Day 9 - Saturday

We didn't walk up the hill this morning but we did get started early to drive to Blythe, CA, and grab some "Golden State" caches. We made it without any extra costs and found some very green areas with canals to irrigate the fields. It literally turned green once we crossed the border at the Colorado River. California has an inspection port for all vehicles and a nice young lady asked us from where we were coming. Upon hearing Quartzsite, she looked in the back and waved us on.

We found 7 caches, had a great Pizza Inn lunch and drove back in time to bake some brownies and photograph a decent sunset. The sunset lit our campsite nicely. See attached photos.

Day 8 - Christmas Day 2009 (Friday)

Today was a beautiful day. We had ham & cheese omelets for breakfast and then headed out for some caches. Dexter went with us and the experience reminded us of why we don't take the dog. Tomorrow, he stays home and sleeps.

Tommy got to do some serious 4-wheeling with the Explorer on the back trails near our campsite and Old Yuma Road. We only grabbed 3 caches but that puts us at a new milestone of 2700. Attached is the 2700th cache photo - Dexter is looking away from the the camera.

After lunch/dinner around 3:30pm, I walked halfway up to the nearest hilltop peak. The 2nd photo is the summit I did not reach. The sun had moved past the peak and the shadows were too dark. We agreed that we'd all walk up there Sunday morning and get some decent photos.

The last photo is of our campsite after I walked back down to find Tommy and Dexter under a blanket as the sun was setting. It was a great day for us and we didn't spend any money on anything!

Tomorrow we head to Blythe, CA, to get some California caches and see what is in Quartzsite on a Saturday afternoon. We plan to hit the road Wednesday early and drive to Las Cruces to meet Steve & Raymond at their new mountain home.

Day 7 - Thursday

Just before Noon Thursday - We will have great pictures once the tow truck pulls the RV out of the spot where I buried it!

Two & a half hours later - It took just 30 minutes (or less) to extract the RV from the hole I dug in the very soft sandy dirt. The 4 pictures show how it was stuck, what the front holes looked like where it sunk and the dual steel cables used to pull it out.

The place we called "Toe Truck" had an office in Quartzsite but they sent the driver from Parker, AZ, which was 30 miles away. The good news - they were very professional and got us going in short order. The bad news - they are very, very, very expensive. It was $150 an hour plus their travel time so the bill (once he got there) was $450 to pull us back about 12 feet. Our 1 week in the desert cost $490 ($40 for the space plus $450 to get out). If you ever get stuck and want a good but expensive wrecker, call them.

The final picture is the flat, level, and hard space we finally parked in. The view is great.

We walked Dexter, found a cache in the nearby foothills (we walked to it) and fixed dinner outside. It is dark now and I have a decent Internet connection via Sprint PCS and my Blackberry so I am posting my folly of the day.

We hope tomorrow is a better and less costly day.

Merry Christmas to each of you! A Happy New Year is what we're hoping for!

Comment Responses (we tried posting a comment ourselves but it would not work so I am adding this to the Blog text):

Yes, the rain from the day before caused some soft spots. I caused the problem by stopping and turning the front wheels without moving. That action caused the resistance that made the rear drive wheel dig a hole.

It was a beautiful spot to camp. Check out some of the photos we posted on Christmas Day. We have not seen any snakes. It is warm in the sun but the ground is very cool. It goes down to freezing overnight and warms to 65 or so by late day. Unless you are in the direct sun, it is cool without a jacket. The upside is that the coach stays cool and we don't need any A/C. Just having the windows open cools it enough.

Day 6 - Wed (Geocaching & Desert Searching)

We decided to stay in town one more day and do some Geocaching. It was great and we should have done this yesterday. We saw many sights in the NorthEast Quadrant of the city. We even went off-road and grabbed 5 along the Sunset Trail. Attached is only one of the many cache pictures we took.

We had lunch at the Grubstake Chuck Wagon and it was very filling. Tommy got the #15 (3 Sliders) and could only eat one of them! In general, it is expensive to eat in Quartzsite. Most lunches have been $10 for each of us and that's without the drinks.

After lunch, we grabbed Dexter and went back to the Tyson Wash area of the La Posa LTVA and tried to find the TOW group or the Stonewall BOF group from their directions. We found the roads, found the washes, and found the turn in but didn't find any people other than 2 different man/woman couples who were trying to be out alone by themselves. Some of the roads were not suitable for the motorhome as the washes were too steep, the entrances too narrow or the rocks too big to avoid scrapping bottom. We found a space near road 561 past the 2nd wash that we'll drive to tomorrow morning. This is our last night in town and we're doing laundry and loading up water to be ready for six or so days of boondocking.

