Tuesday, 30 November 2021

Some Projects and Tacos

WHERE ARE WE? South La Posa LTVA, Quartzite, AZ 
NEXT DESTINATION? Yuma, 

Happy hour happened again this morning with everyone in attendance.  I got busy getting the leveler springs installed.  I needed some help lining things up so there was no better time than at happy hour!!  Some projects just cry for an audience!



If you remember all the screws that I put in the spring to stretch it, well, they all fell out when the stabilizer was hooked up and lowered just as planned.   It is sweet when a plan comes together.



I don't think I did a report on the modification to our fresh water tank.  Every time we fill our tank, I have to hook the hose to the fresh water fill connection which restricts the water down to about 3/8 of an inch pipe fitting which slows the water down significantly.  With the addition of this fill opening in the top of the tank, I can stick the hose directly in and water goes in about twice as fast.  It also negates the time wasted connecting the hose to the fitting which can be awkward at best.  When you have other RV's waiting to fill and they are breathing down your neck, time is an important factor in water filling.


That was it for projects today, so we headed into Q to check out some of the vendors with George and Henny.  I bought two 7/16 wrenches and an LED light.  I'm not sure why but all of my 7/16 wrenches have disappeared.  Another thing I saw was a bicycle seat that answers a question we talked about around a bonfire the other night.  In this camping area there is a nude area and sometimes they ride their bikes outside of the area and we get to see them.  The question came up as to what kind of bike seat the gentlemen need to make sure their ride is not a painful experience. Well, I think this is the answer!!!  I know, I know, TMI!!!


And George and I had to stop by the ice cream machine.  It is run by an old "hit and miss" engine.  These are antique engines that used to be used way back when.  They only fire when they have to, thus the name.  No, we didn't buy any information. 


After all our shopping, we headed to Gringo's to have some taco's and listen to the music. Alaska Dan was there again tonight and he was entertaining as usual.   They had $2 taco's tonight so I had 3.  They were wonderful.  Sue had a regular fish taco which was awesome as well.



 Another great day and we ended it with another bonfire.  Lots of good chatter and stories.  Tomorrow is another day and we look forward to what it has to offer.  Hope your day was good too!!



Monday, 29 November 2021

They Just Keep Coming!

WHERE ARE WE? South La Posa LTVA, Quartzite AZ
NEXT DESTINATION? Yuma, AZ

After morning happy hour, I headed into town to get some stuff.  1st stop was RV Lifestyles to get new retraction springs for one of my levelling jacks.  It will be nice to be able to press the button and have them all retract again.  While I was there, I ran into a couple who provide voluntary roadside assistance.  They accept donations for their services as their means of payment.  Now I have not researched them so you make your own decisions if you ever decide to use them.  



Next stop was Road Runner Grocery for some cream for my coffee and then a stop at Quiet Times which is the drop off point for all Amazon stuff.  It is like Christmas when a parcel arrives.  Merry Christmas Sue!!  What a neat little fan!!






After I got home, I got a message from our friend Patsy wondering if the Jeep was going anywhere this afternoon.  I told her I would take her for run over near the sleeping giant across country.  She had read about our tour across country the other day and wanted to try some desert driving.  So, we headed out across country.  This was the mountain we headed to.

                                        

We made it over to the mountain but I think Patsy was concerned because the gas light came on as we were approaching.  She doesn't know that I operate below 1/4 tank all the time.  After a couple quick pictures, I turned it around and we headed for home arriving with lots of gas left in the tank.  I think she enjoyed the ride with the freedom of just heading out across the desert.  Her and Bill are heading out tomorrow but we may meet up again in Yuma and maybe all of us can check out the Valley of Names.



I spent some time preparing to replace the springs that I bought this morning.  The process involves stretching the spring about 4 inches and keeping it stretched out to be able to put it in place.  I will go through that process tomorrow.  I stretched the spring out using a rachet strap on the Jeep and then put screws in the spring to keep it from recoiling back.  Hopefully this will allow me enough length to put it together tomorrow. 





As I was finishing up the spring, a Motorhome drove up pulling a nice yellow Jeep.  Our friends from Manitoba who we spent time parked beside in Mexico, appeared in the door.  George and Henny have decided to spend a little time with us here in the desert.  We hope we can live up to their expectations.


George got busy and got everything out of the basement that they will need to survive here in the desert.


The twin Jeeps will stand side by side for the night.


We had a great Happy hour with everyone before heading in for supper.  We will try to do some interesting stuff tomorrow.









Sunday, 28 November 2021

Another Bonfire with Friends

WHERE ARE WE? South La Posa LTVA, Quartzite AZ 
NEXT DESTINATION? Yuma, AZ

After some breezy and overcast days last week, the weather has been getting back to normal.  Today was a gorgeous day with a light breeze, and the evening was warm and calm.  We always say we come south chasing 24C and that is what we had today.  The forecast is predicting much of the same.


If you remember a couple weeks ago, we did a little schedule on the big piece of cardboard and our plan (in Jello) was to move from Quartzite to Yuma on December 1.  The reason was because we are chasing 24C and in December you generally have to move farther south to keep in that zone.  This year the temps in Yuma are a little warmer than that so our plan may change.  You can see that there is a 3 or 4 degree difference between here and Yuma, which is only 65 miles down the road.  Another factor is that P&H are waiting on the delivery of their solar panels which should happen soon.  We will roll with the punches, I guess.


