January 30 through February 3, 2005

Sunday January 30:

It is 45 under the RV this morning, and the heat has run a few times overnight.  The weather has cooled significantly.  I work the web page since 4AM, trying to get it ready for upload before Wally shuts down his satellite terminal.  I also take time to write up the whole of the Quartzfest time period, through Saturday, so the event is all on one page.  The satellite link is slow...so we decide to move on and upload  by cellphone later in the day.  We move to a campground in downtown Quartzsite north of I-10 west of the road over the interstate, behind a barbecue restaurant just east of the bridged wash (at N33d 39.871' W114d 13.208' ) to dump and take on water.  The manager agrees to allow us to park for a few hours after dumping to shower, then refill again for the dump charge of $5.  The water is said to be well water that meets all drinking water tests.  We are encouraged when we see the motorhome ahead of us filling drinking water jugs from the faucet, and they say the quality is excellent.  We taste it and agree, then fill up.  I'm not sure what our choice would be if it was bad though....  After showers we repeat the dump fill process, then head for BLM land east of Quartzsite for a hootenanny we'd seen advertised on a flyer posted at the Slabs.  The 1.7 mile drive on dirt road is slow, but we find the Music Rovers signs where they are supposed to be, and the group is easily found.  We find a place to park near the other 3 RV's, and bring our chairs to join the audience.  There is a good group, with a number of instruments represented.

The organizers, John who plays a banjo and Donna playing a dobro when she is not leading singing (I have not seen one of these since the Mountain View AR music festival last spring....) are second and third from the right in the performers row. Carol brings her violin expertise, and there are a few guitars, even one with a battery powered amplifier.  There is good 60's era folk music to be enjoyed, and singing is encouraged, even by the less able of us...  :-). My inability is enhanced by my failure to remember any words;  Donna is easy to lip read, so that helps!  :-))  I do find my tight vocal cords loosening after a bit....I guess they are just like every other part of my geezer body, slow to answer the call!  :-(    The percussion section is interesting.

 The dancing doll instrument initiated some discussion, and finally one of its names came out; limberjack! Some of the performers seem to be very talented, perhaps even professionals, and entertain us well.  

The open air scenic environment adds greatly to the experience, even with a few distractions thrown in....

ATV riders enjoy the scenery too, but from a slightly different perspective from musicians.  :-)  Still, the entertainment continues with nary a break.

The group plays for well over an hour, and we enjoy it very much.  Most songs are suggested by the audience, and I'm amazed that most of the instrumentalists know most of them.   There are about 40 people here from counting heads in the photos, and some who stay in the background uncounted too.  Most attendees arrive in cars from the escapees boomer campout down the road.  Verna has a copy of a song lyric book, "Rise Up Singing", with words and chords to 1200 songs.  She says it is available in bookstores, but that does little good for us here and now.... We're not driving the rough road to town again until we leave here, and I'm not sure where in that flea market zoo to find a real bookstore!!  As the sun falls it cools rapidly, and we break up the hootenanny, agreeing to meet at 11 in the morning.  I start uploading the website, finding for the umpteenth time it will not load well with zone alarm running.  That probably caused the slowness on the satellite terminal this morning too...  DUHHHH  Dinner is burritos with left over chili, then quickly to bed after finishing uploading the website.  

Monday January 31:

I walk early this morning, before Claire is up. The green of the desert is even MORE amazing here, with fields of flowers so thick you can hardly find a place to put a foot to avoid stepping on them....   I'm looking for a GPS location published on the net that is purported to be the location of RayHound (a converted Grayhound bus occupied by Ray, whom I've met on line in some of the Yahoo boondocking groups).  It should be about 0.3 miles from us, so it should be a trivial walk.  Sure 'nuf, there is a bus with a rooftop patio that is easily recognizable from pictures I've seen on line!

 There is nobody to be seen, so I pass on by.  The desert here is even MORE green and flowery than we noticed last week at Quartzfest.

You don't like yellow?  Then look at the blue...

