Tuesday, January 9
Under clouds holding the promise of rain, the crew and I board the Perfect Tow Vehicle for a quick ride into town. Online tracking tells me my Amazon packages arrived at the storage place in Blythe where I set up an account to receive mail.
The rain starts as we pull into the parking lot.
I run inside, grab the box waiting for me (what fun!), thank the woman behind the counter, and race out the door to the PTV.
We go to the library, I give Reggie and Roger a brief walk-about under the umbrella of the huge cottonwood tree, drop books in the return slot, and then head for home.
The rain is steady on the return to camp.
Gosh, it’s been a long, long time since I turned on the windshield wipers. It’s a miracle they haven’t dried up and fallen off. We need this rain. It’ll tamp down the dust and freshen up the desert. Clean the mat. Give the PTV a much-needed bath . . . .
The Best Little Trailer waits in the rain under cloudy sky.
~ ~ ~
Okay, remember our discussion of jumper cables vs. power pack?
I was equally in favor of both choices. What swayed me to the power pack was something no one mentioned in comments and something I didn’t think of until later, not until ruminating on the subject while walking the crew one morning.
Everybody knows what jumper cables are, even if never having used them. As for power packs aka jump starters, there are lots of folks who don’t know what they are or only have a vague knowledge that they exist.
Since I write about details of my life to the nth degree (roll your eyes here), you know I’m gonna’ show and tell you about my purchase.
By choosing the power pack, we learn together!
This is the power pack I bought:
I like that it has a sturdy zipper case.
As for the weight, I’ve carried heavier purses!
It may be a while before I take the time to study the user manual and figure out how to operate the thing. Probably I’ll use it as a charger first. More about this in a future post.
We’ll see how good I am at keeping it charged, whether I ever have to use it to start the PTV, how long it lasts, and whether it turns out to have been a good purchase.
I’m pleased with the cover and carry bag that came for my new Blackstone griddle
~ ~ ~
Home, home in the rain.
Roger sits on the bed at the back window staring longingly at Skeeter’s RV. Reggie lies forlornly beside me, chin between his paws, a study in misery.
“I know. You both want to go play. Maybe the rain will stop soon.”
It does!
“Let’s go!”
That’s all I need to say and the boys fly to the door. I open it and Roger shoots out like from a gun and races across the desert. Reggie, although anxious to be with his pals at Del’s, waits to accompany me.
Due to the damp air and intermittent rain, we go inside.
The big dogs stay outside (They have their own “travel trailer” hooked to the back of the Class A. Only Skeeter and River, the rat terrier, are allowed inside. Reg and Rog, too.)
Del and I sit in the front seats and chat.
About time to go home, an enormous rainbow appears!
The crew and I run home so I can take photos. We’re darting across narrow, shallow washes, dodging creosote, huffing and puffing . . .
I take a bunch of photos, too many to share in this post.
The next pic gives an idea of size. I think that’s a Class C at the end of the rainbow.
Wow!
The rainbow is perfect!
It makes a complete arc from that RV in the above photo over to the Big Maria Mountains (below) beyond the main area of Midland LTVA.
The rainbow is so large that I have trouble fitting it in the frame!
Zooming in on the Big Marias . . .
Double rainbows!
Do you see them? One on the BLT and one on the PTV!
Look again . . . .
The next shot shows the double rainbows better.
What do you find at the end of a rainbow?
A pot of gold?
Well, I guess you could say that . . . .
You find home!
To be continued . . .
rvsue
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OOOOH….A rainbow in the desert!!! How beautiful! And rain in the desert is pretty special too. Will there be flowers blooming soon?
CONGRATULATIONS, DAWN! YOU’RE A WINNER!
I’d like to thank the Academy. Oh wait. That’s another blog…
🙂
Can I be second?
OK! Now that’s out of the way, went back and read the post. Awesome rainbow photos! I was wondering if you have a cord with alligator clamps for your solar panel? I do, and have used them to hook the panel directly up to my car battery and recharge it when out in the boonies.