Harold and I headed into town in the morning to watch the RC Planes fly.  Our friend Bill was going in to fly his plane and we want to watch him.  When we got there, we discovered they were changing out the carpet on the staging area and taxi ways so there was no flying.  Bill was already helping put it down.  These organizations rely on the volunteer help to make them happen.  We will have to try another day.




I puttered away at some projects.  The mudflaps on the Jeep needed to be secured better so I spent some time on that.  Our basement doors needed some attention because the lining is old and falling off so I used an old Red Green trick on them. 




We got all our chores and supper done up and got a fire going.  We had told everyone that we would try to have a fire tonight.  We had lots of people show up and they brought lots of good conversation.  Because the evening was calm and actually quite warm, everyone stuck around until about 9:30.  There is nothing like a bonfire to take the cares of the world away.  We are trying to stay away from politics and Covid conversations which makes for more relaxed conversations.  Thanks for coming over and making our evening enjoyable.  I'm sure if you check the blogs I have listed with the pictures below, they will have much better pictures than I do.  Pat and Harold showed up after the picture taking, but for the record, they were there.  


John, Gayle, Patsy, (Chillin with Patsy), Bill, (On Our Way), and my empty chair.


Angie, Chuck, John, Gayle


Sue, Deb, (Celebrating the Dance), Tom


There is nothing better than spending time with friends.  We talked about a lot of our blogger friends tonight so if your ears were burning, we probably mentioned you.  All good stuff.  Just a quick reminder that Shadowmoss will be hosting this years "Blogger Fest" right here in South La Posa LTVA.  She will be at the Pavilion by the gate on January 22, 2022 at 1 pm.  It is a neat way to meet some of the people you follow online.  Join here if you can!  You can follow Shadowmoss by checking her blog at "In the Shadows".  Our schedule this year will not allow us to be there.  
We had another great day in the desert and we are anticipating another one tomorrow.  Hope your day was great too.







Saturday, 27 November 2021

A Jeep Tour

WHERE ARE WE? South La Posa LTVA, Quartzite, AZ 
NEXT DESTINATION? Yuma, AZ

Another nice morning in the desert.  We did some computer stuff and then went outside for morning coffee.  It was quite warm.  


We had an urge to go do something different today so we had a quick lunch and grabbed our stuff and headed out on a little Jeep tour.  We have never been to Bouse AZ so today we headed the 20 miles up Plomosa Roads to the town of Bouse.  Not a very big town but there are lots of RV parks.  There is a lounge there and it was full of desert warriors.  


We came across a farmer who has been working on that tractor for quite a while.  


The town had a little rest area along the highway and in it they had lots of interesting old stuff.  It is a railway/mining/agricultural area obviously.




After touring the town, we headed back toward Quartzite.  We took some of the back roads and turned onto Highway 60 where ran across a bunch of abandoned stuff near an RV Park in Brenda AZ.  I don't know the story behind it but I'm sure there is one.  For now, only pictures.



This old Lincoln has not seen the road for a long time.  It is very well preserved though.



There was a little restaurant there as well and it looked fairly busy.


We headed down I-10 to Gold Nugget mine road where we headed down a 4 x 4 trail.  The trail was narrow and rough but it followed the interstate for a bit.


The trail soon turned toward the mountains and got really rough and narrow with lots of sharp washes to climb in and out of.  It was fun but after going 10 miles or so the road turned and headed back the direction we had just come.





We wanted to go toward Q so we kept searching for alternate trails.  Some of the trails were a little too deep at the bottom so I was glad that I walked down to check them out.  If we were not alone, I would have tried it knowing someone could pull me out.  We were pretty much at the point where we were going to have to retrace our trail all the way back to the beginning.


We saw some little cactus on a ridge that reminded us of marmots standing guard.  Lousy picture but you get the idea.  They didn't point us in the right direction either.



Well to make a long story short a nice young gentleman came along in a side by side and we told him our lost story.  He looked at the Jeep and said we would have no problem getting to the next trail by going across country.  With that, he pointed us in the right direction and off he drove.  Poor Sue was worried that we would be lost in the desert forever!!  I love having her along because she keeps things interesting.  It was pretty tricky getting through some of the washes especially since there was no road to follow but we made it.  Whew!!!!

We made it home just in time for the end of afternoon Happy Hour.  


We spent some time checking out the mountain.  Sue and Pat got some information on some different things that can be seen if your look hard enough.  I guess they were right because here is what we picked out tonight.  I have intentionally flipped some of the pictures to make it easier to see.  I know this will only be interesting if you visit Quartzite South La Posa, but we have lots of friends here right now who may find it interesting.  All of the things are within the head of the "Sleeping Indian".


The first thing is the horse.  I have trouble calling it a horse because I think it looks like a white tail deer.


If you look closely, you can see a cat's face. It is amazingly real after you find it.


This one may take you a minute to see.  It is a King.  I think it looks like Julius Cesar with that leaf head band.   He has sort of squinty eyes doesn't he. 



Ok Ok enough of the silliness.  It was time to go indoors.  Here in the desert it gets quite cold for about and hour when the sun goes over the hill.  After darkness sets in, it is like the temperature rises back to where it is quite comfortable.  We had some supper and I had to eat the last piece of pie from our Thanksgiving dinner.


I talked Sue into watching this weeks episode of Survivor.  I am enjoying this season with all the new twists.  I don't remember the last time so many contestants have gone home with idols in their pockets!!  After Survivor was over it was time for bed.  Goodnight!!