December 5, 2005

December 5, 2005

Congress to Quartzsite, Arizona

YEAR 2 DAY 171

 

Today was sunny and warm.

This morning I took the computer over to the modem cubicle, got online, retrieved e-mail, and updated my blog. I wanted to be completely up to date before we headed off to boondock at Quartzsite. I did preventive maintenance, then began preparing for departure. I drained and flushed the waste holding tanks, and refilled the fresh water, before hitching up the trailer to the truck. I removed an empty propane tank from the propane compartment, and Joanne took it to the park office to have it refilled while she paid our bill for 5 nights in the park. I told her to leave it at the office, and I'd pick it up when she returned to the trailer, but she brought the filled propane tank back with her. A full propane tank weighs about 56 pounds. I thought that would be too much for her to walk with, from the propane refill station back to the trailer. I was wrong.

We left North Ranch Escapees Park, heading north on Hwy. 89 to Congress, then southwest on Hwy. 71 to Hwy. 60 at Aguila. We took Hwy. 60 southwest until it reached Interstate 10. We got onto I-10 heading west, to Quartzsite. We found our way to the "High Jolly" camping area on the BLM lands about 3 miles north of the town of Quartzsite. We drove around on the desert until we found an area we liked, then parked, unhitched, and set up.

Quartzsite is a small town in the desert that is like Mecca for the RV world. Every winter, primarily in January, hundreds of thousands of RV's converge on Quartzsite, boondocking in the desert for miles around the town. All the land around Quartzsite is BLM land, and boondock camping is allowed. Thousands of vendors also converge on Quartzsite, turning it into sort of the world's largest dollar store / flea market.

We had lunch, then I took Bo for a walk before we set off for town. I was walking him along the edge of a "wash" / arroyo / dry creek bed. The bank gave way when I stepped on it and I fell. As the bank crumbled under me, my feet shot out sideways, I flipped, and smashed my head on the side of the bank before tumbling down into the "wash". Bo was stunned and just stood there on the bank looking down at me. "Go for help, Lassie ... go for help." I twisted my wrist and knee, but worse of all was my twisted neck. The knee and wrist stopped hurting after awhile, but the sore neck remained.

We drove into Quartzsite for an afternoon of browsing through the many stalls and booths, in many different market areas in town. December and February are not quite as active as January in Quartzsite, so many vendors still have not arrived, but there were still many for us to shop at. I bought some specialty tools. A reputation of Quartzsite is that many vendors are selling stuff that you either didn't know existed, or didn't know you needed / wanted until you saw it. That's true ! As a matter of fact, I regret not buying something I saw today, and intend to return tomorrow to buy it, if I can remember where I saw it.

We filled up with diesel at Love's, paying the lowest price since we crossed into the U.S. on November 1. We returned to the trailer parked out in the desert. While Joanne prepared a pizza for supper, I started a campfire beside the trailer, just as the sun set. We sat beside the fire for awhile before having supper. I had the bright idea to use my "hot rocks" from B.C. as a heating pad for my stiff neck. I placed them beside the fire for a few minutes. I touched one, and it was still not too hot to pick up. I picked it up, and placed it on the side of my sore neck. YOW ! I guess that side was much hotter then the side I touched. Now I have a sore, and burnt, neck !

We had supper in the trailer, then went back outside to sit by the fire. Teddy and Bo joined us. Teddy loves fires. The sky was incredibly clear, and the stars were brilliant. The desert night air was cold. I heated my hot rocks, placing them right on the coals as the fire burned down. We came inside, and while Joanne washed dishes I did today's accounting. I went back outside, retrieved my hot rocks from the coals, wrapped them in an old towel, and I'm now sitting at the table typing this, with my feet on the towel wrapped hot rocks. Very nice. After they cool down a lot, I'll put them under or beside my pillow, and lie down on them. I'm a bit worried about the injury to my neck.

DSK