Sunday, December 10, 2017

Quartzsite

Fortunately it didn't take too long to warm up and dry out once we landed on Plomosa Road again.  We secured a spot on the outskirts of the 14 day area and set up for some relaxation.

One of the first orders of business was to drag everything out of the basement and check for mouse evidence and dampness, and since everything was out already I decided to set it up and use it.  We wound up doing a lot of the cooking outside since it was still a tad warm in the desert in mid November, and we even brought the bedroom TV outside.  Great way to watch a hockey game, or whatever!

The next couple weeks were devoted pretty much entirely to chillaxing, enjoying the warm weather, and rediscovering the lovely scenery.  
Oh, yeah, and keeping up with life's normal chores like laundry and such.  Come January this parking lot will be packed and all the machines in use.  Right now you can have your pick of parking spots and washing machines.  Almost makes you want to do MORE laundry.  Almost, not quite.  

There were no phenominal sales on turkeys or hams for Thanksgiving, so we decided to pull a pork roast out of the freezer and dutch it along with butternut squash and a lovely no-bake cheesecake for desert.  Yummy! 

I also managed to get the boat out on Lake Havasu a couple times to chase those wily Bass, but they still manage to elude me.  Oh well, nice days on the water anyway.  
There were usually several other boats within sight, and I witnessed nobody bringing in anything scaly and floppy, so maybe nobody was having luck?  Or is that wishful thinking?  

Finally, we went up to Lake Havasu City for the Boat Parade of Lights on December 1st.  Now that's MY idea of watching a Christmas parade: in shorts and sandals from a lawnchair on the beach!  




Friday, November 10, 2017

Vancouver Island, Langley, and south!

After Strathcona Dam we started working our way back down island, stopping over at Garry and Anne's in Comox for a few days.  Garry took me out fishing for a day, but did I think to bring a camera?  No. Didn't have any luck with the salmon but we caught a few prawns and they set us up with some salmon, halibut, and prawns for the trip south.  Thanks guys!

Next stop was down to Bowser, where we spent a couple weeks in Ted and Joan's driveway and had a great visit with Ted and Joan and also with Don and Kim and family.

Finally on October 30th we headed off the island to spend a few days at Tanya and Eric's (and Brianna and Sam's) place in Langley.  Enough time had almost (but not quite) passed to get over the sticker shock of the ferry ride over in September.  

Yep, after a couple days in Langley, winter caught up with us again!  Time to point the nose south, and make tracks.  BTW, thanks Tanya and Eric for the hospitality!  
By Longview WA, the snow had pretty much turned to rain so we stopped overnight at the friendly WalMart (46.12073, -122.93089).  

By Northern California winter had changed to fall again, so we stopped for a couple of nights at the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning CA (39.872024, -122.203441).  Park in the full-service campground for $35/night, or park with the trucks for free.  Finally got a chance to crank up the satellite dish and catch a hockey game again... everything was great except the score.  

After a couple days at the casino, we debated whether to wander slowly through California, sightseeing along the way, or head straight for the desert.  We both felt like we needed a dose of higher temps / lower humidity, so... 
Stopped for supper and a nap at Tulare Rest Area (36.10895, -119.32469) and then overnight at Boron Rest Area (35.008621, -117.719570).  California rules are max 8 hours stay... probably not enforced but why push it?  Then off to the desert.  

Aaahhh!