Sunday, December 4, 2011

This and that from The Palms in Quartzsite

The weather hasn't been the greatest the last few days.  It's been overcast and windy for the most part, although today dawned bright and blue, which is nice for the solar panels.  It's been in the mid-forties in The Palms in the morning around 8 when I wake up, and the first thing I do is get the generator and heaters going.  When it's warming up, I turn them off and turn on the catalytic heater until we're warm.

Sunrise yesterday

I've been having a problem with my generator not charging the batteries.  This has been going on for days.  I wrote an e-mail to Ron tonight, my solar guy, to see if he had any suggestions, because he is an RV expert, not just solar, but before I got an answer back I figured it out.  All the "guts" of my solar and my converter are behind my drawers, under the closet.  So I took out the drawers to make sure the converter was plugged in, and it was.  Then I took off the cover of the power center, and lo and behold!  I had a tripped breaker.  I fixed it, and now the generator is charging the batteries again.  Who knew?  I guess I should have, I know if I have too many things on at one time I can trip the switch at the electric outlet in an RV park, and I guess if I'm using the generator for power it's the same thing - too much trips the breaker.  Now I know.

The funny thing is, most of my "issues" are such simple fixes, I just don't know about them yet.  Once I know, then next time it will be a simple fix.  I keep saying to myself, "Rookie mistake,"  "Rookie error,"  when I do something dumb for the first time, or miss one of these simple fixes.  As a rookie I'm entitled. :)

Yesterday I left the campsite and drove in all directions, dump/water was south, propane was north, RV place to check out my generator (service dept is closed on weekends) was west, and grocery shopping, bookstore and laundromat were east.  Everything is minutes away from everything else here.  There is a map of the town that costs a dollar, it's sold everywhere, and it shows all the streets and the main places to shop. Well worth the price.  I highlighted the places I wanted to go, then I went next door and asked Hazel where's the best place for this or that, and she helped me pick out other spots I needed.


Side note:  When I was in the grocery store, I asked if there is a good bookstore in town.  Yes, everyone said.  Right down the street a couple of blocks.  They started talking about the owner of the bookstore, kind of a local legend - and the man who drew the original map of downtown Quartzsite that's sold everywhere. The man next to me said, "I was just there, and he's wearing clothes right now, so it's a good time for you to go."  Apparently, he is often naked.  Hummm...  There are photos of him in his nakedness in the bookstore, and he actually is wearing something - I don't know what it's called, but it's very small, and not a fig leaf.

Grocery shopping is pretty expensive, unless you can find what you want at the Dollar Store.  I can see a trip at least once a month to Blythe or Parker to stock up.

There are a few laundromats in town, the one on Main Street is very large and clean and has a couple of employees watching over things, keeping the machines clean, etc.  They also have showers for $6 for a maximum ten minute shower, and a cafe attached that is supposed to have pretty good food, but I was there between the lunch and dinner, so they were closed.

I left my site around 10 in the morning and by the time I got everything done and back to our spot, it was after 5, and I was tired!

It seems like most people in Quartzsite find an area they like, then a spot they like in that area, and come back year after year to the same spot if they can get it, or close by if it's already taken. The people in my area are a good group and have known each other for years, it seems.  They meet at around 3 or so every afternoon outside someones rig to have a little chat and touch bases.  If you want to go, you're welcome, if you don't - that's okay.  This afternoon around 4 I noticed three people sitting by one of the rigs across the way, and then another neighbor was walking over, so I took my chair and Katie, and we walked over, too.   It's the first time I've walked over and joined them, I guess I was feeling the need for some company.  There ended up being five of us, and it was a nice gathering, but chilly, so after a while we broke up and went back to our warm RVs.

They have a big fire pit kind of in the middle of the group, and if someone wants to light a fire, they are welcome to do so, and anyone interested can bring their chair and join in.  It was the general consensus today that a fire doesn't sound good yet.  Too cold, although tonight it's calm.  I hope the weather gets warmer than it has been, when I first got here I was wearing shorts, but not for a while.  It's pretty much layers now, and my hooded wool coat may become my favorite piece of clothing.

This is our large fire pit.  Behind it is a monument a member made for others who are not here anymore.  Their names are on it.


Our firewood - one of the men got these pallets for us, and cut them up with his chain saw, and we stacked them.

Here are some photos from the last few days:

Katie stole my pillow!

