TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

CELIA’S RAINBOW GARDENS…..AND TOMORROW WE MOVE:))

AND, THIS WILL BE OUR NEW BACK YARD WEDNESDAY
Quite often it is on our morning walks where things are discussed & decisions are made. This morning we decided it felt like time to move on tomorrow. Question was, where. We went back & forth on that one for a bit but the Kofa Wildlife Refuge area came up the winner........as long as we could find internet there with our Verizon card. We decided to check that out later.

ANOTHER FINE ARIZONA MORNING FOR A WALK
Had a couple of things we wanted to see in Quartzsite so slipped into town around 10 for breakfast at 'Bad Boy.' Next stop was the 'Pit Stop' to fill up our water jugs. It's a nickel a gallon for water here so figured that wouldn't break the bank for us. Pit Stop is geared to the RV lifestyle's necessities such as dumping holding tanks, filling up propane, & taking on water. No gas or food here though. Other gas stations & food stores handle that in Q. Our total water bill came to .50 cents. We will be back at the Pit Stop early Wednesday morning to dump tanks, fill up our large fresh water onboard tank, & top up the propane tank. Cost for water & dump will be $10.

A lot of folks may have heard of Quartzsite's naked bookseller, Paul Winer. He in himself is an entire story but today we went to see the gardens that were created in memory of his daughter, Celia. "In Quartzsite's North-east side of town is an 80 acre park of which 20 acres is dedicated to Celia's Rainbow Garden. Started in 1995 a year after the death of eight-year-old Celia Anne Winer, the Gardens are a tribute to the memory of a little girl who loved Quartzsite and the people she met here in her short life. After her death her parents wanted to give something back to the community who had rallied around them in their grief & the idea of a desert botanical garden was something they knew would have appealed to her."

Pathways wind throughout the Gardens between adopted areas that have been put in by family friends to remember someone special they have lost. Each area is unique & personal to the people who are remembering loved ones & the landscaping reflects the memories that have been left behind. When Celia's Rainbow Gardens is finished it will be the largest free botanical garden in the State. The land was donated by the Bureau of Land Management & the gardens are a work in progress being pulled together by many dedicated volunteers. It takes a lot of willing hands & hearts to keep the Gardens going so any help is greatly appreciated. Anyone in the area having some time to volunteer can call Joanne at 928-927-6551 & be a part of something to be proud of.
CELIA’S RAINBOW GARDEN……A MOTHER’S STORY
CELIA’S RAINBOW GARDEN……QUARTZSITE ARIZONA

(click on pics to enlarge)
While searching out the Gardens we were surprised to see a side of Quartzsite we had never taken the time to see before. My idea of the Q was probably like a lot of other RV'ers. Tents, vendors, crowds, congestion, mayhem, shoulder to shoulder people, & go, go, go. We saw a side of Quartzsite this morning that was humbly human just as any other small North American town. Once off the main street where all the action is we found an impressive newer looking library, schools, playgrounds, parks, & even a wide paved runway for model airplane enthusiasts. The police department even had one of their cruisers all spoofed up with an eye catching paint job. I have to take back some of my negative thoughts about this town now that I have seen more of it. I still probably wouldn't come back here again during the peak RV festivities in January but we definitely have a new respect for this town & will return again probably next year......after all the RV nonsense is over!! (2015 update....we have returned to the Q many times sinice I first wrote this post:))

NOTICED A MAILBOX AT THIS SITE & KELLY LOOKED INSIDE & FOUND THIS NOTE. THERE WAS ALSO A SMALL ROUND BOOK IN THE BOX WITH MANY NICE COMMENTS FROM FOLKS WHO HAD VISITED THIS SITE.

Our last stop before heading back to the rig was to see the cairn erected to a fellow who came to Quartzsite many years ago. He was a Greek fellow born in Syria by the name of Hadji Ali. The locals named him Hi Jolly. I will let my photos briefly tell you his story.