I return home before the 11AM start time of the next hoot, and we run the generator.  We have been using more electricity than we get from coffee making, so must run the generator just to charge batteries.  I clear some "dust" collected on the generator's cooling air exit screen, and find it is still some residual fiberglass from the mouse nest that got in the generator cooling shroud in the driveway last summer...geeze!  We'll have to keep watching that!  When the generator stops, I can hear the music playing, although it is only 10:30.  I'm sure the generator did not add to the musical experience...sorry folks!  We bring out chairs and join the group.  There are fewer players this morning, but the music is fun.

 The guy standing playing guitar is excellent, but will not be able to stay with us due to other commitments.  Donna gets a chance to join in a string instrumental with her dobro. 

Carol has a beautiful mandolin also, and occasionally she chooses to play it.  

We break for lunch, with the next session being planned for 3 PM.   Claire and I both walk the desert.  The flowers are spectacular.

 This time there is activity in RayHound, and Ray comes out to meet us.

This bus conversion is EQUIPPED!  The satellite internet dish keeps Ray on line and a quiet Honda generator sits on the ground outside to keep it going. The second deck patio is put together with pipe unions and comes down for moving time.  Ray is a genial gentleman who lived in Alaska, has done surveying, and is a clever energetic guy!  We chat until it is time for us to head back for the music.  Ray indicates he might join us if his buddy Roger gets back to the bus next door.  The music group is smaller now, but we form in a large circle and everybody is encouraged to participate if we want.

  I think this arrangement works better, as it is easier to hear (and lip read) the words to sing along...  :-)  We have snacks for later, and enjoy fellowship and meeting the pets of our new found friends too.  :-)  Here John brings out their kitty for a highly supervised outing.

We enjoy touching kitty hair again, but this gal is NOT an outdoor cat, and Carol's dog Bingo is roaming around too.  There is mutual interest......

Kitty is definitely more comfortable behind her screen door though.   The cool of the setting sun drives us indoors.  Dinner is steak, rice, and green beans, but we've both snacked so much we cannot eat as much as usual, and are stuck with more left overs......   We run the generator for TV, and I'm off to bed....

Tuesday February 1:

It's 47 under the RV this morning; the heat has run, but not as much as last night.  The sunrise is awesome, and I just MUST run out to take pictures….even if  I risk waking Claire with the door opening.  

It is too bad the pictures almost always lose something of the reality of such scenes… but the colors are just awesome as the sun not yet visible above the eastern hills lights up the western sky with glowing pastels!   Looking east the colors are more intense and full of contrast as the sun struggles to poke over the mountains.

Verna is outside also, doing just as I am with her camera.   I return inside and prepare a CD of pictures for John and Donna who are leaving this morning for a commitment they have, and we wish them farewell.  They still work part time, and their duty calls....  We will stay here another day.  Carol, the superb violinist in the group has volunteered to play some of her favorite classical tunes today, and we quickly volunteered to listen.  :-))  We walked up toward the hills on the gravel road to Plomosa, and marvelled again at the green on the mountains and the broad swaths of yellow and blue on the ground in the valleys.  I get the feeling this may be the last time in my life I'll get the opportunity to see such a display.  The last rain like this in the desert out here was in the 80's. This small white flower grows densely in many areas, so thick it is hard not to walk on it.

 Right now I don't know what it is....but later Carol lends me her western flower book, and it is identified as rattlesnake weed.  Even later, we find it can cause a rash if touched.  As we stood outside chatting around noon, a lady drove up looking for the Music Rovers.  We had to inform her that this was the right place, but the organizers had departed this morning, and no further folk music fun was expected.  Carol said she was expecting to play her violin later, with more classical music, and Vivian introduced herself.  She had driven to Quartzsite from near San Diego to see what it was like, and had seen the same flyer for the Rovers in town that we'd seen at the Slabs.  The flyer did say the music event would go for three days.  Vivian said she had not known what to expect, and needed to go to town for water.  I asked how much she needed, she handed me an empty 12 ounce pop bottle.  I filled that, and another 2 liter pop bottle we had around. Vivian indicated she would sleep in her pickup truck.  Claire invited her to join us for soup for dinner.  With Carol's flower book, I identified the ubiquitous (but name unknown to all here) beautiful blue flower we needed to be careful not to step on as scorpion weed.  Vivian had seen it before, and gave me a good clue when she pointed out that the flower's buds continued to open, they did it on a curve. This curve, which could be said to resemble a scorpions tail, may have given it it's name...but it is a bit too pretty to be called a "weed"...  

