Monday, March 19, 2012

We're at a different campsite

We've moved a little way.  We could have paid another $40 for another 14 days at La Posa, BUT, being frugal (Sheryl more than me) we decided to move to another BLM camping area that is totally free BUT doesn't have any sewer dump or water (we call it our twins - Dump and Fill).  But the views are great.  The picture below is the view out our front door. The mountains are even closer than they look here. 


We did three loads of laundry and filled up with water at La Posa when we left and then headed for Dome Rock (about 7 miles away from our campsite in La Posa) late Saturday afternoon.


The flag in the lower left corner of the map is our new campsite.  You can see part of the town of Quartzsite in the upper right hand corner.

Sunday morning found us at the Quartzsite Alliance Church 11 a.m. service.  We enjoyed worshiping with them.

We have also been to the Burger King in Quartzsite quite often.  Nice people work there.  Don Premo should schedule some time out here.  It would be fun and different.

Yesterday was very windy here..  and I mean WINDY (25-35 mph gusts).  We are on a knoll and the trailer was swaying around quite a bit.  We went to bed, only to wake up at 2 a.m. to MORE WIND (40-50 mph gusts).   I got up and went outside to secure the solar panel (we haven't mounted the panel to anything yet so we tie it down with bungee cords).   I came back to bed.   I laid there about 5 minutes, then got up again, went outside, took all my tie downs apart and brought the panel into the RV.   It was then I realized how cold I was.   After Sheryl warmed me up, I went back to sleep listening to the "hurricane" outside.

After sleeping in this morning, I set up the solar panel this morning and now we're getting "free" electricity again, thanks to the Sun.  After breakfast and reading our Bibles, we went into town, picked up some groceries, gassed up and ate lunch.  Then it was "hit the trail" time.  We headed toward the mountains behind us with the truck.



We could see the trails from our RV but couldn't figure out how to get to them.   It looked like the Old West as we " 4 wheeled " our way about 2 miles around checking out the trails.  We finally found a good "hiking" area, and enjoyed the close up experience.  Some of the most beautiful quartz rocks and flowering cactus.   


 



We enjoyed the views, the cactus in bloom, the different kinds of rocks and the fresh air.  I even went up the side of a small hill that looked a lot steeper climbing down than it did Climbing up.  We decided to go back to the RV, which we could see off in the distance so we just started working our way toward it.

We were going up and down on a trail when we spotted a jack rabbit in a wash.   the ears..  WOW!  In another wash we scared up a coyote.   There's lots of wild life around here.  We soon found a trail that led back to our front door.


 We had rain here over the weekend - a rare thing in Arizona.  Everyone was looking forward to it.  We even had a puddle in the wash leading to our RV in the background.  There are very few campers in this new area. 


We have nothing like this back in Michigan.   A "wash" is a low area that the water follows after a thunderstorm.   You don't park your RV in a wash and if you're walking in one and you notice rain or hear thunder, you get to higher ground because you can be inundated with high water before you know it.  This puddle was only 8 or 10 inches deep.   In many places in Arizona, the washes cross the roads regularly AND are MUCH deeper.  You would be in serious trouble if you try to cross when there is water in the wash.

After supper tonight, we decided to take a walk around the area of the travel trailer.  It wasn't long until we spotted another animal...  it looked a little like a coyote and had long ears.   We figured it must be a desert fox.   We followed it through a couple of washes and rises and then lost it.   It was getting dark.  Time to get back to the RV.

When we first arrived in Quartzsite, we noticed the welcome sign with the three camels on it.


So what about the three camels.   We didn't have a clue until we happened upon the cemetery and came upon the story.   It seems that during the Civil War, the Confederacy experimented with a plan to use Camels to transport men and gear across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.   They brought some Camels from the Middle East, and after the war, one of the camel drivers settled in Quartzsite.  Check out the rest of the story at http://www.azcentral.com/travel/visitor/oddballaz/articles/2006/06/13/20060613hijolly-CR.html.

It's peaceful tonight.   The winds have died down and it's quiet.   Another beautiful day in the Quartzsite, Arizona area. Hopefully, more hiking tomorrow.

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