Another Working Day

I'm sure everyone who reads this blog thinks we are on holidays 24/7; not so. Just like a house, a trailer needs attention and repair or upgrades from time to time. Yesterday was on of those working days where we tried to upgrade some of the systems in the trailer.

First order of business was to mount the TV and DVD player safely on a wall so we could once again use our counter for kitchen activities. By lunchtime we had successfully found a new home for both as you can see in the picture above. We were quite pleased with the way it all came together.

After lunch Phil came over and discovered a new problem .............. another melted fuse holder.  Since we had just replaced one last week we knew what was needed. Phil made sure it was done correctly and then he

attempted to install a program to monitor the solar charger's history through my laptop. He was able to download the program but the USB cable he was using wouldn't connect the computer and the solar charger. Tomorrow we will attempt to order the recommended cable and hopefully by next week have everything working properly. (just bought one on e-bay)

See, every day isn't a holiday, we do have to keep an eye on things and fix the problems when they do show up.

Thanks for stopping by.

How Can You Say, NO!

There is much history in this area and it is easy to drive right past it without knowing. A case in point are the number of historical sites along Plamosa Road that aren't even marked.

So our plan was to go and see if we could find a few of these sites and share them with you. First we stopped to get Marvin and Annie.

Look at those cute, sweet faces. How could we leave them behind? Come on Tobby and Nikki, get in.

Can you see the letter "E"?  This was placed here back in the 1940s by men who were in training for the US airforce. They collected rocks and spelled out "Quartzsite" at the base camp where they trained.

 All that's left are the rocks.

Further down the road we found the "Bouse Fisherman" Click on the picture above to read his story.

Try and imagine a tribe of people carefully arranging these stones, hundreds of years ago to tell their story. The white stones are his spear tip and you can easily see his body and leg.

This is Jeep territory and I'm sure they must have thought we were lost driving our truck down this road, truth is they were right. We never did find the abandoned stagecoach station.

Time to hike up this hill and look for an old cistern that was in use just a few years ago. Didn't find it either but we did have a lovely hike ..........................

and this view across the valley.

Another day and we'll take Marvin's ATV down these trails and see what's on the other side.

Until then, safe travels and thanks for stopping by.

Is There a Plumber in the House?

Some days the events aren't worth reporting, just stay in bed and let the day pass. But when you have water on the floor and it didn't come from a spill, one can't stay in bed.

This was the culprit, and had to be removed. I'm sure you know how teeny tiny RV bathrooms are. It isn't the largest room to work in and of course the bolts are positioned so you need to be a contortionist just to reach them. Now my internet search told me this was a half hour job, it took me a half day just to get the toilet out, then I had to repair it and reinstall it. By four o'clock I was looking for an excuse to stop and give my body a rest, but one needs a toilet at least once a day so stopping until finished wasn't an option.  No more details except to say, the toilet is back in, it functions, it doesn't leak, ..... but it does wiggle.

Now our neighbour, Tony, had another problem, how to inaugurate his new stove.  Best solution we could come up with was a pizza party for the gang. It was a fabulous idea. Tony and Phil provided the dough and toppings and we all ate and enjoyed way too much. Delicious any time, double delicious in the desert with friends, outside in the middle of winter.

Five o'clock in the desert, and the sun is slowly dropping behind the distant hills.  Now we still have pizza so if you missed the party come on over today and taste the best home-made pizza in Quartzsite.

A meal isn't complete without dessert and last night we had a farmer's dessert. When I was a kid and visited my uncle's farm, my aunt always served icecream, pie, cake then cookies for dessert; we called it a farmer's dessert. Well last night my aunt would have been proud, we had home-made cinnamon buns, best just hot out of the oven, home-made cinnamon and raison bread and home-made pumpkin and ginger cookies. Are you smacking your lips just thinking of a bite? Come on down and enjoy the food.

Living well in the desert.

Thanks for dropping by.

Counting Sheep

We decided to go searching for the mountain sheep near Bouse, Arizona yesterday so early in the morning we hit the road.

First stop was the "Bad Boys Cafe" for breakfast

This is a popular restaurant as you can see by the folks standing along the wall. They are waiting to place their orders, then they will have to wait to find a table. Mary had "sweet potato" pancakes and they were delicious.

Next stop, the second-hand store in Bouse. If you need something, this is the place to find it, especially gadgets from years ago.

Bouse was the training ground for tank commanders during the second world war so we stopped to see the display of the tenth armored group.

