Thursday, January 29, 2015

More Quartzsite fun with friends and fire lanterns

I didn't want to post again until I finished replying to the comments from my last post about the BloggerFest.  I don't usually reply to comments, but these were so special I wanted to add my two cents to each one.   It didn't feel like the post was complete until I responded to everyone.

The BloggerFest kind of felt like a family reunion where you meet the aunts, uncles and cousins you've heard about but never met.  I'm hoping for a BloggerFest 2016 where conversations will be easier now that we've met a lot of the other bloggers we follow.  Maybe reading about all the fun will encourage some other RVers to start their own blogs, too. 

I've been camping over here in the La Posa West LTVA in Quartzsite, AZ with the LazyDaze group.  My friend Jeanne is here, and also Nancy, who are both LazyDaze'ers.   Kim is here, too, so we've had a few visits and walks and lunches.  Denise is down in another La Posa area, but we still manage to meet up from time to time.

Had a nice walk with Kim and Jeanne and Riley - I wish Katie could have come, too, but she just doesn't' walk far and the terrain is too rocky here for the stroller.  We did a big circle going to Kim's rig then across the desert to Old Yuma Road, down to our "exit" then back to the rigs.  Perfect weather for walking.  I took a bunch of shots; these were the best I thought:

Me and Kim:


Jeanne and Kim and Riley:


I didn't realize they were fuzzy until I put them in the blog - oh, well, you get the idea.  :)

As of lunch today all of the LazyDaze people have left, and we're down to Jeanne, Kim and Me.  The diehards - the holdouts.  The crazy three staying with rain in the forecast.   I love the rain, though, it's so warm and cozy in The Palms and I love the rain on the roof.

Denise, Jeanne, Kim and I had brunch today at the Mountain Quail Cafe in town.


We had such a good time - I hope we weren't too loud.  We were all talking a mile a minute and laughing and laughing.  Really fun group! 



Here's the view in front of the Palms out my windshield:

So pretty - I love the mountains around here.  That's not snow on the mountain, just the sun's reflection.

So far this has been a great winter.  The Big Tent is down and many of the smaller vendors have buttoned things up so it's much quieter in town, but there's still enough going on to make it interesting.

Jeanne took some photos the other night at the group campfire when they were getting the fire lantern ready to fly.  I wanted to see how they did it, so I walked over to watch.  I'd never seen these before this year.  It's a small hot air balloon made of paper with wire crossed over the bottom and some kind of fire started on the wire.  You light the fire starter, wait until the lantern is expanded from the heat, then you let it go and it floats up and up and up and the night air and breezes float it up and out of sight.  It was really neat to watch.  They call them Sky Lanterns, Chinese Lanterns or Fire Lanterns.

They are just ready to let it go:

Thanks for the photo, Jeanne!

The picture below shows the lantern in more detail - photo from Wikipedia.  There are lots and lots of them in the sky above:






The first night I was here at this site I took Katie out for her potty walk, and looked up into the dark sky and there were four of them floating in the distance.  I couldn't figure out what in the heck they were.  I guess they aren't new, and they sell them on Amazon, but I've never even heard of them until this year.  

That's about it for today - cloudy skies but no wind and not cold outside.  And beautiful desert all around us.

From me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  :)

29 comments:

  1. It all sounds so lovely.. no wind, not cold... from all of the blogs, sounds like everyone had a great time meeting up and getting to know one another, what a fun time!

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    1. I know, things are good in my part of the world. You know how things can change from day to day, but when the days keep being this good, I've gotta feel pretty blessed. :)

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  2. What fun you are having! Wish I was there. Oh wait - I am!

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    1. Exactly! You are part of the great fun we are having, for sure! LOL

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  3. Yep, it looked like a great meet up in Q..I was showing some full time Rvers/non bloggers about Q and they were surprised. Love your site, very pretty!

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    1. Thanks, I appreciate that! I think lots of people drive through Quartzsite on their way to or from Yuma during the off season and I guess things are pretty quiet that time of the year. It all changes during "the season," and especially when all the RVers come into town for the Big Tent. :)

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  4. Looks like you're having an amazing time! Thank goodness the weather has been nice this year. Some times in the past we weren't able to sit outside at all!

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    1. Well, I have to admit I'm not a big fan of wind and I'm usually inside. But I've been here when the wind was HORRIBLE, so this year seems milder. Today was beautiful. :)

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  5. Great Brunch/Lunch today with you guys. So nice getting to know Jeanne & Kim a little more each time.

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    1. Me, too, kiddo. Jeanne and I were talking about how different each of us is, but somehow we are all the same in so many ways that count. Today's brunch was a blast! Looking forward to pie and ice cream! :)

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  6. I think I would prefer Q when things slow down and there aren't so many people there. But I miss the opportunity to meet compatible people to sit and visit with.

