier than a normal bicycle, we needed a way to carry it. First we had stopped by the scooter shop looking for a carrier. They had a couple but none were big enough or sturdy enough to transport this eBike. So, where did we go to really look for one? Where else but the internet! Don’t you love the availability of all the facts and stats in the comfort of your RV? We found what we thought was the perfect rack at Camping World. Actually, it was two racks that could be consolidated into one. By putting the tire holder rack on the bigger carrier, we came up with a perfect fit. Notice in the photo that the “we” included quite a bit of help. That’s not to mention the neighbor who stopped by to put in his two cents worth too. He suggested we set up chairs in the street so everyone could watch the “engineers” at work. We didn’t do that.

Our start towards Quartzsite wasn’t very early but we hadn’t planned to move out at the crack of dawn anyway. Phoenix traffic isn’t any fun and we wanted to get through it as smoothly as possible. Around noon our wheels started rolling west. Instead of taking US 60 to the 202 Loop before hitting the I-10, we took US 60 all the way to I-10. Then, we hopped on the I-17 (I-10 West truck route) to avoid the downtown tunnel and most congested area. It’s about a 5 mile loop before joining up with the I-10 again but it normally works best for us.

Once we were rid of the city traffic it was almost smooth sailing the rest of the way except for the construction that closed down one lane of traffic and backed up the freeway for miles. Then, there was this turned over truck and U-Haul trailer on fire. We arrived just as the police cars were arriving. I certainly hope the driver made it out okay. We could feel the intense heat as we drove by. Most of the cars that stopped to help made sure their vehicles were down the road from the accident.

Exit 19 off of I-10 has an Arco station. There had previously been a small gas station in the same spot but we had never pulled into it. It looks like Arco may have taken it over. It’s nice and easy to pull into. Our intent was to fill up with propane. However, they have not received the permits from the state yet. Fuel prices were less expensive than in town by about 17 cents per gallon.

You could certainly tell it was almost January in Quartzsite. All of the empty lots are now over-flowing with motorhomes, 5th wheels and trailers for sale. You can even stop and enjoy a free pancake breakfast if you’re interested in checking the display models on Main Street. Many, many vendors have set up their tents and the place is hopping. The BLM is starting to fill up for the season. La Posa South is the only LTVA that has a dump and fresh water so many more RV’ers are set up a little farther south of town at this location. We noticed a couple new RV parks. Well, maybe they aren’t really new but they are open for business and have totally been redone.

Quartzsite is a nice little town this time of year. Lots of people are coming in for the winter and the grocery stores have raised their prices to take advantage of the season. Over the last couple of years we’ve eaten at about all the restaurants in town but Tuesday night headed to one of our favorites in the area, the Palo Verde. Guess who was sitting at a table just waiting for people to crash his party? It was IYQ – aka Lee! Crashed his party we did!

I had forgotten that the sky really had thousands of stars in it and gasped at my first look. The sky was beautiful. I tried to photograph it but we all know that’s difficult to do. It was clear and full of bright lights. This is when you want to remember that astronomy class you took and the name of all the constellations. There were a few I could remember but not many. Stars like this are only over Quartzsite because you certainly can’t see this in the city! I bet some people have never seen such a beautiful sky! I’m glad we moved in when we did since the clouds are now also moving in, a little rain is expected and the temperature is forecast to drop. Matter of fact, I can hear the wind picking up outside and a few little drops as they hit the roof.

We’ll only be here about five days. In that time we want to check out all the returning vendors before moving on to the Yuma area.

Lost Luggage

My last post on Christmas indicated that the next day I would be heading back to the airport. I hoped that the flight back to Phoenix would be just as uneventful as the flight to Portland was. The flight itself was. However, I can’t say the same about the luggage situation.

Saw this little trailer on the road in Apache Junction. License says it’s Ugly Betty. I thought it was cute!

Since the return flight was at night I decided to go ahead and check my luggage. I NEVER check luggage … NEVER. However, I loaded everything I had into my little 18” suitcase and a box. The backpack I had would be stuffed with the computer, camera and important stuff. Most everything fit in the small brown box so it was sealed and ready for the plane. The little suitcase only held things I felt was almost as important as items in the backpack. Things like Terry’s medicine, portable hard drive, empty purse, wallet, makeup, laptop AC cord and such were loaded into it. After church we were off to the airport and those two items were put in the diligent care of the airline. After all, it was the day after Christmas and everyone shops on that day.

