After a quick trip to Mexico I returned to crowded Quartzsite to meet up with friends old and new.
I left my Cargo Muchacho Mountains camp on January 17th, went to Yuma for supplies, then spent the night at—my favorite—VFW/BLM camp. The next day I went to Algodones Mexico with Gayle for hopefully her final dental surgery. After they put her under, I slipped out to breakfast and the recommended Mi Casa Su Casa was excellent. A huge plate of shredded chicken Chilaquiles with beans and potatoes for $3.50 USD was more than I could finish.
The next morning I headed to crowded Quartzsite. After fighting with the fridge for almost three months I decided to order a new thermistor at RV Lifestyles. Since buying that $64 part, the fridge has worked fine, and I found the part online for $10. Can’t return electronics so I’ll just hang on to it.
I attended the 13th annual RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendezvous) for my first time, video here. Arrived in time to hear RV boondock guru Bob Wells talking about the movie Nomadland. Then wandered around chatting to folks before waiting in line to meet Bob. I asked him “Where were you 46 years ago when I first hit the road and there was nobody to ask questions?” Think I caught him off guard with that. (The burning van will go up in smoke at the end of the RTR. Look above the front wheel for my signature.)
Mo, Sue, Gaelyn
Later in the afternoon I met Sue and Mo at the Roadrunner 14-day BLM south of crowded Quartzsite and they drove us into town for dinner at Silly Al’s Pizza. Waited over an hour for a table and the place was packed with noise levels beyond conversation but the table-sized pizza was good.
By now I was ready for some down days in preparation for my next meetup after the weekend. At crowded Quartzsite there’s very little bandwidth at Roadrunner with so many people but I did work on videos and blog posts to post later. The traffic in and out was like watching a parade so I took video. The Big Tent Show started that weekend and the crowds descended like flies on, well you know.
Saturday afternoon a trailer parked what I would call “too close” except for this location. Later they were joined by two other outfits and I felt like part of the party, not.
By Monday morning I was ready to get out of Dodge.
The wind was blasting and full of dust. I headed east of crowded Quartzsite to Scadden Wash BLM, a new 14-day for me.
Carolyn’s RV Life meetup was held there from 11am-2pm. I arrived way before that in hopes of a good signal and got lucky enough to upload the RTR video. I walked over about 11am and stood in line talking to strangers to meet Carolyn. She really is a down to Earth person and I like her a lot. We’re both trying to be more social this year. Just before noon I returned to the camper as I was cold. The wind was brutal. Dust almost obscured the Dome Rock Mountains to the west. After breakfast I walked back over about 1pm. Much warmer but still chill. A small group was asking questions. I’d guess 50-60+ people came through in that four hours.
Because of the great signal, towers seen on the top of the Plomosa Mountains, I decided to cruise up the road a bit and found a wonderful quiet and uncrowded camp. 360° view video here.
Tuesday I woke with a runny nose, sore throat, and no energy. Good day to stay home reading and knitting.
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I decided to be more social this year and get out to functions and activities, meet new people. That’s been fun, except for catching the worse cold I’ve had in forever. I’ve tested negative for COVID three times. Over a week later, I’m finally feeling a bit better. But now I’m even further behind on blog posts. Bear with me please.