First Two Weeks at Quartzsite

Once again time has flown by.  We have already been here two weeks, and our winter sojourn is already half over!  One of the few things that is not as good as could be out here is the Virgin Mobile broadband service, it is just too slow to do many things other than check email, and read a few blogs.  I have been trying to use it exclusively to save bandwidth usage on the Verizon Mi-Fi, as it is limited to 5G with our current plan.  Today Ann decided that since she would probably go over the 5 G limit, she may as well up the plan to the 10 G one, so I am now using the Mi-Fi connection, and hopefully can post some pics.  The blog is just not the same without pics.

Here is a pic I tried posting before.  This is the first three couples to arrive at Quartzsite having dinner at Silly Al's Pizza.  From the left it is me(Paul), then Marilyn whose husband Dave is next to Ann, then Bob, and his wife Laura.

Here is the line up of the first rigs at the rally.  The rig in the foreground belongs to a couple who dropped off their coach and went to their home in Goodyear, Arizona for a couple of days.  Then is the coach of Bob and Laura, then ours, and the camper of Dave and Marilyn.

Here is a pic of the first sunset in Quartzsite.

Then a couple of days later pic of the full moon rising, a pic similar to the one I took when we were in Del Rio, Texas.  The pic is at the bottom of the blog.

And then a pic of our dinner for the evening; steak with tinfoil potatoes, with onions and green peppers.

Over the next few days, the place really started to fill up.  Most of the day was spent greeting, and visiting with the new arrivals, and posting the list of new arrivals on RVForum.net.

Here is the group assembling for Happy Hour on January 21.  The group is growing!

 And here is the full moon going down with the sun shining on the mountains to the west, as it is about to break over the mountains in the east.

 

As the days went by the area filled in nicely, with a total of 37 rigs being here at one time or another.  

While people were arriving I decided I had better get to work on my solar project that I had been planning, and acquiring parts for since last summer.   So with a trip into Quartzsite to pick up some brackets to attach to the solar panels, and then brackets to attach to the motorhome, and some  tilt bars to raise the panels with, I began in earnest.  First job was to locate the panels on the roof so they wouldnt be shaded if I didnt tilt them, but still be close enough together to maintain a short of run of wire as possible  Once this was done, I cleaned the spots on the roof where the brackets would go, then carefully set them in the 3M 5200 adhesive to let them cure.  One thing we(Ann) didnt want to do was to put holes in the roof, that is why I chose the 3M adhesive, but because there is a slight arch to the roof, the panel brackets wanted to slide downhill.  I am glad I didnt just leave them to cure on their own, as I would not have been happy to go up on the roof the next morning to see the brackets up against the rain gutter on the edge of the roof! So we decided that I should put one screw in each bracket to hold it in place till the adhesive set up. Once I did this the installation of the panels looked good.

To back up a bit, one of the obstacles to overcome was to be able to get the panels themselves up on the roof.  As the panels are about 37" x 65" and weigh 40 lbs, this was no easy challenge.  My solution was to take the strap part of the tire tie downs, attach one end to the panel, and use the straps as a rope.  Dave came over with a ladder and with his help, getting the panels on the roof was quite simple.  Thanks Dave!

That was enough work for that day.

The next day I worked on where to mount the charge controller, and where to run the wires from the roof to the controller.  The easiest was is to go down the refrigerator vent, behind the refrigerator, and on down to the compartment below.  It was no problem at all, and was easily accomplished in a day.  :)

The last issue to be solved was to go from the controller to the battery.  So it was off to Quartzsite again to a solar dealer to get two five foot pieces of #4 wire with ends on, plus a 60 amp fuse and fuse holder to be put downstream of the controller.  Once back home these were fairly easy to install.  Then it was the moment of truth!  I connected the two panels together on the roof, then determined which wire coming from the panels was the "hot" wire as both wires were black, and I hadnt marked them.  Once this was determined, and I got them hooked up with no spark or fires, I went into the motorhome to check my amp meter, and it was showing an input of about four amp hours, despite being relatively late in the day!  WooooHooooo!  Success!

I dont have a lot of pics of the installation process, as once I got going I didnt want to stop and take pics.  Here is one of the panels installed and operating.