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    1. There's lots going on for social people and those who are more homebodies like me just do less socializing. The crowds are mostly along one street during the Big Tent, and when I'm in camp I never see them. You can always do shopping, dumping, etc. earlier or later in the day to avoid the longest lines. And it's only a week, so I plan my tank dumping and getting fresh water around that week. It really works for everyone. :)

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  7. We enjoy the Q before during and after the show, only one week of madness and we just plan our excursions around the crowds, no problem. So nice as people leave, La Posa West is our favorite area too.

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    1. Yes, George, me, too. It doesn't matter when in the season, crowded or not. I still love being here and just plan accordingly. It's kind of exciting when things start to ramp up, then the Big Tent is up and it's super crowded for a week, then things slowly empty out and we're back to normal. I guess for a person who likes change, this really works for me! :)

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  8. yes I bet it has quieted down considerably... enjoy your solitude...

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    1. Yes, absolutely - but a lot of the smaller vendors are still here and I guess they stay until around the beginning of March. But parking is easy, if the street is full we use the parking lot at the end of the street, always spaces there now. Enjoying my solitude big time - today is going to be a go-nowhere, do-nothing day. Love those! :)

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  9. I would worry about causing a wild fire.

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    1. Yes, me too, Doug. I guess it's not an issue here in the desert, but the problem here could be landing on an RV. I'm told they stay in the air until the fire is out, then they land, so that wouldn't happen. Of course, if you have a bunch of them in the sky they all end up coming down - we saw some on our walks - it's litter, right? And who has to pick up all the paper balloons when they land? From what I read, they are banned in some counties and states. I'm SURE they are not allowed in forested areas. I'm ambivalent about them, I guess, but it WAS fun watching them floating up in the dark sky. :)

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  10. Thanks for the close up few of the lanterns. I've seen them from far away but not up close.

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    1. You're welcome, Jan - I guess they are not a new thing, but certainly new to me. I'd never heard of them before now and it was fun watching them in the sky. :)

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  11. Love that picture of you all around the table. Go ahead, laugh and have fun! If it bothers anyone, maybe they should just join in the fun!!

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    1. Yes, we had such a great time. It's nice to have friends who laugh at the same things I think are funny. (They are just as bad as I am.) I'm happy you are posting again on your blog. Missed you guys! :)

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  12. Good morning, Barbara! Loved seeing all of you having fun in the now-quiet-Q. The lanterns are beautiful but you're right--they're litter when they land. We're down here loving our quiet little spot in Tyson Wash. We just signed up for an additional 2 weeks. We love the rain too--reminds us of the Northwet (not a typo). It just means a day when I can knit all day & have something warm for dinner.

    We scouted out Dome Rock (too near the freeway) & Crystal Hill (beautiful but the road in--6 miles of rocks & washboard!) & decided that neither of them were as nice as our little spot. We also found a great vendor just across the side street from the post office. She had a lot of produce & other groceries. We ate at the Yacht Club the other day & it was quiet. It must be hard for business owners here in Q to have such a short season.

    Enjoy your day--ear skritches for Miss Katie!

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    1. Hi Dawn - I was just down at Tyson Wash this afternoon. It's really pretty in that LTVA - lots of trees and bushes, and not very many RVers in comparison to the other three. I've never spent time in that area, but it's Denise's ONLY spot. Nice that you are doing some scouting in the area. I go to that little produce store, too. They are very nice, and sometimes discount my produce if they think it's getting too dated. I think the business owners pretty much gear up for the Big Tent and make a lot of money then. And of course they have the whole season from October 15 to April 15 when all the RVers some to stay for the season. I can't imagine them keeping themselves afloat during the rest of the year without those 6 months of RVers.

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  13. We'll come back to Tyson Wash in a heartbeat! I understand why it's Denise's only spot!

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  14. The fun doesn't seem to stop up in the desert! These lanterns look so cool, but I agree with concerns to wild fires and littering. Maybe use just a few and keep them on a leash! Laugh.

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    1. That's right, Bea! Something for everyone, I guess. Either quiet and alone time, or socializing. :)

      I wonder if it's possible to tie something like fishing line to the lanterns. Then when it burned out and fell, it would come back to the area it was launched from. Not a bad idea.

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  15. It was so fun to say "hi" to you, but would have loved to have more time to chat at Bloggerfest. As for the lanterns, yes, they are litter, but we carry a bag with us to pick up trash we find on the desert floor.

    We are in LaPosa South until Thursday. Would love to meet up with you and Katie.

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    1. Hi Nan - I would have loved more time to chat with you, too. I'm replying to your comment on Thursday - from Ehrenberg - so unfortunately that won't work for now, but if not before - we'll hopefully get to spend some time together next year?

      It's nice of you to pick up the litter - I do that sometimes, too, especially in the New Mexico State Parks where they keep them so nice and clean, but sometimes don't have enough volunteers.

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