Today is spring, according to the calendar.  The weather has other ideas, starting the day with -10 C and blowing snow.  I really do understand why people just give up on life at this time of year, especially here in the north.  I do realize there is a lot of Canada that is much more north than we are, nevertheless, this is depressing enough for me.  I feel I have spent the better part of my life here in north central BC.  It has been a good life.  Now I really need a change.

Purchasing a place in Quartzsite, Arizona has been a part of that needed change.  Dennis and I flew from Prince George to Phoenix in December.  We rented a car and toured around, staying in Quartzsite.  We felt that the lot and double wide trailer in Quartzsite was what we could afford, plus we would be neighbours to friends of ours from Colleymount.  Having friends there that we knew was a big influence in our purchase.  I think it will help with the transition.

I flew down on January 31 to tend to the business end of having a home in Quartzsite. I was there for four weeks.  Friends were kind enough to let me use their vehicles, phones and computers as I came down with nothing other than my clothes.  It was still difficult to arrange trailer movers, water, sewer and electrical hook-ups, permits etc.  The pad for the trailers had to be built and packed prior to the moving of the trailers. Tammy, the person I was buying the lot from, owns a backhoe and Mike, my neighbour, knows how to run it.  Mike did an excellent job of moving dirt and gravel from the wash adjacent to the building site on to the building site.  I hosed it down while Mike packed it and within a few days we had an excellent, well-packed pad.

Once the pad was inspected and approved by the mover, it was hurry up and wait time.  In the meantime I organized transferring the electrical bills into our name, along with paying up capacity fees for the water and sewer for the lot, which had not been paid at time of subdivision.  I also got the city to change the name on the file to our name and address so the bills would now come to us.  Next I had to open a bank account at the local bank so I could pay bills from a local bank.  The movers were a bout 2 weeks late in moving the mobiles, and that only happened after many phone calls and a reminder that my time in Arizona was limited and quickly coming to an end!  Finally, the big move day arrived.

As you can see, this double wide is not exactly new.  It has a lot of work needed but it is sturdy and solid.  But back to the move.  Once the first half was on site, it was time to move the other half.

As you can see, there were a few minor mishaps, but in the end, the building was placed exactly where we had staked.

So, there we are.  I did not get much time to deal with the inside.  Next time I will post some inside pictures just to give you an idea of the project that lies ahead.  Ahh, potential!  The word that keeps us positive! 

Well, I suppose I should include some of our pipe laying pictures - again, not without mishap, but in the end, all's well that ends well.

I thought I had some pictures of the water line going in, but can't find them.  Well, pipes in the ground are just that, and not very exciting at all.  So, there you have it.   Bye for now!