  There is another gotcha about this plant though, that we did not realize; it is capable of giving a poison oak like reaction to those touching its stems.... we are fortunate we obey "do not pick" rules here, or we might have been severely  punished by our bouquet!  :-))  We need to buy a western flower book;  we did not bother before, as in the drought of two years ago the thought of flowers in the dusty desert was unthinkable....  :-))  Here is one unusual beauty we could not find in the book.

For lack of a proper name I dubbed it the "Velcro Flower".  Much later, from a book "Mojave Desert Wildflowers" that Claire bought,  it appears to be a Mojave Pincushion.  Still another beautiful unknown.......

The book did not offer any recognizable help on this one either....  Carol came out and played pretty violin music protected from the cool north breeze by their motorhome.   The group was small, but quite appreciative.

Some is just hauntingly beautiful classic violin.... and some is lively "fiddle tunes"!

Bingo joined in by singing along on some of the lively ones... he is a REAL hoot!   :-)  Carol had to stop to work her shoulder a few times, but she loves to play enough to endure the pain it causes.  Her comment was "It hurts whether I play or not, so I may as well play...."  I think that is a good way to look at the aging process....and I certainly do understand some of what she faces.  Still, it is a bit sad to see her hurt, yet play so beautifully, and apologize for not doing it as well as she could before.  It certainly is not sad to LISTEN;  it's "wonderful" to my ear.....and Claire's too.  Vivian also seems to be in rhapsody as she listens.....

After the playing stopped and as we enjoyed refreshments in the open air, the temperature started dropping along with the sun.  It was time for dinner, if only to get inside out of the cooling breeze.  Vivian was quite interesting to chat with.  She was my age, although she did not look it, and ran a community center in her rural home town in the mountains east of San Diego.  Her house had been spared by the summer brush fires, but the power poles had needed replacement, so she'd dug the holes herself.  Claire's shoulders cringed noticeably at that thought...remembering her hole digging experiences a few years back.  :-)  Vivian had a dream of running sheep on her 40 acres of dry scrub land, but commented that she could not have come here if she had the sheep to care for now, and then there was the mountain lion that roamed her acres that she would not harm......   :-(  I asked if she expected the sheep to be profitable for her, and she said "no".  Claire suggested she start a sheep project at the community center, and let them finance her dream away from the mountain lion, and perhaps the community center youth could be there to care for the animals when she went away too.....   Claire's always thinking!   :-))  Vivian left early, and we told her to blow her horn if anything bothered her.  We did dishes and turned in.  

Wednesday February 2:

Vivian was gone when we came outside after 10AM, after taking showers, as we intended to fill water if necessary before leaving Quartzsite.  We heard from Carol that she had slept on the ground outside her truck, looking at the stars, then went into town around 7AM..  It was cool enough for us to run the heat, and we do hope she had a sleeping bag.....  Carol and Marv left before 11, and we chatted with Verna and Wally for a while before we left around noon.  They told us that they thought the Walmart at Lake Havesu City would not let us stay.  Arizona SR95 meandered along the Colorado river, with some breathtakingly beautiful scenery.  

This campground on the azure shoreline caught our eye.  We passed a BLM office in Lake Havesu City, and found out where the dispersed camping was allowed.  They had "Exotic Pets" on display....

It was certainly not excited, nor rattling ....but we welcome the glass never the less!  The Walmart did not allow us to stay, so after buying replacement sun glasses for Claire, and oil for the generator we continued north.  Lake Havesu is a retirement and vacation community with lots of development.  We continue 10 miles further north, passing county campgrounds near the airport, but finally decide we are passing through public lands even though we could see no signs with the BLM logo, as the lady in the BLM office had said we would, and we select a gravel turnout with enough room to get 100 feet off the road.  We find a reasonably level spot, and settle in...

