In case you haven’t stopped by “rvsue and her canine crew” lately, here’s our camp on King of Kofa Road between Yuma and Quartzsite, Arizona.
Obviously this shot was taken while we were out and about in the Perfect Tow Vehicle. The antenna signals us, “Hey, I’m over here! Come home!”
Wednesday, March 5
A very cloudy morning. I try to take some good photos. They lack the “oompf” that good light provides, so I simply walk the desert with the crew.
“Empty” desert charms me. I don’t know why. Give me some creosote, palo verde, and various drab bushes and I’m one happy camper!
Prickly pear are all over the place!
A few have blooms. I’ll wait for them to be closer to their prime before taking photos for the blog. I come across a prickly pear about three feet in diameter and it’s loaded with buds. I count sixty-four in all. What a sight that will be!
By the time the clouds clear, it’s afternoon and it’s hot.
My plan to wax the Perfect Tow Vehicle does not come to fruition. Instead I read and nap in my lounge chair on the shady side of the Best Little Trailer, wash a few dishes, and let the day drift by.
All in all, a very lazy day for all of us.
Why work when you can lie in cool shade on a sunny afternoon? (And give a dirty look to the photographer… right, Bridget?)
Thursday, March 6
First thing this morning, I get the tire pressure gauge out of the PTV. I want to check the tire inflation while it’s still cool and the sun isn’t high enough to heat up the tires on the southern side.
The gauge reads from 43 psi to 44 psi for all six tires.
The wear on the BLT’s tires looks even. I’ve been told that the Marathon tires that came with the BLT from the Casita factory are not good tires, that they have blow-outs, and I should replace them. It’s hard for me to do that when the tires look in good shape and, additionally, when I’m a cheap son of a gun.
Of course, the PTV’s tires look great because they haven’t rolled over many miles since I purchased them last fall in Oregon.
I decide to drive us up the road into Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.
“Enough of this lazing around. C’mon! Let’s go, guys!”
Oh no, not more desert photos! Oh yeah, baby . . .
Only two other campers are here this morning.
They, like us, are camped on Bureau of Land Management land along the road leading to the refuge. I like camping in or near a refuge. One doesn’t see trash and tire tracks all over like in other parts of the desert. The credit goes to the refuge’s volunteers and staff who clean up after the neanderthals and enforce the regulations.
Are these three young saguaros or another type of cactus? Do you care?
I pull over to let four dune buggies hurry by.
I guess I’m an old fogey, driving so slow. For me it’s not how far you go nor how quickly you get there. It’s what you pass as you go, and what makes you pause.
A pretty roadside scene. No dune buggy required.
Soon the dune buggies are nothing more than a plume of dust weaving across the desert.
I think about my readers a lot.
Over the past two, almost three, years readers have told me they live vicariously through my blog. They aren’t camping or traveling because of family responsibilities or because the house hasn’t sold or because they’re still working toward retirement. Sometimes one wants to full-time but the spouse doesn’t. Maybe the timing isn’t right.
The saguaros lean slightly westward. Or maybe it’s the photographer.
I take it as a privilege to share my life with you.
I remember the anguish waiting for the day I would finally be able to toss the crew in the PTV and head out for the horizon. I so badly wanted to take charge of my life and be free to roam. There were a few times I screamed at the walls in frustration.
I thought I’d go nuts.
If this blog helps anyone get through the “dreaming and screaming” phase, it’s an honor for me to provide it. I’m thinking of putting together a post on how I came to choose this way of life and how I prepared for it.
Incredible mountain formations all around and you get a photo of this. Typical! Sheesh.
The crew and I don’t follow the road far into the Kofa Mountains.
I want to save the scenery to photograph on a day with better light. I pull into our campsite and park the PTV at a lazy angle. I let out the crew and plug in the cable, linking the PTV and the BLT.
I haven’t tilted the solar panel lately. The extension cord lets me park the PTV without having to bring the bumper close to the BLT’s tongue. It’s our new laissez-faire approach.
Some of my readers like to see photos of Bridget and Spike and read about their latest antics. I haven’t included much of that lately because, quite frankly, they’ve been the boring-est pair of nutcakes lately. Sleep, eat, nap. Sleep, eat, nap. Which, now that I think about it, pretty much describes me.
rvsue
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