Roadrunner BLM not far from Quartzsite
The solar works great even with clouds but I still have to dump and fill the camper, plus fill propane tanks every couple weeks, and get a few more groceries before the holidays so thank goodness I’m not far from Quartzsite.
Gonna roll, I tell Sierra and she meows and goes to bed, burrowing under the covers, I won’t see her until we are parked for the night.
I first went to Pit Stop for propane. It takes me a while and they don’t like that but I need help lifting filled tanks to shoulder level. (Note in the photo below, the door below middle window covers the two propane tanks.)
Then we checked in for two nights at Shady Lane RV Court. I kid them about getting a pre-paid punch card. Parked back in the same space because it’s small as is my rig compared to many of the giants that roll in.
Once settled in, my neighbor tells me about a friend who does home and RV repair work. He and I talk briefly the next day about repairing the camper corners.
Although I’m thinking about where I should be for the planet conjunction at Solstice, not far from Quartzsite, my heart’s just not in it. I wake to gray sky and am not motivated to go anywhere. Sierra agrees, so I go pay for a third night with power, water, sewer, and a weird view.
LOL! I suddenly realized the camper is a large cat tree for Sierra. She spends a lot of time sleeping on the seat right next to me at the dinette. From upsidedown snooze (cat people will understand) to up, awake, and moving in a blink of my eye. Her trail reminds me of kids in the Family Circus comic: from bench sit, bound up to adjacent counter top, pause briefly to adjust slide on smooth surface, one and half body length leap 45° downward to carpeted step, half turn, down two feet to floor, and two steps to food bowl. She hasn’t traveled more than five feet. Sometimes she chooses the shorter route clockwise. Seems when she wakes up she is HUNGRY. That’s cats, either sleeping or eating. I must be bored or procrastinating to write about the antics of my cat. Even drew a picture.
After some thought and use of a couple apps I figured Dome Rock BLM not far from Quartzsite might offer some desert and nearby mountain views to the southwest for the crescent moon and planets. So after a few chores, a wander around Hi Jolly sales area where I bought a $1 rock (Muscatel Jasper, 1/4” slab, 1×3/4”), and lunch from Carl Jr, I headed west along Dome Rock Road until some side-road of gravel caught my eye. I didn’t go far (enough), and drove slowly to spare the camper rocking too much. It’s truly not crowded, just more than I’d like, and way too close to the noisy freeway.
Not sure what I expected photographing the planet conjunction. It’s tiny with much distance between them, the moon, and the horizon. Then it’s really too dark for foreground by the time the tiny planets are even visible. No clouds so sunset wasn’t all that exciting either.
Even with the tripod and 200mm lens the planets were just two fuzzy spots of light. I saw a lot of similar images on Facebook. I tried for several nights. I am happy I got to see this once in my lifetime astronomical event but disappointed with my photographs. Almost makes me wish for a telescope.
The repair guy came to my camp to look closer at the broken camper corners so he could figure out materials and give me a quote on the job. He’d do the job right where I was parked, probably take a couple days. A bonus because I’m not far from Quartzsite. A couple days later he texted me: $300/corner and probably another $300 for materials, after the first of the year. I think it’s a fair price, but more than I want to spend.
And then, it was a clear golden morning for Solstice, shortest day and longest night. Though winter is on the way, I love that there will be more daylight every single day, or until June anyway.
The next morning brought nice color and a delightful day in the low 70s. It was that afternoon I got the repair quote and decided I didn’t have to stay another day with freeway noise at Dome Rock.
And so the next day I went to Blythe for a few groceries to tide me over the holidays. Including an impulse buy, Squirt “Hecho en Mexico” with no high fructose corn syrup. I rarely drink soda pop because it’s all too sweet. However, soda with popcorn is a special treat.
And another treat, is back looking at the Kofa Mountains with many multiple-armed Saguaros in the foreground.
Then, while labeling photos from my January 2020 stay I see those very same cacti as photographed above.
And so, I am still not far from Quartzsite.