Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 leaving Quartzite

Today we left Quartzite at 9am and headed to Lake Havasu. We pulled into Havasu Falls RV Park right at lunchtime, so we made sandwiches in our RVs. After lunch, we took full advantage of all the hookups and dumped and cleaned our tanks, cleaned floors, kitchens and bathrooms and did laundry. After our chores were done, we went into town and the guys dropped us at a quilt store and then they continued on to Starbucks.

We met up with John and Marsha here in Lake Havasu, so we now have 6 rigs in our caravan. We made dinner reservations at Javelina Cantina. Bob and Kathy had never been here before, so they took a quick side trip to the London Bridge and then met us at the restaurant. As usual, the wind here is tremendously strong! It was even hard to open the door without the wind pulling the door off it’s hinges and YOU right out of the RV!

We are going to the clubhouse at the RV Park at 7:30 in the morning for breakfast, and then it’s off to Death Valley.

Thurs., Jan 26, 2012 Quartzite, AZ

Today is our last day to shop here in Quartzite. The guys went into town first thing in the morning to shop at all of the tool warehouses. They came back with bags and bags of little gizmos and gadgets. They also got some more flags and whirly gigs. Rich found a really cool model of a Cobra that he just couldn’t pass up. After a quick lunch back at camp, Jeanette and Sue went back to the big tent to look at some dog carriers, Bob and Kathy went to get a new pole and flags for their RV, and Rich, Barb and I went to look at some more whirlys and some other booths down the road. It was a pretty chill day around camp. We all just relaxed with our books, sewing etc. Some of us even took naps! I took the dogs for a walk, and then headed out a bit further by myself to explore some of the dessert on foot. It is easy to see how this area is totally flooded in a good rain storm! There are lots of washes and dry creek beds everywhere. I didn’t see any animals, but from the looks of all the burrows and snake holes, I wouldn’t want to be walking around at night!

Just before dinner we saw the most beautiful sunset. Our Dutch Ovens were retired for this leg of the trip, so we pulled out the barbeques and grilled hamburgers. We had all the fixings along with beans and carrot and raisin salad. For dessert, I made brownies with vanilla ice cream J It was a beautiful and still night, so the campfire was quite enjoyable. The stars are absolutely gorgeous!! Before we headed in for the night, we packed up most of the camp back into our RVs so we could leave on time in the morning.

Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012 Quartsite

More of the same today. We headed back to the flea market at about 10am and went back for some things that we saw yesterday. Had lunch again at our favorite Taco stand and then we hit some more venders across the street. Before heading back to the car, we stopped for some shave ice!

When we got back to camp, the guys went into town to get more water. We have a 45 gallon bladder in the back of the car that Rich filled from the BLM water well. He bought a small pump and hooked it up to a hose so he can pump the water back into the RV when they get back. After they filled all the RVs, it was time for some R&R. The girls did some sewing, reading, gaming and food prep and Ron Tried out his new helicopter that he was able to get on exchange. Luck was not with him again, and he broke a propeller on it’s maiden flight L We do have spare props on board, so we will wait for a more “landing friendly” spot to fly them.

We started the coals for our last Dutch Oven meal – pork chops, potatoes, cheesy zucchini and applesauce. Brook made a coffee cake for dessert. It was a much nicer day, weather wise, and we sat for a longer time at the fire before retiring for the night.

Tues, Jan 24, 2012 Quartsite

Today we had a quick breakfast and then we all piled into the Jeep and headed for the show! It took us until lunchtime just to get through the big tent! We of course bought all the essentials like tortilla warmers, eyeglass cleaner, magic water beads, garlic grinders, and a radio controlled helicopter!! Hahaha, all stuff we could never find back home J After the tent, we stopped for ice cream and Taco’s for lunch, and in that exact order of necessity. Then it was off to the flea market. Hundreds, no thousands of booths with everything you could ever think of needing in your RV. Walk, walk, walk. Felt good to stretch out the legs and get some steps in!

We headed back to camp around 4, and luckily our wind socks were soaring 30 feet above our RVs because there are no street signs in the desert and all the rocks and cactus look the same! The boys charged up their helicopters, but it was too windy to fly them tonight. Ron has to bring his back in the morning, the back propeller didn’t work L We then got the fire going, and started the coals for the Dutch ovens. Tonight it is BBQ chicken, left over cheesy potatoes and beans, and green salad. For dessert, we had éclairs and puff pastries!!

We plan on sleeping in a bit in the morning, then hitting the show again.

Monday, Jan 23, 2012 Quartsite

We left Barstow at 8:30 this morning and headed off to Quartzite. We barely got out of the campground, and Jeanette called to tell us we had a very low tire. So we pulled off to check it out and decided it was in desperate need of air. Larry took out his little portable compressor and we began the slow process of bringing the pressure from 50 psi to 80. We had time to do some chatting and walking of the dogs, then were back on the road in about 45 minutes.

We stopped in Needles, CA for fuel and lunch. The rock formations here are really strange. They are like lots of spires coming from the fairly flat desert terrain. I noticed a sign for one of the mountains and it was called Needle Mountain. Now I know where the town of Needles got it’s name.

We made it into Quartzite just before 4 and registered with the Borough of Land Management. They put stickers on our vehicles that allow us to camp anywhere in the desert for up to 14 days. We drove off into the sunset, literally, and circled our RVs in the perfect spot! Within minutes, our camp was looking good! We had the chairs out, fire built, awnings ready (rain was looming), generators on and the Dutch ovens fired up! Dinner tonight was a Dutch Oven meal of cheesy potatoes and ground beef and fresh green beans. It took a while to cook, we had enough potatoes in the pots for 40 people! Everything turned out great and smelled awesome! We must have been hungry, because we just about made it through all of the potatoes! It started to rain just before we sat down to eat, so we all went inside with our dinner. We had Lemon Pie for dessert, that came with a delivery service to each of our rigs J

Tomorrow, we hit the big tent at the RV Show!!!!

Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012 Barstow, CA

We are off again on another road trip adventure! We are headed to Quartzite, AZ for the annual RV show to beat all RV shows. Some say this event is the Woodstock for RV owners! Tens of thousands of RVers come through Quartzite during this week long show, dotting the dessert like moths to a flame! We are here again with my sister’s camping group, the “S’more Friends”. My sister Barbara is here with us too.

The San Lorenzo people left at 7am and the Valley folk left at 7:30 and we all met up at the first rest stop on Highway 5. There we received our travel packets. Hahaha, this brought to mind the phrase, “ this is your mission, if you choose to accept it, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your existence…..”

We now had everyone’s cell numbers, fuel stops, maps, instructions and meal plans. We pulled out in our assigned order, and the caravan headed south for the desert. We stopped in Weedpatch for lunch, then drove to Yermo KOA just outside of Barstow for the night.