Our new camp at Dome Rock is better.
I choose this spot because the road to it is crappy.
Write “crappy road” on your list of What Makes a Good Boondock. The more difficult the road to your site, the better your odds that you won’t have someone pull up next to you. I frequently remind myself of this basic principle.
When the Perfect Tow Vehicle drags the Best Little Trailer over washboard and rocks and through narrow turns crowded by brush, I’ve learned to say, “This is great!”
The crew and I try to do the Quartzsite thing.
You know, wander around the booths trying to find things ya’ gotta’ have.
I can’t get in the mood. Maybe it’s the lack of crowds. Quartzsite isn’t Quartzsite without crowds of people stumbling around, everyone bent at the neck (see guy above) looking for “buys.” It’s like a party is set up, everything laid out, flags a-flying, and the hosts sit waiting for the guests to show up.
As usual, the biggest booth, the one with tables of tools and RV stuff, is the most popular. The booths selling tee-shirts, strings of beads, and brightly-colored tropical dresses aren’t doing well at all. Well, it’s Monday. I hope they make enough on the weekends to pay the rent.
We walk past the booth that sells stuff for pets.
We try to, that is. Spike has planted his feet in the ground like it’s cement, and he’s leaning at the end of the taut leash in the direction of the pet booth. “No, Spike. C’mon, we’re not going in there.”
Spike loves to shop! Who knew?
On the way back to camp I stop at Love’s Travel Center to buy gas ($3.25 a gallon). I pull around back and drop off a bag of trash in one of the dumpsters. I look for the water and dump area for future reference. A whole lot of digging is going on beyond barriers. . .
Hmm, must be the dump area. I’ll find another place. It’s easy to find RV services, like a dump station, in Quartzsite. It makes a good place for trying boondocking for the first time.
Okay, moving right along . . .
I pull into RV Lifestyles.
I go to the service desk at the back of the store. A burly guy in blue Dickies decorated with grease asks if he can help me.
“Hi. I have a van that I use to pull a travel trailer. I’d like to have Sirius radio in both. Do you do that sort of thing?” I ask.
“No, we don’t.”
“Do you know who in Quartzsite would do that for me?”
He reaches for a business card out of a display of cards.
I add, “I’ve already been to the satellite tv place on Main Street and they don’t do radios.”
“I don’t know anyone else in town who might be able to help you with that,” he says, putting the card back in the display.
Oh well, looks like we’re going to Yuma again this winter . . .
Walking through the store I see a step rug for $7.99.
Great, they have it in blue.
Back at camp I put it on the step. It has grommets on the underside that a spring hooks into. Easy to put on.
Maybe this will help my boy.
“Look, Spikey. Now you’ve got something to grip when you jump inside.”
Sometimes Spike slips and falls back to the ground. I hate when that happens.
The hummingbird feeder is a success!
I had it rigged up to hang next to the back window but that made the hummers nervous and I felt like I couldn’t move when they were at the window. So I find a creosote bush with a strong branch.
I sit in my lounger reading and hear this weird ripping sound. I look up and watch a hummingbird zip upwards at top speed, making an arc fifty feet or more above my head. On this YouTube video you can see several species of hummers and the male’s courtship display and sounds. (The one I hear at camp is the first one on the video.)
I cook up a treat for the crew.
Lately I’ve been buying ground turkey meat which I cook for Bridget and Spike. Did I tell you this already? Gee, I hope I’m not repeating myself here. I confuse what I plan to write with what I actually wrote. Anyway . . .
Boy, do Bridget and Spike love this turkey treat!
Spike hops up and down, lifting all fours off the ground, like he’s on springs, barking, eyes bright. Bridget gets excited, too, but she controls herself.
I dole out one ladle-full each on separate plates. The rest I put in zip-locs for the next three days. I buy it in the form of “logs” when I can find them that way. They store nicely in my little freezer. I’d rather give meat to the crew, rather than some poison from China.
I don’t give them a turkey treat on days that they get rotisserie chicken.
Yikes! A landslide on the PTV! Get a shovel! Quick! Mayday! Mayday!
I got some tracking emails from Amazon.
My KEEN sandals arrive in Quartzsite on Thursday! I hope they fit. Buying shoes online is always a risk. If you’re one of the readers who ordered KEEN shoes or sandals through my blog, I thank you and I hope yours fit you, too. I have some other stuff coming in that I’ll show you in a future post.
That reminds me . . . I forgot to show you my Bear Paws!
I love these boots. Actually I use them more like slippers. Even in the desert, my feet get cold, usually in the early morning or in the hours after dark. I have them on right now as I type this.
BEARPAW Women’s Emma Short Boot
My Bear Paws come in handy. First thing in the morning, when Spike needs to get out the door quickly, I slip these comfy things on in a jiffy, and out we go!
I never was one for big, floppy, pink, puffy, made-for-women-to-look-stupid slippers.
If yer gonna’ boondock, ya’ should boondock like ya’ mean it! Right? Get a hat, some boots . . . and don’t forget your Roy Orbison shades!
Did you see the full moon?
It was quite a sight rising up over the town of Quartzsite . . . an orange orb so big it looked like I could reach out and touch it.
I saw it through the back window. I would’ve taken a photo but I was in bed reading at the time with the crew asleep . . . Bridget snuggled next to me and Spike stretched out at my feet. I didn’t want to disturb them.
Here it is the following morning . . . a lot smaller in the western sky.
Isn’t it a wonderful world we live in?
rvsue
MY SINCERE THANKS TO EVERY RVSUE SHOPPER!
Here are a few samples of recent Amazon purchases by readers of this blog:
LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
Canon Speedlite 320EX Flash for Canon SLR Cameras
Portable Folding Charcoal BBQ Grill with Carrying Bag
Deluxe Telescoping Pet Ramp
Hamilton Beach Single Serve Scoop Coffee Maker, Stainless Steel
Sanford Prismacolor Colored Pencil Set, 48/Tin
“REAR VIEW MIRROR”
February 4, 2013: This post includes one of my favorite photos of Bridget’s smile.
“Locomotive Rock, drug busts, canine pals, and dreams of a Mexican beach!”
