Lovely day

At our bird feeder this morning, we saw a male and female Gilded Flicker but they were too quick so we weren't able to get a picture of them. John also saw a brown fox running along the wash in back of us. Again, no pictures.

We took a drive in to Quartzsite for lunch and then out to Plomosa Road to check out the BLM boondocking area. The area is very large and flat. We think we may camp here next year for a while. This area is just a few miles north of Hi Jolly the BLM land where we camped this year and last year for a few days.

Headed home and sat out in the sunshine for a bit. I had a fair amount of entertainment going on behind us at the bird feeder with all the doves, quail, finches, and our little cottontail. Also, our neighbor across from us has a big fluffy cat on a harness who was rolling around in the gravel and just enjoying the sun.

John got a phone call from Brian a former co-worker and got caught up with what is going on at his former workplace. John is so glad that his life has moved on in another direction. It must have been the day for phone calls as Bonnie called. As always, we had an entertaining conversation with her.

Soon it was an end to another lovely day.

Natural springs and petroglyphs

Here we are headed out for Thursday's ride. This group we are with takes rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesdays are "pink" days when the group stops frequently for the ladies to hunt for rocks. Thursdays are "blue" days and can be more of a hammering kind of day. I don't think it was a hammering kind of day but it was a long fun day. We left at 10 a.m. and returned at 4 p.m.

This time, I rode with Rose in her Razor. Rose is Bob's (Brenda) cousin. She is quite the character. I had a good time riding with her. John once again rode with Bob (Dee) in his bug. Bob (Dee) is the guide and is quite the gregarious person. Bob and Dee live in Novia Scotia in the summers and winter here in Brenda. I was a little cold on Tuesday's ride so I dressed a bit differently. I had a pair of pants on underneath my jeans, I had a top underneath a sweatshirt and then wore the windbreaker. Oh and I wore gloves. I tried wearing a ball cap to protect my hair somewhat from the dirt but it didn't fit what with wearing goggles. I was much more comfortable today.

We took "Killer Hill" to head towards the natural spring and petroglyphs. It was quite the hill going up at full speed and then when we topped it, it was a straight shot down. It reminded me of an amusement ride but without the speed. The first thing John asked me was how I did on "Killer Hill". I did quite well, thank you. Actually, it is quite fun going over all of the rocks and bumps. Too bad John didn't get a picture of it going up or coming down.

Here is a pretty scenic shot of the desert mountains.

When we got to the springs, we found this foundation of a rock cabin. It looks like people had stacked rocks so clear the parking area. This is a sacred area to the Indians and unfortunately, there are dimwits who desecrate the area. Bob (Dee) said this area may be restricted in the future do to those who don't believe in not leaving a trace.

All around the area, you can find these bushes that are in bloom with beautiful purple flowers. No one knew the name of the plant.

Some of us took the hike up the rocks to the springs. Here Brenda and I are standing in front of the spring (water can be seen in the lower left corner). It was very pretty little canyon area and much cooler temperature wise than the area around it. Stan said this would probably be the coolest spot in the desert in a few months. He is probably correct.

Here is a shot looking down at the vehicles and ones who didn't take the short hike up.

We got to see some lovely petroglyphs (a few of which had been desecrated). This one is my favorite rock drawings.

Here is nice rock shot with a long saguaro cactus.
Here is a shot of Bob (Brenda) and Rose making their way down the hillside. If you look carefully at the rocks between them, you can see some more petroglyphs.

This is the trail leading down to the springs. Another Razor and a Jeep joined us while we ate our lunches. We were told that the spur of the trail that leads off to the right was the site of a jeep accident where a person died after rolling his jeep down the hill. How sad. There was a memorial set in the rocks above the springs but I don't know if the two are related.
Another rock drawing. It does make you wonder what each picture represents.

Another scenic desert shot.
John liked this shot because at the top of the picture, almost in the middle, is a small arch.

