Scorching Quartzsite

You know that old saying, "If you have something to do, give it to a busy person?"  It's so true.  When I have days with nothing to do, I REALLY want to do nothing, including not posting.  I'm sorry if some of you were worried, but Katie and I are fine, just Hot, Hot, Hot, and we're just being lazy and enjoying our days in the desert.

We left Quail Hill on the 15th, the final day our season LTVA permit was good, and I wanted to spend some time at a camping area I've read about, but I just couldn't find it.  Drove down dirt/rock roads here and there along canals and saw some interesting things.  This boat was in a dry wash on one of the dirt roads - bummer for the owner.  It looked like a good boat:

I kept going, and ended up at a dead end - with this truck parked right at the end of the road.  I looked at it, and my chest and shoulders got very tight - instant stress reaction.  It looked like a nice truck, but was covered with mud and dried rain drippings (the dirt doesn't show in this photo).  It looked like it had been there for a while, had a camo backpack thrown on the hood, both the passenger side doors were open, and there was a bunch of stuff in the truck bed.  Fishing gear, etc.  No one was around and I don't think anyone would leave the doors open like that and walk off very far.

I thought either a weirdo was in the area, or someone had done something to the driver and left the area.  It wasn't a wide road, but I got The Palms turned around, watching the area carefully for movement as I got it turned, and as I drove away I saw jeans and boots in the bed of the truck with bare foam cushions under and over the person.  He didn't move as I was driving off, I don't know if he was dead or alive, but I wasn't checking.

I drove into that area at ten mph because of the condition of the road, but I drove out at 20 and was glad to hit the main road!  I decided to drive up to Quartzsite and spend some time at the 14-day BLM land areas.

These are the final photos of birds from the Quail Hill campground area:

Beautiful bird with lots of bright yellow on it's chest and body.

I love shots of birds on a wire.

There were three of these big birds who perched on this wire,

then flew in the winds that came up in the afternoon.

They were beautiful soaring in the winds.

I kept trying for a close-up, clear photo. This is the best one I have.

They swooped down right overhead - just beautiful.

The last few days at Quail Hill were REALLY windy.   The hummingbirds that came by the feeder were buffeted all over, sometimes they couldn't make it to the feeder and flew away. One of the birds was looking like he was sick, his feathers were all weird looking, I couldn't tell if he was sick, or if it was just the wind.

Late Sunday morning I drove into the Quartzsite Hi Jolly BLM area, and parked.  I took Katie outside for a walk and the woman parked nearest to us came over to warn me about the 10-foot snake they have seen twice right next to her rig.  I was hoping to see it and get a photo, but I've kept my eyes open for six days and no picture yet.

I saw a woman walking toward us, and it was Debbie - one of the Dingbats.  She was the last Dingbat to leave the LTVA area and is here until the end of the week.  She came late to Quartzsite this year and I left for my surgery shortly after she got here.  We haven't had a chance to get to know each other very well, but we've been sitting out in the shade every afternoon talking and trying to stay cool.  She's been great company and it's been nice getting to know her.  She plans to leave Sunday, heading north.

 Our Hi Jolly Campground site - they are all starting to look alike, aren't they ?  :)

It has been blazing hot here.  In the 90's, which means high 90's in The Palms.  The forecast is for 101 Saturday and 105 on Sunday and 101 Monday, which is  the hottest weather I've ever been in.  The rest of the month and beginning of May should be a few days in the 80s and the rest in the 90s until I plan to leave.

I've been covering the windows with windshield sun covers and lowering the window covers every afternoon, but it was still a pretty constant 98 degrees inside yesterday afternoon, until the sun went down, then I opened everything up again.  You pretty much have to leave some windows uncovered and open so the breezes can come through, which cools things a little.  Today I'm covering the windows early - I set my alarm to remind me.  I get busy and forget, and all of a sudden I look at the thermometer and it's 94 degrees.  At that point, it's too late.  Hopefully I'll do better today.  I'm learning....

