Sunday ; Sunny and … cold !
WOO-HOO … car is sold !
Trailer sold and gone. Car now sold and gone ! Lot 52 and Arizona room sold, transfer date next Thursday ! Well done, Daniel !
Think we’ll leave here on Thursday, go to Quartzsite for a couple of nights, then Palm Springs, probably for the rest of the winter. We deserve it !
Two months of “taking the waters”, soaking in mineral hot springs. Going for long walks. Afternoon naps. Fine dining. Live theatre at least once. Adventure outings, such as Joshua Tree National Park.
Monday ; Sunny and cold again.
This morning before we were even out of bed the purchaser of our car left Sadie, his Golden Retriever, in our Arizona room for us to “dog sit” while he went to Mexico for dental work this morning. As he left … in his “new” minivan … I got out of bed, went out to the Arizona room and retrieved Sadie. HEY … I made a dog pun. HA HA HA !
I brought her into the camper and we all crawled back into bed for another hour or so. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a dog snuggled up to me in bed. And I’ve certainly never snuggled up to one that big ! HA HA HA ! Before lunch I took her for a long walk twice around the dog park.
Sadie was with us until late afternoon, and will be returning tomorrow for another day with us. It was a joy to have her with us today.
Late this afternoon we received payment for our Arizona room from the buyer. All that is left now is payment for our lot, which will come to us from the RV park a week or so after the transfer/possession date which is Thursday.
Tuesday ; Sunny and mild.
Today was day two of our “dog sitting” Sadie the Golden Retriever. She’s sweet and very well behaved. Well … DUH … she’s a Golden !
Both of us are feeling very stressed by this process of selling, packing, and leaving. <sigh> Only two more days to go.
And while I continue to encounter passive-aggressive hurdles being thrown in our way and back room dealing “sabotage” to our sale efforts and departure plans … HA … I continue to win the “pissing contests”. It seems as if I have benefited throughout my life by having my “bad attitude” … and abilities … underestimated ! ! ! ! !
I spent much of the afternoon with the purchaser of our minivan, as he dealt with the struggles of getting the minivan “title” ownership (a distinctly different process in the United States than in Canada) transferred to him, and buying ninety day temporary vehicle registration and license in Arizona. The seller (me) is not a resident of Arizona. The buyer (him) is not a resident of Arizona. He doesn’t want the car registered and licensed in Arizona, he wants it registered and licensed in South Dakota. My signature was required on documents. My signature had to be notarized on documents. <sigh> The line-ups for service at the Arizona Dept. of Transport/Motor Vehicle Branch were … <sigh> ... very long ! It was a three hour waste of my time that had to be endured.
AND … <sputter> … as encountered before … only black and brown skinned people were masked. I was one of the extremely few masked white people in a crowded public facility filled with hundreds of people. Including … I had a verbal confrontation about social distancing with the unmasked (Libertarian) buyer of our car while we were waiting in line at the DMV.
<taking a deep breath>
Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.
Late this morning, while on our early exercise walk we provided assistance to an elderly female resident of our park who toppled over her mobility scooter turning a corner too quickly. Slow down, Donna ! She injured her knee slightly, and her pride perhaps even more. She was driving too fast, with a loaded garbage can perched precariously on the scooter with her because … <ahem> … she was tired of waiting for her husband to take out the garbage. SO … ergo … the accident was HIS fault. She was furious ! <shrug> … HMPH ! Old woman logic ! Almost as flawed as dog logic. HA HA HA !
We spent the afternoon running errands. For the last time in Yuma ! We took a large load of recycling to the waste management site. We took our last load of stuff for donation to Goodwill. I refilled the truck with diesel. We shopped for groceries at Food City. We shopped for groceries at Albertsons.
We returned home just before dusk and immediately went for our late afternoon exercise walk. Before returning home to prepare supper we stopped and said farewell to our friends David and Linda.
Thursday ; Yuma to Quartzsite, Arizona
Sunny and warm.
After 6 ½ years on their waitlist, and ten years as lot owners and residents of the community, today we bid farewell to Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park. First we sold the fifth wheel trailer, then the Arizona room and lot, and finally the minivan. Today was “closing” date on the Arizona room and lot. We received payment and vacated the property this afternoon. That chapter of our lives is over, and a new one begins. And as we drove from Yuma to Quartzsite this afternoon, we both could feel the stress and negativity dissipating !
"America … love it or leave it" ? Yes, yes … our choice has been made ! ! ! ! !
HELLOOOOO, homeless vagabonding ! We’ve missed you !