Land of the cholla cactus. The cholla drops balls off of the main plant and then a new one grows. We saw why you want to stay far away from these cacti. Terry got a ball stuck to the heel of his shoe. It took pliers to pull out each barb. Thankfully, it stuck to sole of his shoe and not the leather. We've been told that the barbs will penetrate the thickest of leather (we are now true believers). We had also been told that cowboys had great fear of falling on a cholla as they would forever be impaled: that, too, we believe.

This picture pretty much explains why those of us in rails and Razors get so gosh darn dirty. So much fun that it is worth the dirt!

Upon our return, John saw Bob's (Dee) dog resting outside their motor home. He must have been bummed as he didn't get to go on today's ride. He certainly looks comfortable don't you think?

We got to chat with Melissa for a while. She is one busy young lady. Melissa works as a Media Buyer by day and has started a part-time consultant job with Bella Pictures. The girl likes to be busy which is a good thing because she is. Ah, the energy of youth. You go girl! We hope you feel better as she suffered a bout of stomach flu on Tuesday.

We finished off the evening with a little TV and reading.

RVers potluck

We were invited to join the gang for their Mexican potluck. I guess it was originally going to be tacos and burritos but it morphed into something much bigger. In staying with the theme, I decided to make Mexican Tea Cookies. I made the dough on Monday and needed to bake them today. I shooed John out for a bike ride so he would not be underfoot. It did not break his heart any, I must add.

I got the cookies baked a while before John returned. We ate lunch and then sat outside watching the crazy quail running back and forth, chattering all the while. I scattered some seed to see if I could draw in some birds. John said it was to early in the afternoon. Ha! Soon I had doves, finches, and quail. A bit later, our resident cottontail even made an appearance.

It was soon time to head out to Mike and Edie's gathering spot for the pot luck. My goodness, the quantity and selection of food was amazing: enchiladas, con queso, spanish rice, chile verde, homemade refried beans, charred corn, chile rellenos, tacos, fruit salad, chips and salsa, homemade guacamole, plus an assortment of appetizers. There were also four or five desserts. If you walked away hungry, it was of your own doing. Oh, less we forget, margaritas were available. Neither one of us indulged but everyone seemed to be enjoying them. Everyone has been so nice and inclusive. As Edie said, everyone just has an upbeat view on life and enjoys a good time.

We were invited to go out on the ride tomorrow to some springs up in the mountains. We gladly accepted. I was told that Tuesday ride was unusually dusty, it will be interesting to see if that is the case. Hopefully, we will some nice pictures to share. I was asked if I was sore today, to which I answered only a bit stiff between my shoulders this morning but once I got up moving around I was fine. I guess it is not uncommon to be sore the first few times out due to all the jostling one gets. We headed for home a little after 6 p.m. contentedly full. I guess it will be an evening of reading or watching TV if anything interesting is on, that is.

Desert Ride

The morning started with the normal visit of our neighboring birds. Here is a comparison of a Mourning Dove and an Eurasian Collared Dove. The Eurasian Collared Dove looks like it has been on steroids next to the Mourning Dove.

Here are the beautiful House Finches with the Eurasian Collared Doves.

Here is one of the darling cottontails that visit us. While the birds all fly off when one of us goes outside, the bunnies don't seem to be bothered.

Here I am with Bob in his Polaris Razor and are getting ready to put on a pair of goggles.

The yellow Bug was John's ride with the dog riding shotgun. John spent hours with the dog and never asked Bob (Doodle Bug's owner/driver) the dog's name. Go figure!

We made a stop to reconnoiter where the heck we were going.

Here are a couple of free range cattle that chose to lie in the middle of the wash. They weren't too happy being forced to move.

Here is a cattle corral out in the middle of nowhere. It was empty when we left but when we came back by, there were cattle and bulls in the corrals.

Here we are all following behind the car John was in. John didn't have to contend with the dust which was half the fun.

A trio of saguaro's with the pretty mountains in the background.
Another scenic shot of the desert. Notice the tinge of green on the desert floor. With the little bit of rain the area got, the grass has greened up.
Here is Scooter riding along with his dad in the Dune Buggy. He really seemed to enjoy himself.
Half way through the ride and boy, was I dusty. The smile tells it all.

We located the fairgrounds in Bouse as there is going to be a car show next week. The gang plans on driving their sand rails, dune buggy's, and Razors rather than their vehicles.