One of the high lights of the week was during Happy Hour one night was Betty, who put herself in charge of entertainment, came up with the idea of the "Twelve Days of Quartzsite", a take off on the "Twelve Days of Christmas".  Each day of Quartzsite was represented by something you might buy while here.  Ann got to be the Fourth Day of Quartzsite I bought four funnel cakes, even though she only bought two, and intended to cut them into, but decided she then wouldnt be able to hold them all.

It was a fun event, and was filmed for posterity, and is on RVfoum.net, though I am not sure where.  If you would like to see more of the activities, and comments about our fun here, then checkout RVForum.net, and look through all the threads about Quartzsite.  You may have to sign up and login to see all the pics and videos that are posted. 

On Thursday four of us went to a golf course in Blythe, California, which is about 30 minute from here.  As we had a 7:00AM tee time it was decided to leave here about 6:00AM  to be sure and be on time.  When we arrived about 6:30, there was no one to be seen.  It didnt take us long to realize that California is on Pacific time, and Arizona is on Mountain time!  So we got there an hour early, but it was a beautiful morning.  The round of golf was interesting; the other three guys play pretty regular, and it showed, I havent played in a few years, and it showed as well.  But all in all is was a great being outside in such beautiful weather.

During Happy Hour on Thursday Betty organized a take off the Kentucky Derby, women decorated hats, and there were four teems of "horses" and "riders".  Ann teamed up with another guy and called themselves Bling, Bling.  The idea was that the "horse" was blindfoled, and the "rider" had to guide the "horse around the course that was marked with beer cans filled with sand.  I had the "duty" to provide the empty beer cans.  Everyone needed to contribute, and I gladly did my part!

It was pretty silly, but still fun, as Ann and her partner Rolf won the race!  I didnt get any pics of the "Derby", but I am sure there are some on the forum.

Here is a link to the  horserace on youtube.

On Friday I went into town to get our mail that has been forwarded from Iowa.  The line at the Post Office was short, relatively speaking, as last year it wound around the inside of the office and out the door. 

I cant imagine what it must be like working there, going from a small town to a town of over a half million people for a few weeks a year.  Then it was off to get a haircut before returning "home".  The price of a haircut was only $11.00, one of the few bargains you can get this time of year here.

Saturday was the grand finale with a buffet meal at 3:00PM, preceded with a group picture at 2:00.  Ann made a wonderful dish of orange chicken, and fried rice.  As usual at a buffet there was more food than we could eat, but Ann's chicken was one of the best dishes!  She has to quit cooking like that, or I will expect her to cook more often.  :)

After everyone had eaten more than they should have, Ann and three of the guys who are musicians, gave an impromptu concert after only practicing only 30 minutes and never even had met each other before the rally.  The sound quality is not good, but the singing and playing was.

On Sunday morning many of the group left, and headed for Death Valley, others went there own way, and a few of us are still here.  We plan on staying till the thirteenth, and then head toward Phoenix, as Ann has to go to Baltimore either the week of the fourteenth or the next week, and we are planning on meeting up with a friend from home who will be visiting in the Casa Grande area for a few days.

The first two weeks here have been fun, relaxing, and satisfying, and I expect the next two weeks here will be the same!

I will keep you posted, hopefully, more often than I have in the last two weeks.

Paul

The Mundane, The Miraculous, and Q

Monday January  10 was just another great day on the road; nothing really exciting, or out of the ordinary.

On Tuesday Ann decided that is was time to do some of the maintenance that her car owner’s manual called for at 100,000 miles.   I could see that the front brake pads were getting pretty thin, so that was the first thing on the list.  She called the local Big O Tires in Maricopa and scheduled an afternoon appointment.  I took the car in and got the whole nine yards of what checks they would perform before doing the front brakes.  The service manager came back in a few minutes with a laundry list of repairs the car needed.  Listening to him I wondered how a car in this a shape would even run, but I knew his job was to up sell.  They went ahead and replaced the front brakes, and I took the laundry list of other repairs they felt the car needed back to Ann for her perusal.  I did see that the back brakes were about gone, and the rear tires were about worn out, so it would be back to Big O on Thursday for the rear brakes and rear tires.