Our first stop was Buffalo Wild Wings. I LOVE Buffalo Wild Wings. It was a big treat to have the finger licking good, teriyaki coated chicken wings. Then, off to the mall for returns and purchases before we headed back to the airport. My flight was delayed which put arrival in Phoenix close to midnight.

My suitcase? Well, it still hasn’t arrived! The brown box arrived like expected. Who knows where the little black suitcase with the red zipper is. It still hasn’t turned up. The paperwork from the airline indicated they assumed no responsibility for my mishandled baggage. What can I say to that one?

We had planned to leave the RV park in Apache Junction for Quartzsite the next day. Instead, we extended our stay hoping the elusive little bag would show up. It didn’t show up. We can’t wait by the Phoenix airport forever so one more gorgeous sunset and Quartzsite – here we come!

The Holidays

The holidays can be extremely exhausting. There’s tons of shopping, wrapping, mailing and just plain running around to do This holiday has not been an exception. We've been very busy. Heck, we're always busy even when there isn't a holiday.

The rains that deluged California rolled through the Phoenix area. Thank goodness it was just a small piece of what was received west of us. In an RV the sound of the rain hitting the roof is greatly enhanced. It certainly can make for a very peaceful night’s sleep. It’s always nice when the rain can come, leave a little moisture and then move on during the night. Rain isn’t that common in Arizona but we usually see our share of it when we’re there in the winter. However, rain is common in the Pacific Northwest and that's where I went for Christmas.

One of our stops was in Vancouver, Washington at the Dairy Queen on Main Street. Since it was located between my junior and senior high schools, I spent many lunch hours devouring their jr. burgers. Plus, this was the place to be on Friday nights if you were "cruizing the gut". I still love the junior cheese burgers!

Thursday started very, very early. I had a flight to catch from Phoenix to Portland at 7:00 in the morning. You can imagine what time we had to get up and get going, not only to arrive at the airport on time but to allow for check-in and screening. The flight was easy, perfect and uneventful. My grandson, Justin, was appointed my airport chauffer. He was to pick me up and deliver me to his home in Kalama, about 35 miles north. However, we got sidetracked just a tad and didn’t show up there until almost 10 hours later. After all there was visiting that needed to be done, eating, plus shopping, fixing a flat tire and the list went on. That list also included a stop at Winco for special dog treats for Duchess.

The next day we stopped at another place on my list. It was Elmer’s for their scrumptious Crab BLT Salad.

When bedtime arrived I was more than ready. It had been a long day and I had no doubt the next one (Christmas Eve) would be another long very long one. Boy, was I right. It started early since Sabrina wanted to hit the mall when it opened at 8:00 AM! It wasn’t just one mall we visited. I’m sure we actually visited all of them in the area from Kelso to Vancouver, a span of over 40 miles. And, Janice calls me the “energizer bunny”! She just hasn’t met Sabrina yet. We raced through the malls, wrapped presents and then went to Christmas Eve service. Afterwards, it was pizza and the movie “Nanny McPhee Returns”. Again, I was more than ready when it was finally time to go to sleep.

Check out this cup – It’s a chalkboard cup! They knew we used chalk for our plans so when they saw this cup, it was already MINE! How cute is that?

Today is Christmas Day. I love it when presents are opened slowly and time is taken to enjoy what everyone receives. It was a nice slow morning of gift unwrapping and phone calls to family. The big Christmas meal is in the making and the best part is I’m not cooking it. It’s pay-back time. My daughter cooked Thanksgiving dinner and my daughter-in-law is cooking Christmas dinner. I have no doubt that by evening I’ll feel that this was a very relaxing day. Aren’t holidays with family wonderful?

Tomorrow it’s back to the airport. I hope it goes just as smoothly as the first one did.

Wishing you all a joyous Christmas.

Remembering Christmas’ Past

Merry Christmas

We all have traditions that we celebrate with family and friends. Not everyone celebrates Christmas. In different parts of the world it’s just an ordinary day where ordinary people go about doing their ordinary things. For the USA it is a major holiday. Almost everyone has the day off even if it falls in the middle of the week. People plan vacation time around Christmas, schools shut down and the stores make their biggest profits ever. There is a reason for the season. Some believe it’s because Santa Claus comes and delivers presents to everyone. We celebrate because we believe the birth of Christ is the real reason for the season. Family traditions usually set the stage for how individuals celebrate today.

