The Year of the Gremlins

But first ..... I have been asked many times about how Sydney travels. I usually answer "fine". But they say a picture is worth a thousand words.... so.....This was taken as we traveled I-10 from Arizona to Texas.

Here's another photo of our travel through Texas

Now... the reason we traveled from Arizona to Texas. This year we have had one thing after another go wrong. We feel like a gremlin has hopped on board and is traveling with us. When we reached Texas, our satilite dish would not hone in on a signal. We tried for 2 days.... John called a local RV dealer to try to get it fixed but they couldn't see us for 2 weeks. Since we needed to get to Corpus Christie in 3 days, John decided to purchase a portable satelite dish. We spent $200.00 for a used one from a fellow TT member. This combined with the universal joints, the door lock, the bin strut, the generator, and the water pump to name a few....... were all unexpected expenses we have had this year. Next year we will need to purchase 6 new tires, and they are expensive.

SO..... we decided to go to work in the oil fields in Texas for a few months. We have several friends who are doing this. They work as Gate Guards and their responsibility is to log vehicles in and out of the site. We had to be licensed, which meant being finger printed and have an FBI check. We are now parked in the "Yard" waiting for an assignment. Our friends Millie and Ray are here with us so the wait is not boring. Here are a few photos.

We expect to receive an assignment within a week. I'll keep you posted.

Lake Havasu City

We left Parker AZ to travel some 40 miles north to go to Lake Havasu City. Our plan was to participate in the Winterfest and the Pyrotechnic Display. We really enjoyed these 2 offerings last year and wanted to return again. Six of the "Strays" made the trip, Millie, Ray, Joanne and Rick followed us from Parker up the road to LHC.

We don't usually caravan, but it was a short trip and Joanne and Rick hadn't been there before. John felt the vibration in the steering wheel again so we took our time. Our plan was to stay out on the island after crossing the London Bridge. John and I stayed on BLM land there for 2 weeks last year waiting for nicer weather before traveling north. We parked near one of the miniature lighthouses and not 3 hours after getting all settled, a policeman knocked on Ray's door to inform us we had to move. Since it was already dark, he said we could stay the night. Next day we moved our little village to other BLM land about 4 miles outside of town.

We decided to take a day trip to Oatman AZ. This is a small mining town that for a time was deserted and then turned into a tourist trap. I say that because we were all disappointed. It was suppose to have cowboys and burrows wandering the streets. After driving 70 some miles we passed the dozen burrows on the outskirts of town and in town we found several shops all containing junk from China. There was 1 store displaying some wares from local artists that was nice.

The Winterfest was nice. Bigger than last year, but a lot of jewelry... which didn't interest me. We spent the day meandering.

John's birthday was the 14th and Rick's was the 23rd so we went to the Golden Corral (guy's choice) for a celebration. Our waitress sang Happy Birthday to John.... Marilyn Monroe style....even called him Mister President. I didn't realize you could blush so much with a tan.

One evening our generator kept turning itself off, so we visited an RV service center that referred us to Joe's Auto RV and Truck Repair Shop. They gave us an appointment in 2 days. They also had an idea about what was causing the vibration ( ride height not adjusted correctly). We expected to be homeless for a few hours but it turned into 2 days. They were wonderful to us. We stayed in the motor home overnight in the lot. We had a beautiful view of the lake and it was quite. Turned out the generator was low on antifreeze due to a very small leak. The ride height was only slightly off (they fixed it) but they took it on a test ride and determined that the U joints were bad. They helped us deal with the extended warranty people and got the repair approved. John is very pleased with the way it handled all the way back to the BLM land. Genny is running fine. Here are the U joints.... no ball bearings.

If you are ever in Lake Havasu City and need RV work we highly recommend these people. They were wonderful!

The fireworks were beautiful and we didn't even have to leave the coach to watch them. 3 evenings of brilliant colors lighting up the sky.