On Wednesday there was a pot luck, with Italian food, at the community center.  Ann made some awesome three cheese rigatoni.  There were many Italian dishes, and the Italian mainstay, pizza.  It was nice to meet some of the other people in the park, as well as the park owners.  They are a young couple with two children.  They recently bought the park, and are working hard to improve the place, and they seem to be doing a great job.  We would definitely stay there again.

On Thursday it was back to Big O with Ann’s car.  Because it was going to take some time to do the work, we opted to have one of the employees take us back to the RV park while they worked on the car.  The young guy that took us back was from Delaware, and had only lived in Maricopa two months.  He was obviously a high school wrestler at one time, as when we mentioned we were from Iowa, he commented on how great a wrestling program, both The University of Iowa, and Iowa State University have.  He also warned us about the wild animals in the area and advised Ann that when she goes on a bike ride outside the park, to be sure and take a gun with her.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

About 5:30 the young guy from the repair place called and said he was on the way to get us, and take us to get Ann’s car.  We were not sure where he was when he called, but it took him about 45 minutes to cover the 15 miles from Maricopa to the John Wayne RV Ranch.  After picking up the car it was time for dinner.  We had seen this Mexican place on our many trips to town, so it was Mexican for us tonight!  The place was busy, so we sat at a table in the bar with another couple who invited us to sit with them.  The server then asked us if we just wanted to eat in the bar.   Good enough for us!  We had a delicious dinner.  Ann had the trio, an enchilada, a flauta, and a taco.  I had pork chimichanga.  Waaaay to much to eat. 

Friday for Ann was just another day of work, except because of the Martin Luther King Holiday on Monday; she would have a three day weekend.  Most of my time was spent trying to figure out what we should do on the long weekend.  I spent some time on mapquest seeing how far things were, and what would be fun to do, but not have to drive too far, but still be able to get to Quartzsite in a decent time on Monday, so Ann would be ready  to work on Tuesday morning.  After much contemplation, we decided that would go to North Ranch Escapees Park near Congress, Arizona, a place we stayed for a while last year.  Then on Sunday, drive up to the Grand Canyon.

Saturday morning we didn’t get around too early, as the drive up to Congress was only about two hours.  Ann put in the address for the park in Congress in the Microsoft Streets and Trips GPS program.  It had us going up to Phoenix, then going on northwest to Congress.  The idea of driving through Phoenix didn’t appeal to us, so we decided to west to State Highway 85, then north to Interstate 10, back east about ten miles, then on through Wickenburg to the Escapees Park.  The route was about 20 miles longer, but worth it.  We arrived about 1:00PM, filled both our portable propane tank, as well as our onboard tank, and then got settled in our spot, next to a couple who had some yappy barking dogs, my favorite!  The rest of the day was spent planning our day trip to the Grand Canyon, and then our trip to Quartzsite.  We called it a night pretty early, as we wanted to get a relatively early start on Sunday.

I typed this post in a Word document, and not sure why the font changed when I posted it.  Also, there are no pics, as here in Quartzsite our virgin Mobile usb modem is connecting so slow, down to about 9 kps, sometimes, that I doubt I could post pics, but I will do that when the speed picks up.

The trip to the Grand Canyon, and our first couple of days in Quartzsite will follow shortly.

 On Sunday January  16, was the day for our trip to the Grand Canyon.  We left North Ranch about 8:00 AM for the three hour drive.  Our first stop was to fill up with gas in Congress. 

After winding our way through the mountains, we arrived in Prescott, Az, a town we visited last year.  We stopped at the Visitor Center to get some brochures about the Canyon, and a more specific road map to supplement our GPS program. 

Then it was around the square to the Lone Spur Café for breakfast of eggs Benedict, hash browns and coffee.

With starvation avoided once again, it was on north on State Highway 89, to Ash Fork, where we then headed east on Interstate 40. 

There are some views on the way including some very tall mountains by Flagstaff. 

After the short drive to Williams, it was north again on State Highway 64, where we saw more snow.  Glad we don’t live here!  On our way north, this mountain loomed larger and larger in the distance before the road made a gradual turn to the left before getting to the Grand Canyon.

