Wandering Spirit

Good friends, near perfect weather, and you can’t beat the price…so we awe still here in Quartzsite.

We wander through the big tent (I don’t care much for that), and up and down rows and rows of vendors with new and used wares. I find a table I like with adjustable height, a bug guard for the water heater, and a few other little odds and ends. We go to the tiny grocery store in town, purchase gas for under $2 a gallon, water for 25 cents a gallon, and Shirlee and Doug get propane for $2.30 a gallon. They also go to Parker for supplies at Walmart. I haven’t gone. Yet.

We walk dogs, read, play games and watch movies. We are not in the market, but we go look at RV’s for the heck of it. A Class B wide body 2008 Pleasure Way catches my eye. About 20 feet total and no towing. The dogs would have more space while I’m driving. But…$69,000 with 13,000 miles on it, the fridge is small, there is little storage space, and I would have no separate vehicle to drive. Those would all be issues for me.

The pros and cons of the various types of RV’s can be endlessly debated, and in my mind at least, there is just no perfect one. I love my little WS, but after towing it for over 10,000 miles, I’m still a lousy backer-upper. So many people have tried to show me, and/or explain it but I am still a work in progress. So far though, it hasn’t hindered me too badly, and I get by!

January 14

We leave Anza Borrego Desert SP and travel the short distance to Joshua Tree National Park.  It’s a pretty drive through Box Canyon, most of which seems to be BLM land.  A few RV’s are camped there.

We arrive at JTNP near the Cottonwood Visitors Center, where I go in and flash my senior pass for free entrance to the park.  Otherwise it’s $15.  I tell the Ranger I’d like to camp at Cottonwood Campground and he tells me there are lots of open spaces there now.  There are water spigots, flush toilets, and it’s $15 to camp, but $7.50 with senior pass.  This senior pass turns out to be a very valuable little piece of plastic.  If you are 62 or better, you can get them for $10, and they last as long as you do.

I drive 3/4 mile to the campground, pick a nice spot and we walk back to the kiosk to pay.  We chill the rest of the day, taking walks around the campground and nearby roads.  I meet Larry.  He and his wife are looking do downsize and have been thinking of a Casita but have never seen inside one.  I let him look.  He gives me coffee as a thank you.  🙂

January 15

We take a drive through the park.  Between the strange looking Joshua Trees and odd rock formations, I feel like we’ve landed on another planet.  Some of the mountains look as if huge bulldozers have made gigantic piles of rocks.

Joshua tree

Mountains look like piles of rocks

We exit the park at 29 Palms, and suddenly I have internet and phone service.  I go to the grocery store, then back into the park.  We go a different way and see more weird rocks and trees.  I think about how adaptable plant and animal life is to be able to survive in this harsh environment.

We return to camp and pay for one more night.  Tomorrow we move on…

January 16

We are headed for Quartszite!  We are less than 100 miles from there, so the ride down I10 is easy.  We arrive to mass craziness!  This tiny town is one big traffic jam of RV’s and huge trucks.  Thankfully I’m meeting friends Shirlee and Doug (we met at Owl Canyon and again at Sawtooth Canyon).  We agree to meet at the Chevron station…I end up at the Pilot Truck Stop instead, but they find me anyway.  I follow them out of the major traffic, back to where they are already camped.  At this point I couldn’t tell you the location, except it’s BLM land where you register, can stay for 2 weeks, and there is no charge.

Joy and Shiloh are so excited to see their friends again!  Joys OCGD…Obsessive Compulsive Greeting Disorder…goes into full swing and every time Shirlee or Doug walk away and come back again, she greets them like she has been missing them for years.

I set up camp, have some late lunch, and finally we all pull up our lawn chairs together, get the maps out, and share about the places we have been since we were together at Sawtooth.

The big tent in Q opens on the 17th.  We will see how we feel about taking it in on opening day…:-)

This is where I’m camped now

Good night Quartszite!

Lots of things to remember when breaking camp.

It actually starts the evening before I’m going to leave.  I take the awning down.  Not hard at all, but time consuming for one person.  The last step is to wrap the 3 velcro straps around it after it’s closed, as a safety measure against wind opening it while traveling.  I need the ladder for this but don’t want to dig it out of the back of the truck.  Instead I use a step-stool which is only one step and I really need two.  I use a ‘reacher’ to grab the velcro strip from behind the awning after I insert it between the awning and WS.  I secure three of these strips around the awning.

I fill 6 empty one gallon water jugs and my water tank with the hose, then disconnect it and put it away.

