Wow, time has flown.

The first rule in running a blog, of any type, is consistency in posting...
The first rule in running a blog, of any type, is consistency in posting...
The first rule in running a blog, of any type, is consistency in posting...

"Time flies when you're having fun" 

So the saying goes.  The corollary might be "wow, time has flown, I must have had fun";  unfortunately this has not proven to completely be the case.  I have had some fun (a great deal of it in Yellowstone, actually), met some really cool people, and traveled across a good deal of the country.  From my last entry from Arizona to West Yellowstone MT to work in Yellowstone National Park for six months, to Grafton ND for several weeks to work at the beet harvest, and now getting ready to visit Campbellsville KY for a couple more months of working for Amazon.  After the beet harvest, I think that I'll find Amazon a much more relaxing environment than it previously seemed to be.

I'll be honest with you.  I found the beet harvest to be an absolute hell.  The days were cold, windy smelly, dull monotony punctuated by mess.  But, still I managed to meet some cool people.  One of them, Becky, is a writer and blogger at www.interstellarorchard.com that had a "down to brass tacks" review of the beet harvest (here).

Keeping it going

So, to keep this blog going, I'm going to rely on the wealth of resources I've gathered in the last six months (including about 1400 photo's from Yellowstone, including a fine selection of Bison butts... because they're nearly always walking away) and regale you with stories of things passed.  But, as always, I'm also sure there will be a wealth of new material.

Butt :), for now, it's THE END.

 

Techno RVers

Technologists, Nomads

The varieties of nomads that I meet out here in the wilds is interesting. I’m convinced, for instance, that a sizable proportion of the people that you meet out here would have been explorers, perhaps astronauts, in a different reality. Perhaps a reality where the tighter budgets of the Nixon administration didn’t cancel the Apollo program, and we had continued to explore the near earth bodies instead of building ridiculous stockpiles of destructive weapons…

Technological Do-It-Yourselfers

Take a look at this vehicle. A roof rack full of photo voltaic panels that are both elevated and rotated to follow the sun. There’s also a weather station and mystery antenna mounted on the roof rack. This sedan wasn’t built to be an RV, or even necessarily for camping out of, but with a little enginuity, the owner becomes his own Mark Whatney roving the desolate reaches of Mars.

This is a theme that you find across the population of RVers. ARRL (American Radio Relay League, the chief advocacy group for ham radio operators) finds the tech streak in RVers compelling enough to hold a rally in Quartzsite right after the Rock and Gem show and the RV and camper show, as they have been doing for about thirty years. My father (a ham) would have loved it. Apparently there are a huge number of roving ham shacks.

With more resources.

Another example. With the trailer being pulled by this RVer, he’s generating around 6.5 kilowatts… I’d be ecstatic to find enough real-estate to put 300Watts of PV panels on my roof-top. And what do you do with that much power, simply run your AC because you’re forced to be in the hot sun in order to make good on all those photo voltaic panels?

Anyway, technologists are well represented in this group, and I’m eager to meet a multitude of them.

London Bridge

London Bridge is…

Well, it’s perfectly alright to be quite honest about it. The old London bride, or at least one of the incarnations of the London Bridge lives right here in Arizona.

Lake Havasu City Arizona is the site of the London bridge that was disassembled in London England, and moved stone-shipment by stone-shipment to the Arizona desert to span a bit of the dammed up Colorado River.

The Bridge seems to be the major touristy draw, but the desert "dry camping" was reason enough to stay.

It’s a kitschy little tourist area, to be sure, but the town (City) is a growing little community on the dam that is surrounded by some rather pleasant desert scenery. If you manage to visit the area before the heat of summer you’re likely to be surprised by the beauty that the desert offers as it blooms (Feb - ????).