Our first stop was at the National Geographic Visitor Center.  After discussing options and talking to people who worked there, we decided to take the helicopter tour of the canyon.  We didn’t have to be at the airport for about 40 minutes, and as it was close by, we stopped at a coffee shop for a few minutes, and had some very good coffee.  Then it was off to the airport and a view of the two types of helicopters they use for the tours, and EC-21, that I am not sure who makes, and a Bell 206, otherwise known as a Bell Long Ranger.  

Our tour was to be in the Long Ranger, which I preferred, as in the EC-21 you sat three wide, so the person in the middle would not have that great a view.  Before our tour began I got a pic of one of the Long Rangers landing.

Then it was our turn to go, an older couple from India was with us, and they seemed as excited to go as we did, however, I not sure that this pic shows Ann’s excitement. 

Then here I am getting my glasses on so I can see the pictures I will be taking.

Then it was off the ground, across the Kaibab National Forest to the edge of the canyon.

Then the canyon opened up underneath us in spectacular fashion, not to be described in words alone!

This is as calm as Ann was the whole trip.

After more indescribable views than I have ever seen in a day; including in the canyon, the plateau of the Painted Desert, the Little Colorado River, and the confluence of the Little Colorado, and Colorado, then it was up and over the rim one last time, and again over the Kaibab National Forest again, then past the coffee house we had visited, before landing back at the airport.

 Here is a pic of Ann taking a pic of the couple from India, while standing next to the helicopter.

Then it was off to the Visitors Center in the park.  We were fortunate that this was a “free weekend” otherwise the cost is $25.00 per car to get in the park. 

 We found the Visitor Center, and then the bookstore where we met and visited a bit with a couple form the RVForum.net website, who are workamping at the bookstore for the winter.

 We did notice some really nice solar arrays around the park, and thought it would be nice to have setup like that on the motorhome! 

 Next we walked to several lookouts over the canyon and got more awesome pictures!  Some of the sidewalks were still covered with ice and snow from the last storm, and even though they were covered with crushed rock, and were not slippery at all, we observed one couple and their children walking very gingerly, and holding on to the handrail.  Evidently, they didn’t have much experience walking on ice and snow.  I say good for them! 

We then drove Hermit’s Road as far as you could go to Hermits Rest, where we turned around and headed back out of the park, and south toward Prescott. 

On the way Ann got a couple of shots of the setting sun. 

It was dark when we got to Prescott, and we were hungry again, so we stopped at “The Palace” for dinner, a place with an interesting history, and where we had stopped when we were in Prescott last year.

They still have their Christmas decorations up, and lighted, so we couldn’t pass up a chance at a nice picture.

The rest of the ride was just a time consuming driving down the mountain.  The first twenty some miles out of Prescott are mostly 25 to 35 mph curves, then a pretty flat stretch, then more mountain driving before the terrain flattens out again a few miles south of Yarnell.

We arrived home about 9:30, and were pretty tired after such a long day seeing the miracle that is the Grand Canyon!

On Sunday morning we didn’t get up too early as we were still tired from our long day on Saturday with our trip to the Grand Canyon.  We got moving about 9:30.  I needed to empty the gray and black tanks, and fill up the fresh water tank, so we wouldn’t have to do that when we got to Quartzsite where the lines can be long.  While filling with fresh water, I noticed one of the rear tires looked low, and the tire gauge confirmed my suspicions as it only showed 50 lbs, when it should have been 90lbs.  so I got out my Sears compressor and brought it up to spec, but when putting the valve cap back on I noticed a slow leak in the valve.  Since there was an extender on the valve stem, I simply removed the extender; problem solved, for now, anyway.

The rest of the preparation went smoothly, and we were on the road about 10:00 or so.  Our route took us a couple miles north of the RV Park, then south west on State Highway 71, to US Highway 60, then on south west to Interstate 10, which takes us to Quartzsite.

When we arrived in Quartzsite, we needed to fill up with gas before going out to the desert.  Even though the official RV Show doest start till the twenty second, the town was still pretty busy, and it took up about a half an hour to get filled up with gas.  Then it was out to the desert to find the rally location.  The Ranger station was closed, so we didn’t pay, but went right to the rally site.  When we arrived another couple had just parked and was getting set up.  The guy asked if this was the RVForum Rally site, and when we confirmed, he seemed relieved, as he had said that he had been driving around the area for quite some time, before deciding this must be the place.  This place is not necessarily easy to find the first time, as the roads are not clearly marked, and they do not run straight, and do not follow the cardinal points of a compass. 

