So here it is Jan 13 and we have not posted anything here for quite awhile. It is not for a lack of any juicy tidbits, or even a free moment or two that we have neglected the blog….it’s just that we are having a great time and when we think about writing something down it’s too late in the evening or something more important comes up, like sitting around the campfire, or pouring another drink, or shopping or something.
After we left Fresno we landed in Bakersfield CA for a night. The RV park (Orange Grove) is actually in the middle of an orange grove. They have taken out just enough fruit trees to make way for RV parking spaces. We arrived mid afternoon and were told that we were in luck……….the oranges were ripe and we are told to “help yourself” to the oranges on the trees next to our rig. We got to our allotted spot (complete with great WiFi, and close to a wonderful bathroom) only to find that we had three trees all around our rig. In fact, when Ed was connecting the RV to the facilities he actually reached up and filled his hoody with fresh oranges. Of course, Ross had taken a few plastic bags and was picking oranges on the other side of the rig. Down the road from Orange Grove is the California Fruit and Nut Company – a place to be seen to be believed. They have several kinds of oranges in boxes, in various sizes, and selling for cheap! $12 for a box of 112 oranges – not bad………so we got some. They also have dates, almonds, fruit jellies, spices, and other good stuff. We sampled most of it (!) and bought an armload.
Next day we took off for Quartzsite AZ. Good traveling day (sunny but not too warm) and by 5PM we were safely settled in La Posa West next to good friends Bruce and Sue Ferrie, and Heather and Buck Buchanan. These two guys are the reason Ross has been coming down to CA for the past two holiday celebrations. They are Santas in Surrey and Langley – good news for all of you readers in those regions – they are VERY good Santas.
Anyway, this was to be the year we were going to try our hand at ‘dry camping’. In the past we have not had a rig that has the requisite attachments to dry camp. With our new rig we now have a generator, large holding tanks, larger interior space, and stuff to last out in the middle of the desert. Buck, Heather, Sue, and Bruce have been very patient teaching all they know from 15 years of experience. There are ‘parks’ all over the US that are held under the Bureau of Land Management auspices. These spaces usually have little or no facilities and charge very little for people to use them. In the Quartzsite area there are four areas (each about 100 acres) charging $40 for 2 weeks, and a few more that do not charge anything but have restrictions on length of usage. La Posa West is near all the excitement of the gem/jewelry show and right next to the grounds that house the huge RV show.
Quartzsite, for those of you who don’t know, is a small town at the intersection of I-10 and State Hwy 95. This is as far as the US cavalry got when they are transporting/herding camels to CA. Orders changed and the camels were released into the desert. The handlers were left here and started a town (or something like that) but anyway Quartzsite became a sellers Mecca. If you have something to sell, come to Quartzsite…….someone will buy it! Throughout the year there are various ‘shows’ and for each show travelers in their RVs will come and camp in the desert. Starting Jan 10 this year the gem and mineral show kicked off the annual sales event. There are tents covering hundreds of square acres of tables laden with geodes, rough rocks, polished stones, all the equipment for making jewelry, fossils, and any manner of rock stuff. There are kiosks offering things for your RV, there are stalls offering all manner of fast food (and some slow cooking) to cover all the major food groups – ice cream, gumbo, Kettle Korn, slushies, hot dogs, and BBQ pulled pork, Mexican cuisine, American food, Thai offerings, and most everything else. It is something to be experienced. And surrounding these goings-on are the RV sites (most everything here in Quartzsite is mobile) and the desert parks.
Our park has garbage containers that are emptied twice a week and that’s it for facilities. There is a couple who are the camp hosts and answer questions and semi-police the area. Bruce and Buck were adamant that we needed a solar panel to capture the sun’s energy so we got one – good investment!! Then we had to have two more batteries (6 volt, deep cycle) so we got those too,……and find that we are able to run things in our rig longer without a significant drop in our stored energy. We pay $25 to have our tanks pumped out once a week and $3 for either Bruce or Buck to bring water to our site. There are no assigned places for people to park so we have our three rigs set in a ‘U’ shape around the campfire and dining tent. We see the sun rising through our bedroom windows and watch the incredible sunsets from either the dining tent or campfire. We have been taking turns cooking dinner and have not had a bad meal. We have gone out to dinner twice (yes, in more than two weeks of camping here we have only gone out twice – quite an accomplishment for us!). There are some small grocery stores here in Quartzsite but about 24 miles from here is the new Wal-Mart in Parker or we can jump in the car and go to Yuma and find excellent shopping. And we are having a great time.
There are some really good deals to be found here. For example there is a shop that sells jewelry to the public (and wholesalers). Silver and turquoise rings are $2 to $3, earrings (silver with turquoise/amethysts/etc) are $2 - $4. What a find!
Suffice it to say, I bought an armload.
We are waiting for the RV show to start on the weekend and have noticed that the population has grown significantly. Where once we are about the only rigs in the park, we now have an almost park!
More later when the RV show starts.
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