In the morning I’m up well before the sunrise.  Shiloh wants to go out and be guard dog in this pre-dawn time.  He lies in front of WS’s door, alert, listening to every sound in the darkness.  There is plenty to listen to this morning….coyotes howling and yipping from all directions!

I make coffee and get back in bed to drink it.  I love to start the day this way!

At dawn I make breakfast for Joy and Shiloh and then we have our morning walk.  We get some exercise and  watch the sun rise at the same time.  The coyotes are still singing…it’s  a darn eery sound.  This is a state park and dogs are not allowed on the trails, but they are allowed on roads and paths and there are plenty of those here.  There is plenty of air sniffing going on and we meet some other dogs and their humans this morning.

Back home I make myself a bowl of Grape Nuts with soy milk for breakfast.  Next I do up the few dishes and start putting things away in their secure places.  A few items go in the microwave.  The tea kettle and other odds and ends go in the dish pan which sits in the sink.  I pack towels around those things.  I put things that might roll between pillows and around the edge of the mattress.  My current one gallon jug of water gets tucked between pillows and the wall.  By this time I have a routine and usually remember where I put things.  That wasn’t true when I started out.  It seemed like I spent 50% of my time trying to find things!

Continuing inside, I secure all the cupboards and doors and the one drawer.  There are a few items I bring inside, and they live in the dog bed when we travel….the afore mentioned step, dog food bowls, and a plastic container of dog toys and brushes.

Outside, I don vinyl gloves and dump the tanks into the sewer hook up.  I clean up and pack up that equipment and it goes into the truck bed.  I put my lawn chair into the back of the truck also, and sweep off the patio mat before  I fold it up and fasten it with a bungie cord  It goes in the truck bed as well.

I make sure the stove vent is latched.  Now it’s time to hook up WS to JR.  Joy and Shiloh usually like to watch this event from outside so I leave them tied out for now.  I unlock the hitch lock and raise the latch.  I have a red and white fishing bobber that I attach to the latch, which a kind man gave me in Oregon once.  The bobber is easier to see in my rear view camera than the dark colored….ball holder.  (Sorry don’t know what it’s called!  🙂 ) Now I just need to get the hitch ball directly under the bobber, and just a little farther back, and I’ll be in the right spot to hook up.  Once I did it in one try, but usually I average about 10 tries…jumping in and out of JR after each adjustment until it’s in the perfect spot.  Today it takes me 4 tries.

I wind down the jack, lower the latch, and make sure the latch is secure by raising it a tad and making sure it holds.  Lowering the jack all the way now, I lower the latch and replace the hitch lock.  I attach the sway bar.  (Hi Reine!  🙂  )  I remove the jack from the Jack E Up and place it in the Jack E Hand and fasten it in.  I hook the chains and the trailer break to the back of JR.  I remove any chocks that I can and raise the back stabilizing jacks.  I close and lock WS’s doors and raise the step.  Last I unplug my electric hookup, and push the cord into it’s storage compartment and lock the little door.  I fasten the pigtail to WS.  Finally I do a walk around and make sure I’ve actually done all the things I’ve just mentioned.

I use the ramp to get Joy and Shiloh into their crew cab and then place the ramp on the passenger seat floor.  I get in and drive forward a few feet, get out and put  the remaining leveling boards and chocks into their storage compartment and lock that. I look around camp to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind!

OK!  We are ready to roll!!!

I think the pictures are probably all out of order. Not sure what size they will turn out….but here goes…

Shiloh with his left leg wrapped

[caption id="attachment_845" align="alignnone" width="300"] Looking down at my camp site and beyond, from near the snake.

My new little friend

Perched contentedly on my finger!

The visitors center at Anza Berrango Desert State Park

Some of my view here at the state park

-medium wp-image-848″ /> The snake![/caption]

From a distance…the best way to be with large snakes! 🙂

Hopefully I’ve learned how to make my pictures smaller now, thanks to the patients of Laura and Joel and their tech support. 🙂

I asked around and found out where the free wifi is here in Berrago Springs….which is all around Christmas Circle, in the middle of town! It’s a ’roundabout’ with a park in the center, and parking spaces all around. Seems to be working fine….

Jan 10
Visiting the snake. Mind you, it’s a large snake made out of rocks in the hills, so it’s ok!
My neighbor, Sweet Virginia tells me ‘if you want to see the snake, let me know and we can hike up there together…I know the way.’ Friday afternoon I ask her, ‘what about tomorrow morning?’
She’s on for that! About 8:30 the three of us show up at her campsite. Shiloh has no limp now, and I’ve quit wrapping is leg.
Virginia puts on her hat and her hiking shoes, brings her dog Chip along, and off we go. We come to an area that is a bit difficult to go up, and I wonder how it will be going down. Worse? She tells me we will go down a different way. Yay!

