Quartzsite to Anza-Borrego

 We were in Quartzsite when the blog last got updated, and there were still things to do there!  One of the things was a hike up Cunningham peak, off to the west, overlooking the Coloarado river and California.

The hike up was steeper and tougher than I remembered, but at least the weather was perfect, and almost calm.

 

Check out the video below for a great perspective! Full screen for best effect!

 

 

 

Still not a full complement of vendors in town yet, but enough to find some interesting treasures!

Really wanted one of these, but since neither I nor the vendor selling it had any idea WHAT it is, I managed to resist the temptation!  Later on, the vendor had a theory, but nothing conclusive.  If you know what it is, or what it does - leave a comment!

I also had another package from Florida that failed to deliver in Quartzsite, thanks to the efficiency and dedication of the USPS!  But amazingly, I did have one successful delivery - but only because it came via UPS instead.  It was a new 12v power supply for my Starlink dish - which I am not even using this winter.  Surprisingly, it came with two routers.  I didn't really need the routers, but never like to turn down new toys - and it was approaching Christmas after all!  Thanks Santa ;-)

After waiting around for the mostly failed deliveries (see rant in previous post) in Quartzsite, we were pushing the limits of our 2 week stay, so it was time to move on.

We headed over to the southern boundary of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, after a couple of stops in Yuma to fuel up and reprovision.

Some things are starting to get a bit too predictable :-)  When I got to 'my' spot in the desert, a nice couple from Oregon were there - much like the last 2-3 years.  Are we getting in a rut or what? When I decided to ask them when they were planning to leave, they addressed me by first name!  They were about ready to depart (as I suspected from past interactions - they are predictable too), so I got my spot after a couple days delay.   Bailey took advantage of the trees around to hone his climbing skills - which clearly could use some work, as you can tell from the video.  Luckily, I was there to catch him!

 

Christmas coyote came to visit ...

After a failing grade in Tree Climbing 101, Bailey was studying for his Pedator/Prey 101 class.  He must have missed a chapter or two there as well, because 5 seconds after I took this video of the coyote, he spotted it and proceeded to chase it away from camp.  And that wasn't the only time.  He did it twice more!

After finally camping near some good trees, it took me at least three days to find my hammock - which was hiding in the basement!  But then, it was put to good use. I even slept in it a couple times.

We had another surprising visitor one day.  This Great Egret landed in a tree right above us for a look around, then went out onto the ground to hunt.  I have never seen one before in such a dry desert environment.  They are somewhat common around Yuma however with all the canals and ponds and greenery related to irrigation.

Sure missing all the snow and frigid temperatures around home ...

Had the bike out quite a few times, including this bike/hike trip to the nearby Mountain Palm Spring oasis.

While I believe the large Border Patrol checkpoints on I-8 east of Yuma and near El Centro are now gone, I was surprised to find the small one north of Ocotillo on the Imperial highway still open on occasion.  One day, on the I-8 west of El Centro, I saw what appeared to be a single pickup truck pulled over by the border patrol.  There were SEVEN trucks there, all with lights flashing.  Further west, I saw FOUR more BP trucks headed that way code 3!  Not sure what was going on!

After two weeks in Anza-Borrego, it's back to the Yuma area for a bit ... check back later to see what we are up to ;-)

Blogging Community loses another :-(

 Years ago, the Tioga & George blog was one of the first, and perhaps best known of the RV bloggers.

I only met him once, when I was passing through Santa Rosalia, Mexico.  Sadly, he passed away in 2019. (photo borrowed from a Kevin & Ruth post)

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.

I also did the trail known locally as Sara's Crack!  It has a section that often remains flooded after a rain, but this time it was dry all the way through.  One section has a fixed rope to help hikers up and down.  I did use it to slow my slide on the way down, but as a former mountain rescuer, I refused to touch it on the ascent!

 

Took the bike out for a few spins, up and down the 'channel', and around the state park.

Camp was near a road, so this Roadrunner decided to check out the camp.  Bailey quickly proved that Roadrunners can in fact fly if they really want to!

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!

 

It should be pointed out that the LTVA areas closer to Quartzsite already have a good accumulation of campers, but I prefer spots a bit (lot!) more remote!

If my guess is correct, I was in the spot last year, when the same guy came along looking for 'his' spot that I was in!

As usual, the wildlife comes out at night.  This little fox is right underneath the rig.  Hopefully he will catch any mices that might attempt to break in!

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.