RAIN RAIN GO AWAY… AND IT DID:))

YAAAAAAY, BLUE SKIES AT LAST THIS AFTERNOON:))
I sometimes start the day’s post early in the morning when I first get up.  By the end of the day I have to sometimes come back & re-write what I have written & sometimes I can let it stand.  It is 4:10 a.m. Sunday morning as I begin this & I can still hear rain beating on the roof.  This kind of starts me off in a blue mood, but maybe that will change by the end of the day.  (and it did:))

 
PHEEBS LOVES TO STOP ON OUR MORNING WALK & HAVE A LITTLE NOSE TO NOSE WITH HER PALS
There was a time when I could sit down at the keyboard after supper & simply put the whole post together, including photos, in a relatively short period of time.  Haven’t done that for a few years now because I am usually too tired.  When tired, I make too many mistakes & have a tendency to hurry things along & not re-check anything.  So, now I’m in the habit of starting my posts in early morn & simply adding a paragraph or two as I go along through the day.   I think this may explain why my posts sometimes swing like a moody pendulum. Some parts happy, some parts not so much. Topics can jump around during the day as first the pendulum swings left, then right, then maybe not at all.

THESE FELLOWS JUST MIGHT END UP BEING OUR WEED CONTROL CREW THIS SUMMER
From my computer chair this morning I look to my left & see a furry little Rascal Buns all curled up on my pillow sound asleep.  And, for right now, at this moment, all is well with the world.  And, I like that:))

Okay, let’s get on with the day & see what’s been happening. 

LOVE WATCHING THESE F-16 FIGHTING FALCONS IN MOCK COMBAT OVER OUR HOUSE…THEY ARE BASED AT LUKE AFB NEAR SURPRISE
We are cautiously optimistic our RV deal is going to go through this week but nothing will be final in my mind until we are in possession of the vehicle & on the road heading home.  Then, & only then, will I open the door marked…'Excited’. There can always be last minute glitches in final negotiations.  However, despite some slight pessimism on my part we are going ahead full tilt in cleaning out & cleaning up our Motorhome.  After 6 years, there is a lot of cleaning out & cleaning up to do too.  We just could not believe all the stuff we had squirreled away in there as we carried item after item into the house. 

The Quartzsite dealer is anxious for us to get the rig over there & the pressure is on.  I did manage to get a few bins cleared out in the pouring rain Saturday & Kelly did make a start on the inside.  By cleaning, we are actually making quite a mess of things with all this rain water mixed with red crushed stone dust on our shoes.  Like one cleaning step forward & 3 messy steps back:((  Monday a.m. we will be doing a lot of vacuuming.   

LATER TODAY >>>
Noticed the rain had stopped for a bit this morning so headed out early & continued the clean up.  Managed to get all the basement bins on the passenger side emptied, vacuumed, & washed out before another series of drizzly rain showers rolled through the neighborhood.  Kelly made a lot of headway inside & we had the Pheebs encouraging us on…...and dragging more muddy paws inside.  By early afternoon I had finished the entire basement of the Motorhome & Kelly was coming down the home stretch inside the coach.  We were at last beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.  Some might ask, ‘why clean it all up if your just going to trade it in anyway’?  My short answer to that is simply….because it is the right thing to do. 

DODGING AROUND BETWEEN SHORT LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS THIS MORNING I WAS ABLE TO FINISH CLEANING THE BASEMENT BINS
We should be able to finish the Motorhome up in the morning & that will be it.  And, here’s the best part of the whole darn day……THE SUN FINALLY CAME OUT ABOUT 2 P.M. THIS AFTERNOON)))))))))))))))))))))))))

WOW, STARTING TO LOOK LIKE ARIZONA AGAIN
GROANER’S CORNER:(( At Sunday school, the teacher asked Johnny, "Johnny, could you tell me what are we supposed to do to deserve the salvation?"  "Yeah, of course" Little Johnny replied. "We're supposed to sin first so that we got something to be forgiven for!"
-
And Johnny Carson once said…. If life were fair, Elvis would still be alive today and all the impersonators would be dead.
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

RAIN, RAIN, & MORE RAIN…WOULD HAVE TO CHALK THIS ONE UP AS A LOST DAY

AND, THIS KIND OF SUMS UP OUR RAINY DAY

Had ourselves a steady rain all day long with no let up.  Temps dropped & tonight we have our small space heaters going full tilt.  This newer 3/8 inch red crushed stone isn’t working out the best though.  As feared, it sticks to shoes when wet, tracks inside & has a habit of leaving smears on the floor from the reddish dust.  Wipes off & wipes up easy enough, but…..  Maybe all this rain will wash that dust down into the stones more.   I did use the Jeep to try & pack it down harder in the wet ground today as well but ended up making some ruts.

