Saturday, January 27, 2018

Back in Familair Territory.....Quartzsite!



La Posa South LTVA (Long Term Visitor Area) in Quartzsite is going to be our home for the next month and we were anxious to find a spot to call our own. We were a month later in arriving than we were last year and with “The Show” starting in just two days the place pretty full already. Luckily, we had a couple of secret agents keeping an eye out for open sites and a site was opening up where a lot of our friends were the day we happened to be arriving. So with tables and chairs at the ready Vicki and Harry as well as Deb and Steve watched the occupants packing up and as soon as they pulled out they sprinted over and placed their furniture in the vacated spot in the hopes that it would still be available when we got there. As luck would have it we pulled in within 15 minutes of the old tenants leaving and we were able to slide right in!
And what a great spot it is, as we are within 100 yards of not only Vicki, Harry, Deb and Steve, we were also within 100 yards of Steve and Dianne, Jim and Brenda (our South Dakota neighbors), Jerry and Linda, Red and Pam as well as Cindi and Roger!

Just a sea of rigs to the southeast

And to the southwest
Once we got settled we wandered over to Steve and Dianne’s for happy hour (we did not waste any time!) It is good to see our Quartzsite friends again! Les and Sue even made a guest appearance on their way by!
Vicki and Harry

Deb and Steve


Les and Sue
Steve and Dianne
The next night Dianne made a huge pot of chili and we had another late night around the fire. As we sat around the fire talking smart we made plans to attend the RC plane swap meet at the airfield the next day after Red had breakfast. The next thing Pam knew most of us had invited ourselves over to their place the next morning for biscuits and gravy before heading out.

There were a lot of cool planes at the swap meet but none of us ended up buying anything. 


Prices ranged anywhere from $100 - $500 per plane
This guy had quite the set up!
There has been a lot of speculation on how the LTVA’s would be impacted by the government shutdown. Would they turn off the water? Would they close the dump stations? Would they make everyone leave? The answer questions were yes, well maybe and I don't know. The first thing we noticed is that the offices were closed and no one was being checked in and no permits were being issued. As a result people were coming in for free. There was also a notice posted saying the area was closed, you could stay, but all services were going to be turned off. No water, no dump stations and no garbage service. Everyone was panicking, rushing to the water and dump stations for one last time before they were shut down. Ourselves included. The day that the services were scheduled to close the government struck a deal and reopened so in the end only the garbage pickup was turned off for a couple days....

In line for the dump station at sunrise

When they finally did pick up the garbage they had to bring out a frontend loader
Even though the government may have shut down, the socializing did not. One evening we traveled over to Plomosa Road to visit friends Dave and Maxine along with Tracey and DeLano. We had met both of them a couple of years ago while doing the road mapping job. Although we have seen Dave and Maxine a couple times since then, we have not seen Tracey and Delano in a couple years. It was great catching up with them and meeting Tracey and DeLano's bird Petri.


Maxine and Dave

Tracy (right) and her sister who flew down from Saskatchewan
DeLano and Petri
The next night Pam hosted a "Hobo Soup Night" with many of our LaPosa South friends. Everyone brought a soup ingredient and dumped it into a large pot. Some brought meat, some brought corn, others brought onions, tomatoes, celery.... a literal potpourri of ingredients. Although everyone raved about how good it was, I am not that adventurous and stuck to my cheese and crackers.
Pam, the Soup Queen!

It was our largest gathering so far this season with about almost 30 people in attendance. Al and Donna Ferguson stopped by for a bit and Faye and Dave have now joined our little community for a few days. We have been following each others blogs for years and this is only our second time getting together since meeting them in Alaska in 2015.

Faye and Dave

Barb chatting it up with Jerry, Pam and Linda


Donna and Al
Once the sun went down Barb and I snuck away to walk the dogs and get some beauty rest as the next day we were up bright and early for a day trip to Mexico with Harry! Wait, weren't we just in Mexico last week? Why, yes we were but Harry needed to make a quick trip down to see the dentist so we asked if they had room for two more.

