Saturday, October 27, 2012

More photos of our new site - we love it.

We're happily settled in and nesting.  The last few days I've been arranging and re-arranging our yard and it's really nice to look out the window, near and far.

Yesterday Katie and I went into town to do the laundry and grocery shopping.  Both good jobs to have behind us for a couple of weeks, but it was nice to go into Quartzsite again and see that everything is still the same as last year.

On the way back we stopped and visited Hazel and the Greyhounds.  It was good to see Fleur and Power doing very well together. Fleur is a friendly dog and loves attention, but she's very cool about it.  She will put her head against my leg, and that's her way of asking for attention from me.  I always feel complimented when a dog like Fleur seeks my attention.

Power is more active in his attention seeking.  He's just 18 months old and super friendly.  As soon as we walked up to the fenced in area in front of Hazel's motor home, Power was right there. When I sat down, he was right there asking to be petted.  Then he went over to the rug where Fleur was laying and joined her.  He has a squeaky toy that he plays with which I think is cute.  He might be a really big dog, but he still acts like a puppy.  Fleur is a lady, and Power is a little boy. I think he's going to be a really good addition to their family.

Yesterday I saw the first quail in our site, but when Katie barked, it left.  I also saw the first hummingbird at the feeder I hung yesterday.  It was in and out so quickly - I've seen it three times now - but I can't get the camera focused fast enough.  I'm sure I'll get a good shot one of these days.  I had fun watching the antics of the quail, rabbits and squirrels in my campsite last year. I hope I have some interesting critters here, too.

I've been talking lots of photos of the area and The Palms, and here are some of them.

View out my kitchen window - all the way to the mountains.



I put out the hummingbird feeder and a few seed feeders yesterday for the quail, rabbits and squirrels.

Whoever was here last year did a beautiful job putting rocks around the site, the trees and bushes, made pathways and sitting areas, etc.  It was move-in ready and looks really nice. 
Thank you, whoever you are.
Photo taken during our walk of the whole campsite area.
Our view out the front window.  The sun sets to the left of this photo.

I just love it here before all the rest of the RVers arrive.  It's so beautiful and quiet.  Only occasional traffic going by. I'm sure by the time all the snowbirds get here, I'll be ready for more company in the area, but I'm sure enjoying this time before everyone arrives.

Katie and I have been walking more and more.  I can't believe how easy it is to walk - in the higher elevations of New Mexico and Colorado it took me a long time to acclimate.  It was hard to walk much, and I woke up at night out of breath.  Here - well, we can walk forever and I sleep all night long.  It's nice not to have to think about breathing.  I know that sounds weird, but that is how it was when we were in the higher elevations.  Next spring I'm going to move north more slowly.

This year I flew across Arizona from California to New Mexico in a 24 hour period.  I left Palm Springs after finally getting the results of a medical test and picking up an Rx at 3 in the afternoon, drove 192 miles in 3.5 hours in the blazing heat, spent the night in a gas station parking lot in Lake Havasu, AZ, and drove the final 391 miles in 5.5 hours, ending up near Bluewater Lake State Park  in Gallup, NM, arriving in the early afternoon.  The first leg I averaged 59 mph and the second leg was 71 mph. Crazy.

That was a long, hot drive in a short time, but I was so anxious to get there, and the long, straight, well paved highway was easy to drive.  Almost no traffic.  I decided to overnight in the Gallup Walmart so I would be fresh in the morning going into Bluewater Lake State Park.  When I got there, I felt like I did arriving in Quartzsite this week.   Sooooo happy to be there.


Palm Springs has an elevation of 440' and Gallup, NM is 6468', so we gained over 6,000 feet in 24 hours.  I didn't realize that you're supposed to ascend slowly.  Altitude sickness usually starts at around 6500 feet, so I was a bit lower than that. It took  me months to acclimate to the 6000+ altitude, and I'm sure it affected Katie, too. I didn't have any of the usual symptions, just couldn't seem to get enough oxygen sometimes. As long as I took it easy, I was fine, but until I was at Bluewater for  a while, I couldn't walk much. When we went to Storrie Lake and came back to Bluewater Lake, I experienced some shortness of breath again, until we left to head south.

Next spring we're going to head over to lower New Mexico and stay at the State Parks in the southern part of the state, and move slowly north.  I think that's a better plan and I'll be able to enjoy more walking and hiking at the parks.  And maybe not gain 6 pounds.

I weighed myself yesterday morning, and found I've gained 6 pounds over the summer.  I'm hoping the additional walking we can do here will help to take that extra weight off.  Walking, and maybe not eating as many jelly beans!