 

THAT REDDISH ORANGE WATER IS FROM OUR CRUSHED RED GRAVEL

Well, we are over the half way point now in this years stay in the southwest. Hard to imagine in another couple of months we will have to leave this all behind for half a year again. It’s always a worry for we Canadians whether we will make it back across the border for another Snow Bird season in the fall. We know of RVers who have left home heading south, only to be turned back at the border on some kind of technicality. With ever tightening border restrictions, changing laws, & border guard personality flaws, one’s winter lifestyle can end in an instant. Only takes one grumpy boarder guard to take a dislike to the cut of your Jib (nautical term) & decide you have a tire on upside down & should not be allowed entry into the United States. Always one of those little worries that kind of simmers away on a back burner somewhere.

 

We have had our Motorhome since April of 2007 & it has served us well.  No major problems with it at all except for the usual little glitches here & there.  The engine, transmission & drive train never caused us one bit of trouble in all that time.  We did have to put all new tires on it a couple years ago though.  But, it’s 10 years old & we didn’t want to reach a point where we had to begin pouring money into it for aging repairs, etc.  The rig is still worth some money but in another 3 or 4 years it may very well be worth nothing.   We will miss our solar set up for sure & we will miss the larger living quarters & full basement storage.  But, we have to roll with the changing times & for us it is time to downsize into something smaller & more practical for our needs.  We’ll see how things shake out over the next few days & if we have ourselves a deal on something.

 

LITTLE BIT OF A CREEK BEGINNING TO MEANDER THROUGH OUR BACK YARD

The south-west has always been my favorite part of the country for scenery & if you drop by Mark’s blog over at BOX CANYON BLOG he can show you better than I what it is I like about the big swirling rock formations, the myriad of colors, & the overall magic of the land.  Mark’s got himself some nice photos over there again.

NO BBQ’ING TO DAY

IVAN is still lost somewhere in the downtown shopping maze of Quartzsite Arizona.  He has been sending his model helicopter aloft in an attempt to take photos of where he is.  Thought I saw it fly over yesterday towing a banner saying…HELP!!  To get a true idea of just how big an event this is at Quartzsite every year, just slip on over to Ivan’s blog & check out the Q from a few hundred feet up.  You’ve heard of, ‘Where’s Waldo’, well now I think it’s………… Where’s Ivan:))

NO CAMPFIRE OVER THERE IN THE CAMPFIRE PIT BEYOND THE TREE EITHER…HEY, IS THAT A UFO THERE IN THE UPPER RIGHT

And, speaking of Ivan, it was one year ago today that Ivan & I were out in the desert near Bouse, bumping & jolting our way over some old dusty Jeep roads & stopping to look at a few mine shafts here & there.  HI-HO HI-HO IT'S A JEEPIN IVAN & I DID GO  Kelly had slipped over to Parker with Wandering Willy to pick up some groceries & a fiber glass kit to repair our busticated satellite dish.

EVEN THE PHEEBS IS HAVING A BORING INSIDE DAY

Well, it’s the end of a frustratingly bad weather day.  All of a sudden we have a ton of stuff to get organized & most of it involves being outside.  Today was a total loss & if it rains again all day Sunday we are really going to be crammed in behind the eight ball on a possible heavy schedule for next week.  Oh Dear…..  And thanks to everyone for your Verizon/Millenicom thoughts & suggestions:))

EVEN OUR MOTORHOME IS LOOKING SAD ON THIS RAINY SATURDAY:((

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Two die-hard golfers saw some kids fishing at the lake.
One said to the other, "Look at those idiots fishing in the rain!"

-

If a man is standing in the middle of the forest, and only whispering...And if there is no woman around to interrupt him...is he still wrong?

