In The Desert

I spent the winter in Southwestern Arizona to get away from all the snow. It's been an experience since my husband, youngest daughter live on a 40 ft. bus. There have been adjustments by all parties, since extra room is really non-existant, but we've done pretty good.

My favorite thing, to date, is the beautiful scenery that can be found in this area. You wouldn't expect a desert to bloom, but it does. Early spring is heralded by ocatillo blooms waving like red pennants from their tall stems, several species of prickly pear cactus putting on a show that would rival the best kept rose garden, and wildlife in abundance. Late spring boasts saguaro cactus blooms that seem to march up and down the ribs of these goliaths.

The past week we've been boondocking along the Colorado River with it's several species of palm trees, stands of bamboo, and aquatic grasses. Just the other morning I caught site of a couple adult Gambel's Quail and what seemed to be several dozen little fuzzballs on legs. Very cute! There are white-winged dove and what I believe are a small population of ringed turtle doves pairing up, and of course, the many great tailed grackles preen and strut for the ladies.

Now that the daughter is out of school for the summer, plans are in the works to start our trek north and east to cooler climes. Temperatures hovering in the high 90s and low 100s this early in the year are more than I'm prepared to deal with. For now, though, I'm enjoying the warmth while hearing tales of snow from our northern friends, and when the heat gets to bad, the river is right there to cool us off. Believe me, the Colorado River may be flowing through the desert here, but it's temperature is still reminiscent of the northern states where it has it's headwaters. I've yet to brave it past my knees, but Alan and Heili just dive right in. Give me a heated pool any day!

Hanging Out in Quartzsite, AZ Area

For the past month we've been staying in the area around Quartzsite, Arizona. It's been an enjoyable experience for the most part. A couple of peeves:

Quartzsite, although it is filled with RVers and is known for it's rock and mineral shows, is getting extremely expensive. We naively thought that I would be able to set up a table quite easily to sell the jewelry I make. It's not quite as easy as you would have thought for a place that is supposed to cater to vendors of stone products. First of all, you must have a place to park that is recognized by the city, such as one of the many show grounds, or have a permanent COMMERCIAL address. Either of these options are extremely expensive, there's just not a lot of places for the little guys any longer. Next, you need a vending permit from the city. When we checked into it, they wanted $50 for this season, which is basically over with at the end of February. The city also collects the fees for the state of Arizona and requires you have an Arizona EIN (another fee depending on where you plan to sell). We decided this was a little much for someone who probably would be pushing it if they had $200 worth of stock.

The other pet peeve is in a little town on Hwy 72 called Bouse. We stopped in on a day when they were holding their townwide swap meet/yard sale. As the laundry was kind of piling up, we decided to get it done, and while washing it, we'd just pop into the little cafe next door and have some breakfast. The sign out front neglected to warn travelers that it wasn't extremely friendly to non-locals. We sat for approximately half an hour at a table, no menus, no water, no silverware, and no acknowledgement from a waitress. There were two of them working. One had her hands full clearing tables, taking money from patrons trying to leave, and sitting at a table by the front door taking her break(s). The other waitress was busily running at full speed, accomplishing such masterful things as carrying a single catsup bottle while standing beside a table debating if it should be cleaned off. She also managed to carry a single plate of toast, a cup of coffee, and one plate of food (not at the same time, mind you) to patrons in the back of the restaurant. Her "look at me, I'm so busy I can't think straight" act didn't really wash with me. Call me demanding, but I really feel that half an hour is plenty of time to at least tell someone you'll be right with them. We finally left in complete disgust at the lack of service, and weren't the only ones to do so.

Now for the more pleasant part of our stay: We did find a nice little place called the Vicksburg Swap Meet along Hwy 72 and Vicksburg Road. For a very reasonable fee, we could park for the month with electric, water, and sewer, and set up a table to sell our wares and a few yard sale type items we needed to clean off the bus. The other residents were very friendly, celebrating an 80 something birthday with a cake, and another by letting the birthday gal pick any item she wished ffom the other tables. The owner, Jan, and her husband are very sweet people, allowing everyone to use their address to receive mail, and basically stopping in periodically to just chat. I haven't sold any jewelry as yet, but gleaned some great tidbits on which wholesalers are best to buy supplies, where the better shows are to set up and sell, and made some new and dear friends.

