La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 53

Looking SouthEast

Sunday, January 10, 2016, La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 53, 0 Miles, 4,046.3 Miles for the Trip

Another nice day at Quartzsite. I decided to celebrate the new week by getting a mocha latte at the stand rather than walking all the way to the gas station. Big mistake! I think they made a mistake & made today's coffee with dish water. Just about the worst coffee I've ever had. I noticed that they have a sign on the window that the business is for sale. If they keep making coffee like today's, they need new owners.

After breakfast I red the Syracuse Post Standard Sunday paper, then sat outside for a bit. I checked the tanks, and while I might be able to stretch the black tank another day, decided it was time to dump. Hooked up the trailer (I remembered how) and headed to the dump station. For the first time since I've been here there was a line. Not too bad, only one ahead of me. After dumping & filling the fresh water tank I headed back to La Posa West & managed to park back in the same place. Glad it was still there; 5 RVs or trailers moved into the area today. I took some photos to show how packed it is getting.  More photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

After some more reading & sitting outside, I plan to head to Sweet Darleen's for today's special, Chicken Fried Steak.

Until Tomorrow -

La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 52,

The Goodyear Blimp Over La Posa West

Saturday, January 9, 2016, La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 52, 0 Miles, 4,046.3 Miles for the Trip

While a bit cool at 36°F, we had clear skies this morning, and no overnight rain. After my coffee run I toasted a couple of English muffins for breakfast, read some forums & blogs, then headed off to town to check out the Gem & Mineral Show. There are well over 100 tents & stands selling everything from jewels small enough to make earrings to rocks large enough that they take up an entire pallet. Lots of polished stuff & minerals from all over the world. Stuff was more expensive than I expected, but if you were looking for something particular, I'm sure you could find it.

Since I was on that side of town, I drove out to Dome Rock to the area where the February fiberglass trailer rally will be located. I hope the RVs there now move since they are filling the area where we usually stay. I did see a Casita 17 & an Escape 19 or 21 on the way, but didn't stop to say hello.

By the time I got back to the trailer it had warmed up to the mid 60's, the warmest it has been in over a week. I sat out & read for awhile, talked with my son on the phone to see how things were going back in Oswego (cold, but still little snow) then came inside to put together today's journal entry.

Since I didn't take any photos today, I'm using one of the Goodyear Blimp photos from Yesterday.

Dinner will be a grilled pork chop & mashed potatoes.

Until Tomorrow -

La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 51

Serious About Solar!

Friday, January 8, 2016, La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 51, 0 Miles, 4,046.3 Miles for the Trip

Another night of off & on rain, although less than previous nights. 41°F this morning when I went for my walk for coffee. After breakfast I watched more RVs arrive, did some reading, both forums and my current book, then drove to the Roadrunner Market for cookies, French bread (they didn't have Italian, although the French bread sure looks like a loaf of Italian.)

I can tell it has been warmer than usual back home in Oswego, NY. I got my utility bill and it is what I would expect for October, not that I'm complaining. I did check the Oswego weather, and it has finally become normal - it is going to be in the low 20's this weekend with 2" - 4" of snow.

By the time I got back it was warm enough to sit outside as long as you ducked out of the breeze. The Goodyear blimp went by, maybe heading for the football playoffs in Phoenix, so I took a couple of photos as it went by. One of the latest arrivals is a class A with 13 (count them) solar panels. They look to be 60 - 80 watt panels; not sure why he went that way since it has to take time to set them all up & do the connections, but what ever floats your boat! Blimp photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Dinner will be spaghetti & meatballs (and French/Italian bread).

La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 50

Thursday, January 7, 2016, La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 50, 0 Miles, 4,046.3 Miles for the Trip

It rained off & on overnight & I slept in until almost 9:00AM. After removing the Reflectix from the windows, I decided to take a short walk for coffee rather than going all the way to the gas station  - it still looked like rain. I walked to Marie's across from the K & B Tool Store for coffee & biscuits & gravy. Cheaper than the espresso stand, but still more than going to the gas station, and it never did start raining. Still, a cool & cloudy day with some brief glimpses of sun during the late morning, enough so the solar has the batteries close enough to full to keep me happy.

I went for another walk since my morning one was shorter than normal, checked out a bunch of new to the area RVs, but quickly headed back indoors to avoid the cool wind. I did some reading, and that was about it for the day.

Dinner is cooking as I type this - a couple of burritos in my Dutch Oven on the Volcano grill using the propane burner. I'm still working at trying to keep an even temperature in it, but it seems to be working...

Until Tomorrow -

La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 49

Looking West - Filling Up

Wednesday, January 6, 2016, La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 49, 0 Miles, 4,046.3 Miles for the Trip

I walked to the La Mesa RV Store for a free pancake breakfast this morning. Pancakes, coffee & juice, all for filling out a form with your mailing address & email. I'll probably be getting stuff from them for years, but it is easy to throw away. There is a crew of 10 - 15 salesmen just outside the door waiting for you when you leave, but since my form stated I am from NY & have a 17' trailer, they weren't interested in selling me a $200,000.00 motorhome.

A beautiful sunny day after a night of rain. I was down by 39 amp hours this morning, probably near the lowest I've been since getting the trailer. The clear skies helped put the amps back in the batteries; at 10:45 I'm only down 19 amp hours & charging at 11 amps with a light haze.

I made reservations this morning for the September Niagara Wine Escape, a fiberglass trailer rally that takes place in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I've been going to it since 2010 when I got my first look at Escape trailers. This time my friends Don & Anne will be bringing their Scamp.

I did a little reading, met some new neighbors, and made a run to Fill-er-Up Propane to fill an empty 20 lb tank. I'm tempted to purchase a 30 lb tank just to stretch out the visits to Fill-er-Up Propane to more than every 7 days, but my cover won't fit over the larger tank, I don't need the additional tongue weight, and it is $65.00 for the empty tank.

As of 4:00 I'm back to a normal evening deficit of 8 amp hours.  I've been told by numerous people in the know not to bother trying to get the last 10 or so amp hours back into the batteries.  By the time they are that close to full they only take an amp or two so there isn't enough time left in the day to top them off. It still irks me - I want to see 100%!

I did take a couple of photos of the rapidly filling campground. Around 2-3 RVs are coming into the area every day. I also included a photo of a couple of puddles just to show it does rain in the desert! More photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Since it hasn't started to rain yet (it is predicted for tonight & tomorrow), I'll be cooking a Bubba Burger outside for dinner.

Until Tomorrow -