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! :)
