Quartzsite… so far

We arrived in Quartzsite, Arizona, on December 26th. A day earlier than originally planned. We were pleasantly greeted by Judy here at the Holiday Palms RV Park. She was friendly on the phone when I made the reservations, equally friendly when I called to inquire about arriving a day early, and was as welcoming as can be when we checked in. Just the way I expect to be treated because that's the way I treat others. Great first impression.

Because people we'd talked to said that lots of RVers come to Quartzsite every year to winter, that there is lots to do here, and a fun place to be, we thought we'd check it out on this trip. I'd done quite a bit of research as to where to stay while in Quartzsite. I'd checked the Trailer LIfe Directory and found that this park is a 'Good Sam Park'. That was the first good sign. I felt the fees were reasonable, although a little more expensive than other places, and that was also a good sign. I looked at the park, and others, on Google Earth, and found that this place had trees. Palm trees to be exact, hence the name 'Holiday Palms'. There are other trees in town, but not really in the RV parks. Not that they provide shade, but it does feel more green. Another good sign.

Being that we intend to be here only two weeks, we were put in the 'overnighters' area. No problem with that except that we meet people and then the next day they're gone. We are also right by the main street. Kind of noisy, but we're very close to the laundry room so that makes up for it in my opinion. We are also right by the community center so we know when something is going on. There are quite a few musicians here and they like to have jam sessions and everyone is invited to come listen and socialize. That was a good sign. Rob and I were excited about that and were eager to check it out—until we walked in and took a look. Everybody is OLD! The musicians are old. The audience is old. Nice as can be, but OLD! We felt entirely out of place. We aren't exactly spring chickens, but neither are we quite ready for this kind of socializing. I think even my mom would've felt too young for this crowd. Not that she's too young in age, but too young in heart and thinking. That's how it felt. And I know I could be completely wrong about these folks because we didn't really give them a fighting chance, but we just couldn't see ourselves mingling.

I did laundry yesterday morning. When I walked into the laundry room, a man well into his 80s was doing his. He acknowledged me with a nod and then proceeded to explain to me why not to use a particular washer that I was just about ready to use. I let him know I appreciated the tip and we started chatting. Nice man. I left and returned when my washers were finished. The same man looked at me and didn't say a word when I smiled and said 'Hello, again!' Did he not remember me? I think not. Sigh.

Later when I returned to the laundry room to fold my now dry clothes, there was a couple with their backs to the room looking at some sort of circular or publication while leaning over a high clothes-folding table. I wasn't trying to be stealthy but, when they turned around, they were obviously surprised to see that someone had entered without their knowledge. Then the man said with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm glad I didn't give my wife a little pat like I often do!" So I told him that it wouldn't have been anything I hadn't seen before, which got a chuckle and wide grin out of him. He left and I talked with the wife while I folded clothes and she added fabric softener to her wash. I watched her hands and arms shake a little as she filled the cap with softener. They've been coming here every year for 25 years spending 5 months at a time and she says it isn't like it used to be. I didn't ask where they were from, but I'm sure it snows there. She mentioned that she has Parkinson's and I told her I thought she was doing really well. She agreed that it appeared that way—until she tries to do anything that requires concentration and/or fine motor skills. She can no longer sign her name and feels badly that she can't pay the bills anymore, which had always been her job. Her husband has to do it now. He's nearly 90! She's 87. And they were adorable.

Quartzsite is a quirky, little place. Well, not so little. It's pretty spread out. 36.3 square miles to be exact. Their claim to fame is that it's the mineral and geode capitol of, if not the world, at least the southwest. Most years, we are told, RVs are found far and wide at the parks with full or partial hook-ups and on open land boondocking. There are swap meets galore and vendors of food, clothing, flags, RV supplies and services, antiques, art, some good art, some junk, junk and more junk, lining the streets. Some feel this town has had too long a history of crooked counsel members. They thought they got them out last year, but the new bunch aren't much better. According to the few locals we spoke to and some who come here every year, the town got greedy. They raised the rates and fees they charge the vendors to such a prohibitive level that the majority of vendors decided to just not come this year. Then there are other vendors who don't feel too much has changed, that the rates and fees are reasonable, and don't understand what the brouhaha is all about. They feel positive about the near future and that business will pick up in a week or two, just as it has in years past.