Hey, Janis! GOOD JOB! TIED FIRST PLACE!
My solar panel is already hooked up to the starter battery. See my reply to Martha below.
Beautiful rainbows
I can just picture Roger and Reggie looking so forlorn, waiting out the rain and wanting to play with their friends! What a fun post, full of packages, friends and heavenly wonders! So glad to see that one of my purchases made it to your list…the camp mess set! It’s set to arrive for tomorrow. I’ll have to let you know how it performs! After highs in the 20s last week, this week we hit the 50s and 60s! Typical Carolina winter. I didn’t get any snow, and I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about that.
Looking at the link to the charger, I can see you chose the red version over the yellow one. I like the red better too.
Thank you, Dawn, for using my blog as a portal to Amazon! I hope you like your purchase as much as I do mine. 🙂
That photo of the PTV at the end of the rainbow is perfect!
Have never been able to post in the first few before! Yay! For me. Now to read your lovely blog… Cheers, Pat K
Congratulations Pat, for being at the top of the comments. At the end of the year Sue distributes lavish gifts to those who were in the top ten more than once!
I’m kidding of course. I have no idea why we all strive to be at the top, but I’m guilty of it 🙂
What great shots of the rainbow
Love the rainbows. Wow!! Just beautiful. Remind us again, what camera are you using. I still have my canon 60d but want to downsize to fit my downsized life.
We have jumper cables but once ran our truck battery down on the desert. So Ben hooked up our solar panels to the battery and charged it. Well done, Ben! But the power pack looks like a good idea.
Hi, Martha,
There’s link to my camera in the sidebar…. It’s a Panasonic LUMIX. Several newer models have come on the market since I bought mine. As I write this, it’s still available through Amazon from 3rd party sellers only.
The solar panel charges my starter battery. A problem arises when I camp in shade while draining the batteries. 🙁
Awesome shot! I’m sure you have posted this before, but what camera do you use? Inquiring minds want to know. Say hi to Skeeter from us fans out here…
Just saw the note above. Should have read it earlier. Anyway , thanks for sharing.
I guess I have moved up in line of who gets posted first. I love several of the pictures of the rainbow. I especially love the two where the end of the rainbow comes down though the middle of the mountain and right on top of the PLT. I can sympathize how everyone felt with the gray rainy weather. It is like that here today. After weather in the teens and cloudy, now in the 50’s and 60’s and still cloudy. I keep telling myself that one day soon I will be wishing for cooler weather. It was just a ho hum day for you, but you made it interesting. Thank you for sharing.
FABULOUS pictures! I love me some rainbows, and you made some great captures! I could just see the boys sitting around all depressed about not being able to play. My boy gets despondent when He senses I’m getting ready to leave the house. Big sights. Head on paws. They know how to work it, don’t they?
Thanks for sharing this little spot of beauty.
Big day for typos! UGH! How I wish there was an edit button! 🙂
Love, love the rainbow photos, and how serendipitous is it that you were blessed with two “attached” to the PTV and BLT? A wonderful covenant reminder 🙂
I wonder if Skeeter, over at Del’s, was equally forlorn waiting to play with R&R? They were all probably sending telepathic prayers: “Rain, rain, go away, we want to go outside and play!”
All your goodies look like fun, but if you’re anything like me you won’t read the instruction manual until you have to. My “new” car is a little over two years old and I haven’t yet read the manual! I have knobs and buttons and dials that I have no idea what they do.
I’m so excited – our new motorhome is finally on the production line and being built. I got photos via Messenger this morning from the welding shop supervisor in Alabama; it’s like watching a baby being delivered. Well, kind of! It’s supposed to be done and delivered in mid-February and we can’t wait to take it out on its first trip. We are still in possession of our former MH, but technically we traded it in, so my husband won’t take it anywhere because he’s afraid something will happen to it before we transfer ownership to the dealer. I want to be on the road!!
