Q 2…..the Rally!

Sunday is our last full day in the Apache Junction area and I’m feeling strong enough to tackle the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet….1 1/4 mile and 1600 booths of shopping pleasures!  Think of a flea market on steroids!
  I’m in pursuit of breakfast and a new pair of Crocs.  Find both and a few other can’t-live-without items.  Check out my new Dawgs!

The Avon booth supplied the purple nail polish!  ( I am a bit tired of looking like a homeless desert rat!)
Monday AM we pack up and head the 160+ miles to Quartzsite and the fiberglass rally.  On I-10, just past Phoenix, a rock comes out of nowhere and hits our windshield!  It leaves a dime sized hole, our first broken windshield.  The crack stabilizes and we decide to deal with it later.
Glenda and Jeff are already there.  We decide to camp just behind them, back away from the main gathering.  Many trailers are already here.

We walk around looking for friends.  Find Bob and Mary a few trailers away.

That the famous Dome Rock right over Bob’s head!

It’s too early for registration to be open…instead George is baking bread in his volcano.

Wednesday John and BJ arrive from Mesa.  They like our little back lot and settle just to our east.

Our spot early in the week before the masses arrive.
Thursday we decide to climb Dome Rock!  Two years ago we went as far as the road goes and could not see any way to get higher.  One of our new Casita friends says he has been to the top and there is a faint trail.  Donning our hiking boots, camelbacks and trekking poles, we trudge off.  It is a perfect day for a hike, cloudy and cool!

Casita Land is soon far below.


There’s another couple coming up the road behind us.  We meet Mike and Jackie from Bar Harbor.  They have a toy hauler with a powered parachute inside.  Fun couple who offers to take our picture.

The picture is deceiving…we are on the edge of a cliff.  The Casita gathering is just left of my shoulder.
As we strive to go higher, I zoom in on my hubby.

There is no trail!!! At least we could not locate one.  It occurs to me that we are being slightly stupid in our endeavor.  The rocks are loose and the incline is steep.  We could easily tumble down the mountain.  Admitting defeat, we turn around.

I shoot into the sun to document our view of the top…so close…but still just over half-way to the top.

We are just above the white slash (tailings)!
The week is passing peacefully, it’s surprisingly quiet!  We meet the dog walkers who wander by our camp.  At night, when the wind permits, we have a campfire.  Another couple from Tennessee joins our little group and we spin travel tales.
Meanwhile  the rally grows and spreads out.  There seems to be a desire to not be on top of each other. 
I manage to get sunrises and sunsets.









It’s Saturday morning and I am posting from Burger King.  Been here at least a couple of hours…wondering what I’m missing back at camp?  We plan to stay at Q a couple of more days…not sure what’s next.  Dreading the thought of going back to the cold and ice.  Maybe it will be over in a few weeks???

Random Ramblings

 

Struggling to write because there are no pictures to share!   So much of what I write is wrapped around photography.

Before we left on the Big Trip (Alaska 2013), I felt that it would change me.  We’ve been home for almost 3 months and I’m still trying to put my finger on what’s different?  But there are subtle changes …. more confidence has found a home somewhere inside me.  We did something big, something that was almost incomprehensible (to us) before the trip!  This time last year I did not know where Fairbanks and Anchorage were…except in Alaska!

The other change seems to be one of roots or belonging.  My world has gotten larger, more aware of what’s happening in other places, noticing there’s an ice storm in Anchorage, a flood in the Rockies and a whole city in San Francisco volunteering to make a little boy’s dream come true!

Whatever the changes, they are welcome!  Hoping to continue to grow as a person as I approach my 65th year.

Frequently find myself thinking of the birthday that’s still 4 1/2 months away.  Must apply for Medicare soon…am I beginning to feel old?

Switching subjects….did I mention how sick I’ve been?  Three days after getting home I was down with sinus issues, itchy eyes, chest congestion which led to asthma.  These problems continued off and on for two months with me finally going for allergy testing.  Learned that I am allergic to cats!!!  And dogs, dust mites, mold, ragweed and roach debris and miscellaneous weeds, grasses and trees.  This shocks me as cats have been in my house for the past 34 years!

Discussing this as a warning to others.  Our house was extremely dusty after being closed up for over 3 months.  And it was not exactly clean when we left!  We had lots of rain during July which caused mold outside and inside.  We’ve been cleaning for weeks and now I’m symptom free (for the present)  and have lots of prescriptions and inhalers if needed.

One of the things that I’m grateful for during this season of thanksgivings is my lack of depression.  Years past I have always gotten down as the cold days and long dark nights descend.  Thoughts of the Arizona sun are keeping me in a great mood.  Heading west just after the new year arrives!  We have a wedding to attend in January in Scottsdale and a rally in Quartzsite in February.  Looking forward to seeing some old friends!