We had neighbors arrive yesterday two spaces over. They are staying two nights—leaving tomorrow. Patty and Brad are towing a huge storage trailer filled with radio controlled aircraft. Rob was in seventh heaven seeing that! We went out to an airfield set up for the local RC group to watch Brad and others fly their planes today, but I got engrossed walking through a very special place called Celia's Rainbow Garden located next to the air field. Celia was a child who started life fighting, and fighting hard, but died too young. I invite you to read Celia's story and how her garden got started at http://www.celiasrainbowgardens.com/Story/. Celia's Rainbow Garden has become a beautiful memorial for many who once walked among us. For now, please enjoy the few photos I took there because, with all the negative in the world, all that is decent and worthy just needs another good sign—from all of us.

The Mark of a Good Camper

EDITED on 12/28/12 to include photographs.

It seems nearly forever since I last posted a blog. That's how long it has been since I've had reliable internet access. And, my card reader isn't reading so no new photos right now.

Since we were at El Capitan State Park, we've been to three additional places. After El Capitan we parked the Beast at Dockweiler RV Park, which is just a blink south of Dockweiler State Beach. Dockweiler State Beach is situated at the end of the east-west runways of LAX. We saw lots of jets taking off from LAX. Surprisingly, the noise was unobtrusive to us. 

Our daughter, Susanna, and son-in-law Terry, flew down to LA for their friend's, Sharon, graduation party. Sharon earned her Master's degree. Congratulation, Sharon! We met for breakfast/brunch at a cute restaurant in Manhattan Beach called Four Daughters Kitchen. Afterwards we hung out at the Beast hoping we could enjoy the beach and ocean waves, but, alas, it was not to be. The weather did not cooperate. Wind and rain prevailed. We joined Sharon's family for a wonderful dinner, however, and the following day was Sharon's graduation party.

We headed south to Santee, which is east-northeast of San Diego, and stayed at Santee Lakes RV Park. We stayed indoors for the first couple days because of rain, but what a lovely place! They have seven lakes, a few of which are stocked with fish, one in which you can rent paddle boats and cruise around small islands that attract an assortment of birds such as white pelicans, mallards, wood ducks, snowy egrets, white and blue herons, coots and cormorants, another that has floating cabins for rent, and some meant for day use. The RV park area was clean and had many grassy areas with covered picnic tables. There is a community center, a teen center for the local youth to use after school, and a large and clean laundry room for registered campers. It is a place to which I'd definitely go back. We spent 8 days there and left on Christmas Eve. Rob's brother, Chip, sister-in-law, Chris, and niece, Heather, arrived on Saturday before Christmas, so at least we had family with us leading up to Christmas day.

After Santee, we headed to Imperial Sand Dunes. We originally planned to stay in the dunes for three nights, but it ended up only two. We arrived on Christmas Eve. There were reports of heavy wind, which isn't good when driving a large motorhome, nor is it good for the paint in a sandy area. We stopped at a rest stop hoping to out-wait the wind. I called ahead to a WalMart in El Centro, CA, to find out if they allowed RVs to overnight in their lot. We were given the green light, but upon arriving we found out that they didn't want any RVs in their lot that night because they would be closed on Christmas day. So, on we drove to the dunes. I'm glad we did because the wind had diminished to acceptable levels. We arrived after dark and ended up parked about 150 feet from and parallel to another motorhome. 

