Fire and Ice

The fireworks actually started on Thursday evening with a few here and there. Friday we got in our jeeps and ventured down a rocky road and up the side of a hill to get a higher position to view the fireworks display. It was different than watching a fireworks show because the displays were by vendor. In other words we had 15 minutes of fireworks, 30 minutes of silence and then 20 minutes of displays, another 30 minutes of silence and then more displays. The delays were the time needed for the next vendor to set his products in place. It took some getting use to this format. Saturday night however was spectacular.... big..... beautiful. We saw types we had never seen before. Pictures were impossible to get with my little camera. We heard that there were representatives from all the major stadiums in town as well as buyers from some major cities, here and abroad, to view and buy. We were 2 miles away from the staging area. Here in the desert, it's still easy to see. I would highly recommend a stop to see this spectacular. You can find out the dates by visiting the Lake Havasu City website. I will definitely return.
Before leaving this area we took a trip to the infamous "Desert Bar". The desert in this area is riddled with old gold, silver and copper mines. Someone took an abandoned mining site in the middle of nowhere and turned it into a bar. We drove along dirt roads with beautiful scenery before arriving at the bar. Since it is in the desert, there is no electricity. It is solar powered. There were hundreds of people there, drinking, eating, dancing and having a good time. Here are the pictures to prove it.

It's only open on Saturday and Sunday. I wondered how many people never made it to work on Monday because they were still wandering around the desert. Did you check out the solar panels on the roofs?

We headed back to Quartzsite on Sunday. John and I will be hanging out there to have some minor things fixed on the Rose... horn and brake light. Millie and Ray will be heading to Corpus Christi Texas for a job after a brief visit with friends in Lake Medina, outside San Antonio.

Lake Havasu City

On Wednesday Feb 9th, we packed up and drove about 35 miles north to Lake Havasu City AZ. We stopped for an hour at a county park outside Parker to dump our gray and black water tanks, fill our clean water tank and take a LONG HOT Shower. We reached the BLM land and signed up for a permit. This allows us to camp free of charge for 2 weeks here in the desert, without services.... again.
You may have heard about this place sometime ago on the TV. This is a very popular spot for collage kids to go for spring break. There is a large lake and they stay on the state and BLM land and rent boats and "play " on the lake.... swimming... drinking... partying.... drinking..... getting tan.... drinking. We are here before spring break time and the place is filled with fellow snow birders. I can see why this is a popular destination.... it is beautiful. Here are just a few pics.

I told John that I could easily spend several months here. The weather is great, warm but not hot. The dogs have been swimming in the lake already.

The reason we came here is for fireworks. Each year in February, there is a pyrotechnics convention where the manufacturers of fireworks come to show off their newest creations. This coming Friday and Saturday evenings (Feb 18 & 19)  the night sky over this city will be filled with color and pizazz. But in the meantime, we are enjoying this city. On the 11th and 12th they had a "winterfest". A street fair with over 400 vendors. Even though it was called "Winterfest".... it was 72 degrees, sunny and a cloudless sky. Here are a few pictures.

There were thousands of people, beautiful things to look at and admire and lots of food.

The only thing laking was places to sit, but this guy made his own seat to eat his turkey leg.

Another reason why Lake Havasu City may be familiar to you is because it is the city that bought, dismantled, moved and rebuilt the famous London Bridge. The London Bridge is now in Lake Havasu City connecting a small island to the rest of the city. Here, John and I, were walking around the bridge when Millie took our picture.

I'm not sure if I will be able to take pictures of the fireworks but I will certainly try.

The Parker 425 - The Best in the Desert

The Parker 425 Race sponsored by The Best in the Desert has been held for 40 years. In the beginning they raced 1 lap in California and 2 laps here in Arizona. Then California started giving them grief - ruining the desert- so they now hold the entire race here in Arizona. Over 10,000 spectators line the 141 mile path through the desert to cheer on the racers. There are different classes of vehicles - jeep, truck, car - along with stock, modified and fancy divisions within the class. But they all race the same track and each other. They start 1 vehicle at a time, 15 seconds apart and this year there were over 250 competitors. We were between the 8th and 9th mile of the race where passing lanes existed. They had to pass our vantage point 3 times. But I'm getting ahead of myself.... First there were time trials. They were held on Thursday morning. We traveled just a few miles down the road to watch. Here are some people arriving....  we parked on the side of the road and they raced right beside the paved road in the sand.

This is how close to the road they get during the time trials.