The dogs are all over the place, but we humans walk slowly. Virginia shows me where coyotes make their dens in the rocks.

We finally make it to the snake! The guys who ‘built’ it did a very good job and it’s remained here for 4 years. It’s a diamond back rattler and eve has rattles.

( I planned to put pictures in here but due to not being very good at this new method yet, I will have to make a separate post with pictures. I hope.)

From our perch up in the hills, I look down at the desert below us….wow, what an expanse!

This is also the day that a new little friend comes to visit….a hummingbird. He flies right into WS while I’m outside. I follow him in, and he seems to be trying to leave through the window. I put my hand near him and he lights on my finger! I move very slowly towards the door, afraid he will fly off but he has no intention of doing that….even after I get him outside. I take pictures and it doesn’t bother him at all. Finally he flies off my finger, and right back into WS! We end up spending a good 5 minutes together, and i get him outside again, where he finally zips away. Wow. I’ve never had that happen before!

January 12
We move to Anza Borrego Desert State Park for my FHUF…my full hook up fix. It’s a very nice park, only 2 miles from town,and $35 a night…$33 with senior discount. That’s the most I’ve paid anywhere for awhile now, but I do like to support the State Park system sometimes.

The night is clear, no moon early on, and the evening is warm enough to sit outside….and the STARS…the STARS…they make me gasp! They are thick in the sky. The sky is literally FULL of them. I get freaked out thinking about the distance…the amount of space out there and how infinitesimally small I am, and the earth is, and our solar system and galaxy…even though it’s really HUGE…and does it go on forever…this universe? And what IS forever? And is this one of many universes? Or many billion universes?

The mind boggles….and boggles and boggles. I pray. I drink wine. I sleep.

Yes that’s a book title by Tony Hillerman (love his books by the way)’ but it’s also a true statement about a scary incident in which Shiloh chases a coyote, and mommy chases after both Shiloh and the coyote….
Let me start at the beginning….

We set off on our late afternoon walk yesterday, about an hour before the sun would be dipping behind the mountains. Both dogs are on Flexi leashes, as we walk down the dirt road, exploring the area. Perfect shirt sleeve and sun glasses weather for a walk. We go past the area where other RV’s are parked, so I can let Joy and Shiloh off leash. Cactus are about the only thing I’m concerned about here, and scanning the area I see they are rare. I release Shiloh first and he’s off like a bat outta hell, as usual. I release Joy and she prances around the area, which is normal for her recently. I look for Shiloh and see him immediately…with another…dog? The next second I realize it isn’t another dog, but a COYOTE! A little over half Shiloh’s size, they were running, but not fast, more playful, like a game of chase. OH SHILOH NO!!
I’ve heard about that ‘game’ coyote, the trickster, plays with dogs. ‘Come play with me!’ He says. ‘Come meet my friends’ he adds with a smile. ‘We will have you for dinner’ he adds under his breath.
They are known to lure dogs in, acting friendly, showing no aggression , until the dog finds itself among the pack where it is quickly torn to shreds and eaten.

It happened so fast…within seconds of Shiloh being off the leash.

I never stop calling his name, though he ignores me. Though way behind, I’m running, waving my arms in the air, banging the Flexi leashes together, both to get Shiloh’s attention and to let coyote know this dog has human back up, who is NOT going to let him become anyone’s dinner. I see coyote turn and face Shiloh. Shiloh stops, looking back at me, still running and banging, and Joy beside me. I know she sees the coyote too, and she is Miss High Anxiety now. I do believe she knows there is danger and just isn’t sure what to do, as I keep telling her to stay with me.

I see coyote saying ‘ignore them! Come with me!’ And he trots off, Shiloh follows, but with some slight hesitation now. Maybe he is getting the picture?? I see this happen two more times, where coyote turns and encourages Shiloh to ‘play’, luring him on. The last time Shiloh turns away. He trots back to me. I grab him and hug him and Joy,as I fasten the leash on them. I’m shaking. I look back. No coyote to be seen. He’s gone…disappeared as suddenly as he appeared.