Shortly after we got set up, another motorhome rolled in and parked beside us. They are a couple from California, and like the other couple who had just arrived before us, who are from Canada, it was their first time here.  It was a beautiful afternoon, with the high of about 76.  Absolutely gorgeous weather! Here is a pic of the thermometer in the motorhome.  We had the door and windows at the time. J

After relaxing for a couple of hours, the other two couples asked us if we wanted to go into town for dinner.  Sounded good to us!  Because neither of them had been here before, they wanted us to pick a place and lead the way.  We decided Silly Al’s Pizza was a good choice, so off we went.  The place wasn’t too crowded when we arrived, but filled up quickly while we were there.  The food was great, and making new friends is always fun.  Before we left we the the server to take our picture.  To the left of me is Marilyn who is married to Dave who is next to Ann.  The other couple in the back is Bob and Laura.

I will posts a few pics for this blog later, when my internet connection is faster.

 By time we finished eating, and got back to the rig, it was time for bed.  Another great day on the road!

Paul

Our First Week at John Wayne RV Ranch

 On Sunday we made plans to visit my sister, Mary, who was visiting at the home of her daughter and son in law in Glendale.  We didnt get too early a start, and we stopped at a nice breakfast place in Maricopa called The Sunrise Cafe, and had a very filling meal.

 
The drive to Glendale was about an hour and uneventful.  Ann's navigating with her Blackberry was spot on, and we found the house with no trouble.  We were glad there was no game at University of Phoenix stadium, as our route had us going right by the stadium, which looks like the side walls are made of duct tape.

It was a nice visit as we hadnt yet met my sisters son in law, and hadnt seen her daughter in several years.  They are a nice younger couple with a most excellent pool.  It would be a great place to spend the warm summer evenings.  We only stayed a few hours, and then headed back to the park arriving not too long after dark.

Monday was back to work for Ann and despite a less than ideal internet and phone connections she is able to get her work done, albeit, there is an occasional hiccup in the system.  After she finished her work for the day, we noticed some people at the community center.  We stopped by to see what was going on and even though there is no scheduled  "Happy Hour" at this park, they were having there own "Happy Hour", and invited us to join them.  There are eight people in the group, with most of them being from North Dakota, and one couple grom Cleveland Ohio.  They sure are a fun bunch and on Tuesday's meeting they invited us to join them in playing  a card game called "Sequence".  It is always played with the men against the women, and is a lot of fun.  I think that over the week the score is about even.

The highlight of Tuesday was going into Stanfield to mail a couple of letters, and get a couple things at the store.  It is a town of about 1,000 people, and was expected to rapidly until the recession hit and all new building stopped.  I took a couple of pics with my Samsung SCH i-760 cell phone.

I had a nice chat with the Postmaster who told me she is from South Dakota, and that her daughter and son in law live in Creston, Iowa which is about thirty miles from our hometown.  Another example of how small the world is.  While I was gone Ann noticed a road runner outside our window and too a pic, but she didnt see Wyle Coyote.

Wednesday was our last "Happy Hour" meeting in the community room for a few days, as a group of FMCA members are coming here for a few days, before heading to Indio, California for the Western Area Rally, and they want the room for themselves.  The group started filtering in before noon, and by evening there were probably about twenty or so of them.

Thursday was just another day in the life.  Ann working, me playing on the computer, eating and resting in between.  Tonight the "fun people" we have been enjoying "Happy Hour" with invited us over to a campfire.  They had procured some wood and a fire ring.  It was a little chilly, but the fire was nice, the beverages were great, and the conversation awesome, as we took turns relating some of things each of us had done in our younger days, that was great fun at the time, but looking back, we were grateful we didnt get hurt or worse with these youthful antics.

Friday arrived with Ann looking forward to the weekend after a couple of long days of work.  We decided after she was finished with work to go to the Harrah's Ak-Shin Casino, donate a few bucks to the cause, and partake in their buffet, and then go into Maricopa to the "Taste of New York" so Ann could sing some karaoke.  For me the "donating to the cause" at the casino went fairly quickly, however, Ann actually had come out a few bucks ahead.