Christmas was always a big day for us. I can’t remember not having a big Christmas as a child. I remember the gifts underneath the tree and just hanging out with my parents playing with toys all day long. It was the best day of the year.

When my kids were small we spent Christmas Eve at my parent’s house. The living room was filled with presents and we spent all evening opening them one by one. By the time we were finished with gifts, we’d head home looking for Santa’s sleigh in the sky. Actually, we’d see it many times. Then, the work began. Terry and I would stay up almost all night putting toys together and putting the finishing touch on the gifts so they would be ready early Christmas morning. It would be a very late night with very little sleep. It was amazing how early our kids crawled out of bed. My folks usually came over to watch the kids unwrap the gifts under their own tree.

It wasn’t just the gifts. Then, it was also starting Christmas dinner and having it ready for everyone on time. What a wonderful day but boy would I ever be beat in the afternoon. I loved those Christmas day naps after dinner was done and the clean dishes were finally put away.

Then, more kids came along and changing festivities. Our Christmas was big with kids and grandkids. The event would pretty much last all day long. There would be a lot of gifts, more than enough food, tons of laughter and more late afternoon naps. Aren’t memories wonderful?

Things have changed. Nothing is the same. Today is Christmas Eve and tomorrow is Christmas Day. Hope you have a great day celebrating it. However, remember the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas

Don’t Tell Me it’s an eBike!

Here we are in the Phoenix “area” and we’ve been around here for more than a month. That’s more than four long weeks that we’ve stayed in the same area. We may have moved a couple times but we’ve hung around close. We’ve spent some time in Casa Grande, some in Mesa and also in Apache Junction. It’s almost time to get on the road again. You know the saying – our hitch is itching. When we first arrived the sun was shining and no rain was in sight. I bragged to everyone about the warm gorgeous days. Yesterday we had drizzle and today showers are expected. That’s what I get for bragging.

Yesterday we did a little casino hopping in the area. I guess I can’t call it a “little” casino hopping. We actually visited three of them and made our share of donations. First of all we went to the Arizona Casino, then to Lone Butte and ended up at Wild Horse Pass. That’s one thing you can say about this area is that there are loads of things to do and especially casinos. They were all advertising their Christmas Day special menus. If you want a good feast, that’s absolutely the place to go --- to a casino buffet for Christmas dinner. You’re certain to find foods you like and foods that were part of your own family traditions.

We were also on the lookout for an ebike for Terry. He thought he wanted one of these. Only time will tell if it gets used or not but we did find one. Now we have to get a car rack for it since it’s too big and too heavy to load in the back of the Jeep. Currently that’s where it’s at since we need to take it to the bike shop to have a tire fixed. It’s not quite what we had in mind but you know how that goes. It wasn’t quite what I had in mind but exactly what Terry wanted. Of course, he wanted anything with a little motor and the price was right. I’ll take a picture today if we ever get it out of the back of the car.

With the holidays comes travel. We used to love traveling by plane a lot but that was before we bought a motorhome and retired. It seems we had more time to take trips when we were working than we have now when we’re not. Thanksgiving I spent in New Jersey with my daughter’s family. Christmas I’ll spend in Washington State with my son’s family. I sure wish they lived on the same coast. It would make it so much easier. Flying stand-by around the holidays can be a disaster. I know. I could actually buy tickets like normal people but why? I worked for years to be able to fly stand-by … so that’s what we do. I just didn’t realize that it also meant I might be spending nights in airports along my route. Oh well ….. here we go again. Tomorrow I’m heading north.

Birds of a Feather

The other day I mentioned BOF (Birds of a Feather) groups. There are many different organizations that have mini organizations inside of them. The purpose of the mini groups is to meet people with similar interests. We all know folks with similar interests, thoughts, ideas and activities attract others with the same interests. Different clubs make it easier to meet folks who enjoy doing the same thing.

Some people just like eating together -- is this a new BOF?

As an example there are groups for those who are active in the Elks, hiking, genealogy, quilting, geocaching, workamping or hundreds of other hobbies and interests. And, in every group there are always those who seem to stick together more than others. Similar people always attract whether it’s similar backgrounds, activities, or likes and dislikes. This is no different in the RVing world. Matter of fact, it can even be extended to include many more activities like staying at the same type of membership parks ... or not. There are boondocker groups, Thousand Trail forums, 4 wheeling groups, age specific groups (boomers) and the list goes on.