There are two BLM “two week” camping areas on either the North or South side of Lake Havasu City on highway 95. The one to the South of the city eluded me completely, but the Craggy Wash area is right where I’d heard, just past mile marker 190 and the bridge over the wash, bordering the fences around the Lake Havasu City Airport, it is a collection of (semi) level RV sites that are perfectly fit for larger RV’s and fifth-wheels, the road goes back for a couple of miles. Turn right on the unmarked (pretty well maintained road) and go in half a mile to the host. There always seems to be someone on duty half a mile in, or a second host farther in, look for the “site host sign”. Two weeks dry camping, no charge.

Do some stuff.

If you’re up for a hike, there always seems to be hiking available. The colors available in the Spring time are grand, and sometimes you’ll see the herd of Bighorn Sheep (supposedly about 15 animals, though I never saw more than three at a time) grazing the hills around you.

I’ve taken several hikes straight up the sides of the hills and been surprise to find how much “here” is here that is just not visible from the BLM road on the “valley” floor.

If you’re energetic, you can fight the deep sand to bicycle the roads and trails back here. Results vary depending on your aggressiveness and expectations. Be careful of the off-road vehicles you’ll sometimes meet up here. Or, you can bike from here into town; right by Walmart is the “London Bridge Rd” that stretches all of the way from this periphery of town, to the center of Lake Havasu City (at least 5 miles downhill, just remember you’ll have to pedal back up at the end of your trip), where you have access to the library, main post office, or other town stuff.

Driving into town.

There are well maintained “Sun Water” stations in the middle of town to refill on filtered water for one dollar per five gallons. And there is supposed to be a dump station at Max's Mini Mart, though I didn’t use it.

More babbling about hills.

I just can’t say enough about the beauty of the blooms of life in Spring. The formerly brown desert hills turn green with every sort of living thing trying to capitalize on the short mild season. Lizards and hummingbirds, by the thousands, seem to be everywhere. The snakes aren’t yet out that I’ve seen. Temperatures are mild (sixties to low eighties during the day), and feeling somewhat chilly at night (but that’s why you bring your RV, right?).

Wild Burros

Crossing over into California just West of Parker AZ, the sign at the California border did warn that you had to be careful of wild burros on the road. I haven’t had to be so careful of them on the road as in my camp. “Warning, wild burros love carrots.”
I saw them at the crest of a hill and clucked my tongue a couple of times to see if perhaps they were used to being around humans enough that they’d just mosey over looking for food. Yup, fairly domesticated wild beasts.

I am fairly, vaguely responsible about giving wild/feral animals food, but decided that they could help me finish my once-frozen and now thawing limp carrots that I had for my hike. Straight vegatable matter, no other human food.
The most junior member of the group was either volunteered by some hidden pack language that I couldn’t pick up on, or he/she simply wanted to try to get in on the action before the leader decided to cut in. (Does a pack of Buro’s have a special designation, like a “murder” of crows? I don’t really know.) At first the pack leader stood and watched as the others cautiously approached. But, as soon as it was apparent I wasn’t there to dine on buro burger, the leader double timed it over to get the best food first.

They were very quiet and gentle towards me. Taking carrots from my hand carefully; I never felt I was about to lose a finger to those big munching teeth That’s very different from horses I’ve known, and from what I understand the burros in the nearby mining towns can be a bit more aggressive too. Well, the leader was trying to head-butt the other burros out of the way, but no quick actions were directed towards me. If you’ve ever tried to feed greedy, smelly horses, this would come as somewhat of a relief. (Having mucked out my share of stables, I have a thing about horses.) And, did I mention the lack of smell? Very surprising.
Poor junior was relegated to the back, but, I got his attention and threw a couple carrot bits at his feet, so he got nearly as many as the other burros.

Still Wild, or Feral, or whatever.

