Winter in the Arizona Desert

You last heard from us when we took a detour and drove up to Scottsdale to the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction.  Since then we have camped at Boomerville in Quartzsite, Mile Marker 99, just 5 miles south of Quartzsite, Quechan Casino, Paradise Casino and finally out at Ogilby Road 16 miles or so West of Yuma.  During the past weeks we have had fun visiting with our RV friends in the different locations.  It was fun to see the friends we didn’t get to catch up with last January while we were exploring Florida. We took a walk into Mexico in Los Algodones just for fun. While we were there Mark got a $5.00 haircut from the same women who cut his hair here 3 years ago. 

I’ll include some random snapshots here. I have not been out with my camera to try to find some special photo opportunities.

I Rarely see a Sunrise, sad to say, but on the morning of January 22, 2014 in Quartzsite, I happened to see the sky looking like puffs of popcorn. Because we were in “Boomerville” (a gathering of RV friends in the desert)  where we had many neighbors, most of whom were already up and having coffee; I didn’t want to rush outside in my “night clothes”.  So I snapped this through the window of the motorhome. This is exactly how the sky looked, the only thing I did to this photo was lift the shadows so you could see the desert foliage. Its not real clear because it was through a window but I do see why many people get up to see a Sunrise.

 

 

In Boomerville there are many events.   These events range from Theater nights, (presentations of trips taken by members), Chili Cook Offs, Bread Bake-offs, Pot Lucks, Many Happy hours, Mini seminars on any subject someone might want to get a group together and discuss; Pancake breakfasts and an Auction to raise funds for the CARE facility in Livingston, Texas.  Boomer’s really raise the bar every year with these activities. This year raising around $4000.00. Totally awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chuck took this shot of a very Cool Lime Green Deux Chevaux Citroen parked at the big tent event.  Those of you who know me, already know this vehicle is one of my favorites since one like it was my mode of transportation in High School…

 

 

RVers, need all sorts of services as we travel along the highways.  Interesting business name in Quartzsite.

 

There is a large establishment in Quartzsite called GEM WORLD.  A few of us girls took an afternoon and went  for a fun tour of this place.  None of us could get out of here without spending some bucks. We had a great afternoon.   Eating Hot Caramel Sundaes, and stoppng at the Bakery for Apple Strudels for more Sugar!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off to MEXICO ( Los Algodones) for a Haircut and some South of the Border entertainment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s January 30th, and  we are enjoying upper 70’s and low 80’s temperatures and I get a text from my dad’s neighbor.  Winter has returned to his area… Carson City, with 4 inches of new snow. Here’s  a look at dad’s yard on this chilly Nevada day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we were off to an area called Ogliby road just a few miles West of Yuma, Arizona.  This area is in California, so within a few miles we teeter between California and Arizona time zones as we motor around.

 

We arrived and later were joined by our RV friends Chuck and Jan.  This is an area they enjoy visiting each year.  We agree it is quite a beautiful and peaceful place.  A few days ago the Jeep we tow had a problem that needed to be attended to at the dealership. So we parked out here to wait out the repair time of the Jeep which turned out to be 12 days.  In the meantime we enjoyed great times with Chuck and Jan and the photos following will depict that fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The four of us entertained ourselves with games of Pegs and Jokers and Bocce Ball.  Bocce Ball in the the desert you ask?   It was very challenging. Many rocks, cactus and deep varmint holes to get caught in.   The side effects were bouts of laughter, screams and disbelief at some of the shots. We were too focused on the game to get very many pictures.

 

 

 

 I was having a little fun with a photo I took of Chuck and Jan in front of their house. I tried to give it a crayola look, a little grungy and I think it turned out interesting.

 

One night Mark and I were invited to the Moore’s house for dinner. They provided the Alaskan Halibut they got while spending their summer there.  Mark jumped at the chance to cook it up for all of us.  The recipe is called Halibut in Crazy Water and it was so delicious.  I really need to begin putting some of his recipes on this blog.  Here’s what it looked like ready to eat.  Chuck baked some amazing Sourdough bread and Jan provided a colorful delicious salad and we all had a feast. This is what we call “roughing it” in a motor home.

 

One afternoon we set out on a “3 Hour Tour” of the Picacho Wilderness area.  We started out from our camp on Indian Pass Road. Chuck drove his Jeep Liberty and it did a good job getting us through the rough roads. We hit bottom a few times but he declared that the gas tank was still indicating it was Full so we were Ok to continue on.

 Massive mountains lie southeast from Indian Pass. The Largest in the center of the range is called MICA PEAK it is about 1500 feet tall.  If you are lucky, you might see wild horses or burros or an occasional desert tortoise while you travel in this area.  We didn’t actually see any wildlife on our trip but we did see fresh evidence of the equine species.

 

 

 

This road is not for two wheel drive vehicles.  The trip took us  through beautiful mountain areas, down through washes and out to the Colorado River where we turned right. We followed the river quite a distance and it was such beautiful blue color. Such a contrast to the treeless mountains and desert area surrounding it. There were several “boat in” camp spots also. 

 

 

This part of the road was marked as “unpaved dirt road” and it was quite smooth and certainly accessible with a two wheel drive. vehicle. So coming in from Winterhaven on Picacho Road to the river is a pretty good road. We made our way to Winterhaven and back out to Interstate 8 to Ogilby Road and back to camp feeling like we had a great adventure for this beautiful winter day. Temperatures were in the upper 70s.

 

 

The Jeep is finally repaired and we will soon make our way to Congress, Arizona to the SKP park at North Ranch.  Although we were delayed over 10 days in all we have had an opportunity to explore new territory, found a new place to call home for awhile and thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Chuck and Jan these past days.