Quartzsite to Yuma... and back

We left Borrego Springs on Nov 27 and headed back to Plomosa road as we wanted to take in the Boat Parade in Lake Havasu City on Nov 30.  Pictures this year didn't turn out great - as always for better pictures taken by talented photographers with expensive equipment check the interweb.  😞

As you can see the weather was nice for the parade but shortly after we got to experience some rare rain in the desert. 

On Dec 7th we headed back down to the VFW Quarry at Yuma, looking for some warmer (yeah, I know, we become wimpy real fast) and drier weather, and to meet with Teresa and Robert who would be passing through on a house hunting trip.  I also took the opportunity to go down to Los Algodones MX for a little tooth repair and Wendy picked up a new pair of glasses.  

Since the canal was right out the window I tried a little cat-fishing.  I don't think I have enough patience to be successful at that, but I'm practicing.  

Dec 21 we headed back to Plomosa Road to set up for Christmas with Rod and Pauline and also with Teresa and Robert who would be stopping there enroute to home.  

You can still have a Christmas tree in the desert, 

you just need a few coat hangers and a creative wife! 

Table set for dinner. 

Half a turkey on the BBQ, the other half roasted in the dutch oven over some charcoal. 

Both turned out pretty good, if I say so.  I'm partial to the BBQ myself.  

OK, gotta go... the world juniors are on.  Happy Holidays to all and all the best for 2019, and all that.  

Borrego Springs

We've never been in this part of the desert, so we were looking forward to exploring the area and joining the Boondockers for the famous Thanksgiving pot luck.  On Nov 20 we headed over to the meeting place at Borrego (33.29981, -116.28907) with a stop at Costco in El Centro along the way. 

We toured the town and Galleta Meadows, and of course took lots of pictures of the metal sculptures.  Here are a few, but if you're interested check the interweb as there are lots  and much better ones there. 

Ah, who could resist that last one eh?  

The Thanksgiving pot-luck did not disappoint.  

We also made the circle tour up to Palm Desert, where I was able to update my wardrobe.  Life is good.  

All the way to Yuma

Looks like we picked up a new decal on the way down: one of the Maple leafs stuck to the back and collected a little dirt underneath.  Then the leaf dried out and fell off leaving this. 

I managed to get out fishing a couple times but only landed one striper.  Oh well, no fish dinners yet.  But we did re-appreciate the views on the mesa (has it really only been 6 months?)

So we stayed at Overton for a few days, leaving on Nov 8th for Quartzite and our favourite spot on Plomosa Road (33.76709, -114.17674).  Pretty quiet around her right now.  Then on Nov 15 we trekked down to Yuma and stopped at a new-to-us BLM area: the VFW Quarry (32.73837, -114.43000).  Nice little spot, right beside the canal and handy to Yuma, but a bit noisier than Plomosa Road with the trains, gravel plant, and crop dusters.  But there are also many many worse places to sleep. 

Here for a few days and then heading over to Borrego Springs CA to spend American Thanksgiving with the Boondockers. 

Southbound and down, for real

Yay! We crossed the border on Nov 1st as planned, and after several days of wandering through Washington (honest, I don't think I could trace our exact route on a map) we managed to stumble across I-82 which took us to I-84 which got us the heck out of the state.  It's times like that when you appreciate I-15.

I'm pretty sure we travelled on all of those roads, at least for a few miles.  

In the north they say that unless you're the lead dog the view never changes.  That was the case for some of the trip.  

But sometimes we got to be lead dog.  

Ha ha!  Look at MY hoochie koochie for a change!  

Sorry about that.  It's a long drive when you've done it a few times.  

Nice to see the temperatures climbing.  

What the heck, Washington has nice sunsets too.  Anyway, made it to Snowbird Mesa on Nov 4th.  We'll lay up here for a few days and wait for Arizona to cool.  My AZ fishing licence is still valid and good for Lake Mead... 