This trip Barb wanted to see about getting new lens for her sunglasses. She had been quoted over $400 for just the new lens from her optometrist here in the states. She went to Best Optical in Los Algodones where they did an eye exam and she got new lens for $79. We are curious how well these hold up compared to her old lens but the over $300 savings is substantial.
Part of Barb's eye exam
While we were there we ate at a small restaurant with great shrimp tacos. We would highly recommend it if you are down there.
Great shrimp tacos!
When we got home, Rick and Kathy Rousseau stopped by for a visit. Apparently they had tried to find our rig the day before and ended up in the nudie section. I am not sure if Rick was really looking for our rig or just an excuse to explore that area.

As if we did not have enough activity for the week, Thursday night we saw Steve and Dianne outside their rig so we walked over to say hi. Soon Harry and Vicki walked over then Steve and Deb. Somehow we got to talking about different types of booze and next thing we knew there were about a dozen booze bottles gathered around the group and we had in impromptu booze tasting. Big mistake! I would tell you that the night ended with me guiding Barb back to the rig where she spent the night on the floor with half her body in the bathroom and half in the hallway but she probably would get mad at me so I won't tell you that.

About 2:00am I woke up and was very hungry and realized that we had not had dinner. Do I risk getting out of bed and stepping over her in the hallway? Would she bite my ankle as I went by? I instead decide to tough it out a few more hours until breakfast. At 2:30 she woke up and climbed into bed. Would now be a good time to ask what's for dinner? As I played several scenarios of asking this question through my mind none of them ended with me getting something to eat so I opted to say nothing. As soon as she was asleep I crept out of bed and got some crackers, huddled in a corner and quietly ate them while keeping one eye on the bedroom door. She was very, very slow the next morning and actually throughout the day. I did what I could to make her feel comfortable but for the most part I just kept my distance as I learned long ago not to poke a cranky bear.
She should have stopped at one!
A few of the bottles we sampled that night
Friday night Steve and Dianne had a get together to welcome their Canadian friends Dave and Leslie. They are from Alberta and have been following our blog for quite a while. Many of the usual suspects were in attendance, all told there were over 20 people there including Jim and Cec from British Columbia who also parked in the area and have been following our blog. It was great getting to know all of them a little better.

Dave, Leslie and Dianne

Jim and Cec
Barb was still not feeling well so we called it a night quite early and got her to bed.

Week One is in the books here in Q. I don't know how it could have been much busier but I think we are about to find out as today Barb is headed to Phoenix to pick up our daughter Jessica and our grandchildren Dylan (8) and Kendall aka Baby K, aka Special K (3) who is coming to visit for a week in the desert.

Wish us luck!

36 comments:

  1. Great recap of the fun filled week. Sure hope Barb doesn't find out you let the cat out of the bag! 😜

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    1. It is so great being back here with you guys. Glad we altered our travel plans to come to Q and see everyone! I can hear you guys at the fire laughing as I write this!

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  2. We hope Barb is feeling better after a bought with the bottle flu. Lisa would have been there to hold her hair back. You were probably smart not to poke that bear. Will you be able to last a month there and then start re-hab?

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    1. She is feeling much better, One thing about this flu, once you have it, you tend not to get it again for quite a while!

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  3. Now you've got Kathy second guessing my intention. Actually I was trying to give her a bigger thrill then she got.
    Few less people at Blogger Fest but still a good get together.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. I did not have a way to get to Bloggerfest today as Barb went to Phoenix to pick up our daughter and two grandchildren. Hope it went well!

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  4. Ohhhhhh.....poor Barb. Those liquor hangovers hurt and they take forever to get over....or so I've heard.

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    1. It has been years since she has done that and probably years until it happens again. Or at least until she forgets this episode!

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  5. I am really glad you didn't tell us about Barb, that could have turned out bad for you.

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    1. I know my boundaries, but I did not give this post to her to proof read!

