Week 1 in Quartzsite

Our La Posa South community continues to grow as more and more rigs pull in everyday. With the holidays over and a mere two weeks until the big show starts this week will undoubtably be filled with many more rigs arriving. One of the recent arrivals included Red and Pam whom we had met last year on our way through this area. We had been following each other’s travels all year and it great to see them again. They are parked about 50 yards east of us. They arrived on the 30^th which just happened to be my birthday! We had a happy hour at our place with them as well as Steve, Dianne, Ray and Deb. With the exception of Daisy breaking one of Pam’s two remaining wine glasses, we had a great evening.

It's a birthday bash!

I was also able to get the drone up this week and get some footage of the rig and surrounding area. I want to take some now and during the peak of the show in a couple of weeks so see how many more rigs show up.

Our little desert oasis

 

Looking north, that is our rig in the bottom left. Steve and Dianne's rig in in the middle

West.....another rig pulling in

South

And finally east.

 Barb and I took a drove an hour southwest to check out Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. A couple we had met in Lake Mead had worked down there a couple of years ago it is sounded like a cool area to check out. Waterfowl everywhere! Pintails, mallards, widgeon as well as snow geese, canadian geese, cranes and deer. It is a beautiful area and if you are in the area I would definitely recommend stopping by.

Snows, Canadians and Pintails

Pintails

Sandhill Cranes

Mule deer having a snack

Coyote looking for a snack

 

 

It had been 10 days since we dumped the waste tanks or filled the fresh water tank. We were getting full on the first and empty on the second. We were going to have to pack things up, put the slides in, hook the rig up to the truck and take it to the dump station and then the fresh water station. However, the next morning Red stopped by and said he was going to the hardware store to pick up a couple of 55 gallon drums for dumping and fresh water. So off to the hardware store we went returning with everything we needed for about $165 which we split the cost of.

One of the barrels had a valve installed on it that we could connect the sewer hose to and we installed a water valve on the other barrel we were going to use for fresh water. Red already had a macerator pump which pumps the contents of the waste tanks from the rig into the sewer barrel, I had an extra water pump that we will use to pump the fresh water from the other barrel into the rig and we both had extra hoses. Having these items saved us about $430. A couple of wiring connections and hose adaptions and we were ready to test it out!

I will save you from pictures of the actual pumping of the waste but here are some pictures of the components and me filling the fresh water.

This is the waste water tank with the sewer connection

Red holding Steve at bay with the macerator pump



The fresh water tank with the water pump mounted on a board

One day we were invited on a 4 wheeler ride with a group of Steve and Dianne’s friends. Bob and Sue are avid 4 wheelers and geocachers and know this area like the back of their hands. They took us on an awesome 5 hour 60 mile ride through both desert country as well as the mountains. We saw a lot of cool things but I think the coolest on this trip had to be the remains of a barracks area where General Patton had his troops train during WWII.

 

Barb and Dianne looking for a geocache at an old water tank

One of Sue's dogs chill'in in the back of her RZR

124th Division barracks location

Steve coming up the hill at Preacher's Pass

 

What's Daisy been up to? Other than long walks in the desert, she has been watching a lot of TV and sleeping. Some people think she is the most spoiled dog they have seen but I asked her and she totally disagrees and wanted to know who called her a dog!



Daisy and I watching Breaking Bad

How do you think she sleeps?

Next week we have more friends showing up and will get into town to check out more of the vendor and local attractions!

Beginners Guide to Quartzsite

Plamosa Road, La Posa North, La Posa West, La Posa South, Tyson Wash, Dome Rock…..Known as the boondocking capital of the world, there are so many areas for good boondocking. So how does a first timer choose which one to stay at? This was the first decision we faced when planning our first winter stayover in the Quartzsite area. Our decision was first influenced by how long we planned on staying. As we planned on staying for at least 30 days, maybe as long as 90, Dome Rock and several others that have a 14 day limit were out. This left the La Posa and Tyson Wash Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVA’s) but which one? One must consider how much privacy they want, proximity to fresh water and a dump station, proximity to town or friends……. For us the deciding factor was where some of our friends were going to be staying so we decided on La Posa South.

As this was our first time in the area we did not know the rules, regulations and etiquette. We pulled in and our first site was the check-in station. Although some of the boondocking areas on BLM land in this area are free, the LVTA’s do charge a nominal fee to cover the cost of garbage pickup, sewer dump stations and water. You have two choices when it comes to the fees; $40 for 14 days or $180 for 7 months starting September15th. We chose the latter as we plan on staying for a month or more and it is valid at the other LVTA’s in both Arizona and California.