Fall in the Okanagan

We made it over to Salmon Arm on Sept 27, and Rod and Pauline met us and showed us the way to Skimikin Lake forestry campground (50.78279, -119.44019).  The fee is $12/night there, but only until Sept 29 when the operator finished for the season. ☺

Turns out that Skimikin was a repair stop as well as a fishing hole and place to hang out.  The water heater failed to do it's duty and a replacement of the thermostat ($28) didn't resolve it however a new control board ($313) did the trick.  We were able to check that one first fortunately by swapping in the one from Rod's unit.  While this was happening the fridge decided to not cool, and we traced that issue to the "recall unit" ($212).  So I'm happy to report that the rv parts dealers in Salmon Arm are doing OK.  Big thanks to Rod for all his help with these. 

We'd planned to stay at Skimikin until time to head south (~Nov 1), but Forestry decided to do some work in the campground so closed it down after Thanksgiving.  So off to Joyce Lake (50.56570, -119.60945) for a bit. 

Joyce Lake is a nice campground with big trees and nice shade for those hot summer days.  Unfortunately we were there in October when the nights are cool and those big trees mean no solar power so lots of Genny running.  Also, no clear view to the satellite so I was unable to watch the Oilers while there was still some hope they would do well this season.  

So on Oct 24, after an overnight and fuel up at the Vernon Superstore (50.28553, -119.27046) we hightailed it down to Okanagan Lake South provincial campground (49.68222, -119.71844).  The campground was still open (water shut off, of course) but on fall rates ($13/night) so affordable.  Especially since it was a little warmer than Joyce and also more open for some solar charging and a little TV watching.  As you can see the leaves were in full colour and dropping so it was quite pretty.  

Wendy just can't shake the pumpkin carving habit this time of year, so she carved these up for the front window.  We've also laid in a supply of candy for those trick or treater's that might come by (hey, it could happen).  To be environmentally friendly we bought only the kinds that we also liked, so that we wouldn't have to throw out any leftovers.  Yup, that's just us being responsible citizens.  

The plan is to cross the 49th parallel on Nov 1st so hopefully the next post will be from the sunny (and warm) desert.  

Southbound and down...

Well, mostly westbound actually.  One would think that the weather would be good in Alberta in the fall, or at least Ian Tyson and Neil Young would have you think that.  Sometimes they lie though.  Like this year.  The pretty white flakes started drifting down in mid September and didn't stop, so by the end of the month we took the hint and hitched up the wagon. 

Too early to head south yet, so we decided to dash across the mountains to BC for a bit.  Forecast for the north Okanagan looked good, and our friends Rod and Pauline assured us there was room in the forestry camps there.  So off we went.  

Made it across the pass with a couple weeks to spare from the look of it!

Spring and Summer 2018

Once April 17 came along we figured we'd better head north whether spring had arrived there or not.  What is with you Canadians, anyway? Can you not warm up n a reasonable month...say March?  Sheesh!  Anyway, after a fairly uneventful trip up I-15 we landed back in Ardrossan April 21.  Just in time for the last big snow dump of the winter. 

Summer was spent as usual, I picked up a job at one of the local RV dealers for a little extra spending cash, we worked on some renovations on the landlord's house (flooring, walls, and kitchen cabinets this year, and we did a little camping in Alberta and at Fraser Lake with family. 

Unfortunately, my mom passed in June so our July trip over that way was a little sadder than usual.  We spent some time going through stuff in the house, and my son came over with his kids so we got to spend some time with them. 

Snowbird Mesa northbound

Holy procrastination Batman!  Somebody needs a kick in the butt (figuratively of course) now and again or this blog will never get updated, and I'll never remember where we've been or what we've done.  If you're not me and you're reading this, what that means is that I'm actually in 2019 right now and I've time-travelled back to catch up.  More so than usual, even.  So the next few posts will be very brief, which might actually be a blessing.  