Then it was off to the buffet.  As I had picked up a players card, and Ann had renewed her Harrah's card, we both received a coupon for a free buffet.  Not bad as the regular price of the buffet is $21.99 per person.  I doubt we would have gone, had we had to pay for the meal from our pocket.  The buffet was less than average for the price, which didnt surprise me, as I had already learned that the slot machines paid out less than average.

The trip to Taste of New York was about two miles, and even though the parking lot looked pretty empty, the place was pretty full.  The karaoke had already started, but it was an odd in that the singer had to read the words off the screen while they had their back to the audience, unless you went back toward the bar, or to the far side of the room.  Anyway, Ann made it work for her and sang some songs that the mostly younger audience really liked.

While sitting at the bar we noticed a girl with an Iowa State sweatshirt on.  She is married to an Iowa State alum from Urbandale, Iowa, and is a local cop.  Another example of how small the world is.

Midnight came all too soon, and it was time to head back, thus ending another great day on the road!  Just as we pulled into the park, a coyote crossed in front of us.  Could that have been Wyle Coyote? I doubt it, as he was not carrying any ACME products with him.

Sunday is just another lazy weekend day.  Not much going on.  Most of the FMCA people have left.  Maybe we can have the community room back for "Happy Hour" tonight!  We have spent most of the day watching the update on the tragic situation in Tucson, and watching football.   BTW, the site of the shooting in Tucson was a couple of miles south of the Catalina State Park we stayed in last week, and we drove by the Safeway a few times in our comings and goings during the week.

After I finish this blog update, and the outcome of the Packers/Eagles game is evident, we are planning on heading into Maricopa for some dinner and some grocery shopping, so we can avoid starving to death for another week!

One thing I havent mentioned about Maricopa is that the town was in the news recently when
Bristol Palin bought a house here.  This town, like Stanfield, was seeing exponential growth until the recession.  Now I have heard that there are 1,100 houses in foreclosure in Maricopa, which is a town of about 40,000 people.

Take care all.

Paul

Happy New Year to All!

We awoke to a bright sunny day, albeit, cold day, as it was only 22 outside, but by time we got ready to go, it warmed up nicely, and we visited with several other RVForum members as they had gathered to offer well wishes to all of us that were leaving. 

We left Catalina State Park about 9:30 for the approximately one hour drive to the SKP Park near Casa Grande Arizona.

On the way we stopped at the Pilot Truck Stop at mile marker 108.  We had no problem getting gas, but it was a zoo inside, so we decided to go across the interstate to the Flying J/ Denny's Restaurant to get something to eat.  It was good decision as the gas pumps were backed up several vehicles deep, but the restaurant was not crowded at all.  After a very filling meal of eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, pancakes and coffee for me, and eggs, pancakes, fruit, and coffee for Ann, we were back on the road for the twenty or thirty minute drive to the park.

The office was closed when we got there, and we had to track down the manager at his camper, only to be told we would have to wait in the dry camping area, as his wife was not home, and she was the one who ran the computer, and the manager wasnt even sure there would be a place for us.  With these unknowns, we just decided to move on and find another rv park.

With an assist from our Wodall's Campground Guide, and the internet we found John Wayne RV Ranch, and decided to check it out.  The drive took only about fifteen minutes, and the place was easy to find.

After waiting for a few minutes as the host checked in another couple, we got checked in, and because they offered unlimited time with a Passport America membership, we joined Passport America, signed up to stay here two weeks, and saved more than four times the $44 cost of the yearly membership.

Once we got setup, Ann went to do our week's worth of laundry we had accumulated while staying in Catalina State Park.  In the mean time, I got over the air, as well as the DirecTV antennas set up so I can be sure and watch some football tonight.

The TV is working fine, however, our internet connections are not working as well as we would like.  Both the park wi-fi, and our Virgin Mobile usb moden connections are intermittent.  I might have to break out the Wilson amplifier again, if it doesnt get any better.

Tonight will be a pretty laid back evening with football for me and Facebook games for Ann.

It is supposed to start warming up tomorrow, we are looking forward to some real Arizona weather!

Paul