Fee paid, registration stickers received, we set out to find the perfect site. With hundreds of acres of area to choose from and hundreds of RV’s scattered around we had no idea where to begin. Luckily, friends Steve and Dianne, were already in the area and Steve met us on his 4 wheeler and guided us to several spots he thought we might like. Thanks goodness….. we had no idea where to even start and the etiquette on how far away we should park from other rigs. Although some of the sites were obvious, others were not, but after a bit we were able to distinguish where some likely spots were. In the end we picked a spot about 75 yards from Steve and Dianne’s rig.

We dropped the trailer, parked the jeep and 4 wheeler and set out to mark our territory. No, I don’t mean running from bush to bush marking our spot! Here in Quartzsite people mark their areas with a row of rocks encircling their personal space. Weird I know, but when in Rome……

Stay Away!

This actually accomplished a couple of things; it deters (but does not prevent) people from setting up and driving through your area. For the most part people respect these boundaries but when it starts to get really packed all bets are off.

Sunsets from our rig are awesome!

Territory marked, we needed to learn the lay of the land; where to get gas, where to do laundry, groceries and other specifics one needs to learn when staying in an area for an extended period of time. Luckily, once again Steve and Dianne to the rescue! They took us on a tour of the town and pointed out some specifics. Although prices change regularly, here is where we found the best prices right now. Propane varies anywhere from $1.99 to $2.45/gallon. The best place we found was Fill-R-Up right from Main St. as you are driving south into town on 95 from Parker. I filled a 30#’er for just over $15.00. Even through it is a smaller town, fuel will vary by .30/gallon within a few miles. This week the best price we found was at the Arco on the east side of town ($2.09 unleaded, $2.07 Diesel) Your best bet on groceries is to get them before you get into town or drive to Parker to hit the Safeway or Walmart but if you have to get something in town, Roadrunner is probably your best bet but watch the expiration dates.

If you have a LTVA permit you can dump and fill with water at La Pasa South, if not, you will need to dump and get water at RV Pit Stop just north of Main on 95. Last but not least, if you are going to be down here for a month or more, you may want to get your mail. We have been told horror stories about the Quartzsite Post Office. In fact there is even T-shirts in town that state “I survived the Quartzsite Post Office”. Steve and Dianne have used and recommended a place called Quiet Times which for a nominal fee (usually $1-$2) will let you use their mailing address to receive packages.

 

Let’s not forget some of the food establishments in town…..Silly Al’s which has a great pizza and Beer Belly’s Adult Day Care is a great place to stop for a burger and a beer. Not only is Quartzsite known for it’s boondocking, but is also known for the 2 month Rock, Gem and Mineral Show starting January 1^st and of course the RV Show January 16^th-24^th. During those times this place gets REALLY interesting....more to come next time on that but here is a little teaser......

"Dry-docking"?

These necessities aside, it was time for some fun! So what do you do in the middle of the desert for fun? Well, there is happy hour for one! We got together with Steve and Dianne a few times along with their friends Deb and Ray and fellow RV Dreamers Dale and Ruth.

Happy Hour with Ruth, Dianne Steve and Dale

There are hundreds of miles of jeep and 4 wheeler trails so we took the opportunity to do both. We hit the trails with Steve and Dianne one day where they showed us several abandoned mines, stone cabins and geocaches. I can see us spending a lot of time exploring areas looking for the thousands of geocaches in the area. The history of places like this are very interesting but I think the coolest thing we have seen so far were the mortar/grinding holes formed by the Indians when they ground grain.

Here we go!

 

Stopping to look for a geocache

 

Welcome to our home!

A fixer up'er

Dianne and Steve

Remnants of an old mine

Indian mortar holes

All in all it looks like it is going to be a good albeit interesting place to spend the winter!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Quartzsite Arizona!

We want to wish a very Merry Christmas to all our friends and family in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, California, North Dakota, Oregon Florida, Alaska and all of our RV friends scattered across the country. We are enjoying the warm weather in the desert but miss the snow and the company of our friends and family.

 

We are thinking of all and wish you nothing but the merriest of Christmas’ and a happy new year!

And the Winner is..........

When we last left you I asked for your votes on three pictures which were taken at Zion during our Thanksgiving visit. One was taken by Shane, one by Forrest and one by me.

#1 Fall foliage on a foggy morning

 

#2 Mule deer buck with a "butte"iful background

 

#3....and the winner!

With 9 out of 11 votes the winner is…….Shane! with picture #3. It really does capture the essence of Zion. Forrest (picture #1) and I (picture #2) finished well behind. Thanks for your votes, it created some fun family rivalry.

The days since returning from Zion have been cool with highs in the 40’s and lows in the 20’s. We made the most of it spending as much time with the grandkids as possible. Jessica and I were also able to get out to the pistol range one day. Another day Forrest and I made it out to the desert where we flew the drone and shot pistols and shotguns (no, not at the drone).

