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Category: Quartzsite

17 December 2023

Waiting for shipments while watching the desert world in Quartzsite Arizona

sunrise burst Kofa Mts BLM camp Palm Canyon Rd AZ

Over the last three months, since the fire, I seem to do a lot of waiting. Waiting for the insurance company while waiting to get a replacement vehicle. Waiting to replace stuff lost in the fire. Waiting to see who bought what off my Amazon wish list. Thank you everyone.  Waiting to return to the middle of nowhere Arizona.

cheap drill
Remote and distant from shopping, that I don’t like to do anyway. I’ve bought more stuff/junk from Amazon in the last month than in my entire life. And it seems I’m always waiting for some order, and frequently disappointed with the products.  Description and reality are often not in agreement.

bus BLM N of Yuma AZ
Even drove 1 1/2 hours to Yuma to finally buy a laptop. After too much time agonizing over which one to buy, my choice was not in stock. So I waited over a week for it to be shipped to an address in Quartzsite, only ten minutes from camp.  Best Buy strung me along for two weeks with four different lies before admitting the model was out of stock, everywhere but China where ASUS comes from.  Cancelled that order.  After a super long day in town I spent the night just north of Yuma.

stuff to go away La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ

Give away

old art La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ

Throw away old high school art work

In the meantime, I worked on reducing the amount of stuff in the 5th-wheel, still making piles and packing boxes under the bed in my new wheeleastate.

sunset clouds Kofa Mts La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ

05b DSC_0049lewr sunset clouds Chocolate Mts La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ

05c DSC_0056lewr sunset clouds New Water Mts La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ

Plus enjoyed several magical desert sunsets.

06 DSC_0065lecwr moon New Water Mts La Posa LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ

Waiting for the moon.

07 IMG_20231118_151910364lewr Fall Festival concert city park Quartzsite AZ g-2

Attended a concert in the Quartzsite City Park and listened to awesome rock-n-roll music from our past, 1960s, 70s and 80s.  Fun to imagine people in the crowd attending concerts in their past.

08 DSC_0062lecwr sunset clouds Chocolate Mts La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ g
I waited two weeks for a refrigerator/freezer that will hold 7.5 cubic feet including space for ice cream. A big step up from 3.2 cubic feet and barely room for an ice cube tray.  Sadly, it was never shipped as it was out of stock but Amazon strung me along.  Cancelled that order.  And enjoyed more sunsets.

09 IMG_20231123_160350677_HDRlecwr people Thanksgiving Lit Cactus La Posa South LTVA BLM Quartzsite AZ-2

Lots of awesome and friendly people clustered together in the desert. Friday nights there’s always happenings at the Lit Cactus located next door.  Over 200 people gathered for a magnificent potluck Thanksgiving.  No problem staying busy and lots of socializing.  Almost like living a perpetual block party.

10a IMG_20231122_123137337_HDRlewr bus Kofa BLM Palm Canyon Rd AZ-2

10b IMG_20231121_174227944_HDRlewr bus Kofa Mts Earth Shadow moon BLM AZ-2

When it got too peoplee, I went away a few days further into the desert to recharge near the Kofa mountains.

11 DSC_0098lewr desert moon Kofa Mts Palm Canyon Rd BLM camp AZ

Tried to shoot the moon with the new camera.

12a DSC_0082alewr sunset sundog clouds Chocolate Mts Palm Canyon Rd BLM camp AZ-Pano

Seem to have better luck with sunsets.

13 DSC_0094lewr sunset Kofa Mts Palm Canyon Rd BLM camp AZ

How I love it out there in the middle of nowhere.

14a IMG_20231204_130327498_HDRlewr Tim new fuel pump bus La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ-2

Returned to the La Posa South camp and my rig died. Better there next to Tim the mechanic than the middle of nowhere.  Only waited a couple days for a fuel pump replaced and rolling again.

15 DSC_0118lecwr camp fire La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ

While waiting, I enjoyed campfire with friends.

16 DSC_0141lewr sunset Chocolate Mts La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ

And more sunsets.

17 IMG_20231212_144441598_HDRlewr new laptop-2

Decided to omit the middleman and ordered a HP.com laptop. Even paid extra for priority two-day shipping.  They got the address wrong and shipped it to someone in PA.  More waiting.  In fact, they wanted me to wait until the misdelivered order was returned before reshipping and I screamed NO.  This time I only waited two business days for my 17” HP Envy laptop.  Of course, I am still waiting to totally figure out Windows 11.  (OMG, there’s an app for that!)  This post was successfully completed on the laptop including photos processed in Lightroom.

18 IMG_20231116_173414362_HDRlewr sunset clouds New Water Mts La Posa South LTVA BLM camp Quartzsite AZ g-2

Though I stay busy all day, I don’t mind waiting for more amazing desert sunsets.

 

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Arizona, Places I've been, Quartzsite, RV life, United States boondocking, nomad life, RV living, waiting 25 Comments
07 December 2023

Back and forth between Skull Valley and Quartzsite

On the way to Skull Valley (see previous post) I stopped in Wickenburg to register the new wheeleastate and received a call from Tim. He’d just passed Quartzsite on the way to meet me when the transmission on his bus started to go out. So he headed back to Quartzsite BLM where friends were camped while I continued north.

Almost felt like Christmas, and not just because of colder temperatures.  Thank you all for filling my Amazon wish list. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  Thankfully, the 5th-wheel kitchen was well stocked.  Still a lot of fun wants but immediate needs were met.

Izzy, from the caravan, arrived the next day to help me sort, pack, and clean.  I decided to sell the 5th-wheel as I no longer need two RVs. 