Even though they were gentle to me, it’s worth remembering that these burros are still wild/feral beasts. They spend their lives in the desert fighting the elements, and the urge to mug tourists, so they’re likely to react strongly to any surprises.
After I had finished my hike in the area (sans the limp carrot lunch) I headed back toward camp via a different route the one I had set out on, and wouldn’t you know it, I surprised the burros in a wash a little way from camp. This is when the leader proved he was the leader. At a fair distance away he charged out of the wash and stomped to let to get my attention. Then he, well… he hissed very loudly. I was expecting a bray, but the sound that he made was more like a large snake hissing.
I stopped, let him get a thorough look at me, and then talking in the same calm voice that I used when I was feeding the group earlier.
His ears instantly zeroed in on my voice like radar dishes, and he shook his head as if to say “oh, it’s you… idiot, don’t surprise me”. When his body language relaxed quite a bit I continued skirting around the group to my camp.

History

From what I understand, these burros are the descendants of animals used in the surrounding mines and were simply released when the mines closed. Having few if any large predators they’ve multiplied in the deserts around the Colorado River Indian Nation and are beginning to be a bit of a drain on BLM resources. If you think that you would like to adapt a burro go to the BLM adaption website

The Quartzsite Camper RV Show

The Quartzsite Camper RV Show

(Face-palm.)  Well, If you read my first post on Quartzsite, this one will probably not come as a terrible shock.   This is a late post, both the Quartzsite Camper\RV show, and I think Bob Well's Rubber tramp rally have already passed me by (see below).  I'm in the desert of California about forty to sixty miles away.

  Recommendation#2: Don't bother with the Quartzsite Camper\RV show.

I actually really expected there to be a variety of campers and RV's here.  I don't know why, maybe it was just the name, but I really expected some type of variety.

Recommendation: Find local Camper\RV shows.

It might sound as if I'm just maliciously denouncing Quartzsite.  Not at all true!    It may be that Quartzsite is some people's idea of a wonderful showplace of goods and services.  I just don't see it. (Actually, I hope to be in Quartzsite for a little of the ARRL, American Radio Relay League, show immediately following the Camper\RV show.)

But, if I may rattle on a bit: I think that the problem is that the vendors at Quartzsite have decided on a particular audience that they expect to see, and they're bringing only those goods that might appeal to that audience.  And I can't really say that I blame them... Quartzsite is in the middle of a desert, and you don't want to be dragging a bunch of stuff out here that isn't going to play with a certain demographic.

That's why all to the RVs and fifth-wheels seem to be exact copies of each other varying only in price, or the particular combination of pop-outs.  That's why the vendors "in the big tent" are a collection of face creams, knee pain relief, and general purveyors of alternative medicine "Woo". (Seriously: go to a doctor that uses real science based medicine, not one of the new age, "integrative medicine" hacks.)

I only saw one RV that was remotely interesting.  A converted bus (probably an old "Greyhound" bus) that had been beautifully and thoughtfully refitted as a very nice home... and I've lost the card so that I can't even say who the refitters were.

Anyway.  Maybe there will be something at the ARRL show that I find interesting.

Update, missed the ARRL in the desert. Brake seizure.
Sad but true; I haven't made it out of the California desert.  The piston on the

front left caliper on my disk brakes has seized, and the rotor is being worn down to nothing. I know you want the exciting video from this adventure, and if I could set my cheap camera up to do timed photos, I would have posted a video of the action to strip off the old caliper and rotor, repack the inner and outer bearings, attach the new hardware, bleed the brakes and get going again.  There are a lot of YouTubes with these types of postings, and so until I have a better command of my tools, or better tools, I'll have to rely on other voices.

I'm going to resort to e-Begging here.  It seems that I've systematically worked to limit my options more and more over the last couple of years, and I'm kind of stuck out here without a fall-back.  I'm trying to do things to earn money on the road, but so far, even though I actually have a load of skills that should make this easy (a couple of degrees and years in industry), I just don't seem to be equal to the task.

Quartzsite! Or, maybe not

Quartzsite! Or, maybe not.