That IS exciting, Cynthia! Wow! The birth of your Best Little Trailer. 🙂
Yes, Skeeter was waiting. Del tells me Skeeter gets up in the morning, climbs up on the dash, and watches our campsite most of the day until we arrive. He’s gonna’ be heartbroken when we leave… Maybe my boys will be, too.
I always heard it was ment who didn’t read instructions. I always do. In fact, I can’t drive a car made in this century without reading the manual so I don’t lock myself in or something.
Lol, that would be funny if i locked myself in the car and couldn’t get out.
Love your rainbow photos! Great positioning to land on your pot of gold/BLT. I have the Lumix FZ200 that I bought after reading about yours. Not as much zoom as yours but has a ton of features I’m still learning about after a few years. Enjoy the rain while it lasts. I’ll be heading to So. CA this weekend from rainy WA to enjoy some sun.
For a second, I thought the low cloud in the first rainbow pic was a trail of dust from Roger’s run to Del’s. Lol.
Into every life a little rain must fall. Luckily, it wasn’t all day. What a treasure of rainbows! I love your shots of the rainbows over the BLT and PTV.
The boys might be really sad to leave their friends in the spring! I think they think Midland and Del’s pups are Shangra La.
It really is a refreshing treat to get a touch of rain while in the desert , isn’t it? I know I longed for that sometimes when I lived in San Diego. If it rained enough you might have noticed some pleasant scents afterwards, too, nice! Your rainbow photos are beautiful! I especially like the zoomed in one by the Big Marias.
From what you wrote about the battery pack I’m guessing the feature that swayed you was the way it’s zipper case makes it neat and convenient to carry(?). I’m glad you got it, for several reasons, and hope you find all of it’s features helpful should you ever need them.
Roger staring at Skeeter’s RV, and how much both he and Reggie have been enjoying the daily canine parties makes me wonder what it will be like without those. You mentioned to Kerry in a reply recently that you may be leaving Blythe soon. I imagine all of you, humans and dogs, may miss each other then, and hopefully will adapt quickly.
“What do you find at the end of the rainbow?…you find home”- I love that, Sue! It reminds me of a lyric in Somewhere Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz film.
“…and the dreams that you dreamed of dreams really do come true…” 🙂
As I read this post over again this morning it became obvious that you were swayed to choose the power pack when you realized that will give us the opportunity to learn about it together. That I didn’t understand that yesterday, and misquoted a song’s lyric, is evidence of my brain having been on overload before I commented.
Prior to that my cat had decided to walk across my laptop’s keyboard and had pressed some keys that rendered it useless while doing so. It was then on airplane mode(meaning it would not connect to the internet) and also the cursor had disappeared. I had no way to get to where I needed to be on the screen to restore the cursor, sign on in order to use any function or turn off airplane mode, ack! Fortunately my smart phone has internet access which allowed me to find solutions. I really don’t want to get a different laptop and for a couple of hours thought I might have to.
That’s one potential example of how your power pack could be useful. When you are boondocking your solar panel only produces so much power per day, and ordinarily that’s all you need. Yet “stuff” happens! You could keep your spare smaller ACER charged with the DB pack and search the internet for solutions if you had a similar problem.
Hi, weather,
I appreciate both your messages. Thank you! Your response to the “You find home!” segment touched me, my dreams having come true and brought to me via a little fiberglass trailer. 🙂
The incident with your laptop has happened to me also. I remember the panic and frustration. Mine wasn’t caused by a cat on the keyboard, probably something I did like spill coffee on it. Somehow the problem resolved, maybe by shutting the laptop and leaving it alone for a time or I hit the right sequence of keys at random. In former laptops, whenever I had a problem like that, I could remove the battery, wait 10 seconds, put the battery back in, and presto, problem gone. The batteries on the newer ones don’t remove so easily.