Dinner is macaroni and cheese with broccoli that needed to be used.  We are alone and isolated here...a situation we usually avoid.  The cell is strong digital, but with a flashing yellow light.  I check with customer service, and actually TALK to a human; we find the cellphone service here is provided by Mojave Wireless, and they contract with Verizon to provide voice service only.  At least we have emergency phone service should we need it!  :-)  TV here is good; we are right on the peak of the ridge.  PBS comes in perfectly, and we watch lots of TV; news, the President's state of the union address, then the Democratic follow up.  We can run the generator as much as we want here, bothering nobody but ourselves, so we make sure there is plenty of battery for heat before turning in.  A semi truck with two trailers pulls off the road nearby as soon as we turn in, but he soon pulls out.  Perhaps he overheated on the upgrade?  Or more likely he needed a relief stop....  :-)  We are tuned to any vehicles that do not keep moving along the highway, but the night passes with nothing else noted.

Thursday February 3:

It is 43 degrees when I awake at 5:30 AM.  The heat has run more than usual last night.  We are higher, and on the ridge the wind gets full shot at us.  I spend some time catching up with the log, and we run the generator as soon as Claire awakes.  Nobody to bother here!!  :-)  We'll go to Bullhead City for laundry and shopping before proceeding to Katherine Landing in Lake Mead National Recreation Area for a while.  Neither of us slept too well last night; I think it was a combination of highway noise and concern for our isolated situation.  This is a VERY pretty place, but it is fast highway with no buildings or other RVs in sight.  I was aware of vehicles passing in the night, with the Doppler shift in their noise indicating they had not slowed, nor had they driven onto the gravel area on which we had parked.  I'm reminded of the days we lived on the sailboat, with the same constant awareness of sounds and situation, even while sleeping, to avoid nasty consequences, such as drifting at anchor, or sinking from an open toilet valve or any other leaking condition.  We were leisurely about leaving in the bright morning sunshine...it was as if it were a different place than that which had us feeling isolated last night. This patch of a plant that was growing thick, filling the desert with green 3 feet high on the way here, caught my eye.

I don't know what it's called, but it looks to be in the mustard family, and is blooming profusely with tiny blossoms.  Still, we avoid touching...even though this one looks edible.  :-)  We finally moved on to Bullhead City, following Arizona SR95 as it meandered along the Colorado river.  Bullhead City we have seen before, and found the Walmart easily from memory.  We shopped for essentials depleted in our time in the desert, and moved on toward the laundromat we recalled from before.  It was a lot further than we remembered along the busy street, but we found it and managed to park in the tight parking lot.  Laundry is always a chore, as we do EVERYTHING; normally two black plastic bags stuffed with stuff. A lady points out the coin cups piled next to the bill changer when Claire puts a $20 bill into it. I guess the Vegas culture extends down here; they know what to do with a jackpot!  :-)   Laundry goes well, but still it is nearing 4PM when we leave for the 7 mile drive to Katherine Landing.  We decide any further shopping for meat can wait until we reach the Las Vegas area.  We pass within sight of the casinos across the river in Laughlin NV, but we are more interested in a spot in a quiet campground.  Almost half of the campground is closed for the winter; this is evidently a summer place.  The golden age price is still $5 a night, and we find a site long enough for us and back in; it's level enough without blocks. :-)  There is a dump station nearby, and a shower room with coin slots for hot water a long walk away.  This may be a good place to do some work needing water, like washing the generator's air filter and the rain streaked windshield.  We can also install Claire's reading light, and yes, even install the 2 meter ham radio antenna on the roof of the coach.  We have NOAA weather radio again, native Verizon cell service even if a bit weak, and TV is good too.  Generator quiet hours are reasonable too; we can run it any time except 10PM to 6AM.  We did not walk to the lake last time we were here, and we want to be sure and do that now.  We were hurrying homeward around the first day of spring then, and only spent one night here....  We relax, watch a lot of TV, and dinner is warmed up squash soup.  As usual, it is even better the second time!  After dishes are done, it is time for bed for me.  Claire is up another couple of hours with TV.

Plans:  We will continue drifting northward as long as weather is cooperative.  Immediate plans are to continue to Las Vegas then returning to California and Death Valley.  I heard of a hot spring in a tiny town on the way to Death Valley too....hmmmm.  :-)  This weekend we will call to check on any road closures from recent flooding too.   After Death Valley we are still undecided, but that is part of what makes this fun...the time and ability to follow a whim or suggestion from a fellow traveler.

Until next time.... ENJOY!  We are!