So while Izzy scrubbed, I made piles: keep, trash, and sell or give away.  There for a week and only made a small dent in it all.  Not easy to move from 36 feet with three slides (300 sq ft), after 12 years of living, into 20 feet (100 sq ft). Back and forth, pile to pile, until the trash pile exceeded all others.  $25 at the dump when I usually pay $2 for up to three bags. 

With cooler temperatures approaching, we headed downhill to Congress for a couple nights. 

Plus we set up roadside, along with others, and sold a bunch of stuff. Made enough to go out for a nice dinner at Nickels West.

Then we high-tailed back to the caravan camp near Quartzsite to attend a Halloween party at the Lit Cactus. 

After a few days in camp and work on my new wheeleastate, we went back to Congress on the way to Skull Valley once again. 

This time my intent was to prepare the 5th-wheel to roll.  Driving three hours each way just didn’t make sense. 

Of course my current rig won’t tow it. However a friend in Quartzsite could, and did.  Bye-bye Skull Valley, it’s been nice.  Life rolls on.  Seemed it would be more convenient and easy to sell in a town full of RVers like Quartzsite.

But first I had to completely empty and clean it.  Have I ever mentioned I hate housework?

I’m still operating on my phone with no laptop, however that’s another story.


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Arizona, Quartzsite, RV life, Skull Valley moving, RV living 9 Comments
09 February 2023

Wind blown with a head cold equals the Quartzsite Crud

sunset clouds sun rays Plomosa Rd BLM Quartzsite AZI suppose it figures when as many as one million people from around the world converge in the desert, wind blown germs carry the Quartzsite Crud, or in my case a nasty head cold.

It started January 23rd with a brutal wind at Carolyn’s meetup.  Maybe germs fly on the wind or somebody there had a head cold.  Either way, I’ve been fighting wind and a head cold ever since.  I do feel better but still lack energy and have a slight cough.  Good time to hunker in, and that’s what I did for several days at a new to me BLM area called Scadden Wash just east of Quartzsite.

wind blown flag dust Plomosa Mts Scadden Wash BLM Quartzsite AZBetween the head cold and wind rocking the camper I stayed inside and watched the dusty window view.

RV neighbors Scadden Wash BLM Quartzsite AZA group of three RVs pulled in just a little too close considering how much open space is in this area.

Kathie & Gaelyn Tyson Wells Quartzsite AZKathie & Gaelyn plus finger

Probably a mistake, but Friday I downed some Sudafed for the head cold and picked up a long-time Facebook friend as yet unmet and we went exploring at Tyson Wells in Quartzsite.

rocks for sale Tyson Wells Quartzsite AZThat amounts to 25 acres of aisles with vendors selling literally everything from nuts to rocks.  Plus the Sports, Vacation, & RV Show sprawls across more than 40 acres including 550 booth spaces inside the big tent pushing vacation packages, 5th-wheel hitches, plastic storage containers and more.  All I bought was two LED lights and some small bungee cords.

ice cream maker Tyson Wells Quartzsite AZI wasn’t willing to pay $8 for an ice cream cone.  We attended a workshop about RV electric that was very interesting.  Had a great time but by the end of the day I had no voice.

morning light storm clouds Plomosa Rd BLM camp Quartzsite AZAfter dropping Kathie at her motorhome I drove north of Quartzsite to Plomosa Road BLM in hopes of catching up with yet another RV Facebook person but was too sick to make that happen.

Chris & GaelynI did however have company when Ranger Chris came by.  I warned him about the crud but he came inside anyway and we visited until 2am.  Two days later he was sick yet tested negative for strep, COVID, RSV, and flu.

morning light storm clouds Plomosa Rd BLM campp Quartzsite AZI spent the next two days sleeping and took Ibuprofen and electrolytes, all I had in the house for a head cold.

Sierra view Shady Lane RV Park Quartzsite AZNo choice but to move on Monday as I needed propane.  Back to Quartzsite for that plus truck fuel and a lovely $10 shower at the laundromat.  I’d planned to drive south and boondock near Kofa NWR but barely had the energy to get a mile to Shady Lane RV Park for the night where I could plug in for heat.  I freaked when that cost $50 for the night.  Place recently went under new ownership but wasn’t going to raise the price this season.  Found out later, they had no choice as Quartzsite taxes went way up to cover the cost of a new and much needed sewage plant.  A different form of Quartzsite crud.

sunrise camp view VFW-BLM Yuma AZ

Sierra window view train VFW-BLM Yuma AZAt that price, I left the next day and drove an hour south to Yuma back to the free and noisy VFW-BLM camp, hungry but with no appetite.  Gayle was there and gave me a cold Ensure which I managed to drink.

COVID test VFW-BLM Yuma AZJoann shopped for me and dropped off groceries, day and night head cold medicine, and a COVID test which was negative.

desert Kofa Mts clouds SR95 AZMade a quick stop along the way at Palm Canyon Road to admire the Kofa Mountains where I had hoped to catch February’s full moon.

moon over Cargo Muchacho Mts BLM Tumco CASpent one night in a friend’s driveway in Yuma before a quick shop and back to Tumco, California to, hopefully once again, watch the full moon over the Cargo Muchacho Mountains.  And that’s where I still am a week later being wind blown and recovering from the Quartzsite Crud.

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Hi, I’m Gaelyn, the Geogypsy

I retired after 29 summer seasons as a Park Ranger, traveling solo for 40+ years. My passions include travel, connecting to nature, photography, and sharing stories.

I started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a seasonal Park Ranger.  I’ve lived full-time in a RV for 30 years working summers and playing winters.  I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow old, other than grow up.

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