I’m glad you and your keyboard are happy together again! 🙂
I understand why people in the desert appreciate rain. Here in the “lake effect” states, we welcome sunshine that way.
I look forward to learning your experiences with the jump pack. That will be more useful information. The weight being so light is a major positiv thing already.
I like the rainbow pictures, too. With a sky that dark, they remind me of the time I drove up to the end of a rainbow once in East Texas. Nothing under it but asphalt.
Note: my proofreading suffered today. I was using a small, cheap 2-in-1 with a keyboard that I will need to adapt my typing to use. It’s all part of learning road stuff.
Sue, love the rainbow pix!
Beautiful rainbow pictures, Sue. As an observer of many rainbows, although one does not need to know about refracted light and it reflection to our eyes, have you noticed that the colors in the double rainbow are in opposite order?
The red shortwave length light appears on top of a single rainbow and the bluish longer wave length appears on the bottom, all due to the 180 degree mirror image caused by light being refracted once through moisture in the air. However, when one sees a second rainbow, the colors are in reverse order (reddish on bottom–like it should be and the blue hues on top), again because the light has refracted twice through the water vapor in the air (180 degrees the first time the light is refracted, and then another 180 degrees the second time it is refracted = 360 degrees).
Also because the light is being reflected to our eyes where we are, a person a 1/4 mile away may not even see the rainbow or the rainbow(s) may be displaying a different radius.
I conduct astronomical star parties in Marathon, TX. When I explain about celestial starlight in terms of refracted and reflected light through our atmosphere, I use the example of the rainbow. Out of hundreds of people, not one has stated that they ever noticed the the color arrangement is reversed when the colors are compared to the first and second rainbows. So, I though I would pass this information along.
That is fascinating! I never noticed that double rainbows are in reverse order. I had to scroll up and check out the pics again. By golly, they ARE reversed. How cool! Many thanks for the great info!
Thanks so much for that piece of knowledge! I must admit though, that I’ll have to think on that for a while before I really “get ” it.
The rainbow I remember the best, I saw from an airplane window. It was a perfect small circle and the shadow of the plane was in the center, I know all rainbows are circles, but most are very big circles, not small ones like my airplane rainbow.
Congratulations on your new power pack. I’ve got a 20,000 mAh battery pack designed to recharge electronic devices, but not start cars. Mine claims you can recharge an iPhone 6s seven times, so I assume your 18,000 mAh power pack would charge an iPhone about 6 times. It would probably provide fewer charges to a laptop. So if you use the power pack too many times to charge electronics, without recharging the power pack, you could end up with a power pack without enough capacity to jump your van. Just something to keep in mind. Hopefully you’ll never get into that situation.
I was too close to get the whole rainbow in the view finder..
The photo showed all the colors I have learned that are in the rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. How many of you learned them in order? I had to learn for Rainbow Girls back in the early 50’s.
It will be a sad day when the dogs have to depart from their friend. They have emotions like humans. I just read about that. Our rescue has shown me she truly has them.
The battery pack is the one I would have chosen if I needed one. If I ever get on the road it will be in my clutches and hope to never need a jump.
Great post this time, Sue.
Beautiful rainbow with a double!!!
We ate at our fav seafood place with a deck out over the bay. We had a piece of a rainbow while we were there. Not a full arc as yours, but still nice to see it reflected in the water! Happy Days. 😁
I hope you going out for dinner means Chuck is feeling better. 🙂
“I think that’s a Class C at the end of the rainbow.” Yes it is, mine. I missed the double rainbow but got a nice cloud shot. PS: I think Roger was here.
Oh, dear. Am I in hot water? Bob, if you want me to remove the photo, I will. I think the visitor was probably Reggie. One day he ran off and wouldn’t come back. Oops.
No problem leave it on the post. And looking (again) at pics yes Reggie not Roger.
Just a bit of trivia. The area between the two rainbows is called “Alexander’s Band”. Named after the Greek philosopher, Alexander of Aphrodisias who first described it in 200 AD. The other bit I remember is that the second duller rainbow 🌈 colors are reversed.