I could leave and drive east or north, but I have a follow-up blood test in a month and need to drive back to California for that, so I'd like to stay in the area until then, if I can stand it.  Then I might head over to New Mexico - that's my new plan - where they have an annual State Park pass non-residents can purchase for $225.  It's good for a year from the date of purchase, and allows camping at sites with electric and/or sewage hookups for $4 each, water is free when available, and primitive no-hookup sites are free.  If I get to New Mexico and buy buy my pass in May, I'll be able to go back next year when Arizona gets too hot, and finish up the pass before driving north again.  Gas prices are definitely going to determine where I go and how long I stay, but that's fine with me.  I have no problem driving less and staying longer as long as I'm enjoying the area.

The sunsets have been especially beautiful this week.

I haven't been to New Mexico yet, and might spend the whole summer there where they have many State Parks and the weather is cooler.  Then when I'm ready, I can come back to Arizona and purchase the LTVA permit again for the winter.  I really enjoyed staying in the desert and can see doing that from year to year as long as I'm full-timing.   $180 for seven months which includes dump site and water is such a good bargain.

I have some photos that didn't fit anywhere in the last few weeks, and I'm going to post them tomorrow just to get them out of my "Blog Photo File."  So tomorrow's post will be a mishmash of unrelated photos then I can start again with new stuff.  :)

From Me and Katie, have a great Friday, everyone!  :)

PS - My condo isn't closing today. :(  We have too many non-owner occupied units, so the borrower's lender wouldn't complete his loan.  My Realtor has a couple of lenders who, hopefully, will take his loan, so we're hoping that will work out.  I'm guessing there are a lot of condos with this problem right now. So  many are being bought up at reduced prices to use as rentals, and that upsets the balance that you want in this kind of housing.  My buyer is also purchasing as an investment unit; the longer this goes on, the more rentals we will have.  When I purchased seven years ago, we were almost all owner-occupied, things have really changed.  UPDATE  Good news - my Realtor just called and my HOA had the numbers wrong, and the rentals to occupied owner units is within guidelines, so my buyer's loan is going through.  It will put us back a few days, and we should close next Wednesday or Thursday. (I have the WORST HOA in the world of condos - the very worst.) 

Surrounded by Burros :)

Welcome to our new Followers:

BarbZee doesn't have a blog listed, but she is following a lot of RV blogs, so she is either an RVer, or might be thinking about it???  Welcome, BarbZee!

Miss Lazee - according to her profile, she and her husband (The Princess and The Cowboy) have been spending summers in Ontario with family & friends and winters in the southwestern states.  The Cowboy has been dealing with serious health issues; they will be returning home soon, depending on how things go.  I've enjoyed reading your posts and have more to catch up on!  My best wishes to you both.

Dr. Kold_Kadavr_faltliner, M.D., who has many blogs, but they don't seem to have an RV theme. Welcome, Dr.!

Welcome aboard to you all, Katie and I are very happy you're following along with us. :)

WINDY, WINDY, WINDY!  This is the kind of weather where I lay in bed at night, hoping I set the emergency brake so I don't end up being blown over the cliff!  Literally!  Yesterday morning I repositioned The Palms so we are now facing the wind with our hood.  Tuesday night it was super windy, too, but we were being broadsided, and last night was better.  It was really blowing again this morning, and there's a weather alert for tomorrow's winds.

Today I had to drive to Yuma to get some signatures notarized.  But... They are ESCROW DOCUMENTS - YAAAAAY!  My condo has sold, and the buyer wants to close by next Friday.  It looks like this offer will go all the way to closing escrow so, although I'm still crossing my fingers, I'm really hopeful.  I needed to get the docs notarized and sent back to the escrow company overnight mail.  They have a week to complete the rest of the transaction.  I'll sure be glad to get this done!

I haven't seen much of my burros, just a couple of distant sightings the last few days, and some braying during the evenings after dark.

Then early this morning as the sun was coming up, I was awakened by a car revving it's motor over and over again - I think it was stuck in the sand by the road - and I looked out  my loft window right down into the face of a burro.  They were coming up the hill and toward The Palms.  It was nice to see them up close again.  They hung around for a while, rested, pooped  all over - to the right, front and left of The Palms (Katie had some new smells on our walks today!), and then sauntered on across the road and over the hill, and they were gone.

I'm leaving Sunday, the final final day for the Long Term Visitor Permit, and I'm so glad I got to see them again before we leave.