The next day, which was Christmas, our neighbor's dog came for a visit. Angie is a sweet, yellow lab for whom I started throwing a stick, which then led to us meeting Mark and Jeannine. We hit it off and pretty much spent the rest of the day and evening with them. They have a four-wheel, off-road vehicle and that is generally the reason why most people go there, and Mark gave us a ride over and around the dunes. That was fun!! 

In the evening we lit a cozy campfire and Mark and Jeannine joined us for some lively conversation. We learned that they live in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, have a glass business and specialize in repairing RV windows. We will be staying at Lake Havasu in a couple of weeks and plan to call them to spend a day on the lake if the weather permits or, at least, go out to dinner. How fun is that? But, alas, they had to leave the next day to take care of business.

We were supposed to stay another night, but the wind was picking up and lots of other folks with their trailers, fifth-wheels and motorhomes were populating the area. If Mark and Jeannine had stayed another day, we would have as well, but Rob decided he'd had enough of dry-camping. I called ahead to our next stop in Quartzsite, Arizona, to see if they could take us a day early and we were told to come on in. About two hours later, we were checking in. And they have WiFi!!! So here I am, finally able to update my blog and feel, at least a little bit, connected to the rest of the world (as I know it). We will be here for two weeks and look forward to exploring this place that attracts so many snow-birds.

I titled this post "The Mark of a Good Camper" because of what I observed at the sand dunes. (I wonder if all my daughters still remember the rest of the expression). The camping areas of the dunes are acres of flat, packed sand and hundreds, if not thousands, of dune-buggying, off-roading campers inhabit the place throughout the year, along with food, wood, ice, T-shirt and supply vendors. There are places away from the camping areas among the ever-changing rise and falls of the dunes in which folks gather and party into the night. The sense of freedom from interference from—well, anybody—is liberating and just plain fun. But, with that self-same freedom comes responsibility. Freedom comes with a price. And the price of freedom in the sand dunes should be, in my opinion, to make sure you leave the place in the same or better condition than you found it. I saw plastic bottles, candy wrappers, plastic bags, cigarette butts, etc, etc, etc, all over the place. When Mark took us for our ride through the dunes, there were even broken, glass bottles. Stupid, selfish people left an abundance of evidence of their visit to the dunes to the detriment of all. It was sad. So, please always remember that the next person to pass through where you passed is as equally important as yourself, and your generosity to them is most evident in the lack of just that: evidence. The sacred beauty of our natural habitats is a gift to all of us. Please respect it.

Always remember: THE MARK OF A GOOD CAMPER IS TO LEAVE NO MARK.

Unidentified type of duck at Santee Lakes

Handsome Wood Duck. I was obsessed with capturing shots of this beauty.

Male Wood Duck surrounded by Coots.

Lucky shot.

Pretty little female Wood Duck

We were feeding the birds a mix of healthy food that the general store sells at $1 per bag. Such a deal to have all these creatures flock to you.

The Cormorants perched in the barrens trees.

I called this 'Bird Island' as it is the place that all the species of birds congregated.

The view of the main camping area from a sand dune peak at Imperial Sand Dunes.

A young man enjoying the dunes first thing in the morning. That's the Beast on the left.

Rob enjoying his cigar and reading while I'm out exploring.

The dunes taken while on our ride with Mark.

Meet our new friends Jeannine, Mark and Angie the yellow lab. Their granddaughter, Breezy, is in the back seat but you can't really see her. Cute little tyke.

The sun is getting low.

Rob collecting tinder for our campfire.

Here's to a lovely evening.

There's nothing like the smell of a campfire.

The nearly full moon and a few stars.

First Week at El Capitan

Today marks the end of the first week of our two month trip. We are boondocking at El Capitan State Beach in Goleta, California. No hook-ups. The generator is providing the electricity required to run my computer and it's been running a lot. Thank goodness we've been here alone, with the exception of a total of three nights when we had neighbors. Some brilliant administrator with the state decided that generators were to be run only between the hours of 10am and 6pm. We have not been following the rules, but since there is no one else here, we've had no one to annoy. We would otherwise have to employ plan B for making coffee in the morning and find other entertainment besides TV in the evening. As of yesterday, the only occupants of the entire campground were three sets of camp hosts and a couple tent campers.