Sorry, this is all the useless trivia I remember about rainbows. Useful information to know if you’re at a cocktail party and there is a lull in the conversation 🤗
Thanks for teaching us, Harriet. Look at Jack’s comment which I rescued from the spam bin a few minutes ago.
Loving it, two great or almost great minds thinking alike!😊
Those are the facts Jack! The parts I couldn’t remember! Moving on now🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
We all want to be first because we all want to be first. Now I will give an example. Years ago when I worked in the Post Office Accounting dep’t., one of the girls showed us her collection of special cancellations. You send an envelope with a stamp or stamps under cover (in an envelope) to the Post Office sponsoring the special cancellation. They will cancel your stamps with the special cancellation and send it back to you. None of us had ever even thought of collecting those special cancellations, but suddenly, all of us wanted to, even me. We collected them for a year or so, then tapered off. Because one of us collected them, suddenly, the rest of us had to collect them too. Not sure it makes sense, but that’s the way of humankind.
Now reading Sue’s blog is just pure fun, especially her pictures!
We got some nice rain in the Coachella Valley and a little snow on the mountains but could have used more!! The rainbows are beautiful.
Wow! Awesome rainbows!
Great post! I could just feel those dogs misery waiting for the rain to stop!!
GREAT photos!!!!!!
Thanks!!
Sue, have you ever noticed the sky between the two rainbows is always darker than the portion of sky on the outside of the two rainbows? Especially near the ground? It shows in your pics.
Amazing rainbow photos! The boys are going to miss Skeeter and his pals when you leave.
So much fun when your items arrive!
I can just picture the crew tearing across the desert…over to Skeeter and Del’s.
Beautiful rainbow.
Yes I do believe everyone involved will miss each other when you leave. Everyone meaning four legs, two legs. Skeeter is such a love…and so is Del! I’m going to miss both! But we are getting way ahead of ourselves….enjoy today!
Wow, great rainbow photos!! I love rainbows. I always look closely for a double.
I wish everyone could see their home as a pot of gold. I like the way you think!
I’ve seen a few of those perfect rainbows in my lifetime. They are breath-taking, and I am always in awe when they appear. Thanks for the pics!
Love, love, love, the rainbows, Sue! Thanks! I can also recall the smell of the desert after a good rain. Nothing like it! I’ll bet you will be reporting on lilies and such soon.
OK. I couldn’t resist:
“Somewhere over the rainbow…” Dorothy and her Totos driving along the yellow brick road!
Sue beautiful Rainbow pictures. I have been following you for some time, and know that at one time you were at Buckeye Hills in Arizona. I want you to know that they are closing that boondocking site. I would hate to see anyone drive out here and not have a spot to camp.
Thanks for letting us know, JD. I assume you mean Buckeye Regional Park camping area. Do you know if it’s a permanent or temporary closing? Any reason or plans?
I did a search and couldn’t find anything about this.
Yes it is Buckeye Hills Regional Park. I am volunteering for the county and they announced this at our meeting this week. For now it’s permanent. Supposedly they will be drawing a new master plan but who knows when that will be done. It will be a day use only area now – basically that means picnics because there are no hiking trails. They will also put up an iron ranger and charge the entry fee of $6.00.
I appreciate your quick and detailed reply. Of course, I hate to see the free camping disappear. Picnics? Do people picnic anymore? From what I’ve seen, day use areas that don’t have a beach or fishing pier or trails or some kind of attraction are under used at best, become trouble spots at worst.
Thanks again, JD.
Look up MaricopaCountyparks.net
there is a paragraph there to alert the public.
This quote is from that site:
“At this time primitive camping will not be offered at Buckeye Hills Regional Park. Suspension of this service goes into effect on January 21st 2018 with the last night of primitive camping being January 21st 2018.”