Several RV clubs have forums and planned outings just for the purpose of people meeting people with common interests. The meeting has to take place first. From there people “share” stories as they learn about each other. You’ll always see a few little mini groups break off as folks do things together. Before long these same folks are meeting here and meeting there along the road. What fun!

Isn’t it great? It’s so exciting to see people we’ve met in different locations across the country. It’s exciting to know that as we travel along, there are many future “friends” out there that we just haven’t met yet. We know we'll meet them when the timing is right. It may be at one of our favorite parks or may be just around a campfire.

Eric’s Ribs (Well, maybe they were Eric’s and Karla’s) from Joe’s BBQ in Gilbert. A fantastic place in Gilbert to share a meal with others who enjoy good barbecue.

Let the Good Times Roll

The winter in Arizona is known for snowbirds and RV’er get togethers. The get togethers are often and the good times are many. That’s just what went on yesterday. There were ten of us and we threw steaks on the barbecue. Of course, everyone brought their own. The food was good but the company and socializing was even better. We had a fabulous time reminiscing about the past, connecting at the present and planning for the future. This is absolutely what we all do best. It was a great group and great conversation.

Monday? Well, there are more plans for another outing with the same fun group of people.

Let the good times continue to roll.

Sandie, Jim, Paul, Jeri, Shelley, Terry, Jerry, Janice (hiding), Eric and Karla

Organ Stop Pizza / Countryside RV Park

Actually this blog is a little catch up. When you get behind you need to speed up to bring things current or everything else is messed up.

The Organ Stop is a pizza restaurant in Mesa. The organ is fantastic and a tremendous draw. It’s certainly one of it’s kind. I had to say that because that’s what I think and not what I know. I can’t imagine another one being like it. I also can’t imagine someone learning to control all the lights and special effects from an organ but they do. There are two individual organists who alternate with a third who occasionally fills in. If you visit Mesa, it is one of those places to consider checking out. From trumpets playing to bubbles swirling in the air, the organ and all of its pipes are amazing.

Sandie had organized the outing at the Organ Stop Pizza for the same afternoon I made the trip to Quartzsite. I wasn’t so sure that I’d make it back in time but I did. There were a total of 13 in the group so it was definitely a nice evening. RV’ers love eating out together in unique restaurants. This is definitely a unique restaurant. We all enjoy trying the different places to eat. It's much more fun as a group too. We've been working on our list of "must eat at places" so we can visit them before we leave the area. There are definitely more dinner outings planned with this bunch and we’re looking forward to each and everyone of them. Let's see ... we want to visit Garcia's Mexican again, maybe the Heart Attack Grill again, Joe's BBQ again, Texas Roadhouse again and any other place someone else might suggest.

We had stayed at Countryside RV Park a couple years ago. It was very, very hot when we were here at that time and we weren’t really pleased. Because of this we hesitated a little at booking again. However, the price was right and we came back. I’m glad we did. The park has a lot of amenities and our site in the park couldn’t be better. The neighbors ….. well, even that turned out okay. Jerry and Janice are next door.

Most parks in Mesa and Apache Junction have loads of snowbirds during this time of year. We much prefer ones just with the RVs but those are few and far between in this area and there’s not too much you can do about it. However, most of the people here are pretty nice so it’s working out just fine. Right now we feel we'd definitely return.

We’ve been so busy doing “stuff” that we haven’t found time to take part in the many of the park activities. Maybe eventually we will but I don’t see our own activities slowing down. What we don’t think of I’m sure our neighbors will. We actually have done a bit of biking, visited the exercise room, the library, pool room, tried a little horseshoes and even hit a few golf balls.

Friday and Saturday rolled around and I ended up doing some “do-overs” while playing tour guide. The Apache Junction Swap Meet is definitely worth visiting at least two or three times. On Friday we headed in that direction. Even though I didn’t buy anything, Jerry and Janice did.

Saturday we took a drive to Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flat. Actually, Jerry drove and I just told him where to go. I like telling Jerry where to go. The lake is gorgeous and the scenery in that area is what people think Arizona is all about. It’s definitely worth the trip.

Afterwards we popped in on Sandie and Jim just in time for lunch. So, it was off to another restaurant for more socializing. This time it was Cobb's Restaurant. We definitely had a good time with some good friends.

Today we're throwing some steaks on the grill and again, about nine of us will yak and yak about all of our travels and all of our plans. Let the good times roll!

“Travel Like You Don’t Live There”

The title to this blog was actually one used in the American Way magazine on board a flight to New Jersey over Thanksgiving. It was such a catchy title that I had to read the whole thing. The article made me think about the traveling we’ve done and the traveling we’re doing.