The Casita has a new propane regulator, new gas hoses and the bearings have been greased.  Now ready to tackle the long postponed project of valences over the blinds.

 Wonder if this will work?  Found the remnants from this upholstered chair and it seems to match a blue in the cushions.  Will let you know how they turn out.

Other than trying to get the house clean, we have been walking frequently and hiking with a group of seniors.  Also joined a gym but hurt myself the second visit….still waiting for my body to heal!

Enjoying our fur babies….even though the black and whites fight constantly.  I pray for the day they peacefully co-exist!

Sylvester

Princess

Been hanging out on a new (to me) Facebook group, Dutch Oven Cooking.  Strange to be looking at groups other than Casita Owners but the cast iron group is quite addicting.  Lots of information there and I got inspired to rehab an old piece from my granny’s house.

This was after 3 hours in a self cleaning oven before scraping the rust and re-seasoning it.  Wish I had a before picture.  There’s a line on the back that indicates it was made between 1750 and 1875.  Warning….this group is habit forming!  Already gone through Mom’s cabinets looking for more cast iron.

Looking forward to being on the road!  For those of you out there, be careful!  Hope to see some of you soon.

 

Quartzsite and Joshua Tree N. P.

I am sitting in McDonald's in Twenty Nine Palms, California and trying my best to write.  I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything and it is mostly due to the lack of internet connection.
We have been camped at Indian Cove in the Joshua Tree National Park (CA) since last Monday, 1/30....leaving tomorrow heading for Buckskin MTN State Park in AZ.

This has been the most amazing place!  We are camped up in the mountains nestled in among ancient rocks.  There has been almost no one in the campground all week and we have had the outhouse all to ourselves!  I never imagined that having an outhouse (pit toilet) would feel like luxury.  But after dry camping in the desert at Quartzsite for 6 days with a malfunctioning sewer system, this convenience is extremely appreciated!

Yesterday we hiked a 3 mile moderately difficult trail to Forty Nine Palms Canyon.  We did not see any Joshua Trees but the palms were amazing to find tucked in the back of the canyon.

Must not leave out a picture of a Joshua Tree!


We spent one night at a county park, Lake Pleasant, on our way from Phoenix to Quartzsite and the whole experience at Quartzsite will need to wait for another day.  The most amazing thing was finding the people that we met in Tortilla and camping with them.  There were 80,000 to 100,000 RVers there and we found them!  We just looked where the Casita people usually go...Dome Rock area...and David spotted the unusual looking fifth wheel Escape that they had.

We spent 6 nights camped below the Dome Rock (Quartzsite) with 5 other egg campers, two Escapes, one Casita and two Bigfoots.  These people were from Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico and knew each other from previous gatherings.

The RV show was fun and my fears of feeling too crowded did not materialize, mostly because of the spaciousness of the desert.  Yes, it was crowded in town and we had to wait in line some but returning to our little private peace of real estate among the cactus made it worthwhile.

We have enjoyed the solitude in the rocks this week but are looking forward to attending the pre-Quartzsite Casita gathering tomorrow back over in Arizona.  Not sure at this moment if we will be returning to Dome Rock on the 10th but we probably will. I might miss something since there should be over 60 Casitas there.

The solar panels will be packed this afternoon
and after another long winter desert night we'll be heading out tomorrow.

Saying Goodbye

I did not realize how hard it was going to be to say goodbye to our cats. When the time came to load them up and take them to their new temporary home,  we almost changed our minds.  We discussed taking them and, again, the fear of them getting out of the trailer was too great!
So here we are 291 miles from home and the trauma of leaving, not just the cats but our home, friends and family, is beginning to fade.  Hello to Meridian MS!  It is 5:30 AM, 30 degrees at the Bonita Lakes RV Park.  My husband is sleeping and our new TV is thankfully off and I am snuggled into my seat with wool socks and a blanket tucked around me.
We have questioned this quest to the desert.  Why are we going  somewhere that's cold at night?  Florida has always been our winter destination.  We have decided that this is a trial and we will see; this maybe our one and only winter Arizona trip.  Our ultimate destination is the Quartzsite Casita gathering during the middle of February and meeting some of our Casita friends.  Our plans today include dewinterizing, I hope we don't regret it but we are heading south, going an extra distance just to get away from the cold.  Austin is the plan for New Year's Eve.





Most of this post and the pictures were taken with my samsung tablet.  Still experimenting....I don't like the pictures but not enough to redo.  The Virgin mobile MIFI did great in the car (but we are still east of the Mississippi) although my speed has slowed considerably.