What with all the repair costs and the fact that we will be needing new tires next year (6 of them) and a roof on the house at home, John and I have decided instead of sitting in Arizona waiting for spring to travel north, we would try our hand at Gate Guarding in Texas for several months. Our friends Millie, Ray, Sherrie and Mike have been doing it and think we could handle the job. So we said goodbye to Joanne and Rick (who are headed to Laughlin Nevada for a month) and headed back towards Texas.

Parker 425

We claimed area 2 off Shea Road in Parker for our race viewing space. This is BLM land right along the route of the desert race. The track is 141 miles long through the desert and they must go around 3 times. There were 242 entries this year. The vehicles are all types of desert racers... stock trucks, modified ones as well as dune buggies, jeeps and volkswagons. Here is a partial map of the race course. The red line is Shea Road and the black road is the race course. We were parked at the number 6 (mile marker for the race). As you can see we had front row seats.

Thursday before the race they had a street fair where some of the racers and their vehicles are parked on the main street. Fans are invited to come see and talk to the race teams. Here are a few of them.

Robby Gordon participated again this year.... only difference was he won it.

They had this motorcycle that was built to celebrate the Arizona centenial this year. It is made of copper and just shone in the sun.

Ray and Millie's son Paul flew out from Massechusettes to watch the race with them. He stayed for 4 days.......  I think he enjoyed himself despite the fact he was with a group of seniors.

Before the race we took a trip to Swansea, a ghost town that was a copper mining town in the early 1900's. We had gone there last year but our newbies, Rick and Joanne wanted to go since they were from Swansea Mass. On the way back, Ray got a flat tire.... again..... just like last year. Don't think he'll go there again. Question.... How many Ray's Stays does it take to change a tire? Answer....5. One to hold the lug nuts from the spare, one to hold the lug nuts from the tire, one to remove the spare and the flat tire and switch them, one to jack up the car (3 times until we got it to the right height), and one to tell the others what to do.

There were some interesting mountains in our area and Joanne and I hiked up into them to find a neat little cavern. If I had been several years younger and had Paula or Vera ( search and rescue friends who were great at ropes/repelling) with me, I would have gone further up. But alas.....

Yeah Giants. We watched the Patriots lose with our New England friends Ray, Millie, Rick, Joanne. It was sweet.... especially since Ray put his Patriot blanket over me at half time.
Next stop Lake Havasu City for Winterfest and Fireworks.

The Q....... the rest of the story.

I am so far behind in writing...... I feel like I'm back in school and I've put off an assignment until the night before it's due. Boy that's going way back. Hold on, I've got a lot to say.
While in Quartzsite, we attended a concert by Paul Winer, the owner of the infamous book store. In a previous life he was a performer known as "Sweet Pea"..... a nude piano player. After nearly dying of alcohol and drugs he dried out and moved to Quartzsite and started selling used books his mother had bought at yard sales. He now has a fairly large store that is a stop for everyone who goes to Quartzsite........ mostly because of his attire (or lack of it). Once a year he performs to raise money for the city. Here is a picture of Paul at the store.

For the concert he wore clothes, joking that it's the only time he dresses. It was really good and he made us laugh at ourselves with his snowbird and RVer observations.

Since John and Wendy Dreese didn't join Ray's Strays this year, we went shopping and found a motor home for them. Think they'll like it?

I've been trying to convince Sydney that he is no longer a search dog but he doesn't think he is old enough to retire yet. He is always trying to follow scents....  rabbits especially. One day while on our morning walk, he practically drug me along a wash following what I thought was a rabbit or coyote trail. Lo and behold he stoped at a small black case lying in the sand. I picked it up and there was a cell phone in it. Back at the RV, I called one of the ICE numbers and spoke to the owners wife. He lost it bike riding in the desert 3 days previous. He was one happy man when he picked up the phone and didn't quite believe that my dog led me to it.

We learned of an area between Parker and Quartzsite where there are sand dunes for off roading.... so we were off. We found a neat little valley just starting to green up, but the sand dunes were fun.