Along highway 95, between Lake Havasu City and Quarztsite, is a pleasant little town called Parker. The Colorado River Indian Tribes maintain a casino with decent odds at their slots, and a fantastic buffet for a very reasonable price. They have a small RV park, but don't seem to mind if their parking lot is half full of campers and motorhomes enjoying a day to a few day respite from the road. They have free internet available in their lobby with several very comfy chairs and sofas to relax in. We've been here on two separate trips to Parker, and will probably visit it again once or twice more before we leave Arizona. The view of the Colorado River is beautiful, worthy of a photograph or two. Don't miss the indoor swimming pool with it's Aztec architecture waterfalls. Even if you're not staying in the hotel, it's a site worth seeing. The Wal-Mart is also camper-friendly, and a great place to meet other full-timers, stock up on a few necessities, and just take a break from the road. Don't be surprised if you even get a welcome from the management when you stop in the store.

This week, we've got plans to attend the inaugural Lighthouse Ministries Street Fair as a vendor. Set up is free with the opportunity to make a donation if you so desire. All proceeds will go towards their homeless program. For us, it will be a time for some exposure of my jewelry, paintings, and staffs in the Parker area. I'll have to let you know how it goes in my next blog. Until then, enjoy the open road...

Boon Docking at Lake Mead, Nevada

It’s time to catch up on my wanderings since I’ve been out of internet range for a couple of weeks now.

First of all, I have a new pet peeve: Lake Havasu City, AZ. You really don’t want to go there! Yes, seeing the real London Bridge was interesting, and knowing it was the same stone bridge that had survived the German Blitzkrieg of WWII was cool. However, this has got to be the snobbiest, most unfriendly place I’ve ever traveled, which is saying a lot since I’ve been from coast to coast of the great land. The only upside to our very short stay there was I got to go to an In and Out Burger. These little restaurants serve only hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fresh fries, soda and shakes. Price-wise, they’re comparable to most fast-food places, but the food is head and shoulders above what you’d get at your local McDonalds or Wendy’s.

After reaching our temporary destination of Lake Mead in Nevada, we’ve really enjoyed ourselves soaking up the sun, solitude, and beauty of nature. I’ve painted some great scenes of the lake from our camping spot in Government Wash. This is a free “boon docking” type of campground. No water, power, or dump station, just a graded road with pullouts, a bathroom, and a couple of dumpsters. Pay showers and coin laundry were available at the Callville Marina, about 8 miles away. We’ve woken to coyotes singing a morning serenade within feet of our bus, and seen several road runners, jackrabbits, a blue heron, herring gulls, grackles, and blackbirds. The two latter could be counted on to show up every time we swept the bus out, to pick through the dirt and rocks to find bits of cat food Chloe and Crissy had strung over the floor. The rangers are super friendly, especially when we entered the area. It seems Al’s Golden Age Passport had been de-magnetized, so our ranger just smiled, made up a new one, and told us to enjoy our stay.

I have a nice collection of flat stones on which to paint now, thanks to Al and Heili’s frequent walks along the lake. A couple of Al’s staffs now have my creative touch with beading and wire wrapping. Several pieces of jewelry have also been completed since I’ve been more or less stuck at the bus upon arrival with a sore leg. Not sure what I did to it, but it gets tired quickly and starts swelling if I spend too much time on it. I teasingly tell Heili she must have stomped on it in my sleep, even though she vehemently denies having done so.
The weather has been pretty good for January, with days in the 60s. The last few nights have dipped kind of low, but no freezing temps. Nothing like the snow, wind, and cold we left in Oklahoma during our Christmas run for the sun. All in all, we are having lots of fun and interesting times here.
Heili’s home schooling is going great even if she did fight us at the beginning. Math is taught out of an Electrician and Radioman’s bible; she reads one book from our library each week and keeps a daily journal for English; American history is currently finding out past events from the Lake Mead area and writing a report each week; for Home Ec/Life skills she is required to prepare one full meal each week and help prepare grocery lists and budget for January. Art and Design class is painting with acrylics on canvas and stone throughout January and we’ll switch to pottery from native clays in February. Science for the next two months is observing and preparing a PowerPoint presentation on the flora and fauna of Lake Mead National Recreational Area. All in all, she’s getting a much more well-rounded education, and is allowed to work at her own speed. The most eye-opening thing I’ve noticed is that she works much faster in algebra and understands much more than when she was in traditional school. Her grades are in the A and B range and don’t think we grade on a curve. She definitely earns her grades.