Quartzsite, 2010

We picked up the motorhome on January 6th and brought it home to get ready for the great jaunt to Quartzsite, AZ on the 8th. Larry and Linda are already there and have staked out our usual spot at the first “road” east of Scaddan Wash and the third wash south of I-10 by the powerline. Directions out here are a little vague. You just have to sort of know where you are going or make a call on the cell phone for someone to come out and lead you in. It’s all part of the adventure. Anyway, we arrived late in the afternoon of the 8th, parked our rig in front of Larry and Linda’s and got settled in for the duration, however long that eventually turned out to be.


Slycord's and Barber's

The first night turned out to be rather cold. I didn’t check the thermometer when I got up in the middle of the night to turn the heater on, but when you have two blankets on and still get woke up by the cold…it’s COLD! I felt sorry for Gizmo so I let him out of his cage and brought him to bed with us. We finally got up about 8:30 for Gizmo’s morning romp. The first order of the day?...shopping, of course! We all headed in to town via the newly-found R/C (radio controlled) Quartzsite Model Airfield. This was new to me. I didn’t know there was an R/C field here in the “Q”. The field was beautiful laid out with a wide, level asphalt runway with centerline and short landing marks. It even had a helicopter pad. There were spectator benches and tables for setting up and working on the planes. This was the best field I’ve ever seen. Who’dathunkit?

Anyway, several planes were cutting donuts in the sky and there was one glider soaring way up high. I followed the eyeballs of all those who were flying and finally found Bob, the pilot of the glider. We chatted as he flew and I told him I was a novice pilot and did have my plane with me. He invited me back tomorrow morning to go flying. I readily accepted and we made a date for 9:00 to 9:30 or so the next morning. Everything, especially times around here are sort of vague and non-specific. He called out “Landing” to all the other pilots and brought his plane down at right angles to the runway. “This is interesting” thought I as I watched his plane cross the runway and pull up into a stall. He reached up nonchalantly and plucked it from the air with his free hand. Nice! We then headed for town.

The girls were interested in jewelry and clothes and there were plenty of vendors of both. Larry and I amused ourselves with all the tools and guy stuff set out under the awnings. I found a “T” handle to replace a broken dump handle and a couple of other minor things in the less-than-$3-each range. We then returned home and I prepped the plane for tomorrow’s flight(s). Since the day was still early, I decided to help Claudia by cooking dinner. I fired off some charcoal and got the Dutch oven ready. The first thing in the oven was a batch of biscuits followed by oven-roasted red potatoes, my signature dish. As the potatoes cooked, the chicken went on the barbie. After 45 minutes or so, we sat down to a great dinner.

The next morning, I headed for the field, met Bob and got the plane all set up for flight. We powered it up, yelled ”Glider launching” (because you launch a glider across the runway, not “with” the runway like the power planes), and chucked her into the air. I was slightly apprehensive of this flight as the last landing a few months ago was a bit hard. The plane had hit a slight hill and kind of “stuffed” the motor into the ground and broke the rod that goes through the motor to hold the prop on. It took a bit of work, and several trips to several hobby shops to find a new rod to get the motor back in working condition. This was the maiden flight after the repair. It flew fine and was soon soaring well above the power plane area. After 20 minutes or so, I brought it in for a landing…not the best one I’ve ever made, but acceptable…or so I thought. I stuck around for a while and was awed by the prowess of a helicopter pilot who was wringing out his gas-powered eggbeater. He was GOOD! I then returned home and recharged the plane’s battery so I could return the next day for more flying.

After recharging the battery, we again headed into town for more shopping. Claudia was in hog heaven! Her favorite clothing vendor was here and was selling clothes for $10 an item. Luckily, payday was a few days ago and there were still funds available for just such “necessities”. We then returned for dinner and a campfire.

The following morning, I again headed for the field for some “stick time”. I again met Bob and brought out the glider, setting it on the empty table next to him. I set the plane up, installed the battery, grabbed the controller and started checking out the controls prior to the launch. OK, up-down…check. Left-right…oops! No left-right! I looked at the rudder and found the plastic clamp attaching the rudder to the control rod was broken. Crap! No flying today. One of the locals, Pete, offered to take me to his house to see if he had a replacement part. We took off and we did find one that would work in his spare parts bin. (A “spare parts bin” is a collection of parts salvaged from old crashed planes) We returned to the airfield. As I was installing the old new part, I noticed the vertical stabilizer was loose. A quick inspection found more damage. One of the (tiny, thin, very small) bolts that secure the tail to the body of the plane had snapped off. There was definitely no flying today. Again, crap! I returned home and set up shop in Larry’s trailer and took the tail apart. I inventoried my meager supplies and made a list of parts I will need to repair the plane. There is a meeting at Jim’s house (another pilot with a VERY extensive supply of spare parts, both new and used) on Wednesday at 9:00. I should be able to get all I need then. For now, my plane is grounded. Claudia and I went in to the store for food supplies and to fill the water jugs. The biggest surprise at the store was finding “slug skins” (crescent rolls) for $2.85 a package, cheaper than at home. We bought three tubes.