Here is a picture of my fella (notice that he is not dusty). Check out the Aussie hat John is wearing to protect his face and noggin from the searing Arizona sun.

Stopping for a lunch break. No. 89 is a sand rail, there are two Razors, and a dune buggy in the back.
Here is a saguaro with many arms.
Here are some of the cows and bulls that were in the corral on our return trip. Check out the horns on the white faces bull.

On our return trip home, we were buzzed by a C-141 (that is what I was told). Everyone was amazed at how low the plane was flying and it did seem like it was taking a look at us as well.

It was a fun ride. When we got back, Brenda took their air compressor and blew the dust off of Bob and myself. John said he never saw me so dirty and I told him I don't think I have ever been so dirty. Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat. Hopefully, we will get a chance to go out again when they actualy go up into the mountains.

We went and joined the crew at their happy hour after I had cleaned up. On our way home, we stopped at the Black Rock Cafe for dinner as our batteries had run low. We had just finished dinner when Bob and Brenda came in. They joined us at our table and we sat and chatted for a while. Good thing we left when we did as we had to walk home in near darkness. I think we will sleep well tonight.

Burr. . . cold and windy

After getting up, I walked to the rear of the rig to see if we had any birds hanging out and boy, did we ever. Mourning Doves, Eurasian Doves, Gambel's Quail, House Finches, and our little cottontail rabbit. It was when the Gila Woodpecker flew to where the bird seed ball was hanging that I noticed . . . it was gone! What!??? The Gila Woodpecker was funny because he, too, was surprised that the bird seed ball was gone. John thinks we were ripped off by a coyote. I'm sure that the bird seed was held together by something sweet like honey or molasses so it must have appealed to it's sweet tooth. I went out to see if I could find a remnant but found nothing.

John and I went in to Quartzsite to check out another RV store for the closet latch but they didn't have any. There were RV's on the road everywhere heading in all directions. We stopped at some vendor booths. I bought some golden raisins, pecan bits, and a denim long-sleeve shirt. The wind was strong and it was very chilly.

We headed home to have lunch and the truck's outside temperature was 52 degrees. It felt much colder due to the wind and the fact that the sun was always coming in and out of the clouds. No outside sitting this afternoon as it was simply too cold for us. Nothing too exciting for the rest of the day.

Sunny Blustery Day

No ATV ride today. We are possibly going out on Tuesday.

We scattered some bird seed around the bird feeder. When we came back from our walk around the park, we had a number of doves and quail eating the seed. That is one way to get them to hang around. When they heard us, they are flew away.

Around 11 a.m. we headed in to Quartzsite to see if one of the RV parts places had a replacement sliding door lock as John broke his this morning. What they had was too small to work as a replacement for our doors. We were going to try another RV parts place but couldn't get any parking so we will try another day. We stopped for lunch and hit the grocery store before heading back home.

John was able to get a couple of nice pictures today. We had a little chipmunk who was taking advantage of our bird seed ball.

We also had a visit by some pretty House Finches with their pretty red heads and chest. At least these birds know how to use the bird feeder.
John and I are loving seeing birds with bright colors.

We went down at 4 p.m. and joined Brenda, Bob, and their friends for an hour of chatting. We have been invited to a Taco/Burrito pot luck on Wednesday (we'll be there) as well as a wine tasting get together. As John and I aren't big wine drinkers, we think we will pass on that invite. This group of people have been very nice and inclusive with us. If we go out ATVing on Tuesday, it will be with this group of people.

We got back home and John barbecued some hot dogs. We had been having a yearning for them and enjoyed them immensely. I finally finished up the laundry so the rest of the evening will be spent quietly.

Bird frenzy

This morning, at the rear of our rig, we had quite the bird activity going on. We had Gila Woodpeckers, Finches, Cactus Wrens, and Gambel's Quail. It was quite entertaining and I ate my cereal standing up looking out the window at all the goings on.

In this photo, the male Gila Woodpecker is on the post pecking at the seed ball while the female is flying away.