Many years ago Terry’s brother came to visit us with a list of tourist attractions he wanted to see. He had just graduated from Duke Law School and many law firms were flying him around to interview. It wasn’t that he wanted to live in Washington but he wanted to visit us so agreed to interview for a position in Seattle. We were living in Vancouver, Washington at that time and didn’t have a clue where many of the places he wanted to see were. We only lived there. We weren’t tourists. It’s amazing how if you live in an area, you really don’t take the time to see it. However, others will travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to see what is almost in your backyard.

Some folks think the way to tour a place is to pretend you live there. However, that’s really backwards. If you travel as if you live in a place, you’ll miss so much. You’ll never see what’s really there. You’ll stop being a tourist and start being a homesteader. Many RV’ers do just this as they move into one park or another and stay pretty much planted for months on end. Isn’t the purpose of an RV wasted? Some never figure out what those wheels are supposed to be doing because it’s difficult for them to be constantly on the move. The compromise is to move into a park and become part of that park neighborhood. After settling in they visit local sites and attractions but only the local ones and never venturing too far. The whole idea or dream of seeing the USA flies out the window … at least temporarily. Or, maybe it ends up in a park model.

Other travelers really have the knack of it. They do their research and figure out what they want to see and that’s where they head. We’ve had friends who have decided they want to do specific scenic routes, historic battle fields or places of special interest to them. After doing all the research they can, they head in that direction. Wasn’t that the original plan? There are others who volunteer for positions in order to visit specific areas. Some folks have this traveling in an RV down pat while many others struggle with it. No matter what one does it’s always interesting to "share" travel stories around the campfires. There are certainly plenty of them.

We get sidetracked a lot. Our plans seem to change with the weather. Most of what we plan to do is written in chalk and tends to get erased when other ideas and plans pop up. Perhaps, it’s time to scratch out a bucket list and start working on it. It seems lots of folks have lists of places they want to see. A list wouldn’t be so bad. There are a lot of places we’d like to travel to and even some we’ve already been at. Making a list is not like we’d be making a commitment to do anything. Would it? We know we don’t like staying in one place too often or too long. We certainly don’t want to live every place we travel so the theme certainly works for us. We just seem to be doing some of this backwards.

So, here’s a question ….. what are a couple of the absolutely best sites you’ve ever visited while in your RV? We certainly learn a lot from other RV’ers through what they have seen and experienced. However, it’s not that we would like to go and do everything everyone else does. It’s just that it is interesting to hear about the places. I’m a gypsy at heart! We want to travel but not live in the places we travel to.

(My photos are irrelevant to this blog. I just wanted to post them. These are leftovers from recent outings except for the Christmas lights. Tammi did that one downtown NYC. I liked it so I “borrowed” it. )

A New Meaning to Homeless

You’ve all seen the signs that many RV’ers have indicating they are homeless and actually quite proud of it. It’s a joke among most of them. Manufacturers make a ton of money capitalizing on their lifestyle by selling all kinds of paraphernalia boasting about their home being where they park it. For these folks it’s a chosen lifestyle and one that some have planned on for many years. The dream of retiring, selling the home and buying an RV to see the USA was part of what kept them working until they were finally able to live the life of their dreams --- being homeless.

Part of our “homeless” group in Quartzsite last January.

Homeless is a word used around many campfires with lots of chuckles. Remember this life is their choice not due to being down and out or broke. They’ve been tied down all their life and now they want the freedom to roam. It takes a different type of person to choose to hit the road. Maybe I should say that it takes a special type of person to decide to "just wander". These homeless folks really aren’t homeless but they like to laugh about it as they sit around campfires or go to sleep in their expensive RVs. They are outgoing people looking for adventure. The people are usually very independent and enjoy sometimes being away from it all and other times being right in the middle of it.

The friendships developed along the road are different than the ones developed in a workplace or in a neighborhood. Most of these friendships are based on common interests and not necessarily being thrown together due to circumstances. Just like friends you meet in the traditional way, some just have more in common than others.

That’s one type of homeless and the type that many of us RV’ers think about. However, there really are people who are homeless and have no roof over their head. I have a cousin who is really homeless. He is a little challenged and has lived in numerous situations including under bridges since his mother died. For the last four years he had been living with another cousin. She lost her job which meant she also had to scramble for a roof over her own head. She has a friend willing to put her up while she looks for work in the Phoenix area … but only her. So, on the road they went traveling from Washington state to Arizona.

