Friends

I truly expected that our stay down here in Quartzsite would be quite relaxing and somewhat boring. I knew for a fact that I would be chafing at the bit to get home and play with grandkids and visit with kids and friends. Plus my visits with dad would be far and few between.

Not boring...no!! In fact I told Ed yesterday that we needed a couple of QUIET days with nothing and no one but us .

We got back to Quartzsite on Friday the 6th of January, and yes, Saturday we did veg, except for going over to the tent for our daily gab fest at 4. Sunday was church and Monday and Tuesday were all day ATV rides. Wed I went to our ladies craft meeting at the tent where my good friend Patty from Bear Mtn taught us how to make bird feeders/solar lamps out of clear glass jars, bowls, ashtrays, etc. Mine turned out cute.

Then we headed over to New River, AZ to visit with Ken and Jane that evening where we stayed until Saturday. Home Saturday and we went to church on Sunday again. Monday ATV ride and then I hurt my knee Monday night. All day Tuesday in Parker at the ER/instacare facility at the hospital where I got x-rayed and examined and finally issued big knee brace and crutches. Wednesday was a quieter day ...didn't go to craft day. Thursday was the beginning of the WinterFest activities - it was a fun weekend with a Wild Wild West theme. We started it off with a poker run ...there were 27 of us on ATV's following the trail that Ed and I and Patty and Gary and Robert and Melvina had laid out on the Monday I was injured. We had hung blue and white streamers from the bushes and trees to mark the trail. Everyone started at the tent, signed in, paid their $5 fee and drew their first card. About 8 miles into the trail (mostly across the desert and through some beautiful washes) we stopped at the first station and drew a second card. Another 8 miles we ended up in the mountains West and South of Quartzsite at Deer Run - a fun spot on a popular trail, where we drew our third card. By this point I had a 2, a 5 and a 3. Your dad had a pair of 10's and one other card. Back on the trail again down the mountain and over to one of the old stone mountains that dot the area (original pioneer dwellings....built with rocks and mud as there was no wood around) now falling down...for card #4. I got an 8,,,your dad got a queen. Then the last leg of the trip was back through the washes and across highway 95 to La Posa South campground and back to the tent for card #5. Ed's hand ended with the pair of tens. I picked up a seven. We were actually a little bit excited about my hand because there were two prizes, one for the best hand and one for the worst (and lowest) hand. I had a chance at winning the lousy hand!

Friday we had a weiner roast as a group and then a sock hop that night (no I didn't get to dance, not with my knee!! But at least I could hobble without the brace and the crutches.) Everyone brought munchies to share and we had some fantastic old 50's and 60's music...and the winners of the poker run were announced...and yes!! I WON!! for having the worst hand in the group

;-P But hey, I won fifty bucks!!

Saturday morning we all met for biscuits and gravy for breakfast. We carried our own hot chocolate as the other choices were coffee or tea. At 1 in the afternoon one of our neighbors gave a good basic class on how to protect and clean up your computer. We actually had 29 people show up at the tent with computer, hot spots, cords, and plugs---I was afraid we'd blow the generator but it held up just fine.

At 6:30 that evening was Casino night where we all paid five bucks for a handful of monopoly money and spent the evening having fun. I played poker bingo which is fun and easy and there were about 7 other ladies that played the whole evening with us. I won three hands and lost lots more. There was a costume contest for the best "western" dress and some of them had really gone to a lot of effort and made some beautiful dresses. We had cowboys and indians and dance hall girls. Next year I will do better costume wise but with a bum leg so I couldn't go shopping at the local salvation army store and no sewing machine to make something with, so we simply wore normal clothes.

After the games at 9 pm we took our winnings (and whatever was left of our losings) and spent the next hour in the middle of an auction for all sorts of fun stuff that was donated for the cause. I donated a pair of my feathery earrings, a couple of necklaces, a couple of watches and a pair of foot bracelets (more on that later). We had a great fun time with that.

Sunday morning we went back over to the tent for another hot breakfast of eggs and sausage and potatoes - delicious. Then Ed and I went back to the trailer and got ready for church and headed in for a wonderful Sacrament Meeting. Ed watched football games all day Sunday while I waded through 25 pages of paperwork on dad's VA application while writing up an email to send to Kelly and Jeff telling them what to do with it when they got it! After I finished that I pulled out the ward history and added the last three items (that we had been waiting a week for !) and emailed it to Ed so he could print it out for me so that we could mail it today too. Except Ed's mouse and mousepad has been going out and it died totally and he couldn't print anything out. So I punted - I emailed our counselor in our ward bishopric and also the stake historian and told them I was emailing them the written part of the history and mailing them the pictures and would they please put them all together when they got them. That worked.

So Monday, today we left our trailer at 11:00 am to head into town - generally a 15 minute trip but with the big show opening up this weekend the traffic was backed up the full three miles from Quartzsite to the entrance to our campground. So we crept into town and went to the post office - the line was impossibly long and I refused to wait the two hours it would have taken to get up to the window to buy the envelopes and have them weighed. Instead we drove down the street to the grocery store where we bought three manila envelopes and I put the VA paperwork on the grocery scale to find out how much it weighed and put my own stamps on everything and took it back to the post office and dropped it off. That only took us an hour and 45 minutes !!! The traffic is crazy in this one horse town right now.