-

Abe's son arrived home from school puffing and panting, sweat rolling down his face. "Dad, you'll be so proud of me," he said, "I saved a dollar by running behind the bus all the way home!"
"Oy Vey!" said Abe, "You could have run behind a taxi and saved $20.00!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

HAD OURSELVES A ‘LOOOOONG DAY’ IN QUARTZSITE ARIZONA

MORNING WALK SUNRISE

I think it was somewhere about halfway through our morning walk that we decided to take a drive over to Quartzsite today & have us a look at what the dealers had in stock for smaller RV’s.  We have pretty much decided it is the right time for us to deal our Motorhome.  It’s 10 years old with 50,000 miles on it & we just do not need to haul all that space around anymore.

DESPITE OUR HEAVY OVERCAST MORNING, HARQUAHALA MOUNTAIN TO OUR WEST WAS BATHED IN SUNLIGHT

Under a second day of overcast skies, we headed west for Quartzsite.  Nice to get out of the house & see some new scenery.  As we neared our destination that scenery began to look familiar to us & that gave me a homey feeling.  Our first time in Quartzsite was in January of 07 & we were driving a truck & fifth wheel at the time.  I think we have been back to Quartzsite pretty well every year since & actually boondocked there 3 or 4 times.  Last year, boondocked in Bouse, we Jeeped over to the Q for a few hours one day.

HEADING FOR QUARTZSITE ARIZONA

Really enjoyed seeing the Kofa Mountain range again & my mind was flooded with many pleasant memories.  As much as I do grumble about all the people & traffic congestion & general chaos, I do have a special place in my heart for the Q.  And, just as we rolled into town, the sun came out.  Nice:))

 

YEP, LOOKS LIKE WE ARE IN QUARTZSITE ALRIGHT

We were in town over 6 hours today & not one minute of that time was spent in the big tent or dragging ourselves up & down the many vendor rows.  Been there & done that too many times before.  Our mission today was RV dealerships to look at vehicles & get ourselves an idea of what it was we were looking for, if indeed we should be looking for anything at all. 

FIRST STOP WAS AT THE LE MESA DEALERSHIP

  

Quartzsite has it’s main intersection on the north side of I-10.  On one corner there is a gas station & on the other 3 corners are RV dealerships.  We hit the biggest one first.  Le Mesa out of the Tucson/Phoenix area generally has the biggest selection & today was no exception.  Except, not much in the way of what we were looking for.  We kicked a few tires, gasped at the sticker prices, & clambered our way through maybe half a dozen small rigs.  Nothing caught our fancy. 

VROOM VROOM

 

 

Made our way to the northeast corner of the intersection & looked at a couple rigs over there, but again, nothing.  Spotted another dealer on the southwest corner & saw they had some smaller units right up near the road.  It was here at ‘RV’s For Less’ that we spent the majority of our time scrambling in & out of 4 smaller Class C’s.  One of those C’s was a 2013, one owner with only 3,255 miles on it.

RV ALLEY

Now, you all know how Mr. Blabberfingers here can get kind of over the top about things & get the cart before the horse.  So, with that in mind & orders from the Boss, I can’t tell you too much more about what we decided on today until we ourselves know for sure what we are doing.

SALESLADY ‘SUMMER’ WAS A BIG HELP TODAY IN HANDILY ANSWERING ALL OUR QUESTIONS

 

LOTS OF STORAGE SPACE IN THIS PARTICULAR 23’ RIG

It was under rainy skies that we finally rolled out of Quartszite around 5 o’clock this afternoon heading for home.  We were both sooooo tired.  I had been up since 2:30 this morning.  Lots to talk about on the way & it was nearly 7 before we made it home.  Think it was the first time we had both been out after dark for maybe a couple years or more.  We sure had one happy little doggy waiting at the door for us…………..

THIS PARTICULAR CLASS C HAD A LOT OF UPGRADES LIKE A SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO/GPS/ RADIO/CD/IPOD CABLE/BLUE TOOTH, ETC. ETC.

EVEN AN UPGRADED BACK UP CAM

DECISIONS DECISIONS……………

GROANER’S CORNER:((    Sign on a Bus:
"When you exit this vehicle, please lower your head and watch your step.
If you fail to do so, please lower your voice and watch your language. Thank you."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.