I added an update at the top of this Feb. 2016 post:
“An easy drive to a free camp!”
It’s good to know there’s no camping there now,thanks for the alert.,Bridget was so cute in her stroller in that post!
I added an update to my Feb. 2016 post:
“An easy drive to a free camp!”
It’s good to know there’s no camping there now,thanks for the alert.,Bridget was so cute in her stroller in that post!
Oh I love the rainbows landing on your rig. Perfect pot of gold at the end.
I’m busy selling car this week, hopefully 5th wheel next week, and trying to downsize to a 29′ Class B+ motorhome. If it all works out, I have dreams of installing solar and boondocking. Fingers crossed!! 😀
Hi, Sue,
Awesome job on catching the rainbow pictures!! Love, love, love them! You did not even have to click your ruby slippers together to get home, just a mad rush across the desert! Yes, the PTV and BLT ARE pots of gold….treasures, indeed! 🙂
Have a good night, Sue. Sending you, Reggie, and Roger love and hugs from me and Gracie pup! N’nite! 🙂
I meant to say….just a mad dash across the desert.
Ah, the smell of the desert after some rain. I grew up in SoAz and the ‘monsoon Season’ was always a treat. Fresh, clean air and the smell or creosote bush, Palo Verde trees and listening to the birds sing… Any rainbows are a big bonus!
A home at the end of a rainbow – that is something that must be a dream come true. I must confess, I’m sometimes just a little bit envious of your “follow the sun” lifestyle and wish that I could do the same. I cannot, but am more than happy to enjoy some of that via the wonderful photos and stories that you post. Bless you for that.
I must say, stopping by for a ‘visit’ certainly makes my day.
Thanks!
Don
Golly, gee whiz! What a sweet post. Rainbows and puppy dogs. I can just imagine the forlorn looks on the crew as they waited for the rain to stop. Do either of the boys give loud sighs of impatience or sadness in such situations? One of my huskies would lay with her chin between her paws and just give these big, disgusted sighs and stare through me with those big, sad, brown eyes when her wishes weren’t coming true. So funny and most times very effective!
On a similar note of JD’s comment, there are other popular boondocks in AZ that are being considered for restrictions. The few that immediately come to mind are Loy Butte Road between Sedona and Cottonwood. Another is in the Coconino NF surrounding Flagstaff. I want to say A-1 Mountain Road, but I can’t remember for sure. And then there is Forest Road 302 in Kaibab NF within walking distance of Tusayan at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Overuse causing destruction of the natural surroundings is the reason for the restrictions. I’m not sure when this goes into effect but it is only a matter of time until these boondocks are no longer available. I get a number of newsfeeds from the national forests in AZ and I think that is where I read it. Then again, it may have been in my quarterly newsletter from the National Parks Service.
On thing I know for certain is that the NPS is proposing a rate hike during peak seasons of seventeen of the most popular national parks in the US. Congress has had nothing to do with this proposal but it is coming from the NPS directly. Think parks of the West like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Tetons, Bryce, Zion, etc. and Shenandoah, Acadia, in the East. Entrance rates will significantly increase. Grand Canyon, for example, will go from an entrance fee of $30 to $75. The additional revenue will go toward the badly needed repairs of the deteriorating infrastructure such as road and bridge improvements, updated campground facilities, modern restrooms, new waterlines, and more serviceable visitor centers to handle the increased volume of people experiencing the national parks. The lifetime senior park pass will not be effected by the increased entrance fees. Some rate increases may take place as early as June 1, 2018. More details can be read at the NPS Office of Communications or nps.gov under the News headline.—Audrey
Thank you, Audrey, for this important, need-to-know information. I appreciate you taking the time to explain in detail.
I am finishing a new post today. At some point in the comments section under the new post I will copy and paste what you’ve written here so that more readers will see it.
Blogorinos: Please hold your responses to Audrey’s comment until it reappears under the next post. We can discuss it there. Thank you — Sue