Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Quartzsite and Bloggerfest




We like Quartzsite  but not in January while the big RV show is on, this year we had a couple of reasons to want  to come  here and share the desert with  several hundred thousand RVers.

We had been trying to hook up with our friends  Dianne and Tom  since October, somehow life got in the way and last week was the time it worked for us and them.

Dianne and Tom were camping with their friends from the Escapee group  Classless Class, the day we arrived two couple were putting on their Quesadilla and Margarita night.
  We were invited to the campfire and enjoyed a quesadilla and a margarita complete with a salted rim. Everyone was so nice and made us feel very welcome.

Tom and Dianne 
Bob Richie took this picture, he and his wife Karen are from Chase BC

We have never camped with a group before, but it was fine, even with our three dogs, Most of the couples had left  by the end of the week. Unfortunately several people came down with cold/flu so we didn't see too much of them
Skip was really interested in the windscreen Tom had built, so Tom assembled it so Skip and Robbie
could have a look.



Skip and I attended the 2nd annual Bloggerfest in Quartzsite last Saturday. We were actually in town last year , but didn't attend mainly because it was too overwhelming for me. I get very nervous and uneasy in large groups of people.  I regretted  that decision  for a whole year.


This year I was  determined to attend  and I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. I really wanted to see  Al and Kelly,and there were bloggers attending that I had met  over the years. Plus I was hoping some of the people I had been reading for years would be there.

Kelly with Marykay and Craig
Lorne Green the back of  Ivan and Retired Rod, I didn't know everyone

We are both so glad went.  It was fun to see our old friends and meet new ones. We finally met Croft, who we was one of the first blogs we discovered, and Sue Malone who writes such an interesting account of her and her friend Mo's travels.
Croft .. George and  Suzie on the left



Al
Sassy 





It's really  awesome to be surrounded by so many people with the same love of south west and the RVing be it full time, part time or any time.

Thanks again George and Suzie for organizing and getting the word out about Bloggerfest.


Jean



Wednesday, January 13, 2016

We Turned Left


We had intended to leave Ogilbe Road and go to either Quartzsite or Joshua Tree National Park, the night before we  were to leave we decided to go to Ajo.  Ajo and Darby Well Road BLM is one of our favorite boon docking spots.
We loved camping a long Darby Wells Road



We were on the road by 8 AM, but by the time we dumped our tanks  and took on water at the Giant/76  gas station in Yuma, stopped at Walmart, and Tractor Supply ( like  Buckerfields ) and got propane in the foothills, it was almost noon. We stopped at Date Land for a date shake and drove straight to Ajo, and turned on to Darby Well Rd. We knew that the mining company had fenced  along the road, and that are favorite camping spot likely wouldn't be available. We stopped unhooked the car and Skip went in search of a spot. It was a major disappointment when he couldn't find anything we could fit into. The one place that was big and available was at the Y in the road and it was littered with rusty cans and broken glass. So we hooked the car up and headed 10 miles down the highway to Why and the BLM at Gunsight Wash.

And are we ever glad we did. We really like it here, we have a big private site along the wash, It is so green here, lots of Mesquite Trees, Palo Verde and Desert Broom, some of the Creosote bushes are in bloom.

Our Site

There is a camp host here,  we had to sign in, but she said the ranger hadn't bothered to give her the proper forms, so she didn't care how long we stayed. There are about  a dozen or so RVs here, but there are many many sites.

There are lots of coyotes here, so the dogs have lost the freedom they  enjoyed on Ogilbe Rd. The coyotes know that they are here and have got really bold coming close to the RV several times a day. I am never fast enough with the camera to get a good picture of one.

Jake almost 12 years
Jake is doing ok, he's given us a couple of scares this trip,but the last month he has been pretty good.

He is full of lumps  and doesn't go on long walks, but he is still really strong, and doesn't appear to have  any pain.

Our Big boy
There is nothing much at Why except a gas station  and Granny Macs Restaurant, and three Rv parks.



We go to Ajo for our groceries, Olsons IGA is a great store, we've always liked shopping there.


It's also an Ace Hardware.

Ajo also has the coolest library, or at least the coolest library  building.


We are going to hang out here at Gunsight Wash until Monday when we are heading to Quartzsite to catch up with our some  of our boon docking buddies. The big RV show will be on but we can avoid
most of the crowds by staying out of town, We did go to the big tent last year, the only thing we saw that we wanted was this beauty.





Jean