Here we have both the male and female Gila Woodpecker working over the seed ball.
Here is another action shot of the female Gila Woodpecker.
Here is another shot of the female Gila Woodpecker going after the bird seed in the bird feeder. They seem to prefer the seed ball.
Here is a shot of the male (notice the red on the top of his head) with a seed in its mouth.
We were entertained for quite a while and then everyone left just as quickly as they arrived.

We headed out and took our morning walk around the park. We stopped and chatted with Jack, one of our neighbors, for a bit and then headed home. We sat out in the sunshine for a while. We even saw a hummingbird at one of our feeders. He did not linger so I don't know if he didn't like the sugar water or possibly, we scared him off. Anyway, I threw out the old water and made up new for the feeders (just in case).

John took an afternoon ride on his bike while I finished up the book I was reading enjoying the sun as it came in and out of clouds. He gets a break from me and I from him. :) It's a good thing!

After John returned, we had an early dinner as we were going to Bingo. A $5 buy-in per person is pretty cheap. The place was packed and the jackpots were $140. No, neither John nor I even came close. Brenda's husband, Bob, did split one Bingo. We find it a nice social outlet and a fun way of passing the evening even if we are some of the youngest ones there.

Bob and Brenda want to take us out on an ATV desert ride tomorrow. It should be fun and interesting if it comes about.

43rd Annual QIA Pow Wow Gem & Mineral Show

We got a call from Brenda this morning inviting us to join her and some others from the park in a trip to Quartzsite to attend the Pow Wow Gem & Mineral Show. John and I had never been to this type of show before so we said sure. Now, I must admit, I wouldn't become a regular at one of these types of shows but it was well worth going to. We saw so many colorful rocks from around the world that it is amazing how many different colors there are in nature. The gems run in all shapes, sizes, cuts, and price ranges. It was stunning to see an $8,000 price tag on some of the gems.

Also on display were many beautiful pieces of jewelry. As I'm not a big jewelry wearer, John was lucky as we got through the experience without spending a dime. Brenda has taken different jewelry making classes in Quartzsite so she was looking at gems/rocks with a different eye than we were. She found a couple of pieces that she liked to purchase. It was interesting to walk around the show with her hearing her comments about the rocks that are easily found in the desert and how certain pieces were cut and polished. While we were at the show, we were hit with intermittent rain showers. Finally, after lunch, we gave it up and headed for home.

I checked our mailbox and we had mail. It is always fun to open up our mail package to see what is in it. We then tried sitting outside for a while but the rain drops ran us off. Soon the sun came out and we went outside to enjoy it. We were visited by a couple of Cactus Wrens who weren't to concerned with us - pictures follow.

We had a couple of rainbows across the desert this afternoon but by the time I got the camera out, they had faded away to where the pictures weren't very inspiring. The desert gets an interesting smell to it after a slight bit of rain.

The rest of the evening was spent reading the magazines that had come in the mail and a little TV. Another quiet evening.

Day trip - Blythe, Parker, home

This picture was taken outside of our RV park.
This creative shot by John was taken in the RV park.

We decided to do a little exploring today. As it was raining east and northeast of us, we decided to head west to Blythe and then up 95 to Parker. I thought we were actually going in to the town of Blythe but John took the exit for 95 to Parker so I have no idea what Blythe looks like. I guess we need to communicate better about expectations when we head out!

The shot below is as we are heading west toward Quartzsite. All of those white dots are RVs and the opposite side of I-10 looks identical. There are thousands of RVs throughout Quartzsite. Once the RV Show closes up on the 24th, many of these RVs will begin to head out in all directions.

Anywhere there is BLM land, there are RV's.
When we headed north from Blythe, I got this scenic shot of the desert mountains.

Here is a shot of the Colorado River as it ambles it way south. Many people around here are saying that the Colorado River is the lowest they have seen in years.

When we got to Parker, we stopped for lunch and made a grocery store run. It was almost 80 degrees today. While we were sitting outside, we had a low fly over by a military jet. The pilot must have been going the speed of sound as we heard it just about the time we saw it. That was cool. The clouds thickened as the evening progressed and brought a little bit of showers.