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  6. I have the shakes seeing all these people and all the get-togethers. Way too many people for us. But it sounds like you two are having a great time. How sweet that the family is coming to visit for a week:) Poor Barb! That tasting can get the best of you:)

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    1. Ha, Barb is much the same way. It is really great seeing everyone, it has been a long time. The kids are here now, it looks like it is going to be another busy and active week!

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  7. 4yrs ago we pulled into south laposa ,we travelled up the main gravel road using our binoculars looking at all the rigs , trying to find a unit of someone we knew ,imagine our surprise ,and horror ,when we realized we had reached the magic circle area ,and were glassing the nudy area ,now that was embarrassing,we had to turn around and get out of there fast!


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    1. I can imagine that was a shock if you did not know what you were getting into!

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  8. With reference to the RC planes. I had some friends who were into the RC planes and went to watch them fly. There were a large group of people flying that day. My friend said the first rule of owning an RC plane is "don't fall in love with your plane". Sure enough one of the planes did a nose dive into the ground and was completely destroyed.

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    1. I can believe that and would be just sick if that happened to me. One of our friends witnessed a midair collision the other day when he was there watching

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  9. Sounds like you are having a blast. Wish we were there too. :) Hope Barb is feeling better. :) lol

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    1. We wish you were here too! Looks like you guys are keeping very busy up there yourselves.

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  10. Funning stuff. I read it to Karen who enjoyed the story as well... What a great group of people. Especially when they got your back and grab a spot for you to park in. Or don't wake you up in the night to be miserable after one finally gets the ceiling to stop spinning!

    What do you do for internet connections for those who might need to work from their spot? I now Steve uses Verizon for his work and I assume there is coverage in the area.

    Mark

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    1. We have Verizon as well but it is painfully slow the week of the show. I know some people who need the internet for work leave this area for the week and go somewhere where the cell towers are not as busy.

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  11. Sounds like a heck of a fun and busy first week in Q. Wish we could've joined for an afternoon visit but still working on recuperating and regaining our energy. Give me a shout out when the grandkids leave and we'll plan a get together.

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    1. There is some of that bug going on around here as well. Luckily Barb and I have been able to avoid it so far. We will touch base next week and set something up!

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  12. What a great week! Hopefully some of you are still there when we arrive early March!

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    1. We are leaving on 2/24 for Oregon but Vicki, Harry, Steve, Dianne, Red and Pam are planning on going to the rally.

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  13. Wow.....I'm exhausted just reading about all the social activities. Sounds like lots of fun!!

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  14. I hope you stocked up on crackers while at WalMart! It was oh so fun to see everyone as usual! We enjoyed the Liquid Buffet as well. Surprisingly none of the rest of us caught "Barb's Bug"! Enjoy those adorable grandkids

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    1. Funny, you guys seemed to be in instigators of those buffets! It was great seeing you guys as well, it had been too long.....

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  15. Hi Barb and Jim, still following your blog. We might be headed to the north east after labor day. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec etc.
    We love your blog, Bob and Lorraine

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    1. Always good to hear from you guys! We are delaying our NE trip for a year or two and are going to concentrate on developing our SD property. You are always welcome if you are in the area!

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  16. Great to see you for a few days, thanks for inviting us to stay in the "hood". Hope our paths cross again next winter.

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  17. Was really great to meet you both (Barb was a trooper after "the bug") we certainly hope we cross paths again. Thanks welcoming the "new guys" and mentioning us in the blog! We're a little famous in 2 blogs:)) Cheers and safe travels.

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    1. Great meeting you two as well, looking forward to meeting up again in the future!

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  18. Jim and Barb we are your neighbors in SD, was hoping to run into y'all in Quartzsite this winter. We left Q on Feb 13 and are in the Laughlin area until the end of April. Looking forward to meeting you and the Jordans this spring.

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    1. We should be in SD all of April as well as on and off throughout the summer and look forward to meeting you as well!

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