Back in Blythe, Short Visit, Tearing Down, Great Supper and Toasty Campfire.

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

After tossing and turning most of the night I was up by 7:30 MST this morning. Even though we had plans I just went through my normal routine of opening the window shades, turning on the computers and finally getting breakfast started. Kathy surprised me when she was up before I’d started making breakfast. It’s amazing how these little things play on your mind. 

We were headed out the door by 9:00 MST with the plan to get some shopping done in Blythe, California. Figuring on our travel time and the stores opening at 9:00 PST we had finished our morning reading as well as our chores. Driving the usual twenty-mile route on I-10 through the mountains we were again in awe. 

Our first stop was the Ace Hardware Store where I had planned on getting the Stainless Hardware that will be needed to add additional Solar Panels next winter. The reason for buying it at this location is that they sell it by the pound where most other outlets and chains sell it by the piece. That will save us about Seventy Percent costs wise. 

We will monitor how well our present Solar Panels work not only while we are on the road traveling but this coming year when we are back in McGregor. I also mentioned when we started this project that we didn’t want to “Break the Bank” so we are working on a budget. While at Wildwood Golf and RV Park this summer, I will have easier access to the Aluminium Angle Material when it is On Sale for Fifty Percent Off the normal price. More Money Saved! I’ll also be able to get all the additional brackets cut to size and drilled so that they’ll be readied before we head south again. That will minimize the work I’ll be doing on the road and give us more time for Exploring and Enjoying. 

Once I’d gotten the Stainless Screws that will be used to fasten the Foot Pads to the roof I had a Lapse in Memory as to the exact length of bolts used for the brackets. Since we’ll probably be back in Blythe in February it wasn’t an issue, I’ll just get them then. I also plan on making an Adaptor so we can use our generator if we don’t have enough Sunlight for our Solar Panels so I picked up the parts for that as well. 

We made a quick stop at Dollar Tree where Kathy struck out looking for craft paints for the project she is presently working on. 

It was at that point I found a Lithium Battery for a remote in my pocket that I’d forgotten to pick up. Back to Ace Hardware where they didn’t have it so we drove over to the Radio Shack. Since they had a small supply of the ones we needed a couple of spares were bought as well.  

Our next stop was Smart and Final because we had been there before and we were able to pick up a number of food stocks that are not available in Quartzsite. We were on our way back to the Interstate when we saw Albertsons grocery store so we had to check it out. Kathy compared Smart and Final to a Bulk Food type shopping environment while Albertsons is more like the Grocery store chains we deal with back in Canada. 

Back in Quartzsite we went to the Chevron gas station to fill the truck with Diesel. While I was tending to that Kathy went next door to get some facts on a product we might consider getting in the future. 

Back in La Posa South LTVA while on our way towards our trailer we saw Gerry and Melinda of Tucker’s Adventures reading outside their trailer so we stopped for a brief visit. We have been wanting to visit with them for some time but just never seem to find the time. Tucker made certain everyone knew of our arrival but once he was assured we were friends he settled down. We talked for about five minutes but we’ll have more time to visit when we get back in a week. 

Grilled Chicken Kabobs, Sauteed Spinach,
Toasted English Muffin and a Salad

Back Home by 1:30 MST after I unloaded the groceries Kathy had the job of putting them all away while I changed my clothes and went outside to work. Tomorrow we are headed up to Lake Havasu and we need to be on the road fairly early so today was teardown day. 

I was multi-tasking adding more Drinking Water to our Fresh Water Tank while putting things away on the other side of the trailer such as our Camping Mat. When I went to the rear of the trailer and took down our Windsock by the time I had it stowed our neighbour Wayne was over inquiring what was happening. He had been enjoying our visits. About that time the South Wind seemed to pick up which was causing me problems at taking down our HD Antenna Mast. While I unfastened the top Wayne automatically guided the bottom down for me. He’ll be looking forward to our return. 

For supper Kathy had me grill some Chicken Kabobs on our Weber Q while she Sautéed some Spinach, toasted the last English Muffin and made a Salad as side dishes. It all tasted great but we had more work to get done. 

While Kathy did the supper dishes I set up the Firepit for another Campfire even though the wind still hadn’t calmed down. By the time the Campfire was ready the sun was starting to set and we were far from ready to go. I had to go get rid of the trash so the Coyotes wouldn’t get into it overnight. When I got back I climbed on the roof and started laying the Solar Panels down for traveling. During that time Kathy came outside and was finding the wind extremely cold so I told her to light the Campfire. She then kept toasty while I finished my last chore of the day. There are still a few adjustments that I’ll be making but I had them all down in about an hour. 

Three down, Three to go. I'm on the roof laying down the panels.

We enjoyed the Campfire that was keeping us toasty on one side while the Cold South Wind had us frozen on the other. Even though the clouds hid all the stars in tonight’s sky the Full Moon lit the landscape around us. We never tire of the landscape here. 

Yesterday I wrote about making adjustments while being “Off the Grid” compared to being in a Park. The Control Panel in our trailer is very decorative but for aging eyes it is difficult to read. Before going outside to the Campfire Kathy had turned on the Hot Water Heater so she could have a nice hot shower. She wasn’t impressed when the water came out COLD. She had turned on the Electric part of the heater not the Propane part. That reminded me that I had to go turn the Inverter back on for the night. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy! 

It’s about time.

Pictures by Kathy.

Krackers 

A fine line by Mark Twain 

Sacred cows make the best hamburger.