I also discovered yesterday that I get great TV reception at this location.  And I can easily stream the programs I miss and Hulu movies.  It's been a long time since I could do all that.  I'm as happy as a clam.


From Me and Katie, Have a great weekend, everyone!  :)

18 comments:

  1. It's so good you're happy as a clam. Except you're not going to find many clams where you're at! Your site looks wonderful. We'll see you in a few days!

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  2. I know exactly what you mean about being out of breath in the high altitude. I live in Colorado and still can't get used to it and feel soooo much better a few thousand feet lower. Just when I think it's because I'm getting old, I go to a lower elevation and feel young again. Making plans!

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  3. I'm so glad you like your new home - it's a beautiful site, I bet the night skies are amazing. Sounds like a good spring plan!

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  4. Kimbopolo has a point...I bet your night skys ARE amazing! Let us know!

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  5. Great spot you've got there for you and Katie. Of course, you're going to be invaded this week by Jeri and Terry and Duchess. But that'll be a fun invasion.

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  6. Wipe that clam grin off your face.... you know what happens to clams don't ya? Lovely place, can you email the location... is it boondocking? or cost involved.... I'm thinking ahead!

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  7. That's a lot of driving in one day. I left Mesa Verde on Thursday morning and just arrived in Texas this afternoon. I am very close to the NM border and still have a long drive to San Antonio and then 5 hours from San Antonio to SPI. I will do that last 5 hours in one day, I have driven that route before and don't want to overnight anywhere along the way.

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  8. Glad that you and Katie made it safe and sound. You are here at the right time, it is beautiful!

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  9. I had an awful time with altitude sickness when I was out west. I wish I knew then what I know now! Rolaids!

    A Native American Lady suggested lifesavers to me--think she just got mixed up.

    I have since read that it doesn't work, but if I ever get out there, again, I'm bringing Rolaids, drinking lots of water, and eliminating any caffeine or alcohol.

    It's a miserable feeling. I stopped at a vet in NM and caused hysterics because I told them even though Jack was acting fine, I was feeling awful so maybe he was affected, too. I had them give him some sub-cutaneous fluid twice just to make sure he was okay.

    It didn't affect me if ascended slowly, but the year Rich and I went flying up to Pagosa Springs, it hit me like a ton of bricks and we had to get back down to lower altitude.

    So, you might try Rolaids--maybe it will help a bit.

    Your choice of site is lovely. :)

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  10. What a cozy looking site! How do you keep it when you have to run to town? Does leaving chairs & such out let others know the site is occupied?

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  11. I was going to ask the same thing TexCyn asked. Also, if someone "creates" a site like that, do they get upset if someone else takes it the next year? And one more, how do you know how big you can make your site? Are there any rules? Okay, one more!! Can you put up any kind of a fence or enclosure? Your site looks wonderful. I would hate to have someone move in a few feet away. How do you know if you are in a site or a roadway and how do you keep from getting blocked in by other rigs? Guess you're going to have to do a whole post on boondocking in Q!! Hugs to you and Katie.

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  12. Ditto what TexCyn and Donna K said. A post on boondocking in Quartzite and etiquette on boondocking would be cool.

    TravelBug-Susan

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  13. nice looking site you snagged!..can't wait to read all the answers to Donna's questions?
    great view out your kitchen window too!!..rainy and wet here..oh how I wish we were in sunny Arizona right now!

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  14. Hi Barbara, really like your photos of your campsite. The one picture is called sleeping indian mountain by the locals. You're a good photographer.

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  15. Barbara, You always seem to find a great spot ! I'm really looking forward to going to Q again this year.

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  16. BeautifuL !!! And as well as hearing answers to all the questions above, I would like to ask one more. How early do you recommend getting to Quarzsite to have a big pick of spots??? And how long do you plan to stay?? The winter?? I went to quarzsite in my RV years ago and it was already in full swing so camped way out aways for a week or so. Pretty fun place.

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  17. I know what you mean about the sickness. When we went to Colorado I didn't even know of such a thing. We had went up to over 9,000 feet to camp and as we were walking around I said I can't breath very well. The campground manager said it is the altitude, drink lots of water and you will feel fine. NOT! I sat up all night trying to inhale enough oxygen to make me not panic. We left the next morning. When we got to Rocky Mtn. National Park there were t-shirts in all the shops that said, Got Oxygen. I am very leery to go into a high elevation again.

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  18. Such wonderful photos indeed! You have the perfect spot if you ask me. Nice view and a quiet place to enjoy with Katie. How’s your health now? I hope everything is ok. Just remember to have your RV checked by professionals from time to time to avoid parts from acting up during one of your trips. Thanks for sharing!

    Howard Chadwick @ Chadwick RV Doctor

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