See those mountains off in the distance? That's where the sheep are, and I suppose they are still there, but we didn't see them. The only sheep we counted were those in our dreams after we got home.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

A Dry Dusty Place

Many people look at this area as a dry dusty place. We look at it as a classroom, a place of sharing and learning. There are so many talented people willing to share their knowledge of rock hounding, quilting, DC power, photography, baking, painting, truck repair, travel, that this whole experience becomes a learning opportunity as we spend time together.

The other day Tony came over for a recipe so we all sat outside and Mary dictated the recipe along with her personal changes.

Tony took notes, asked questions and made sure he understood exactly how the ingredients went together.

I spent the time taking photos and experimenting with settings on my camera.

A final word of explanation with a loaf in her hand.

Annie and Marvin dropped by with a letter for us. Door to door mail service thanks to friends.

Next day Tony brought over a loaf of wonderful dill bread. I call it flower pot bread because it's baked in a "flower pot".  He found a recipe that dared you to try it........ using the juice of your dill pickles. Incredibly yummy with a bit of cheese.

Living life the way it was meant to be from a dry dust place full of wonderful people.

Thanks for stopping by.

Homemade

As mentioned in an earlier post, you see everything out here in the desert. On our way into town yesterday we saw this beauty. It's built on a 1973 GMC motor-home chassis.

Looks like a camper built for Buck Rogers.

How many motorhomes do you know that are two story? Not many. Upstairs would be great for watching the NASCAR races.

It even comes with a driving station up top.

Check out Flash Gordon's motorhome at: http://www.blastolene.com/Work_in_Progress/deco.htm

Enjoy the sunset wherever you are. Thanks for dropping by.

Bread in the Desert

It was too crowded to go to the RV show, maybe tomorrow, so we stayed home and made bread.

We are parked here near Tony and Phil on BLM land just north of Quartzsite. This is our view out our front door. Cost is $40.00 for two weeks or $180.00 for seven months. That includes water, sewage dump and garbage collection. Life is good in the desert of Arizona.

First rays of the morning sun hitting our trailer. Our solar panels are putting out 19.5 amps as I type at 11 am. Tuesday morning.

Tony and Phil bought Mary a bread maker because that is what everyone is doing out here this winter. The bread machine eliminates the mess of flour all over the trailer and handles the kneading of the dough just fine. Mary lets the dough rise as required then pops them into the oven and in 10 minutes we have our loves to enjoy. Delicious!

Balloons over Trailer

Saturday was just too windy for the ballons to be in the air, but Sunday morning they were back in the skies.

Drifting silently overhead. We didn't realize the balloons were so close until we happen to go outside.

This one looks to be in trouble, but shortly after this picture was taken it lifted off and floated away.

I have no idea how the pilots control their landing locations, but some choices don't look the best from here.

Monday we returned to Quartzsite and couldn't believe all the RVs parked here; just look at that crowd. Where did they all come from?

The shows have started and we will report on them over the next few weeks.

Safe travels and see you soon.

Field of Fire

The highlight at the Lake Havasu Balloon Festival, for us, was the "Field of Fire". Every night about 7 pm they would park about 20 balloons on the launch field, inflate as if ready for "take off" but the pilots kept them on the ground.

It was a challenge to photograph because the propane jets could only be activated for a few seconds, otherwise the balloon would go into "lift off" mode.

Hope you can enjoy the pictures and maybe attend a balloon festival yourself some day.

No, I didn't turn the picture, it just the way this balloon flies. It's called "Off the Wall"

Remember there were at least 20 of these balloons, sitting in darkness under a starry ski. It was beautiful.

Reflections in a pool.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope there is a balloon festival near you.

Afternoon Launch

Friday was a great day to spend at the Balloon Festival. The weather was perfect for launching and we had front row seats to the action.

The early evening launch was very busy and successful with over 40 balloons taking advantage of the excellent weather conditions.

It was crowded but everyone seemed to launch without problems.

There's Humpty Dumpty again.

Look at those lips.  How could you not love the face? I call it the "Floating Goldfish" but it's actually called .............

.............. Sushi; it's beautiful to watch float through the evening sky.

Did I mention busy? Looks almost 3D.

We thoroughly enjoyed the show and will be back again for the weekend.

The sun was setting but the show wasn't over .............. time for the "Field of Fire" and I'll post those tomorrow.

Thanks for dropping by.