We hurry off towards home, perhaps another 1/3 mile, facing into the setting sun. Both dogs are nervous, but otherwise seem ok. We get back and I feed them and they relax as the sun sets. Later when Shiloh gets up to come in he is limping badly. His right front leg is the problem. I examine it carefully. No obvious damage, no blood or swelling and he shows no sign of pain when I handle it. Probably a sprain. I wrap it in an ace bandage and give him pain med. I wonder, could that be the reason he stopped following coyote? He had walked fine the rest of the way home, but that could have been the adrenaline and the desire not to show pain.

This morning he still hobbles around but wants to go for a walk. We take a short one around the area, ON leash. The first 5 minutes are stop and go, but then he walks easier.

As of now, he still limps and he will have to do a lot of resting today. He lies there looking out into the desert and perhaps he’s giving thought to his first confrontation with utter wildness. (Or not. 🙂 )

Sunset on 1-5-15

It’s just a 35 mile drive from our RV park to the area I choose to camp in. I find a spot without too much deliberation, but I’m thinking…what’s so good about this place? I level, but don’t unhook. We walk, mostly I’m looking to see if there is somewhere else that I like better. There is not.

Well, I don’t know what happened, but somewhere between lunch and dinner, I fell in love. I love the spot I’m in! I love the surrounding mountains, the blue sky, and my neighbor, sweet Virginia (obStones:-) who came over and brought me tangelos. They are local and you can buy them at a stand near here, she tells me. Virginia also tells me where the snake is. If you’ve heard about this boon dock area you have probably heard about the snake too. Some say it’s hard to find up there in the hills, but she points out exactly where it is…near a white pole. She put the pole there herself. She and her husband and their dog Chip, live here all winter times four years, and so many people ask her where the snake is, she finally decided to mark the spot.

Joy, Shiloh and I go for a hike this morning. I have in mind to look for the snake but the trail I choose gets too steep and I change the goal of our hike. There are other trails for other days.

Up in the hills I pan the area with binoculars. Oh! I see where Technomadia and Wheelingit are parked, somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 mile from me, I’d guess. Will I go say hello? I don’t know yet. I’m kinda shy. I think The Bayfield Bunch is here too. (These are all blogs I follow, in case you wonder what I’m talking about.)

Back from our hike, I finally unhitched. I’ll stay awhile!

I’d like to post more pictures, but I’m almost out of data and I still have 10 days to go before it renews. It seems like when I post pictures here I use up an unreasonable amount of it. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? If anyone has any hints about posting pictures and using less data, I’d love to hear them. (I know, I know, Technomadia would have that info, but they are so WAY over my head, I doubt if I’d ever understand!)

January 2
Laura and Joel come by in the morning and we say our good-byes. All three of us are going to miss them. They are good friends and we’ve had a lot of fun together. Joy and Shiloh have adopted them as part of the pack.

January 3
When the going gets tough, the tough…go shopping! We head off to the city of Palm Desert, about 40 miles northwest of us. I’m go to Starbucks, Petco, Target, Costco, and….saving the best for last…tada…Whole Foods. Oh how I love to shop at Whole Foods. 🙂
I feel happy, I love to shop. The challenge is to find places to put the things that I bought when I get back to my tiny home on wheels. A case of soy milk, 25 pounds of dog food, toilet paper, Puffs, people food, other miscellaneous items. I spend the rest of the day reorganizing and dog walking.

January 4
Doing laundry is the focus for today. We start out as usual though, with coffee and then a walk on what might be called the beach. It has become our habit since we have been here at the Salton Sea. The ‘beach’ is not just the beach but includes a good deal of what used to be the sea, as well. The water has been receding for years leaving dead fish, salty sand…sadness. Joy and Shiloh love it. No one else is out here in the mornings and they can run to their hearts content.

Back to the laundry. I strip the bed and gather up everything dirty i can find and cart it down to the RV park laundry. I have it to myself this morning. Remaking the bed is quite a chore but that’s ok, since there is just nothing else that has to be done today, except having coffee and reading and more dog walks. I decide to take a shower at the park showers. Right after I’m soaking wet in the just barely warm enough water in the unheated shower area, I realize that I forgot to bring a towel with me! Ack. Never mind. I dry with my shirt, then wrap it around my wet hair. I wear the zip up hoodie I had been wearing over my shirt.

Later I sip coffee and read in the sun. I walk With Joy and Shiloh again. Such is life….and it’s slowly sinking in that this IS my life….I’m allowed to live like this. I worked from the time I was 16. Now I’m free. It’s not a vacation, and I’m not dreaming. This is my life. Wow.

Tomorrow the plan is to move our camp to the Anza Borrego desert. Hopefully I’ll find a spot with good internet and cellular reception. Until then…

2014 blusters out in a storm. Laura and Joel encounter cold and snow as they make their way here to southern California for a New Years visit. They arrive a bit tired from the stressful drive, but in good spirits, ready for some fun and exploring.

