Years ago, the Tioga & George blog was one of the first, and perhaps best known of the RV bloggers.
Since that I time, I would wager that Al & Kelly of the Bayfield Bunch have become the most popular and well known blog, and the top of everyone's reading list. I know that most of the readers of this blog have arrived via the link from there! Sadly, we learned this week that Kelly had passed away, after a long and courageous battle with liver disease. Fortunately Al and Pheebs are still going strong, and his excellent blog continues despite the adversity and heartbreak.
While on this sad topic, I also lost another fellow Albertan and blogging friend about 11 months ago, just a few weeks after our last meeting. John of John & Brendas Incredible Journey passed away while walking in the Arizona desert that he so enjoyed.
I think my first discovery of the Bayfield Bunch came in about 2009 when I was on a summer road trip to the Yukon and Alaska. Al had noticed from my blog and that of Wandering Willy that we were in close proximity in the Yukon! As it turns out, I first met Willy a few years later, when I wanted to check out his cutting edge (at the time) satellite internet system (Hughesnet, via Galaxy in Canada). I ended up getting the same system later. Willy gave up blogging in 2011, but kept on the road till about 2021. He has now parked his rig, but is still alive and well in the Lower Mainland!
I think I first encountered the Bayfield Bunch in person, when I stopped in to visit them at the ranch-sitting job they had at the time near Elfrida. Since that time there have been many encounters over the years including at their place in Congress, in Quartzsite, Bouse, Harshaw, Las Cienegas, KofA, and likely more places that I have forgotten. I am hopeful that when things settle down a little, Al and Pheebs might just hook up again and make their way back to the desert they so enjoy!
When this blog left off we were headed to spend a bit of time in the Lake Havasu area. We headed to our usual spot south of town, which has now gotten a new name, the MilePost 174 dispersed camping area! Our normal hilltop spot with a distant view of the lake was occupied, so we went a bit further back to a spot that came with a nice little pile of firewood! It would have been nice to have a couple fires during the week we spent there, but sitting by a fire while listening to generators from three different directions is not my idea of fun! At least the generators in question were fairly quiet, and could not really be heard when inside, otherwise an early departure would have been in order.
As usual I did my annual hike up Table Mountain/Lizard Peak, and had the view all to myself.
When still at Six Mile Cove on Lake Mohave, I had picked up an abandoned tarp from one of those 8'x8' sunshades some folks put up. I had no use for it, but I can't stand to throw out things that still work. It was likely on it's way home to join mounds of similar stuff that I won't get rid of. But I saw a couple near my Havasu camp - two adults, and a medium sized dog all living in a pickup truck that was piled high with stuff in the box, and also bags and suitcases on a roof rack, haphazardly strapped on. While it doesn't rain much here, they'd have issues if it did. So, I was glad when the fellow accepted the tarp, and he soon had it covering the load! Glad the tarp found a good home.
From there, we continued on our southward migration, with the next stop at Quartzsite, where some 'inconsiderate' camper had the gall to be in my preferred spot!
I had a look around (see video), and eventually settled on an adequate alternative!
Rant: Decided to order a couple of things online, while I can take advantage of a convenient delivery address in Quartzsite. Conveniently, they were both set to arrive the same day, one promising to be delivered by 9pm. Both were supposed to be coming by USPS. One, a Starlink accessory came all the way from China - to Quartzsite, but it was deemed to have an inadequate address, even though it is an established mail and shipping company that I have used before. With no recourse, off it goes - back to China! The '9pm' package also fails to show, and subsequent tracking shows it leaving Chicago a day or two AFTER it was supposed to be delivered! Then, exactly a week later, it is once again promised to arrive by 9pm! Not holding my breath ... Earlier, the first item was not arriving as expected, so I had to phone the company in LA to see what was up? I was informed that the transaction was flagged as potentially fraudulent! I noticed later on the order documentation that they had my shipping and billing addresses as the same - in Q! I did not enter that as my billing address, so clearly it did not match my credit card. Gave up and ordered the same thing, from the same supplier, using a different card - making sure the billing address was correct. NOW, the supplier advises that the item is not even in stock, but it will be a 3 month wait!! Not likely - CANCEL! Of course, contacting USPS is pretty much impossible; and trying to talk to the computer is enough to make one go ballistic. Did you say 'No", yes or No! Did you say Agent? But they won't even try to let you talk to a real person, until you provide a valid 75 character long tracking number. Conveniently, the tracking number supplied by the shipper did not match any known USPS numbers. And, even though the package was rejected around 9am, when it might still be driving around Q, they don't update the tracking till 4:30pm, and the local Post office conveniently closes at 4!
Next: After all my packages arrive, or fail to arrive, we'll be off to somewhere else yet to be determined.