Anyway, here we are in April, sitting on Snowbird Mesa near Overton NV waiting for winter to loosen it's grip on Alberta before we head north.  After Quartzsite, we wandered over to Why AZ where we stayed at Gunsight Wash (32.23833, -112.75382) with friends from Saskatchewan (Wayne and Brenda).  While there we toured around Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (again), and took a day trip down do Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) in Mexico.  We also had a tour of the US Border Patrol facility just north of Why.

This is one of the safety stations along the border.  Activate a switch and the Border Patrol comes to rescue you.  Flashing blue light at the top can be seen for miles. 

Back road through Organ Pipe

How Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument got its name. 

This is the current "wall" along the Mexico border. 

On Feb 8th we met up with the Escapee Boondockers again a little bit north at Ajo AZ (32.43933, -112.83855).  While there we toured around a bit and took in some old time fiddlin' in the town square.

Camping at the Ajo Rodeo Grounds. 

Poor old Saguaro.  

Feb 13 we headed back over to Yuma and set up at Kool Korner (32.80355, -114.49498) for a week.  I got my fishing fix (unfortunately not my catching fix) up the road ad Mittry Lake.  Oh, those wily Bass!

On Feb 20th we headed over to California (after making sure we were topped up with fuel, of course) and met up with a small group of the Boondockers on Ogilby Road (32.82077, -114.81807).  We discovered that you don't really want to drink Yuma well water and acquired a couple jugs to keep stocked with salt-free dispenser water.  A lesson learned.

Have to sneak in a sunset pic.  Not sure where this was but it could have been Ogilby. 

Feb 28th we headed back for Quartzsite, via Blyth CA, and stopped over for a few days at our usual spot on Plomosa Road (33.76696, -114.17686).  On March 3rd we headed accross the mountain to another Boondocker rally at 33.83066, -114.04696.  Enroute we made sure we completely drained the yucky Yuma water from the tank and replaced it with fresh Bouse water from the Community Park.  Well worth the $2 to fill up.  We crossed back over to the Quartzsite side on March 14th with friends Rod and Pauline from the Boondocker group and settled in there until the 23rd.  While we were in the Bouse/Quartzsite area this trip we got in a couple of Jeep tours with the Bouse Ghost Riders (led by Dan Malone), did a backroad trip into KOFA National Wildlife Refuge, and I even managed to catch a few Striped Bass on Lake Havasu (thanks to Mike from Havasu Landing for showing me some tricks).

Hah!  Snuck another one in.  

Yummy water hole in KofA. 

Lunch time! 

Some Striped Bass about to become dinner.  Note the trick: use small fish to catch bigger fish.  Ahhh! 

Scrap pile at the bombing range.  

Close up. 

Hunting for more. 

Fine looking bunch of wheelers.  

On March 24th we treated ourselves to a night at the Scenic Road RV Park in Quartzsite - off season rates of $18 per night being only slightly higher than the usual cost of fluid exchange at most dump stations - and enjoyed using the electric toaster, coffee pot, and air conditioners for a night until the novelty wore off.  Then on March 25th we packed up, said adieu to the southern desert, and started the trek north.

There you go. 

We stopped off at Laughlin NV, paying $35 for a week of dry camping at Hurrah's (35.14320, -114.57977) as I was hoping to do a little fishing on Lake Mojave.  Unfortunately the winds weren't cooperative, coming from the north and creating 2-3 foot rollers.  After 3 days of that and no change in the forecast we pulled up stakes and headed for Overton.  We did manage to get the RV and generator serviced at Swanty's in Bullhead City, which was the other reason for the stop there, so we're good for another year.

The winds are a little calmer up here on Lake Mead, so as I said we're staying on Snowbird Mesa (36.48037, -114.45422) and I'm doing a little fishing (launch at Echo Bay) while we're waiting for spring to come back to Canada.  Hurry up, you guys.