Greetings from Quartzsite!  We have been here over a week now. It seems like just yesterday that we arrived.  After leaving Almond Grove RV park we travelled south again on the I-5. I couldn't belive how polluted Southern California is. We spent the night in another rest area posted with signs that said "No Overnight Parking."  It was obvious other truckers were parking overnight, as that is one purpose of the rest areas. Truckers must take breaks after so many hours as should any person driving long distances. So we just stopped, made supper, played a few hands of crib and called it a night.

California has some interesting road rules, which make sense. We noticed signs posted on all highways, both 4 lane and 2 lane, that maximum speed for trucks was 55. Also, any vehicle that was towing anything was also restricted to 55 miles per hour  (90 kph). I found this very sensible. It allowed regular passenger vehicles to pass easily as their speed limit was 65 miles per hour (about 108 kph).

Another interesting thing was the acres and acres of single crops. As far as you could see would be grape vines, or spinach or other fruit and vegetables. We would drive for miles and see nothing but grapes. Then it would be miles of blueberries, or potatoes. The air was thick with smog which made me wonder what it would be like if there weren't so many plants trying to clean the air.

After our night in the rest area we went down to Bakersfield then across to Needles, then south to Blythe. At Blythe we took the number 10 highway to Quartzsite. We fueled up in Needles and checked the distance to Quartzsite on the gps. We had only an hour and a half to go!  Rather than spend the night in Needles, which was our original plan, we decided to press on. We had a couple of hours of daylight left so why not?

We left Needles and took a two lane road south. This road took us up a steep climb into the desert. At the top of the climb there was a good sized pull out. I told Dennis to pull over and stop so we could give the dogs one good run before we hit Quartzsite.  Before Dennis shut off the engine he said, "Maybe I shouldn't shut it off in case it doesn't start again."  I looked at him with a big question mark over my head. "What do you mean, it won't start," I said. "Just shut it off so we can let the dogs out." He shut off the engine and we let out the dogs. Just a few meters out into the desert was some kind of tramp with a bicycle, and a fire. He was intent on burning something but kept looking at us kind of sideways. I thought, "Good grief. A homeless person way the heck up here!  He must have lungs of steel to peddle that bike up here."  So I gathered the dogs up and put them back into the motor home. They had managed to pee a few times so that was good enough. Dennis turned the key and, you guessed it, the truck wouldn't start!  What the?  Here we were, in the middle of nowhere, literally, and this big lunk of a motor home wouldn't start!  And a murderer lurking behind the shrubbery, as far as we knew!  Dennis tried the ignition several times with no luck. Nothing. Just dead. We sat there, me accusing him of hexing us and he ready to toss me out. We watched the sun set in silence and sat there for about 20 minutes as our minds raced on what to do next, reading the manuals for troubleshooting tips.  Dennis gave the key another turn and let it crank for at least 15 seconds, worrying he would drain the batteries, but lo and behold, it sparked and the engine roared to life!  We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

The road to Blythe was narrow and full of dips and curves. We were so happy to hit the number 10 and four lane it into Quartzsite. It was approximately 8 o'clock when we pulled into our lot. We parked, let the dogs out, made supper and went to bed. We were so relieved to be there!  I was so impressed with Dennis' driving skills. He managed to get us there in one piece with just a few scratches and dings on the van.

More on our life here later. I just want to say that after a week we are loving it more and more. We both love the desert. The vegetation is so interesting. There are tiny little lizards darting about when you move a piece of wood and quails running in straight lines. There is a large flock of doves hanging around and a resident hawk keeping them on their toes. Tammy caught a scorpion but that is the only one I have seen in the three trips I have made down here.

The vendors have anything you want and stuff you never knew you needed!  It is so much fun going to the different tents looking at all the stuff. There are a couple of places that sell damaged food stuffs, like bent tins and crushed cereal boxes. These things are not severely damaged, just bent or marked. You can get a box of cereal that would cost $5.29 at home for $2.00. I like it that they are selling stuff that would normally go to the garbage bins. It makes a living for the vendor and gives good prices on food that is perfectly good to eat.

Speaking of food, if you like authentic Mexican food, this is the place. You can buy real Mexican tortillas, chiles, spices.  If you don't want to cook, there are authentic Mexican restaurants. Blythe is about 15 minutes away, offering a bakery with Mexican breads and sweets. There are farmers markets with fabulous produce. They have things I have only ever seen in Mexico.   You hear a lot of Spanish in all the stores. I have yet to meet a cranky person or someone who isn't willing to help. Life here really is great. I haven't missed snow yet!

As I'm typing this, it is raining. The first rain I have experienced here!  It smells wonderful and the air is still warm. It should lay the dust for a while which is the one downside to desert living. Dust is ubiquitous and just something to get used to.

We are still living in the motor home and will for some while, by the looks of it. Dennis is working on the fence which is the first priority. The poor dogs need some space.

One more issue:  we went to Lake Havasu yesterday, to Lowe's, to get fencing material. I parked in the parking lot and shut off the engine. I noticed I should pull forward a bit and turned the key. Dead. No spark, nothing. What the?  Again?  We went in, buying just what was essential (posts and one roll of wire sine that was all they had). We wanted to get going because if the car didn't start we would have to get help and still get home, an hour and half away, to tend to the dogs which we left inside. It started after the second try, and then just barely. We were nearly out of gas so I stopped in Parker, left the engine running but set the e-brake to turn off the running lights. Dennis gassed up while I ran in to pay. We made it home, thank goodness. We also had to stop at Wal-Mart to get Tammy a Christmas tree, but again, I stayed with the engine running while Dennis went in to buy the tree. Today Dennis checked the battery connections. One was loose. He cleaned both terminals and tightened the connections. No trouble since. Ahhhhh.

Ok time to go. It has stopped raining and the sky is lightening up. Life in the Arizona desert is good!  Bye for now.