It was clear and sunny all day with a hint of a north wind but not too bad. I see Dallas is getting some cold weather but we're staying in the moderate range.

Here is Tommy with a cache in the middle of some tall cactus.

Day 5 - Tuesday

It was a busy day. We started by paying for a 2nd night at the 88 Shades RV Park. Laundry was completed overnight and we could have left this morning but decided to take our time getting to the desert. The 1st order of business was a tour of the town in the daylight. We discovered wide streets, plenty of parking spaces, and most places just now setting up for the crush of visitors expected in another 2 weeks.

We took a trip down Arizona 95 to the La Posa LTVA (Long Term Visitors Area) where you get to decide if you want to stay 2 weeks or 7 months. There is a fee for each and we paid for 2 weeks ($40).

We toured the Tyson's Wash area and saw several places where we could, and could not, get the Coach into comfortably. We decided to wait until Thursday and then move out of 88 Shades for the Tyson's Wash area. While we were scouting out the area, a storm quickly developed (lighting and all) right near where we were. Tommy turned us around and we headed back out to the entrance area. The storm caught us and it was ferocious with hail and very heavy rain. The desert became a mess in mere minutes.

We decided right then to not go so far back with the coach and that we would find a level spot about 1.5 miles in and set up there. Attached are some pictures of the place and the storm as it was brewing.

We ended the day by stopping in Town to see what few vendors were set up already. I bought 22 Hematite rocks to put on my desk for others to see. They are magnetic and quite fun to put in different shapes.

Oh yeah, lunch was at Silly Al's Pizza and it was great. Silly Al's is a cross between a honky-tonk and a seedy, city dive (bar) and the food / service was very good. We recommend.

Day 4 - Wrap Up

OK, all is well that ends well.

The drive from Glen Jones Ford in Casa Grande, AZ, to Quartzsite, AZ, is complete and all survived. We are $400 lighter but have a fixed tow vehicle, a renewed charging system and a fresh HD battery. Yes, I could have obtained one less expensively at Wal*Mart but time was of the essence.

It was growing dark quickly as we took exit 19 into the town. We decided to pull in to the 88 Shades RV Park on the main drag so we could (a) take showers, (b) wash 4 loads of laundry, (c) fill up fresh water and (d) empty the dump tanks. To celebrate our arrival, we found a Mexican restaurant on a side street and had dinner. It was a cash only but loads of food kinda place. It was packed when we arrived but thinned out over the course of the hour we were there. I hate to say it but even at our advanced old ages, we were at least 20 years younger than anyone else in that place and more than 20 years for some. This is not a young persons town.

So, we are fed, watered, washed, and about to bed down for the night. It is forecast to be windy and cooler tomorrow so we may stay at 88 Shades RV another day and explore the town before finding our place in the desert. We saw many RV'S from the road on the way into town but we know this is nothing compared to the 150,000 that will arrive in January.

Day 4 - Quite an Adventure

There are several interesting issues to discuss in this posting.

As we were preparing to pull out of the AZ Rest Area, the sun was coming up and we stopped to take a photo. Far from being the ugly rest stop we first thought, we were near some beautiful rocks and a small hill. See the 1st photo.

Aside from the dead battery, the trip went well and we decided to visit a Flying J for fuel at exit 208 near Eloy, AZ. The price was good (2.53/gal) and they gave us an RV discount of .01 off each gallon. $252 later and we were preparing to leave.

However, I decided to check the Ford to see if it would start. Alas, it was dead again. A quick jump and the engine was back to life. I noticed the Neutral Tow placard said to never tow with a dead battery so I tried to put it gear. Whoops, it said we were going 25mph while sitting still. Long story short - the neutral tow module was stuck in tow mode. Called Ford, found dealer 15 miles away in Casa Grande, we're having lunch in their parking lot while they fix the Ford and install a new battery (and check the charging system).

Lunch was turkey/ham sandwiches in the back lot of Glen Jones Ford. We saw the Ford drive off to a service bay so they must have fixed something. The good news is that they got it back in gear so we can drive it normally. The bad news is that the module won't go back into Neutral so we can't tow it right now. The technician went for lunch so we'll check back after 1pm MT to see if we're going on or spending the night in their back lot.