After the time trials were over they had an event called the "Show and Shine". All the drivers, vehicles and crews parked along the streets of the town so the spectators could view the machines and pick up fan items. There were 2 entries that I was familiar with....  Robby Gordon of NASCAR fame and Jesse James of Sandra Bullock fame. Here are some pictures from the street show.

Robby Gordon and his group near the truck he raced.

Robby's car entry. He rode it in the time trials but I don't know who drove it in the race.

The Milk-n-it Crew

There was a Jeep 4X4 club that was racing in the Jeep category. They were showy in the way they displayed their vehicles. We watched them drive right up on the wheels of the jeep next to them.

Friday was technical inspection day so we spent time at the Street Fair filled with crafts, food and second hand items. Here is Millie and I sporting our new hats. Believe it or not they are made from wood from the inside of airplane wings. They were so unique and comfortably cool that we both just had to have one.

Saturday morning.... at 7:19AM... the first vehicle passed the front of our motor home. The sand never stopped flying all day. Here are just a few of the exciting things we saw.

This is Robby on one of his laps. He had problems on lap 2. And NO, I did not use a zoom for this picture.... we were literally feet from the track.

2 guys fighting for position...

Almost went over..

The last car passed by us in the dark at about 9:30 PM. I have been spending today getting sand out of everything. It was a long day but what an experience.

We will be watching the Super Bowl today. Isn't modern technology wonderful.... parked in the Arizona  desert 10 miles from the nearest town, 11 miles from California, no electricity and we'll be watching the Super Bowl and munching on wings, chips, dip, veggies and fruit with friends. It doesn't get any better than that.

Parker

What a difference airbags make!! We didn't go far but the roads where not as bumpy and nothing rattled. This "Rose" has no thorns as far as a smooth ride is concerned.
Parker, Arizona..... small town.... surrounded by an Indian reservation.... along the Colorado River..... site of the Parker Baja Races. We are here to watch the "Parker 425". The race is a week from our arrival but we came early so we could park the coach right along the race track. The race is 134 miles of desert track that the participants travel around 3 times. The start is at the outskirts of the town and the finish is at the local Indian casino. Some sections of the track are adjacent to BLM land where camping is permitted. So here we are in the desert without services, again. At least with this coach we have solar panels on the roof that replenishes the power in our batteries that we use in the evenings. Millie and Ray are here with us.

Painting letters on mountains seems to be popular in Arizona.

Millie took this picture as we arrived in section 10 of the spectator area. We are within 10 feet of the track where it divides into a passing area.
As usual when with Millie and Ray we went off on a few adventures. The first was to an abandoned mining town named Swansea. Most of the building were gone.... you had to use your imagination to visualize what use to be. The drive there was just beautiful. We found lots to see. Here are just a few pics.

They used burrows in the mines, and when it died the burrows were turned loose. Supposedly there are wild burrow herds to this day. Well we searched and searched, but saw no burrows. Today we went across the Colorado River to California for a geocach and lo and behold look what we found....

We also found a place in a canyon where people have burying their pets. Check out the dates.

Tomorrow starts the festivities prior to the race. There will be a street fair and time trials..... the boys are doing the trials and girls the fair. Saturday is the race.....  pictures to come. 

Quartzsite Days

As I mentioned before, while in Quartzsite we "dry camp" in the desert, without any service connections..... only what we are able to store/produce with the coach. Last year we stayed only 10 days and felt we did well. This year, we spent 21 days parked in the desert. Because we exchanged coaches we were able to get refilled/dumped (tanks filled with water and other tanks emptied of waste water)  halfway through our stay. But all things considered, we did very well again.
Because we are not in a campground, people pull in and park wherever. Here is an example..

We get together every couple of days for communal meals..... everyone brings something. When the evening is cool, or we eat late, we gather in one of the RV's. Our last night in the Q we had a birthday party for John, since his was the closest to our disbanding. We surprised him with a cake.

Preston, Mike and Sherri's son, was the first to leave. He was traveling to California to visit his grandfather before he enters the service in March. Mike and Sherri pulled out an hour later heading to Corpus Christi Texas. They are going to an orientation for a job with an oil company guarding a gate. They have been work camping for many years. If and when John and I ever decide to do this, we know who to ask for advise and/or information. Millie and Ray pulled out next headed to Parker, the same place we were going. When I did the outside check to make sure things were as they should be, I discovered a flat tire on the jeep. John changed it and we left to travel 30 some miles north to Parker AZ.