Here are some photos from this morning. The first one is so funny.  I loved the face on the closest burro - so funny, look at those eyes:

 First burro:  How do you get this stuff out???

Second burro:  Oh, oh, she caught us!

 This is a baby jack.

Another beautiful baby - I don't know what gender it is.

This is a different group of burros than the two families that came by last time.  There are seven in this group, and six in the other one.  Since I got to see the two families for so long last week, I got to know them better, and these guys are definitely a different group.

 Babies playing.

They walked around and nuzzled each other, looked for food in the fire pits, munched some of the bushes and then surrounded The Palms and just stood there for a while.  We now have burro poop all over the place!  The last times burros were here, none of them pooped.  Just being polite, I guess, and now they feel more at home?

This one was on the couch side by himself.

 

 

These three were in front.

 And these three were outside the dinette window.

 A little nuzzle.

 This group is such a pretty color.  I suppose they could be a family.

 They seem to be such scavengers - the burros always check out the fire pits.

More fire pit munching.

My son Tom sent me some Easter photos.  Here are a couple:

 Tom with Kennedy, Gavin, and Graydin

This is Graydin - Where, oh where, can that Easter Egg be?

I just clicked on the photo above for a good close-up, and noticed the green ribbon in his hair.  He's such a little cutie!  He'll be three this month.

When we went to town we shopped all day again. I have to stop doing that, it's exhausting!  My joints hurt from so much walking, etc.  I stopped at PetCo and got Katie's nails clipped and bought a big bag of food that will last her a while, we went to the Notary Public in an insurance office, then to two post offices (the one in Arizona couldn't get the documents to the title company tomorrow, so we drove to Winterhaven, CA and they promised next day delivery by noon.  

Then a gas station, then Walmart, a Dairy Queen for 3 small hot fudge sundaes for the freezer, a shoe store for Crocs (they didn't have the right color), then back to the gas station for propane (couldn't get them to wait on me the first time), SPCA for Katie's Rabies shot (wrong one, we needed to be at the Spay/Neuter Clinic across town, by that time they were closing and we couldn't make it across town in time).  I think that's all.  I'm going to lay down and read for a while.  Katie is already asleep - I don't know why she is so tired, but she always sleeps a lot after we've been out shopping!

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

Hummingbirds and other local critters

The last few days have been warm, but  not too hot yet, and we've had nice breezes, sometimes heavy winds.

I haven't seen any burros since the last post, so they are roaming elsewhere.  As much fun as it was to have them here, I've gotten a little worried when Katie and I walk.  I've heard from numerous people in the area about how the burros will go after and kill small dogs because they consider them a threat.  When we take our walks, I'm scanning the ground and bushes for snakes and the horizon for burros.  So far I haven't seen a single snake in Arizona, but because of Katie's "alert" bark, I did see this guy outside The Palms.

He was pretty good sized, definitely not a small lizard.  I'd guess he was 18 inches long, or more.

 He looks well fed, doesn't he?

And of course, being Quail Hill campground, we have quail. It may be because I'm not putting seed out, but I haven't seen a lot of them, and they seem thinner and less colorful than the quail at my site in Quartzsite. This one was outside The Palms standing on a large rock, calling out in their distinctive voice.

There are at least three different kinds of hummingbirds.  One is very pretty and rakish looking, kind of like an action figure.  He has fluorescent green feathers on his head and neck, with red feathers coming down under his eyes and cheeks, going back and out out at his neck like a Viking warrior.  Doesn't he look like a fighter?

This is also a very pretty bird - he has three distinct areas of color, like a little piece of art.  He's not shiny, but I think he's the prettiest of the three that have been coming by the feeder.

Then there's this little guy.  He isn't as pretty as the other two, but seems to be the dominant bird; if another bird comes by when he's around, he drives them off.  The other day they flew into my window during their scuffle.

He's not very colorful, pretty much brown wtih a lighter chest, 
and he has spotting on his throat.  

I'm not sure if the following photos are of a different, fourth, bird, or not.  He doesn't seem to have the same coloring as one of the others, but these flying photos are the only ones I have of him.