This morning we completed departure preparations. At 1 PM I attended the beginning of the twice weekly lot transfer committee meeting for the ninth time … and verified that the buyer’s payment had been received. I reiterated to the committee that we expected our payment by close of business today. By 1:15 PM Joanne had paid our final electricity and propane refill billing, and we departed to run a couple of final errands in Yuma.
We returned our Beamspeed/internet service provider’s modem/router, then went to Wally’s World to buy an item I need to do some camper maintenance. As we were finishing there the lot transfer committee phoned at 2:15 PM to advise that our cheque was ready. We were back at Kofa Ko-op at 2:30 to pick up our cheque. <sigh> Not surprisingly the cheque amount was incorrect. Fortunately (and thanks to my OCD) I keep impeccable records and presented the invoice and paid statement proving their “adjustment” error. They corrected their error with cash.
Take your pick ; more passive aggressiveness ? Or ineptitude ?
We pulled out of Kofa Ko-op for the very last time about 3 PM.
We headed south on Hwy. 95 towards Quartzsite, stopping just a mile or two before reaching town, at the BLM Roadrunner short term camping area at Mile Marker 99. We have camped here before, during Escapee Roadrunner Chapter 7 rallies. Although usually when we boondock near Quartzsite it is about nine miles further north at BLM Hi Jolly short term camping area on the other side of the town of Quartzsite. We arrived about 5 PM, found a nice spot to park overnight, then went for a looooong walk across the desert, shedding more stress and negativity.
AHHHHHHHHHH ! <taking deep breath>
Friday ; Sunny and warm. Very nice !
This morning we left the Roadrunner BLM camping area and headed a couple of miles north to Quartzsite, to do some flea market shopping. On the way, I took the following photograph.
What a great truck ! ! ! ! ! I took that photograph to submit to the Cummins High Mileage Club to receive my next grille badge.
We shopped for a few hours at the Quartzsite flea markets until we were hot, tired, and hungry. We bought a new folding chair for Joanne. And polarized Ray-Ban/Joe Biden sunglasses for Joanne. And some groceries at the “scratch & dent” grocery vendor. We didn’t buy as much there as we usually do, their prices are nowhere near as low as in the past. As a result of the pandemic ? Or supply chain issues ?
We returned to our boondocking/camping area and had a late lunch. I napped after lunch. Late in the afternoon I went for a long walk in the desert. Joanne was too tired to join me. After my walk I lit a campfire and cooked supper on it. Joanne prepared foil packets of potatoes, onions, carrots, and mushrooms for me to cook on the campfire. I grilled a couple of New York Strip steaks. PERFECT ! Well done, Daniel. I’m proud that I have the ability … and confidence … to cook an expensive cut of meat on a campfire.
After supper we sat around the campfire until our small batch of firewood was gone. We reviewed our stressful achievements of the past ten months ;
sell our home at Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, BC
buy our Steinbach seniors’ condo … sight unseen
live for a month and a half in our camper in Oliver, BC
drive two vehicles halfway across Canada
live for two weeks in quarantine in our camper in Virden, Manitoba
move into our Steinbach condo
sell our Dodge minivan
buy our Chrysler minivan
have our entire condo suite painted
wait anxiously for the US border to re-open on November 8
drive over 4000 km. from Steinbach, Manitoba to Yuma, Arizona
sell our fifth wheel trailer
sell our Yuma lot and Arizona room
sell our Yuma/other Chrysler minivan
<sigh> buy a folding chair in Quartzsite
HA HA HA HA HA !
Throughout the day, and as we sat around the campfire into the evening, I could feel stress and negativity dissipating. By the time I began typing this at 10 PM I was conscious of feeling almost “normal” for the first time in almost a year. Maybe two years !
Saturday ; Quartzsite, Arizona to Palm Springs, California
Sunny and very warm.
After a long walk in the desert this morning we left our desert boondocking spot around 11:30 AM and drive into the town of Quartzsite where we bought another folding chair, the same as the one we bought yesterday, refilled with diesel at Chevron, then refilled the camper’s freshwater tank at Pilot. That enabled us to rethink / replan our destination for tonight.
We headed west on Interstate 10, crossing over the Colorado River into California, and the Pacific time zone. We needed a jug of milk so we got off the Interstate at Blythe, California to find a grocery store. Right at the freeway exit was an Albertsons. How convenient. We bought milk and other groceries. HMPH ! Couldn’t help noticing that almost everyone in California was wearing masks. Whites, blacks, browns, old and young ! Thank you, California !
We stopped at a rest area to have a late lunch. And I napped. We continued westbound on Interstate 10 to Palm Springs. Since we had a full water tank, we delayed checking into an expensive RV park until tomorrow, stopping to boondock tonight at Spotlight 29 Casino, our favourite Palm Springs boondocking “home”.
DSK
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