We are down to about 1/3 of a tank of fresh water, which means we've used 2/3 in a week. To go fill our water tank, we have to secure EVERYTHING and drive the Beast about two hundred yards down the road. Ugh! I've been doing very well conserving water but I'll have to do better if we want to make it through to next Thursday morning.

It has been very enjoyable waking each morning to a view of the Pacific ocean, whether to fog and rain (the first couple of mornings), or golden sunrises (especially this morning). And each sunset has been different and lovely… except yesterday's which was dull and boring. An example:

The first two photos were taken on December 1st. The one with the trees was taken from our 'patio' and the second from the bluff overlooking the beach about 20 minutes later. The clouds moved across the sky quickly that evening as another rainstorm followed right behind. 

One would naturally think that a rainstorm is undesirable when out camping, but I thought of it as

an adventure (a leak found in the cockpit area not withstanding). We stayed warm and dry inside as we listened to the drops pelt the Beast in relentless fashion. But, we couldn't watch TV as we hadn't yet been able to get the satellite dish positioned properly between storms. And that is no easy task even in perfect weather. We read, played with the cats and Rob booted up his computer for some solitaire. I thought about how miserable the storms would have been if we

were still in the tent trailer. At least we have comfortable chairs and a sofa in the Beast. Makes all the difference in the world!

The photo to the right was Monday the 3rd, after the storms had passed. Kristie and Cayman drove up from Ventura to spend the afternoon and evening with us. We took Cayman down to the beach to look at tide pools and climb on the rocks. Because of the rain, he was able to enjoy one of every little boy's favorite

activities: jumping in puddles. We got to see sea urchins, too.

The photos to the left and below were taken the evening of the 5th about 6 minutes apart. Again, one from the 'patio' and the other from the bluff. It was beautiful to say the least. The water was a midnight blue like in a crayola crayon box. 

I spent some time just watching
the pelicans dive into the ocean
to fish for their dinner. As always, 

I wish I had a longer lens so I could get some up close images of them diving. Someday.

Yesterday afternoon we had a visitor at our campsite. A young seagull flew in and waddled over to check us out. I know it's not good for them, but I went inside and got the tortilla chips to share with the bird. After that, I took my camera, beach blanket and a pillow down to this perfect, little, grassy area on the bluff to  
meditate, listen to the ocean and

watch the sun descend. As you can see from the photo to the left, fog drifted over the surface of the water. I watched until it had completely obscured the horizon from left to right. I closed my eyes for about 10 minutes, just listening, and when I opened my eyes again the fog was gone, like it had never been there. When I turned my head I had another surprise. I guess our little friend decided that I represented nourishment, followed me and 
was willing to come in close to 

patiently wait for the next meal, which didn't come by the way. It settled itself down not three feet away. I think it realized that I had no food to give and finally took flight to search for better opportunities. Wouldn't it be really fantastic if it came back this afternoon?

We went out to dinner last night. Rob was in the mood for a surf and turf kind of meal. We did a search for restaurants in Goleta and found one that sounded good. The place is called Holdren's. We've never heard of
it before, but it appeared to be 

chain-like, similar to a Hoolihan's or Macraroni Grill. It was very reasonably priced and also very good. Rob got sea bass, which he thoroughly enjoyed and I had a herb-crust chicken breast with a gorgonzola cream sauce. It was awesome! But I don't think it did my hips and thighs any good at all.

Its about time I get off the computer so I can turn off the generator and thus conserve fuel. In the meantime, I hope you like the photos. Feel free to leave comments, which you might have to sign up with google to do. I'm not sure. Would love to hear from everyone.