These hummers come by early in the morning, before I lift the window shade (I can see their shadows flying in to the feeder on the shade), and keep coming back until dark.

Thursday we went over to the Christian Center to register for mail delivery, then we went back up the road to the main LTVA to dump our tanks and take on fresh water, then we drove to Yuma and did some grocery shopping.  I looked at new TVs, but after much deliberation at Walmart and Best Buy, I decided to wait a month or so for the new models to be on the shelves.  I don't want to pay full price for a TV that's been out a year or more, especially when the new ones are just being received by the stores.

It was a really tiring day, we started out at 9:30 and didn't get back to camp until after 6:30, the sun was just going down behind the mountain.  It was good to be back!

I will be here at least a few more days - my daughter is mailing my motor home registration, which expires on the 8th.  I was going to have my mail delivered to the Army base down the road.  I went in on Thursday, it was the first time I've been on a military base.

This is at the left side of the entrance to the Administrative Gate.

The right side has an Army tank. 

You have to show them a photo id, vehicle registration and current insurance card to get in.  Since I have to show a current registration to get on the base, I'll be a couple of days past the renewal date when it arrives, so I couldn't use their post office.  I could have walked onto the base to the post office, but decided to use the Christian Center mail service across the street.  Their post office is open for one more week, very limited hours - one hour per day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, then they close for the season.  So, luckily I'm within the time the registration will arrive, and I'll be good to go.

I just paid my annual motor home insurance, too, so The Palms will be legal and insured for another year.  I can't believe it's been a year since I bought The Palms.  How excited I was last year at this time!!!  A lot of water under the bridge, and a lot of bridges traveled over, since then.

Here are some photos of our site and the area around us:

That's The Palms up on the hill.

 View east from the dinette is of West Pond and the canals down to the dam.

 West Pod?

 Two tiny islands that are often covered with little birds. 
Each day, in the early evening, hundreds of little birds swarm over this area.

 Another view from the dinette window.

Looking up the road is the burned forest area.

My impression from other RVers is that this camping area is very crowded during the season.  There isn't as much desert area as Quartzsite, so when I was there, I could have moved almost anywhere and found a good site to park The  Palms.

 During these last few weeks, there's tons of room around each RV.

Lots of good camp sites right now.

 Katie and I walked across the street to The Pond, 
but I couldn't see a path to the water.

Looking out to the pond was very pretty and quiet and peaceful.

 The Pond at sunset.

Last night I looked out the window and this is what I saw:

It was just beautiful, especially with the sprinkling of lights from the base below.

Those are the photos I've taken during the last week, since I've been here at Quail Hill - with all the burro photos I didn't have a chance to post these before.  

From Me and Katie, have a great Saturday, everyone!  :)

Baby burros nursing and napping in our yard

WELCOME to our two new followers:

Ametrine KnowingWillow -  I don't see  any information about you, or a blog to plug for you, Ametrine, but we're very happy to have you along on our adventures.  I hope you enjoy following along with us. 

klbexplores - this is a brand new blog - the writer has horses, donkeys, a goat, turkeys, chickens, dogs, cats, children, and grandchildren.  AND she's a single parent.  WOW.  klbexplores also has a vintage trailer named Lolita.  There's only one blog post; klb, I hope you continue to post.  It sounds like you have an interesting life.  Thanks for following Me and My Dog!  :)

Welcome aboard to you both!

Well...  We've had visits from the burros each day.  Yesterday when I woke up they were in the bushes on the side of The Palms, just munching away.  They found a piece of cardboard, and two burrows took big bites of it.  Then they tried out the fire pit in front of us.

 This tastes like cardboard!

Checking out the fire pit.

They didn't come up to The Palms, just stayed in the yard eating, then moved on and stopped in front of a neighbor's rig and rested.  I walked over closer to see them, and some were laying down, resting and sleeping while the others seemed to be guarding them.  The burros were around - on and off - all day.

They must have walked a lot - the baby was really sleeping.

Then this morning when I woke up, I looked down the road at the water, and there they were, I could see six silhouettes, so I imagine when they are down this way, they drink the water from the Colorado River near the dam.

 Two families down by the river.