If you must be homeless, the perfect time and the perfect place is winter in Arizona. It’s certainly better than being in Washington during the winter! Yesterday I drove from Apache Junction and met them in Quartzsite. My Jeep was loaded down with a tent, bedding and food for about 2 weeks. (Can you believe it actually rained in Quartzsite? When was the last time it rained there?)

Dave and Millie ---

In an RV Quartzsite is a fun place to be with all the people, vendors and events. It’s a little different for someone who doesn’t have the conveniences or even a bike to get around. He’s truly homeless but all his needs are met for now. We’ll head down that way in a couple weeks to see how he’s doing and, perhaps, stay with him for a few days. No, we won’t be staying in his tent but in our own motorhome. Hopefully the other cousin will find a job soon or find other lodging for cousin #1. If you’re around, stop by. He’ll talk your arm and leg off.

We’ve spent a little time in Quartzsite. Most of the folks who stay there during the winter choose it as a place to meet people and enjoy the wonderful Arizona winter. However, there are some who are truly homeless. In the past we’ve seen a few with tents or living out of cars. These are the exception. It can be a fun place to be but not nearly as much fun if you aren’t in an RV.

All our lives we seem to be waiting for something. Many times we find ourselves saying that we’ll buy something someday or that we’ll do something someday or even someday we won’t have to do something else. At times we actually wonder if someday will every come. 

Well, this is someday. It’s here and it’s not working out like a lot of us had planned. From health issues to family problems to finance problems and last but certainly not least, to RV problems …. this is it, Folks! Even though we know many enjoying their someday we also know quite a few retired folks who thought someday was finally here only to find out it’s still in the future. We have good friends with very serious illnesses, friends with devastating financial surprises and even others with brand new rigs that continue to need repairs. There have been fires and accidents and even premature deaths. What’s with this? Is this IT? 

The elusive someday was supposed to be the time when working for survival was behind and everything dreamed about was finally going to come true. It was supposed to be the time when people were carefree without worries or bills or obligations. It was being free to do what one wanted and when one wanted to do it. 

For many the reality of someday finally being here was the day they retired, moved into their RV and hoped to live happily ever after. That’s what we want and we’re hoping all the problems go away and that someday is as great for everyone as it was hoped to be.

Yep, our someday is finally here.

A Lot on Our Plate

Monday morning we moved from our site in Casa Grande to another site in Apache Junction. Even though Apache Junction is out of the Phoenix metro area, it is still a lot closer to things we had been wanting to do over the next few weeks. I was a little hesitant about the move since we had stayed previously at the park we were moving to. We hadn’t really cared for it in the past but this time it was FREE. Free is not only good, it is great. However, we were pleasantly surprised. Our site is fantastic as it is oversized with a large cement patio and no one behind us. We’ve even recognized some of our neighbors. Well, one set of neighbors for sure. Jerry and Janice just happen to be parked next to us. Do you think they followed us? Or, did we follow them? The pool is warm, the spa is large and we’re happy here at least for now.

Yesterday we took another drive to the Superstition Mountains, Goldfield Ghost Town, the Mining Camp and the Elvis Presley Chapel. This was the third time we had been to these places in the last month but after all, the Hyders hadn’t seen them so we wanted to go again. Lunch was at IN-N-Out. That’s just the best hamburger joint ever.

We didn’t walk far ---

We also discovered yesterday that “I” may be making a trip to Quartzsite later this week. It seems two of my cousins will be traveling down here from Washington State. Neither one of them has a job, little money and only one has a place to stay while looking for work. The tentative plan for the other one is to set up camp at “Q” for a few months and while the season is perfect for camping. However, this cousin has no camping gear, no money, no food and no amenities. Guess what I’ll be doing? And, if they actually, get this far without breaking down on the road somewhere, we’ll probably head that direction for a few days before going to Yuma. Aren’t we glad everything is in chalk and not permanent marker? Sometimes you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.

--- Jerry and Janice

Last night just before going to bed I decided to check the flights for Terry one more time. I’m sure glad I did because the flight he hoped to get on this morning was sold out. Usually when a flight shows that it’s sold out, it really means that it’s oversold. The only real alternative he had was to catch the flight out of Phoenix at 6:30 in the morning. And, of course, a 6:30 flight meant a 3:30 AM wake up call. That was the plan and that’s what we did. I’m sure we’ll both be taking naps today.