After 3 weeks, we said Goodbye to Sherri, Mike and Jackson who headed off to Phoenix to visit family. The rest of us left for Parker AZ and the Parker 425 Best in the Desert Baja Race.

Fun in the Sun with Ray's Strays

We have been so busy having fun I haven't had time to post much.... but let me see if I can do this as briefly as I can and still tell you everything. First of all, here we are parked in the desert.

Here are members of our group....

This is Mike and Sherri and their new puppy Jackson. Jackson is pure pup and Sydney will have nothing to do with him.... too much energy for the old boy.

This is Ray and Millie, originally from Massachusetts but full timers now.

And these are the newbies for this year Rick and Joann. This is their first time in Quartzsite.
We had another couple that we had met in Orlando, Shari and Joe join us for a few days but they ended up buying a new RV and leaving for California before I got their photo.

Some of the activities we've done so far are....
 Harassing the dealers... where we look at all the RV's for sale. We found a modified bus for our friends Wendy and John. The sign says the owners will trade for a house... now that's a deal. The bus, when new, was probably worth 3/4 to a million dollars.

We visited all the Flea Markets, Swap Meets and the Gem and Mineral Shows. There are at least 10 different areas filled with vendors.

The RV show started Saturday and we have been in the big tent twice and plan on returning this coming Saturday (the day before it ends) to check out price reductions. There is everything and anything you may want for your RV.

We went to Silly Al's for pizza.... a tradition for us.

And of course..... 4 wheeling. Here we are off roading enjoying the desert.

Here is John taking this picture... he climbed up on some rocks and got a pant leg full of cactus needles for his trouble.

Some of the desert road we drove....  you can't see the dipsy doodles but believe me they are there

Stop for a potty break.

You can't help but want to go and enjoy the day when it starts like this every day!

I forgot to explain..... all over the area, groups gather annually. They erect signs and symbols to let other members know where they are. We decided this year that we needed a "Title" for our little rag tag group........ Ray's Strays is winning so far. Any other ideas?

Trip to the Q

Just a short note about our trip to Quartzsite AZ.... On Thursday we got ready to leave Medina Lake Texas, which means we put breakables away, secured others, washed the front windows and various other tasks we routinely perform. Friday morning we put in the slides, pulled up the jacks and moved to a level open space to hook up the jeep. After checking lights and tow bar extension, I entered the RV and to my surprise, imprinted on the front window was the outline of a bird. I asked John if he heard one hit the windshield when he moved the RV, but he said no. We decided that our trip would be guarded by the Holy Ghost. All the way to Arizona we did not wash the window. What do you think..... would you have washed it away?

Well it worked! As we were traveling down the road I remembered that I didn't check to make sure the steps retracted all the way. Not thinking, I opened the door window and stuck my head out to look. Say goodbye to my glasses.... blew right off my face. I yelled and John pulled over to the side of the road. Now a 39 foot motor home does not stop on a dime... so there was quite a distance from where the glasses went flying and where we stopped. We walked back and found them unharmed on the shoulder of the road. We made it to Quartzsite in 3 days with no other problems.

Rude Lunch Guest

Our first week and a half  at Medina Lake was quite cool but the following weeks warmed up to a comfortable 68 to 72 degrees during the day. One afternoon I decided to have my lunch outside. I wanted to get my ration of sunshine for the day. John had a late & LARGE breakfast so he didn't want lunch. I made myself a wonderful salad and sat in a chair outside. Before I had the opportunity to eat more than 3 bites...... uninvited company arrived. The lady was interested in checking out my lunch.

I was polite and willing to tolerate her curiosity, but when she decided to invite herself to partake of some of it...  I put my foot down.... "No, I said"...."Go away"

Lo and behold... I couldn't believe what she did. Talk about being a rude guest....

SHE STUCK HER TONGUE OUT AT ME

I bet she doesn't get invited to many affairs around here.

Last day at the preserve..... tomorrow we're off to Quartzsite. We figure it will take 3 to 4 days to get there, depending on how quickly John gets tired and how the coach does with the Tums we fed it.