Dead-eye Jessica

 

We were lucky enough to spend the last Christmas with the kids but this year we will be on our own. We decided earlier on that this year we would be further south at Christmas. The fact that we froze up last year pretty much “solidified” that decision. So on the 12^th we said goodbye to the kids and while Barb drove the rig, I followed with the Jeep and 4 wheeler on a 5 hour drive south where we spent the night at Virgin River Recreation Area just south of St. George. At $8.00 a night, this is a great spot to stop for the night. The sites don’t have any hookups but they do have clean restrooms and you cannot beat the scenery.

Virgin River Rec. Area.... snow storm in the mountains!

The next day after a short 2 hour drive we pulled into an area the locals call “Poverty Flats” as it is a place where snowbirders come to boondock in the desert and wait out the winter. During the peak of winter there will be several hundred rigs here ranging from $500,000 rigs to $500 rigs. When we pulled in and set up there were probably only 20 rigs in the area so we pretty much had our pick of spots.

"Poverty Flats" wide open and barren

On our way through the town of Overton we noticed several rigs camping at the Overton Wildlife Management Area so after we got set up we went back to check it out. When we pulled in we saw that there was about 10 secluded camping sites, ducks and geese flying over and several groups of duck hunters in the parking lot getting ready to go out hunting. We talked to the ranger who said the camping sites were free, first come first serve and a max limit of 8 days. Ducks and free camping? This place was awesome! Why were we parked in the desert when we could be camping here? We headed back to the flats, hooked everything back up and within 30 minutes we were all set up in the WMA! Bad decision…….what they don’t tell you is that about 200 yards away is a silica sand pit that runs 24 hours a day….trains, trucks, dozers, you name it running all hours of the night and every time one of them backed up…..beep, beep, beep! We managed to get a good night sleep but decided that one night was enough.



Barb and Daisy in an Overton WMA duck blind waiting for some birds to come in!

We walked the WMA for a few hours in the morning, hooked up and headed into the Lake Mead National Park 80 miles south to Boulder Beach Campground. We had stayed here last year and really enjoyed the area and the campground (no hookups) at $10/night but the main reason we stopped by this area was to see our friends Steve and Joan who we had not seen since last spring. We spent several days together; went to a cookie exchange, Jeeped into the backcountry to explore an old mine, hiked, played cards and of course going out to eat. It was great seeing them again and catching up! 

Site #33 in Boulder Beach, Lake Mead in the background

This is an old mine we explored......those support beams look pretty sketchy!

This was a private residence in Boulder NV!

One morning Barb and I took a really cool hike within 5 minutes of our campground. The hike followed a wash up a canyon and eventually got narrower and narrower until it formed a slot canyon with high walls and only about 10-20 wide. Eventually it deadended at a 15' rock wall. But wait.....there is a rope hanging down from the top! Do we turn around and go back or go up?

You go up of course!

A few hundred yards further we encountered some rock scrambling areas and yet another rope climb......

 There was a total of 4 rope climbs, I would definitely recommend gloves if you are going to take this hike. The only wildlife we saw was a tarantula and the remains of a bighorn sheep.....oh and one lizard who was very camera shy!

See the mini arch in the background?

I HATE spiders!

After a few miles we came to an open valley amongst the peaks of the range, we could have kept going but it was time to turn around. If going up the ropes was a challenge I would say that going down was twice as hard. You really had to lean back and "walk" down the ledge.

This one was about 20"

Last one!

Walk'in down

A Lake Mead area visit would not be complete without heading over to Las Vegas to see the nightlife. That is exactly what we did with Steve and Joan on Saturday night. Let me tell you what we saw there is really hard to describe.....from very cool to bizarre. Most of the things I wanted to take pictures of were not "family friendly" If you are in the area, you have to walk Freemont St. at night to see the sights and the awesome light show on the canopy. Notice anything unusual or interesting in one of these two pictures?

It has been 6 months since we have been in the southwest and we saw a couple of SW oddities that we had not seen prior to first coming to this area. For the seasoned RV'er you probably see these things all the time but for those up north, I thought I would share two of these oddities... The first are these numbered signs in depressions along some roadways.

According to this Barb shrunk!

Any idea what they area? This one is actually pretty easy, they are foot indicators in water runoff areas. Flashfloods happen very quickly in this area so the water over the road can easily get 2,3,4 or more feet very quickly. Despite these warnings, people drive into the rushing water anyway.

This next one is a little more challenging....... You will see these fences in Lake Mead National Park, they are about 18 inches high and run for miles.

 

Give up? They are tortoise fences to keep the rare Desert Tortoise from crossing the roads. They all funnel to bridges or culverts so the turtles can cross under the road if they really want to.

Next up our first long term Quartzsite adventure!