Quick Trip to Blythe, California, Different Way Of Paying and More Ontarians At Quail Run.

Our Location today is Quartzsite, Arizona, U.S.A. 

Getting up before the sun seems to be a habit that I don’t mind getting into but it was still cold enough at that time to turn on the Fireplace to take the chill out of the trailer. I had finished my morning reading and gotten things ready for breakfast by the time Kathy came downstairs around 8:00 MST. At that time the sun was starting to warm things nicely to the point we immediately shut the Fireplace early. The last number of days the cold seems to hang inside the trailer but not today. 

I had brought in the Aluminium Angle Material that I had used as Transfer Templates to make all the brackets to mount our Solar Panels. The idea was to measure them up with just a simple sketch at this time and then to properly draw them out so that if I needed to make more of the same there will be “No Guess Work”. I also realized that I had purchased all the Stainless-Steel Fasteners to connect the different Brackets together but I’d forgotten to get what was needed to hold the Solar Panels to the Brackets.

Since Herb’s Hardware Store is just down the road from us in Quartzsite, we grabbed my list and headed over. They carry quite a selection of Fasteners including Stainless but they didn’t have the sizes or quantities that I needed. We did pick up some black ABS Piping and Fittings so I can make a carrier for our Antenna Poles. 

We went over to the Grocery/Hardware Store on Main Street West in hopes of getting the fasteners there. They had two employees reorganizing the entire aisle and it was a mess. They helped me look but they didn’t even have the size of Fasteners I needed. 

We headed Home to the trailer where we went Online looking for a nearby Home Depot, Lowes, True Value or Ace Hardware stores. The closest one we could find was an Ace Hardware Store in Blythe, California. Not wanting to go on a wasted trip I called and spoke with Javibre. When I mentioned how many I needed he said they had hundreds of them. I thought that strange because even the Big Box Stores normally don’t carry that many. 

After having a slightly early lunch we were on I-10 headed to Blythe, California by noon. The very first Highway Sign indicated Blythe was only twenty miles away. When we came to Quartzsite back on the first of the month we were astonished by the views on our way here. The views on this short stretch of highway were even more Breathe-Taking. Kathy was so busy taking pictures of the mountains again that we missed getting the sign as we entered California.

We hadn’t even set up our GPS, with the simple directions we found Online we were at the Ace Hardware Store in no time. When we walked in we were amazed at how large this store was. One of his co-workers helped me find Javibre and true to his word they had more fasteners than I could have dreamed of. There was one difference on how they charged for these things. I had wanted Knobs to make it easier to adjust the Solar Panels with but they had just sold the last Forty to an RV Repairman so we tried Wingnuts. It cost a dollar per Wingnut and they only had eight. The rest of the Stainless-Steel fasteners, Bolts, Nuts and Lock Washers were charged by the pound. It was less than ten dollars. I remember buying nails that way on Home Improvement jobs from Lumber Yards but never Stainless Steel Fasteners. If I had purchased the rest of Stainless Steel Fasteners I have gotten at this location, we would have saved money bigtime. 

When we left the Hardware Store we went across the street to Kmart to look around. Kathy wanted to look for a lightweight hoodie but couldn’t find one in her size. As we were walking by the men’s clothing we found some light-weight long sleeved sleep shirts for me that we had looked unsuccessfully elsewhere. We also managed to scratch off a few more Christmas Gifts from our 2017 Shopping List. 

We were back Home in Quartzsite before 4:00 MST but it was too late to start working on anything outside. Since I haven’t done the laundry in over a week that seemed a perfect way to finish the day. I managed to get the washing done and into the dryers by 5:30 at which time I returned to the trailer for supper. Kathy had warmed up a couple of Chicken Pot Pies, made a wonderful Salad and served a Chocolate Cake she had baked up. 

Back in the Laundry Room while I was busy folding our clothes another couple came in to do their washing. After a little small talk, I found out that Bill and Cathy are from Midland, Ontario which is a couple hundred miles north of McGregor. They’ll be leaving here on the second of January heading to Yuma. Before I left Cathy warned me of doing our laundry in town the week of the Big Tent. They’ll be stopping by our site to talk while they do their laps around the park in the morning. 

Love these Sunsets.

Since nothing was installed on the roof today, we’ll see what we can accomplish tomorrow. With the New Year fast approaching I need to wrap up our project of getting us Off the Grid pretty soon. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy! 

It’s about time.

 

Pictures taken

by Kathy.

Krackers 

Office Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes 

I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. 

Being bland, rather cruel, and incompetent comes naturally to me. 

John Cleese