Hummer - grey with darker grey head

This little guy has some red on his breast

 This was taken as a close-up, through my screen. 
It looks like she is carrying eggs?

When these quail run, they stand up tall and run fast.  So funny.

My neighbors - Val, Hazel and Fleur 

Sunset

Good night.

From Me and Katie, who is snugly in bed and fast asleep, have a good Sunday night, everyone!   :)

24 comments:

  1. How nice that they have made a memorial for friends no longer with them. What a very nice tribute to the friendships made while RVing.

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  2. I'm so glad to read your post. I was getting worried. :)

    I love the sounds of Quartzsite - can't wait to go there one day!

    That picture of Katie is precious - all your photos are.
    --Jool

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  3. The bookstore guy's name is Paul Winer. You can google Quartzsite bookstores to find out more. It is a place for characters.

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  4. Glad to see a post - I was also getting worried. Hope the weather warms up by the time I get back there !!

    LOVE LOVE LOVE the moon shot !!

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  5. The hummer shots are great I would tell you what the are but I left the book in the MH. But the quail is a male he has the darker head, females are lighter in color. They are funny to watch when they run.

    I hope it warms up soon its so cold here too and we have had lots of rain.

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  6. you are making Quartzite sound very appealing!..thanks for that!!..enjoy the sunset and the sunrises!!..so happy you are having fun!

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  7. Love the moon picture and of course Katie on the pillow (our Lucy loves pillows too, especially mine). I think Jerry and I would love Quartzsite..thanks for sharing your days with us!!

    Stay warm and cozy in The Palms.

    Sandy

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  8. You may be a rookie, but you keep plugging away and solving each problem as it comes up. Good for you.

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  9. i Can't use the TV and microwave at the same time or it trips the inverter.... when things go off, i remember what I did!

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  10. Had trouble viewing some of your photos tonight - don't know why. At least the one of Katie on the pillow showed up - she looks like a princess. Love the shot of the hummingbird. Stay warm.

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  11. What a cute picture of Katie on your pillow. Poppy always likes to steal pillows, too, but she just lays her head on them cause she's too big to lay on 'em. Nice hummer shots, and cute quail, too. Glad you're keeping warm, making new friends, and finding your way around there. Enjoy. Give Katie a nice scratch behind the ears when she gets up tomorrow, from us.

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  12. This is nice blog and great stock photography .Its really nice photographs ,thanks for sharing this blog.Nice work ....

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  13. I've heard about the naked guy. Haha, what a hoot.

    Sounds like Quartzsite is the place to be!

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  14. You're picking things up all the time and soon will no longer be a rookie.

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  15. Don't think I could do waking up to 40* inside the rig. Brrr. Too cold for me.

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  16. I think it's fun to fix things I never would have thought I'd be able to fix. I think it's called, "Necessity is the Mother of invention"!

    Beautiful pictures, as always. I've heard about the naked book man-maybe you'll get a shot of him while you're there. (grin)

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  17. Sounds like a nice place to be. Don't think you will be able to call yourself a Rookie for much longer. You have learned a lot in such a short time. I liked the beautiful sunrise shot.

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  18. You really do need to visit Three Socks when he's not wearing the clothes. It's a horrible sight to see. But a great bookstore. Did you know there is also a spot at La Posa South for the nudist group? Q has it all. And I agree with Judy - way too cold for me in the rig. I need it warmer than that.

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  19. I'm on the Gulf coast in Texas and a cold front and wind came through here, too. It will be cold and raining on and off for the next 3 days.

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  20. It seems there is something to learn all the time!! Keeps us on our toes.
    Wonderful pictures!! Love the hummingbird picture!
    Yes, you have made Quartzite sound very nice. I have always wondered if we could negotiate our way around. Perhaps one day we will experience it for ourselves.

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  21. There's an interesting story about the bookstore owner, Paul Winer's, daughter, Celia, who passed away at the age of 8 years old. Go to:
    http://www.celiasrainbowgardens.com/Story/ The website tells about Celia's Rainbow Garden.
    (I don't know how to make this clickable for you.)

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  22. All the parts are here, so they will be installing the solar on Monday. I am looking forward to stopping for a few days in Q on my way to Phoenix after the 1st of the year. Hope that you will still be there. I will be that "rookie". Great pics. Angel is on her pillow now, but steals mine when she wants to hide.

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  23. It seems there is something interesting to learn all the time. Love the hummingbird picture!Beautiful pictures.

    Wedding Photographer Melbourne

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