HI JOLLY…..WIKIPEDIA
With a load of groceries in the back of the car we headed back out to the rig for a rest before heading out on our second excursion of the day. There was a time when boondockers could go pretty well anywhere they wanted without too many concerns. Quiet settings took priority & the further one could get away from society for a while the better. But, all that changed years ago with the invention of the computer. With the addition of satellites, air cards, & wifi the priorities now became.....access to the internet!! In other words, no internet, no go!!!! So with that thought in mind we put our laptop in the car & headed south down the highway to check out a couple roads back in off the highway where we had seen some great boondocking sites a few days earlier. First was Palm Canyon road leading into the Kofa mountains. Our Verizon had a 3 bar signal all the way back in nearly to the Palm Canyon itself. Checked out a couple spots & then headed back to the highway & drove further south.

King Valley Road is one that we had driven back in on the way back from the Castle Dome Museum. It goes further into the Castle Dome mountains & was our preference so we were pretty happy to find a spot that actually had 4 bars on our Verizon program. Took a couple quick photos & headed back to the rig to begin packing up for the morning's move. Solar panels to be secured, bins packed, outside furniture folded up & stowed away, etc. We have enjoyed our hassle free 8 days here in the La Paz area south of Quartzsite. Our 4th year here but it will probably be the last time because in the future we will come back to the Kofa & Castle Dome areas to boondock. And thanks Quartzsite, it was nice to get to know the new you.......:))

NICE TO SEE ANOTHER SIDE OF QUARTZSITE. THE AIRPLANES ARE F4 PHANTOMS

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An older gentleman was sitting on a park bench sobbing. A police officer came up and asked him what was wrong. "I'm 75 years old," sobbed the man. "I have a 35 year-old wife at home. She is beautiful, a great cook, mother of my two young children, charming and madly in love with me." "So what's the problem?" "I can't remember where I live!"
I will include more pics from today in the next web album I’m working on.

THIS P41 FLYING TIGER WAS IN TROUBLE & MISSED THE RUNWAY SO OUT CAME THE PLANE’S PILOT TO RETRIEVE HIS PLANE & THINK ABOUT THE NEXT MISSION:))

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

IN SEARCH OF CRYSTAL HILL…..AND WE FOUND IT:))

SELF TIMER PICTURE OF US ON CRYSTAL HILL

I was kind of figuring we would have left Quartzsite by now on our way further west but with the discovery of the Kofa Wildlife Refuge we are still here. Plus the fact we have lots of space all around us out here in the La Paz valley. Weather has been good & temperatures great but, water's getting low & the black tank is filling up. We will have to make a decision very shortly to either dump in Quartzsite & hang around or head for Brawley California where we know there is a free water & dump location. After that, not sure where we'll go. Maybe Borrego Springs or maybe over to the Blair Valley near Ghost Mountain.

LITTLE DID WE KNOW THAT 40 MINUTES LATER WE WOULD BE STANDING ATOP THAT TALLEST PEAK IN THE BACKGROUND

Three years ago while boondocking here with our truck & fifth wheel we headed down highway 95 a bit one day & wheeled off on Pipeline road heading east in search of Crystal Hill. The gravel road was rough & very washboardy. Our heavy duty GMC truck had a very tight suspension & it really scrambled our innards. The hammering & banging the truck was taking was nothing short of criminal & after a couple of miles we turned around & jolted ourselves back to the highway. That was another big check mark in the column for trading that truck/trailer combination in months later for a Motorhome. Great decision & we've never looked back. Today our little mountain goat Santa Fe handled that same road with ease & left our innards unscrambled.

REST STOP ON THE CLIMB

We had heard about a hill back in the desert north of the Kofa mountains where crystals could still be found laying on the ground. We arrived at the base of the hill & talked to a boondocking fellow there for a few minutes. Jim gave us the lowdown on the hill, where the paths were, & about how big the area was for crystal finds. The hill looked more like a small mountain than a hill & we weren't sure if we would try to head for the top or not. Walked across a wide dry wash, found a steep rock strewn path angling up across the hill face & decided to head up & see where it took us.