Then we met up with Kitty and Larry who are spending tonight with us and then heading on North. We have Chuck and Donna from Bear Mtn who are staying Thursday and Friday with us before they head back to Idaho. At happy hour tonight Dave and Joyce said when things slow down with our schedule they want to take us out to dinner and Larry and Kathy invited us over for some games one night next week....we still want to go over past Brenda to find where Donny and Betty are living so we can visit with them....and Susan and Dell still want us to go down to visit with them in Mesa!

Ed and Jo are already making plans for the four of us to do some major sightseeing this summer in Washington where they live and then down to Bear Mtn for a few days and then to the mtns of Northern and Southern Utah......

we are supposed to be bored!! Things are simply getting busier and busier although we have to say we ARE HAVING FUN!!!

Thursday January 5, 2012 -picked up dad and went to visit the lawyer, Eric Barnes.  He is an Elder Care Lawyer and I was very impressed with his manner and knowledge.  He is going to help us set up dad’s trust from a revocable trust to an irrevocable trust so that we can apply for VA benefits for dad and still able to sell the house when in order to continue to keep dad in the assisted living.

After taking dad back to his apartment Ed and I headed South towards  Quartzsite.   We stopped for the night in Mesquite.  My cousin Brenda got us a really good deal on a lovely room for the night at the Eureka and then to top it off she took us out to dinner !!   Talk about service with a smile.  Bob and Maysen joined us. 

Friday - We woke up at 6:48 am (Nevada time) and got up and got rolling so we made it to Quartzsite about 3 pm.  Our little trailer was sitting there safe and sound just waiting for us.  Everyone at the circle welcomed us back.

Saturday we could have gotten up and gone back into town for the QIA (Quartzsite Improvement Association) monthly craft sale and booked a table for five bucks but we didn’t – we just begged.  It got up to 75 degrees – no wind….gorgeous day.  We laid out on the chaise lounges and read for quite a while. 

Sunday – Church – always feel so young among that crowd!!  It’s great.  Then we went on a fun ATV ride with a bunch of other people that afternoon.  There were a total of 12 rigs – about 16 people altogether.  Fun but we had a cool wind blowing from the north so we stayed bundled up the whole ride.  I got out to hike to the top of a little knoll and somehow walked through a bunch of teddy bear cholla and had stickers all over my shoes.  Even sticking into my feet.  Ed had to drive the four wheeler to the top of the hill to pick me up as I couldn’t walk.  I climbed into the razor and spent the next 30 minutes pulling needles out of my shoes and socks (plus the three Ed pulled out of my feet…OW!)

Monday – went into town to wander through the open air shops in Tyson Wells.  I wasn’t going to buy anything except a set of new sheets (I took my others home before Christmas and washed them and forgot to bring them back)  Well – of course these guys are all getting ready for the rock and mineral show so they all have rock beads ….cheap.  I had to buy a few here and a few there and I’ve noted where I want to go back to.  Too much fun.

Tuesday – another ATV ride – this time we hopped in the truck with Ed and Jo and my Ed and Patty and Gary came along too and we went to the Brenda Valley just to the East of Quartzsite about 13 miles. Gorgeous ride – pretty country…so much more interesting than just the hills and desert and cactus of Quartzsite. 

Wednesday – our weekly ladies craft group got together and we made the glass birdfeeders like we bought in Idaho last summer.  I made a cute one but instead of a birdfeeder we put a solar lamp in it so it will be a night light.  Now I need to go to the garage sales and swap meets and find some cheap crystal plates, ashtrays, sherbet bowls etc. to make some more.  I think I am going to show Jeff and see if he wants to make and sell them at his farmers markets that he goes to.  I don’t think we will stay home long enough this summer to do it ourselves.  After the class was over we hopped in the truck and drove East to Phoenix and then North up to New River to meet up with Ken and Jane.  We will be staying here for three nights!!   They are such fun people. 

We may not be resting but we are sure having lots and lots of fun!

Thursday January 12…We are staying with Ken and Jane in their RV…we headed out after breakfast to see the trail that Jane and Ken have been working on here at their RV park.  Jane is one of the most creative people I have ever made and she had come up with so many cute ideas for the walking trail.  In fact, they park their trailer here at no charge in exchange for the work they are doing on the trail.  She has made dinosaur island, and frog hollow is in the plans.  There are pixies and gnomes and alligator’s and bigfoots all along the trail.  It will take them several years to get it all done.  I hurt my knee walking about a week ago just before I headed down South – pulled a muscle and have been very thankful for the hot spot heating pad Mauri gave me for Christmas as it fits under my knee at the bend just perfectly.  It has really been bothering me the last few days and after our hike completely around the RV park I barely limped back to the trailer.  I have tried to keep it elevated.  Tomorrow I am going to try cold on it as the heat that really helped the first part of the week isn’t helping it know.

We went into Cave Creek, AZ for lunch at a fun Mexican restaurant and then walked through a fun store called the City Dump!!  It has all sorts of yard and house art – it was fun to walk through it but it didn’t help my knee any.  We headed back to the trailer for naps and reading and then this evening we watched Jeff Foxworthy and his group…hilarious.  Finished off the evening with lots of visiting and then a trip over to the hot tub.  Fun day!