January 27th 2017:  Arizona! Strike that.  Actually I'm about five miles West of Parker Arizona on BLM land in California (No!, BLM means "Bureau of Land Managment", my political blogs are elsewhere) .  It's a bit hillier here than most of the places that I dry camped in Arizona, and I certainly have a lot fewer neighbors.  I'm in my camper conversion, and I'm comfortable and relaxed, thank you very much.
 
This is a "short term" BLM campsite, 14-day maximum. I had actually purchased a seasonal pass for the LTVA (Long Term Visitor Areas) in Arizona and California, and had stayed for nearly a week in the South La Posa LTVA area.  But as far as the seasonal pass is concerned: that was one hundred and eighty dollars wasted.

Recommendation #1: Don't bother to buy a seasonal LTVA pass.

(At least not first thing.) The choices are:

1) Stay in "short-term" sites for as much as two weeks, free of charge. 

2) Buy a LTVA pass (for a month, I believe) for forty dollars.  The strongest case for this is if you do have at least gray water storage, but don't have a toilet aboard that you always want to use.  Face it, using a good Thetford Portapotti is better than digging a hole for emergencies, but if you don't have a large dedicated bathroom, you want different options.

3) Buy a seasonal LTVA pass, November(?) through April 15th, for $180.00.

My thought was. 'I can just purchase a seasonal pass, find a decent site close to the vault toilets, and my rent is paid through April 15th' (boy-oh-boy, talk about prime real estate).  There's just one problem with that.  Quartzsite is, well how can I put this politely... simply not where I want to be (I had originally just said "shite" here, but I understand I'm making a strong value judgment).  It is an endless chain of flee-market tents full of cheap, badly used, overly expensive, or cheap-badly-used-overly-expensive items.  I'll never understand why older folk have a preoccupation with flea-markets and buffet dinners, but if you're sane enough, or young enough, or young enough at heart, you'll save yourself from that "scene". 

If you still have the burning desire to experience the Quartzsite "scene" because all the other RVers do it, do the following.  Find a local flee market on a hot cloudless day, and loop through it approaching it from different directions until your feet are tired and you consider buying something just to break the monotony.  Now loop through it another twenty or thirty times.  To make it more realistic, run out in cantankerous, probably deaf and vision impaired, driver in an RV a few times. THERE! You've seen the POSITIVE sides Quartzsite. 

The negative parts are that the whole town is so perpetually clogged by visitors (at least during the peak of the year) that you can't expect anything to work as it should, even for a normal small town.

Want to go to the public library and download something you needed.  Ha ha, joke's on you.  The access that you can squeeze out will be a bare few minutes long, and terribly slow, it's only a tease as to what true WiGi connectivity might be like.

Want to grocery shop in a regular store?  Head on over to the Big Market where you'll be treated to tawdry covers of "Cheri" and "Teeny Bopper" magazine among the miles of Miller and Miller Lite beer cases while trying to scrape some regular provisions together.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes I'm titillated by old style porn too (remember when you only got porn through glossy magazines?), but we're talking about shopping for basics here.  This town is simply not where you want to be.  Oops, I'm projecting again.  This town is definitely not where I want to be.  And it's what most of the LTVA campgrounds are centered around.

So, my recommendation is to take fourteen days in the short-term sites. See if there's enough in the area to keep you interested (there's actually some beautiful desert hiking if you're into it, and some aspect of one of the shows might interest you, but two weeks in a dysfunctional town is a looooong time.).  If you find you want to stay longer than that, the LTVA options are still open.

Post Blog, like a Post Script, but somehow different: If you are interested in desert hikes, I'll probably post some pdf copies of occasional travelogues that I send to my nieces with art etc. as a follow-on.  Maybe you'll like them (very short).

Post Post Blog:  Some RVers seem confused about the whole registry thing for BLM land... Be brave.  Just wonder into the campground.  If there is someone there that has volunteered to register you into the campground, stop and talk to them.  They're generally really nice people, and they can tell you what the options are for staying at their campgrounds and others.  Take the easiest option and relax about it for a while.  There's no need to commit.  If you need something different later, then it's still open to you.