PROFESSOR ROCKHOUND

Wasn't long & we were huffing & puffing. Had to make a few short stops along the way but we stuck to the faint path, picked our way over the rocks, & kept heading up & up. Lots of photos, lots of puffing, & a few slips & slight slides on the slippery shale rock, but we finally crested the top after a fairly steady 25 minute climb. Kelly checked the GPS & we had ascended 321 feet from the dry wash bed. Superb view for miles & miles in all directions & the silence was deafening with the exceptions of some hawks in the vast desert below. Could even see back to the La Paz valley where our rig was parked & I think if we would have had our 8x50 binoculars along I could have picked out our rig. While I had my nose scanning the mountain top horizon Kelly had her nose to the ground searching for crystals. Three years ago I named her Professor Rockhound because of her continuous quest for gems in the desert. That girl always had her nose on the ground.

MAKING OUR WAY ACROSS THE HILL

We stayed on the summit for nearly half an hour while Kelly scoured the ground & I scoured the surrounding landscape just for the great visual opportunity of scouring. It's not everyday we get to places like this or see things like this so I always try to appreciate & take in where I am as much as I can. We had to pay attention to our footing because the sheer drop-offs were close by & it was ruggedly rocky all the way to the bottom of the cliff face. No time to be clumsy & I'm glad it wasn't windy.

OUR RIG IS OUT THERE SOMEWHERE ABOUT DEAD CENTER…..200mm

We were in no hurry so we began our descent slowly with Kelly making many stops for many mini digs in the rocks. She was determined to find some crystals. We decided to get off the path & pick our way through the rocks & saguaros across the hill where it wasn't likely most people may have walked. I was ahead of Kelly when a sudden glint caught my eye about 6 feet ahead of me. It was only a fraction of a second & it was gone. I stopped, stepped back a few steps & then ahead again. 'Flash' there it was again and I locked my eyes on the spot. Moved a couple small pebbles & there it was, a small crystal. One of it's clear flat sides, acting like a mirror, had caught the sun just right & reflected in my eye. I later found another smaller one the same way but it was just a sliver of a thing.

FOUND A SMALL CRYSTAL

We slowly continued our way across the hill working our way ever lower until we finally reached the flat dry wash below. Our time on the hill had lasted nearly two & a half hours. We were glad to reach the car & flop ourselves into the soft car seats. Had spotted a windmill out in the desert from the hill earlier so we drove off in the windmill's direction & soon came upon it. Another blogger, Mike from MIKE & PAT’S TRAVELS collects windmill pictures & ever since he mentioned that in his blog awhile back I keep an eye out for windmill photos. This looked like a good one so enjoyed taking a few pictures of it. It's called, 'Twelve Mile Well' & there must have been cattle around there at one time by the looks of an old iron pipe corral.

SPOTTED THIS WINDMILL AT LOWER LEFT FROM THE TOP OF THE HILL….200mm

GOT ANOTHER ONE FOR YA MIKE:))

We softly bumped our way back out the gravel road to the highway, hung a right, & drove the short distance back to our rig. My tired legs told me we had had ourselves another fine Arizona rock scramble. Originally we had planned to head into Quartszite after Crystal Hill & see a place called Celia's 8 acre Memorial Garden & the Hi Jolly monument but we were tired & decided to relax at the rig for the rest of the day. Sat in my lay back chair taking relaxing photos of animals in the passing cloud formations.

UFO DISGUISED AS A CLOUD

Thanks to LakeConroePenny from Texas in getting me straightened out about the proper spelling of Quartzsite. In Penny's words, " Quartzite is a rock. Quartzsite is the place. Thanks Penny, much appreciated:))

TOUCH MY TEDDY BEAR & I’LL RIP YA APART!!

I’ll put all of today’s Crystal Hill photos into a web album shortly. Maybe we'll slip into Q in the morning, or maybe we'll pull up stakes & head for California. Like I said before, we never know where or when we're going until after we have been to whenever & wherever we get somewhere........:)) I know, doesn't make much sense to me either!!