Wednesday, February 3, 2016

We're OK, don't worry...


Sorry about the crappy picture.  The sign says "Winter Weather Conditions  Drive With Care".  This was in Parker the other day.  Well, 'winter conditions' seem to mean somewhere close to freezing at night but so far we haven't frozen up in the motorhome or skidded off an icy road.  In case anyone had heard about the weather here and was worried about us.

One thing that DID concern us was the wind just before the weather cooled off.  Probably about 50-60 MPH for 12-14 hours or so... nobody bothered to mention that on the radio or I might have buttoned down the solar panel or moved so that we weren't broadside to the wind.  I guess winds aren't much of a deal around here even if cooler temperatures are...

Aside from that, we've settled into life on the outskirts of Bouse and haven't done too much exciting which is why no posts for a while.  We looked at a few RVs and toured the booths in Quartzsite, back and forth to Parker and Blythe a few times, went fishing (unsuccessfully, but then nobody's been catching lately... too cold for bass they say), did some laundry, fought with T-Mobile over internet, etc.  Here are a few random pics from the last 10 days:

Camp.  We moved a little closer to Bouse this trip to improve the internet and phone reception. 
 
Closest neighbours.  These guys moved in a few days after we set up, and within a few days there were FOUR units parked there.  Sheesh, the nerve.  We're at the end of the road though so at least it's us driving past them coming and going and not the other way around.  
There's never a shortage of nice sunrises and sunsets in the desert. 
Trekin' the desert.  We have to pay attention to which direction we go now, as we have no "homing dog" to lead us back when we turn around.  You would probably thing that it would be difficult to lose sight of a 34' motorhome and a bright orange jeep with a big aluminum growth on top, but then you'd be incorrect.  Gab always uncannily knew where her bed and treat bucket were.  
She loves her Saguaros.  There's a hawk or eagle nest in the top of the right one.  
We haven't had many campfires as it's been too cold and/or windy, but we did manage to get one in at least.  Pay no attention to the winter duds; it could be 80 F and she'd still be wearing those.  
Produce prices are high there... well here as well.  14 bucks for this batch from the vegetable guy that comes into Bouse every Thursday.  It's not cheap to eat healthy! (Yeah, there are TWO heads of lettuce there... I protested but to no avail.  My ears are growing long and floppy).  
Laundry day! We hit the laundromat in Bouse to wash our 2 weeks worth, but decided it would be just as fast and easy to hang them dry.  Look at us being all environmental! 
We found out there's a Popeye's Chicken in Blythe, so there's another item checked off the list.  Gotta have Popeye's at least once per trip!  Little hooch to wash it down, of course.  
I found poop on the BBQ lid one morning.  Any scat experts want to hazard a guess from what?  Keep in mind that the BBQ lid is about 3 feet off the ground, with nothing around it and almost impossible to climb up the metal legs so it would have to be something either with wings or a helluva vertical.  BTW, that's a penny for those who've forgotten what they look like.  They still have them here.  
Storm clouds moving in.  
Rain!  It rained pretty good, along with the winds, but there was not a drop of flow in the washes the next day.  I wonder how much rain has to come down before it doesn't just soak into the ground?  
Yeah, I love these Mesquite trees.  This is one tree, half dead (middle) and half alive and doing well.  Crazy.  
Hey, when you're on a fixed income you have to stretch those dollars, right? First Dutch meal (roast chicken) so we figured we may as well use the excess heat for lunch.  (No pictures of the chicken dinner as it turned out less than stellar.  I have to overcome my tendency to use too much charcoal.  The chicken was very 'fall off the bone', if you catch my drift.) 
Lunch turned out good though.  This passes as healthy, right?  Right?
So long from our desert abode!