The next day, Tuesday, the girls went into town for more shopping while Gizmo and I stayed home to watch his favorite show on TV, Predator Quest. (He loves to watch the coyotes) After the show, Giz and I put 36 gallons of water into the main tank of the rig. That was our chore for the day. After all, one must stretch out the jobs. You can’t ever be all done or there would be nothing to do…right? Let’s see…what’s happening right now? Claudia is napping. Gizmo is napping. I think I’ll put this to bed and take up a good book…or take a nap…or ?????????????

I actually took a rare nap. It felt great! After the nap, I went outside and chilled with Linda and Larry. Although it was late in the day, Larry was soon hard at work removing two tires from his trailer. His laboring shamed me into going back to work. I went back to the rig, mixed up a solution of soda and water and poured it over the battery terminals of the Explorer. After all the corrosion foamed and fizzled off, I rinsed the battery with fresh water and my work was done. WHEW! I sat down with a cold lemonade and relaxed. That was almost too much work that late in the day. Dinner and a campfire finished the perfect day.



Today is Wednesday and I went to the morning meeting of the Quartzsite, AZ Desert Fliers at Jim’s house. After the meeting, he made up the part I needed to repair the glider. It is now almost ready to fly again. One more trip back to repair the plastic skin that covers the tail assembly and I’ll be good to go. This afternoon is Happy Hour at the Escapees campground. We all headed out there about 1:00 pm, each with our adult beverage of choice.

We met two friends and past Wagonmasters with Adventure Caravans at the Escapees Happy Hour, Verle and Curtis Lambert who were the leaders on our first Alaska caravan and are snowbirding in the Yuma area. When we leave here, we are going to head over their way and dry camp for one night at their new Indian casino before heading home. After the Escapees gig, I went back to Jim’s and finished the repair to the glider. Thirty more minutes of puttering and it will be ready to fly. The weather doesn’t look good though. The wind is picking up. I already brought in our window awnings and retrieved the outside trash bin from being blown out into the desert. I used the car to bock the wind and barbecued a nice looking steak for dinner. When one is dry camping in the desert, you have to make do with what you have to try to overcome sudden adversities. Luckily, I drink my margaritas on the rocks so it is not necessary to fire up the generator every evening at 5:00 pm to use the blender.

The weather has changed. Yesterday we got wind. Last night we got rain. Today we got cold AND wind! We have had several rigs trickle in and are now seven in a very loose circle, actually more of an oval. I parked our Explorer and Richard parked his van so as to block the wind while we attempted a potluck.



The ladies done good! We had ham, lasagna, a couple of salads, several dips, my world famous Taku baked beans, meatballs, banana cream pie, carrot cake and cupcakes.



As I said earlier, when one is dry camping in the desert, you have to make do with what you have to try to overcome sudden adversities. We overcame and then some! I was still moaning when I went to bed. It rained again. The weather-guessers are predicting a short respite tomorrow before the sewer breaks and all hell breaks loose. Claudia and I decided that we shall make the dash for home tomorrow.

Tuesday broke with an almost clear sunny sky. We finished off the rest of the biscuits and gravy and started packing up. At 10:00 am, we said our goodbyes and headed west on the old interstate. I took the SR 60 bypass and was just about at the 215 when the sky started getting really dark. The rain soon started and was soon falling in earnest. It was a 40 mph with windshield wipers on high type of drive. We were getting knocked around by the wind pretty good. It was NOT a kick back, one hand on the steering wheel day. Other drivers were driving exceptionally well today…relatively slow and no bad lane changes. We did see one car that went off the freeway backwards but that was it. Home was a lovely sight!

The rain had stopped but the wind was still howling. We unloaded the rig, parked it on the street, took showers and went out to dinner.

Tomorrow is “Clean the Rig” morning followed by “Take the rig to Storage” afternoon followed by “Washing all the clothes, blankets, pads, towels and stuff” evening. Right now, I’m tired and it’s “Go to bed early” night! I think I’ll wait a week or so before planning next year’s jaunt to the “Q”.