Temporary Goodbyes and Movin' on Down Da Road!

Quartzsite, Az to Hot Springs LTVA, Holtville, Ca

Thursday, Friday, Dec. 15, 16, 2016 – time to move before we wear out our welcome. All good things must come to an end and in this world it usually means that other good things are just ahead, new and different things.

We were up early on Thursday and skipped our morning walk in favour of scooting into Quartzsite with a bag of laundry.

. The Main Street Laundry/Café is a huge space full of about 35 machines. It is also a popular place and many were either already in use or soon about to be before we left. Laundry costs were up from what we were used to in other places, including at home in Durham. We paid $1.75/wash compared to $1.25. It is what it is and our 3 loads were done within an hour and a half.

Because there is a Café adjoined to the same building we stopped in for breakfast/lunch. Two birds with one stone!

What a lovely little diner and a very pleasant waitress served us our specials. Bill had sausage, eggs, toast, hash browns and a biscuit and I had a Quartzsite Benedict with hash browns and toast. Coffee and tea was included. We needed something filling to tide us over until dinner.

We left the café around 11 and headed to see our friends, Rick and Kathy who are parked at Quail Run RV Resort, just on the outskirts of town.

We had a nice visit for about an hour and a half  to say farewell for now and caught up first hand on all of Rick’s work. We’d left Clemson home from 8 am so we only made a quick pop in at the Roadrunners market for the cream and yogourt we couldn’t find at Blythe before heading back.

The afternoon was uneventful, therefore a great day. We packed up at 4:30 and headed to my sister’s spot back down the candy cane road for dinner. We were saying goodbye to them as well, for a short time. Before we went in we all noticed this little guy listening in on our conversation! Just sitting there with nothing to add but beauty.

Gayle had pork chops and potatoes in the oven and we walked in to a very welcoming aroma. They have a beautiful 2017 Montana and you can tell they take pride in their winter home.

We had lots of laughs, chatter, food and alcohol before heading home to Clemson (again left alone to look after the house). We followed the ‘cookies’ on our truck gps in the dark. It really gets dark!

We were up and at ‘em around 7 on Friday, preparing to pull out. I managed to get my walk in just before the sun was poking through the early clouds. Hmm, it looks like another great day coming our way. Bill and I said goodbye to Melinda, missed Gerry as he was headed to Blythe to get his Verizon issue fixed. We will see them on Tuesday in California.

The drive on #8 to Holtville, Ca was full of even more scenic views and when we entered Yuma, it was like we entered a completely different country.

US Army grounds on both sides of Hwy #95

Yuma Proving Grounds

There was grass, there were crops and the mountains disappeared as did the desert plains. 

We drove through beautiful sand dunes,

of which my pictures do not do justice, and beautiful canals providing irrigation to the cabbages,

Do you see any mountains? Nope, not at all.

broccoli and cauliflower aplenty.

Picking cauliflower

Couldn't resist snapping this photo of the train

and then I noticed this really really long

Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball trailer

It was another wow!

Arriving on the other side though, we realized we were seeing desert again and boondocking spots off to the north and south of us. 

We pulled into a Rest Area about 35 miles east of Holtville to find it provided only 4 single washrooms as opposed to the large men’s and ladies with several toilets. 

These were so busy that Bill soon 

returned and opened up the Suite so we could use our own private johnny. How handy!

We texted Lori and Roland to ask for some direction to get into the Hot Springs LTVA and very glad we did. The road was under construction and it meant the exit ramps were closed to where we needed to go. We also made a quick call to Judy, not being sure our text went through. I think we were too impatient because Lori was busy texting detailed directions back to us.

We made it to the LTVA and followed Roland into a perfect spot, not too far from their gathering of about 8 rv’s. We like the desert camping so much that we prefer to be further away from other if we have the choice. Oscar asked why we were so far away but we love this location for the 3 nights we will be here.

Shortly after setting up, the camp owners came around to get our information and check out whether we needed a pass. We had purchased a 2 week pass at La Posa South for the LTVA’s and knew we had 3 nights left before we had to move out of the area. She was a very nice welcoming host and offered us a free head of lettuce at the same time. Lovely!

It was very hot when we arrived and we felt the heat much more after going through the set-up process. 81F registered on our thermometer, inside and out so we opened up windows anyway to let the breeze blow through and joined the group for Happy Hour at 3:30, Pacific Time. We are now 3 hours behind our friends and family back home in Ontario.

I will admit that the congregation under the tent was different for us and without offending anyone, I’m not sure it fits ‘me’. This is almost too organized with everyone taking turns to bring snacks. I’m used to the outdoor feel where we have room to spread out a bit and we need only to concentrate on bringing our drinks. It was very nice to be invited and we will go again on Sunday if we are still here.

To top off the day, we discovered that being Friday, it was Wing Night at a Country Club Restaurant on the west side of Holtville so we tagged along. I’m not into wings, but Bill and I ordered the fish and chips off the menus and they were delicious for $10 ea. The excitement really began when just as our meal was being brought to our table the power went out throughout the restaurant and surrounding area.

Judy in the light of the flashlight only

And then with flash, much nicer!

I was warned 'after' the fact, not to expect much
from Judy's photo taking capabilities.....
not bad, although a little blurred

Barbara North Golf Course and Country Club
a beautiful place

The waitresses were bumping heads with “what do we do?” Thank heavens for today’s technology as 3 at our table promptly pulled out cell phone flashlights and others did the same. The restaurant had no back up power, no generators meaning not even lights on their Exit signs. My goodness! There will no doubt be a procedure meeting for staff following this fiasco!

It all worked out and perhaps to our benefit as all transactions to pay were done on paper and no tax was added. Simple at our table as all of 6 of us paid cash. They escorted us out with flashlights to an extremely windy night and Oscar got us home safe and sound. Quite an adventure and a lot of laughs.

I hope you have enjoyed your days leading up to the weekend. 

Thank you for reading along. I love receiving your comments!