Addicted to Dust

Yes, I made it to Quartzsite and I have been having a ball, thus the lack of a blog for several days (well, that and boondocking with limited generator time).

Harvey and I took a slight detour on our way to Q and hit a Super Wal-Mart. It had been a while since I had stocked up and my list had been growing. We got on I-10 East for 4 miles and got off in Buckeye, AZ. This had to have been the largest Wal-Mart I have been in to date. It had everything I needed and more....LOL!

We hit the road and found our Escapees SOLO folks around 3 pm. Everyone had a good laugh at my looking for "pull-through" parking. Needless to say, we could pretty well pick our spot. Nicely level, far enough from other rigs so my generator wouldn't bother them and was good to go. Well, except it was COLD...much colder than I expected thanks to the wind (we had been fighting it for about the last 50 miles of driving).

There is no way to remember all that has gone on so I will hit the highlights, thus far, in list form:

1. Had Hobo Stew* with the other members of the Full-Time Graduating Class of 2007. What a wild, wonderful, wacky group of folks. The stew was DELICIOUS! Wish I could have spent more time with them but they are 12-15 miles away on the other side of Quartzsite. I know I will see many of them on the road over the next year or two.
   *Take whatever meet, canned goods, etc that you can find, mix it all together and simmer for as long as it takes. Then you've got Hobo Stew. Some of the best ingredients are beef, sausage, chicken, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, carrots...you get the idea.
2. I've eaten in a couple of local restaurants, courtesy of several friends.
3. I've seen every variety of camper - I won't even attempt to name them all but wow, what a variety - types, styles, brands, sizes, classics, homemade and more.
4. I've had my first (and definitely not my last) meal cooked in a solar oven. What a wonderful way to cook. I see one of these in my future....much easier and cheaper than using a conventional oven. YUM! With the prices in propane rising and the cost of using my generator to run the microwave, this would actually be a cost effective item (and would would involve healthier eating).
5. I got out to meet some of the local folks - dinner time at The Yacht Club. Great people, love the quirky flavor here (yup, I'm definitely a fan of quirky). Convinced me that I need to exercise more to get my back, hips & knees back into the groove of dancing. Good band, too!
6. I've seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets...photos to follow...almost every day.
7. I've met other RVers who also travel with a motorcycle as their "toad".
8. I sat in front of, behind, beside, all around multiple campfires - moving as needed to lose the smoke and keep my voice! (Someone asked if that was why my nickname was Froggi...)
9. I've learned that I have to remember to turn off my propane heater for the day or in 4 hours my generator won't charge the batteries enough to keep the heater firing all night long....even when set at 60 degrees.
10. Solar is definitely in my future....but I am much more comfortable boondocking than I expected and that is a good thing!

Here are some random photos taken so far....


As a friend posts in his blog....I am having TOO MUCH FUN!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna