Winter 2007/2008~The MisAdventures of David & JoEllen

Quartzsite, Arizona Part III
10/30/07 through 3/24/08

Camping in the LaPosa LTVA, we are located upper far right. Picture taken with a camera hanging from a kite.

Our third adventure camping in the desert of Quartzsite, Arizona. This year we have our trusty ATV with us for riding the many desert trails. Bill has purchased a new Kawasaki 360 as well. We occupy our time crafting, baking, gold prospecting, reading, puttering around the RV's, flea market shopping, and anything else. Whatever one would care to do, there is a group of people doing it somewhere in the area.

We are camping with company this year. Bill and Stella are still with us, and Evert and Lynda joined up with us as well. We have been visited by the Goodyear blimp twice as it made its way to and from the NASCAR race held in Phoenix.

Some of the Christmas Light Parade in Q

David was the only one to brave the cold weather and chilly wind (50 degrees) and watch the Christmas parade of lights here in Quartzsite on Saturday night, December 8. Christmas is in the air, no chance of a White Christmas here. All three RV's at camp are decorated with Christmas lights as well.

No Christmas parade would be complete without Santa!

Our home decorated with lights.

The Great MisAdventure goes SOLAR!

Solar power is the latest addition to the Great MisAdventure. We found a great deal on used 80 watt solar PV panels. We all need power at our ranches in Westcliffe, so this is a start. Bill and Evert are running 12VDC, and David wired his six panels for 24VDC. We are all just learning about this technology.

Bill's solar setup.

Evert's solar array.

Recently in the News: A United States Government funded research team has suggested that 1 out of 4 people in this country is mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends. If they seem OK ..... then you're the one.

One of our many beautiful sunrises in the desert.

Happy Birthday Mom

December comes to a close, a very busy month. We have celebrated both Stella's birthday with a dinner at La Casa here in Q, and Evert's birthday with a lunch buffet at the Blue Water Casino in Parker. David & JoEllen toasted their 31st anniversary with a cozy dinner, and Bill and Stella also went out to dinner for their anniversary as well. Christmas dinner was held at Stella's house, with all contributing to the feast.

Happy Birthday Evert

JoEllen and Lynda go for long hikes almost daily. The mountain trails surrounding us offer excellent walking with fantastic views of our desert enviornment.

Trick photo, dime is only 1/4 inch diameter.
Santa brought David a new coil for his metal detector and his first day using it, he found a gold nugget weighing ½ pennyweight.

Camping at La Posa Tyson Wash

Quartzsite Rocks!

David and JoEllen, Evert and Lynda spend a day browsing the many rock shop tents set up at Desert Gardens Rock and Gem Show. This swap lot is open January and February with lots of minerals and gems to view. It is amazing to closely examine the beautiful work of the Creator, the colors and variety are stunning. The big QIA Show will be in a couple of weeks promising even more of nature's bounty to view.

Fluorescent minerals under blacklight.

The numerous swap lots are filling, the Big Tent RV show soon. Lots of items to browse and buy. David purchased this neat Osprey Eagle kite to fly on a 16 foot pole above the 5er. The eagles wingspan is about 3 feet. The tarp tent vendors offer everything here. Lots of crafty people, stained glass, quilts, carving, just about anything you could design can be found at one tent or another. One could spend weeks walking the swap lots in the area. The lovely pirate was outside a tent collecting admission fees to an exhibit of curiosities, we didn't donate here.

Desert MisAdventures

Bill, Stella, Lynda and JoEllen took a drive into the desert to collect minerals and crystals from an abandoned mine. The quartz here is very white, with streaks of hematite and some crystallization. It is a hike up to the mine, Stella waited for the crew in the truck. Lynda found a neat quartz crystal about ½ diameter and 2 inches long. There are plans to include some of this rock into fireplaces at the Westcliffe properties and we will visit this site again with the ATV's.

The Big Tent Show
1/19/08 through 1/27/08

Crowding into the desert.

Its madness time here in Q as opens and the desert becomes crowded with thousands of RV's. Time to stand in line everywhere, at the propane outlets, at the grocery stores, at the water spouts, and on the highways on the way to and from town. The picture of the tent is from last years show, this year there are 3 tents connected together. Bill and David made a quick visit Sunday and found many of the same vendors in the same locations as previous shows. Think of this show as hundreds of hawkers trying to sell you everything. I counted no less than 3 booths demonstrating pots and pans, 3 booths screaming the benefits of 400 count Egyptian cotton sheets at $20 per set, one vendor giving out samples of organic pancake batter in an aerosol can (out when we went by so no sample for us today), and as the name implies, RV supplies of all types and shapes. There are items here you didn't know you could live without! There are people looking for "Workampers" and volunteers in return for a place to park (including electricity, propane, water, and dump service) and usually a small wage. There are people trying to sign you up for campground memberships, and others attempting to convince you to visit different areas of North America from Alaska to Canada, from all parts of the US and Mexico as well. Want a massage or footbath? There were too many to count plying there skills inside the tent.

David and JoEllen visit the tent on the last day, still no pancake mix. Some vendors have cleared out, its raining and water is covering the floors of the big tent. We broke down and bought a set of sheets, 2 back supports made of netting and stiff wire, and some smell em good for the black water tank.

Driving the roads in the BLM camping area, one comes across many signs identifing the different camps in the area. With thousands of RV's, this would be the only way for friends to find you. Some are funny, all are unique. We even found a camp for JoEllen's cousin, M Ross in the center picture. How come you never visit us Mike?

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