We decide to take a drive around the sea.Joy and Shiloh come too! From Salton City we drive north, to Mecca, and on to the International Banana Museum. Yup, I said the International Banana Museum. Lots of bananas in there. Plastic ones, stuffed ones, ceramic ones, banana shakes, banana muffins, and shirts with bananas on them. Laura and I each buy a shirt.

We spend some time at the Salton Sea State Park visitor center, and check out some of the campgrounds as we continue north. Looking out at the sea towards the west, the view with the snow capped mountains beyond it, is really beautiful. When this area began to be developed, it was intended as a playground for the rich and famous. Due to the water level receding so drastically, the area is now abandoned and destitute, despite the beauty. We stop at the SkiInn at Bombay Beach for a late lunch. The crowd is full of goodwill and cheer.

We drive towards The Slabs, to Salvation Mountain. We make it just before the sun sets.

As darkness falls we are driving through the poverty stricken town of Niland. Even here a few homes are displaying Christmas lights.

We continue on until we are back to Salton City, where we regroup and then prepare for our New Years Eve dinner. Laura prepared and packed a beautiful meal, and brought it along…spinach salad with home made lemon dressing, a yummy Greek bean stew, great bread and a desert cake….oh and don’t forget the Margarita fixin’s!

Our New Years celebration is simple and festive, and it feels so comfortable with these dear friends….in talking over old times we realize we met 16 years ago in January. Where does the time go?

2015 arrives, mild and sunny.

Sunrise paints the mountains pink

After our morning walk near the sea, we continue our exploration with Laura and Joel, with a trip to the Anza Borrego desert area. We make many stops at the state park, and we check out the Pegleg dry camping area since I’m considering it as my next camp.

Later on we find ourselves fascinated by the many life-size metal sculptures in the desert near Borrego Springs. They are so life-like! What an artist is the sculptor Ricardo Breceda!

After an amazing peachy sunset, we end up at the Mexican restaurant in Salton City and relax over dinner. Before we part for the evening we visit a bit more in WS…three humans and 2 large dogs…it’s quite snuggly! Joy and Shiloh consider Laura and Joel part of the pack and are very reluctant to see them leave for the evening.

We’ll see our friends again tomorrow….for a little while.

Heat and Coffee. Those are the important things on a morning like this when it’s 26 degrees outside.

On Dec 26 I pull out of Sawtooth Canyon at 10:30, to head south because it’s just too cold. I stop and thank the camp hosts for working so hard to make this such a nice place to visit. They tend this place with love.

We head off over the mountains, and it’s beautiful to see the highest peaks are snow dusted and a few, snow covered. We drive through Yucca Valley, and finally onto I10. On the other side of the mountains the temperature creeps up from 42 to 50…55…finally to 65 degrees! We are passing places like Palm Desert and Palm Springs. I end up in Salton City, on the west side of the Salton Sea. Believe me, this is no “city”! There is a nice Arco station and a small market and a few stop signs.

I see signs that indicate there is an RV Park near the sea. I want to find this park. I want my electricity!

I wind my way down towards the sea, and I do mean ‘down’. Salton Sea is around 200 feet below sea level, if memory serves me. (It often doesn’t so please feel free to correct me if you know better facts:-).
I go to the place where the sign says ‘office’ but that turns out to be a restaurant. There is no office. I’m directed to the park hosts RV site. I meet Clyde and he kindly leads me to my site. I tell him I will stay one night, or two. Or, it could be a week.

The thing is, that Laura and Joel (Pole) and I have been making plans to get together for New Years celebrations. We’ve been tossing around ideas of how to do this, but still aren’t sure because:
1) We don’t know where I’ll be.
2) The weather isn’t looking good for NYE anywhere within reasonable reach.
3) We aren’t sure about accommodations.

I was thinking about places like Owl Canyon and Sawtooth Canyon, but it got too cold. Now I think about the Anza Borrego desert east of Borrego Springs.
Well guess what? To make a long story a bit shorter, our NY celebration is going to end up being right here at this little…umm…rather much less than 5 star RV park, and the motel that sits beside it.

Considering that Laura and Joel were in Paris and England last year for the holidays, this should be, well, quite different for them! :-). Happily, they like ALL different kinds of experiences in travel and are tickled to take this one on, and explore the area.

Joy and Shiloh and I are all very excited that we will be seeing them soon and will be able to ring in 2015 with our dear friends!