Another Busy Week

Its been a fun and busy week.  We have been enjoying increasingly warmer weather ...it was 80 degrees here today!!  I think yesterday was just as warm but we spent the day four wheeling and were shaded by the roof of our razor all day.  I can't sleep right now so I am up on my computer at 1:30 am listening to the coyotes howl!!  Seriously!

Let's see - last Friday we drove to Blythe, California,  with Ed and Jo who are from Longview, Washington.  We found a fun produce stand and bought all sorts of fresh lemons and tangelos, lettuce and tomatoes, pistaschio's and dates!  Then we went to KMart and to Albertsons....much better prices than here in Quartzsite.  Blythe is just 28 miles from Quartzsite.

Sunday we drove to Dave and Rhea's winter home in Yuma to watch the Super Bowl. Betty and Don were there too and we had a fun time - Rhea had been cooking all day long I think and Betty brought some yummies and so did I.  (I took a small basket of dates and cut them in half, removing the pit, and then spread cream cheese on them and topped them with a half of a walnut.  Delish!!  We got the idea from the samples at the produce stand in Blythe.  I normally don't care for dates but combined with the cream cheese and nuts they were great.  So we visited and ate and visited and ate...the guys watched the ball game while we visited some more.  I was/am still gimping so they babied me along but I helped out where I could.  Finally about 9:30 pm Ed and I left and drove over to the Homewood Suites where we had a room reserved....and wonderful, wonderful, they had a BATH TUB!!!  After weeks of just showers I was able to soak to my hearts content and it sure felt good on my sore knee.

Monday morning we found a store about a mile away that rented wheelchairs and got one for $15 for the day and went to Mexico for the day.  We met Rhea and Betty and Donnie for lunch and had a fun time looking at all the stuff for sale.  Bought a few things, not too much.  Most snowbirds go for the dentists or eyeglasses or prescriptions.  It seems like they have the same merchandise for sale year after year and most of it comes from China...not Mexico!

Back to Quartzsite that evening and then we hopped up the next day and headed into town to do our laundry.  Ed carried all the bags of dirty clothes in for me and then he went looking for stuff to build a wind break (for those days that are warm except for the cold north wind) and I crutched around filling the washers with clothes and soap and bleach...then on to the dryers....it seemed like it took all day but we finally got home with clean clothes, towels, sheets etc

Wednesday was crafts day for me and Ed kept busy with odd jobs all day long.  Thursday we met our group of 4 wheelin friends at the guard station coming into LaPosa South campground where we stay with our rigs loaded onto trucks and trailers and headed East on Interstate 10 about 30 miles away.  That was at 8:30 in the morning so we were all well bundled to keep warm because it was still in the 50's when we got the bikes unloaded and headed down the trails.  I should say all of us were well bundled except for Edward who was in his short sleeved shirt and knee length jeans!  I got cold just looking at him!

 We went back into the KOFA Wildlife Refuge and saw some gorgeous country.  Here we are heading up a hill with Jo on her Polaris right in front of us.

 Lots of thorny trees, bushes and Rocks....that is what we see everywhere we look around here in this Desert of Western Arizona.

 I took several pictures trying to get the three or four machines all in a line going up this hill but the sun was right in my face and I couldn't get a good shot...so again, just Jo.

 I thought this escarpment was interesting - also the fact that it continued on in front of us across the road made it even more so!

 Looking down at a desert canyon as we drive along the route.

 One of our stops at an old  cabin built in the 30's - one of the few cabins built with wood in this area from long ago.  Most were built with the easiest materials at hand...which would be ROCKS.  There were 10 rigs with 12 people in our group.

 Kathy and Carolyn - getting ready to go check out the cabin.

 Just a beautiful mountain

 or should I say cliffside

 We got to see lots and lots of Saguerros, Palo Verde trees, Yucca plants, paddle cacti, Teddy bear choya, plus a few yellow flowers and lavender flowers!  By the time the day was over we had taken off the coats and hats and gloves and sweatshirts and were down to jeans and t shirts - nice weather for four wheeling in February.  We traveled a total of 70 miles on bikes over some really rough but beautiful terrain.  It was 5:30 pm by the time we got back to our trailers.  My poor knee was just aching from all the jouncing it got over those rough roads....and that was from JUST sitting in our side by side.  I wouldn't have been able to go if I had been driving my own ATV.

 This was last months trip - you can see we were bundled.

 The Ocatilla have blossomed and now their fresh new leaves make them look so pretty - they are still covered with thorns though.

 A view up the hill

 I took these pictures from my 'front porch'....I wanted to get the skyline all lit up just as the sun is going down.  This is the view looking East.

 This is the view looking West....it is beautiful

 This is our yard.  As you can see, Ed has spent a lot of time laying out the driveway (hence the rock lines) and it lights up at night with our solar lamps.  You can see Ed and Jo's trailer ---they are are nearest neighbors to the South of us.

...this is the 'wash' next to our trailer...I just hung a hummingbird feeder in that middle tree yesterday as the hummers are starting to show up.

Just another view....you can see that we are well spread out here but we get together with our neighbors almost every day with different activities at the group Tent (BIG) ...dances, parties, TV, movies, karaoke, crafts, etc.

Next time I will take pictures of our trailer and 'front porch' or rather big mat that we set out chairs and chaise lounges on.

Anyway - that was the pictures (plus some) of Thursday's big ATV ride - we left our trailer at 8 am and got back home at 6 pm, so it made for a long day.  I figured that I probably redamaged my knee with all the bouncing and jouncing but my knee felt better the next day than it has in a long time!!

Friday morning we got up, ate breakfast and headed in to town to the 'QIA for their local swap meet and Ed set up his two generators that he is trying to sell plus his motorbike he wants to sell.  I added some necklaces and watches.  There are so many people here making jewelry that it is really hard to sell any necklace sets but the watches were popular.  I sold four of them.  Ed didn't sell anything.

Ed went over to K&B tools to get what stuff he needed to build us a five foot tall windbreak to go in front of our trailer while I went after groceries and the mail.  We met back up and headed back to the trailer about 2 pm - it was so warm in our trailer we immediately had to open all the windows and vents and the big back door to make it livable.

Today was a relaxing day - reading, making a new necklace, visiting with friends and then going over to the big tent tonight to see War Horse.  Goooooood movie!!  We thoroughly loved it both of us -- I cried the whole last 30 minutes of the movie.
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Tomorrow is church and Monday I need to go find somewhere to get  my nails done and then Tuesday is the poker run (ATV ride) over in Brenda.  Should be fun.