Monday, January 19, 2015

Desert Rats Once Again

 

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We are now in Quartzsite hanging with the Lazy Daze group in La Posa West. It always takes us a few days to get back into boondocking mode after spending time in a campground with water and electric. Jim cleaned and tilted the solar panels, added a little water to the batteries, and we are good to go.

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The group is a bit smaller this year, about 20 other Lazy Daze, but there have been several who already came and left. We’ve joined a couple of happy hours and campfires, met some nice people, and caught up with others we haven’t seen since last year.

Debbie had the dreaded refrigerator failure last week, and you would think being in Quartzsite at this time of year it would be easy to get a replacement. She called us while we were still at McDowell and said there were none available in the Q, Yuma or Phoenix area and it would be 5 days to get one. She called the Lazy Daze factory and they had one in stock and a cancellation last Friday so she took a trip to Montclair, CA. Jim started thinking about some replacement parts he wanted, so he texted her a list. She was kind enough to pick them up for us, and as would be expected several other folks here in Quartzsite asked her to get some things for them, too.

So now we have even more projects to work on, which we started yesterday. Jim put a new gasket on our fake spare tire carrier on the back of the rig while I worked slowly at removing the stick-on non-skid running board step thing that was worn down to the paint in spots and had white wax on it that would not come off.

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Had to run the generator to use the hair dryer to heat it up and slowly peel it off. Took me over an hour to get it completely off.

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Of course the entire step was covered with adhesive residue, and after trying Goof-Off, alcohol and acetone, none of which did that great a job, I only got about half of it off before the sun started going down. Not fun. Jim suspects only the one will be replaced, but I assured him I have the patience to do the other side one of these days.

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While I was working on that, after he got the new back gasket on, he did some lube and maintenance work on the bikes. We still have new door gasket to put on, which he will do while I painstakingly work on removing the rest of the adhesive from the step.

We have not yet gone to the Big Tent, but did walk over to one of the RV dealers to take a look at what they had. Nothing we were interested in, though.

Yesterday morning we went for a hike up Q mountain and the old mine with Laurelee, Debbie, and Rod.

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Just doesn’t look like as many people here this year, and we thought with gas prices being so low it would be even more crowded.

Rod got his very well behaved dogs to pose by the flag.

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This was the best shot I got of Laurelee’s dog Libby. She is a furball of energy!

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You see all kinds of RV here. This looks pretty permanent, so we wonder where their black water is being dumped??

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Kim (of Kimbopolo fame) joined us yesterday with her new solar panel. The weather has been great, warm with no wind, and the sunrises and sunsets have been lovely. Can’t complain about life in the desert.

14 comments:

  1. Where are the LD group camped at La Posa South? I would like to come down and meet you again! I met you at City of Rocks State Park NM two springs ago. I am camped near Q mountain at La Posa West.

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    1. I just changed our location to La Posa West. I was thinking this was called south since it is south of town. So you can't be too far from us and we probably walked by you yesterday on our hike! I think Barbara and Katie may join us this week. Have you heard?

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  2. You get A+ for patience. I didn't take ours off, I just put a step cover over it. Maybe you'll do mine the right way when I see you. LOL Having never been to Quartzite, that looks like an enormous number of RVs down there from your high up perch. Thanks for the picture of Elvis and Sophie those cuties. Not so happy to think about the blank water question on that permanent rig.

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  3. I always wonder about the black tank when I see people set up like this. Do they really use a bladder? I am in doubt.

    We will be there on Thursday. Hope to catch up with you two at the Blogger Fest. Enjoy!

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    1. Yup, gotta wonder where the black tank contents goes. For me... better to not think about it.

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  4. Amazing how peaceful the little fur demons look when they are in respose.

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  5. It looks a tad breezy to me…judging from the flag on Q. Mountain. But Debbie is in shorts and a tee shirt so I guess the "chill factor" is suitable…tho she does like it cooler. Hmmmm.

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    1. Been getting into the low 70s and seriously little wind, only up on Q mountain!

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  6. Gayle, try pouring some straight (cheap) beer on the step. Seriously!
    Works on the adhesive used for linoleum and won't hurt your hands or paint.
    Can't hurt.

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  7. I admire your tenacity on that step adhesive. I'm so confused about all the "La Posa" s. I know long-term and short-term, where I am at Roadrunner. Hope to meet you at the Blogger Fest.

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  8. Great dog photo Gayle. And it sounds like you have a couple of projects to keep you busy. Enjoy the festivities there in Q. Say hi to Jim

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  9. Love that adorable photo of the kitties!!

    What a job you decided to tackle! Hope you get the rest of the glue off:)

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  10. The crowds have looked so huge in town that I'm wondering if there are more "don't already have a rig" folks this year. Took a big eagle decal off the hood of a Jeep one time with a product from 3M made just for that. I don't know if they still make it but it did a great job!

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  11. I've seen a lot of people transfer their grey/black tanks into blue boys or large drums and take them to the dump stations. The man next to me right now does that regularly, so I'm assuming most people just transfer it to dump instead of moving their rigs. Especially long term campers.

    I'm hoping to be there Thursday. I'm waiting for mail, which is taking forever. Another reason to have Amazon Prime - that sure spoiled me. But I'll see you soon. :)

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