There is a lake up at Imperial Dam LTVA, the main campground, so they probably drink that water when they are there.  I heard them braying when I was there, but I never saw them.

Today was kind of exciting, burro-wise.  There were six this time, I don't know where the seventh guy was today.  From their coloring, they seemed to be two families.  They slowly made their way up toward us, staying in the bushy areas on the side of the road, then they crossed the road and came up by us.

At this point there were only four - two moms and two babies.  I lost them in the bushes, and didn't see where the males went.  A fellow camper said the babies were born last year, so they must be around a year old.  The families each have different coloring, grey and brown, and it's easy to see who is the Dad, Mom and Baby of each family.

As they were approaching our campsite, the grey mom and baby were walking together, and the brown mom and baby were together.

Then the brown baby started irritating the grey mom.  If you click on the following photos, check out the grey mom's ears - they are up when things are good, sideways or back when she's mad or threatened.  You can also see her face - teeth and all - when she's fighting with the brown baby. 

 Little brown burro getting a talking-to by grey mom.

 The talking-to didn't seem to work, and there was a bit of an altercation.

The grey baby quickly got out of the way.

When things calmed down, the moms and babies slowly came up the incline toward our site, then stood in front of The Palms, each young burro standing by it's mom, and the brown baby getting a little snuggle.

The brown mom comforting her baby.

The grey burros moved off a little, and then the smaller grayish baby started nursing.

Oh-oh - here comes trouble.

Soon the brown baby came over, and wanted to nurse, too...

"I'm hungry, too!"

... and the female didn't like that.

 There was another row between the mom and the brown baby, 

the grey baby went to the other side.  Notice mom's ears.

 Go back to your OWN mom.

 I'm NOT kidding - go away!

 Okay... (Mom's ears are back up)

It's not fair, though! (Mom's ears are to the side - she's ready for trouble.)

... and finally the brown baby went back to it's mom to nurse.  Not for long, though. I was thinking the nursing time for this little one was about over.

Both babies nursing - nice burro family moments.

After eating, the smaller baby laid down to sleep, and the mom stood guard.

Good baby, go to sleep.

The brown burros stood close together and rested.

This little one didn't lay down for a while, but rested against its mom.

For the rest of the afternoon they took turns sleeping and guarding each other.  The brown baby finally lay down, and the grey mom came over and laid next to it.

So sweet.

I don't know if the grey mom came over to help protect the brown sleeping baby, but she left her own baby sleeping alone, so I'd guess she wanted the protection of the other mom while she was resting.

Then suddenly I heard long, loud braying, and looked out the window - one of the males was chasing a motorcycle down the main paved road.  He was hauling ass after that motorcycle!  (Note to Denise - drive slow if you come back this way next year on your motorcycle.)  Obviously the motorcycle got away, then the burro stopped running and walked across the street and up our dirt road, and the other dad appeared, too.

"Taught that motorcycle a lesson!"

They grazed while the moms and babies were resting/sleeping, then they laid down in the dirt by the bushes and rested, too.

Then a man stopped his car on the dirt road to the campsite and he had food, so the males got up and went over to him, and the females and youngsters woke up and went down the incline to see about the food, too.

After that man left, the burros all stayed there on and near the dirt campground road, either sleeping or watching.

Then a woman came up with her camera and the burros were "on guard," I don't know why, but they didn't approach her.  They seemed very restrained when she was there.  One male stood still a distance from the woman, the females and babies got up and stood further down the road huddled together in the middle, and the other male stayed by the other end of the road.  They just stayed there in that formation until she left.  They didn't move, but kept their eyes on her.  It was weird, because she wasn't doing anything but taking photos and didn't try to get close to them.

That marked the end of rest time, and they spent a couple of hours in the vicinity across the campground road eating and walking around.  When I looked out the window later, they were gone.

I did research on what the baby burros are called.  Until they are one year old, all baby donkeys are called foals.  Once they are over one year old, baby boy donkeys are called baby jacks and girls are called baby jennys.  Adults are called jacks and jennys.  (A burro, of course, is the Spanish word for donkey, they are the same animal. Here in the desert, they seem to be called burros rather than donkeys.)

From me and Katie, have a nice Tuesday, everyone!  :)