NEW WATER PUMP, NEW KITCHEN FAUCET, LATCH DOOR FIXED, AND SOME CAULKING DONE ON THE ROOF

Rains dribbled in overnight but not as much as expected and as a matter of fact we just ended up with little smatterings of rain for most of the day until late afternoon when rains became steadily heavier.  Great for the desert greenery, our Motorhome,  and the Jeep.  Would have been great for me too had I ran outside to get all this desert dust washed off me:))

IT WAS AN EARLY MORNING START FOR US

Having to be somewhere at 8 a.m. this morning we were up early.  Ever since our water pump acted up a month and a half ago we knew at some point we would likely end up at a favorite RV repair place of ours here in the Southwest.  A place we have been happy to deal with over the years.  Only problem was RV Lifestyles was in Quartzsite Arizona and we had no interest in going there until well after the hordes of people had left town after the big January rally.

NOW THIS IS THE QUIET SIDE OF QUARTZSITE WE VERY MUCH PREFER

THE RIG WAITS TO GO INTO THE OPEN BAY GARAGE

Being the early birds we always are we rolled into RV Lifestyles about 7:30 this morning with a list of things to be looked at.  People are always so nice here and they weren't long in getting it inside.  With a load of laundry to do we piled into the Jeep and headed for one of Quartzite laundromats, the one with the restaurant attached.  With clothes tumbling in the washer we headed out to fill our water jugs and gas up the Jeep,  Always a trip down memory lane for us coming to Quartzsite.  We used to do the "Big Tent' thing in our earlier RV years and many times we have stopped at McDonalds while rolling through on I-10 coming or going from one place or another.  I don't mind Quartzsite or the area but we just do not like being here in the manic crowds and traffic anymore.  Errands done we zipped back to the Laundromat and put a load in the dryer.  From there it was only a few steps into the restaurant where we had us a great breakfast.  Hadn't been into that restaurant or laundromat before so two big thumbs up for both places.  Great breakfast:))

FIRST TIME FOR US IN THIS QUARTZSITE LAUNDROMAT

CHECKING THE MENU IS THE ADJOINING LAUNDROMAT RESTAURANT

Much of the rest of the day was spent at RV Lifestyles and we didn't want to stray too far because we knew decisions were going to have to be made on our repair list.  It was pointed out last Fall we had a few areas on the roof needing attention with some caulking so happy to say we got that taken care of today before any leaks appeared.  Had our Roadmaster hitch looked at and although still in good shape it could use having some bushings replaced.  A bin latch had been giving us trouble so that's repaired now as well.  Although our water pump had been working it had not been working as designed and we had to be so careful not to overheat it and blow a fuse again.  Decision was made to simply replace the pump.  Because of the pump problem it had blown a piece of our kitchen faucet out and it was not repairable.  We had been using it with duct tape wrapped around the leak area.  Tap leaked anyway.  We now have a brand spanking new kitchen faucet and with our new water pump we are in plumber's heaven.  We were very fortunate to have us a great mechanic guy today as well by the name of Rick who did all the work and kept us up to date on how things were going.  Nice personality.  Tire pressures were checked and it was recommended we get rid of our tire pressure extenders.  

WORK HAS BEGUN ON THE RIG

SOME RE-CAULKING WORK ON THE ROOF

Although a productive day it was also a very tiring day.  Had planned to head back to the sanctity of Cibola but instead we just headed west out into the desert between Quartzsite and Blythe and called it a night.  We will be gone again in the morning.  

'CAN WE GO HOME SOON DAD'

Leaving Quartzsite this afternoon Pheebs and I headed out first with the Motorhome while Kelly in the Jeep doubled back into Quartzsite to pick up a pre-ordered pizza at Silly Al's.  Waiting alongside the road I soon saw her coming so with a pre-arranged boondocking spot in mind we were soon chowing down on a totally excellent pizza.  So happy we were finally able to get some things on the rig fixed but we're going to need a couple days now just to rest up.  And we may be casting our eyes further west but it's a good thing we didn't go today.  Just found out minutes ago Borrego Springs has been hit hard with heavy rains today.  S22 from Salton City to Borrego---CLOSED.  Highway through Ocotillo Wells---CLOSED.  Montezuma's Grade---CLOSED  The Banner road to Julian---CLOSED.  Rock slides, mud slides, and road wash-outs.  'Yikes!!!!'

A RAINY DRIVE BACK OUT INTO THE DESERT

PHEEBS DOESN'T CARE IF IT'S RAINING, SHE'S JUST HAPPY TO BE GOING SOMEWHERE

TWO THUMBS UP FOR THIS YUMMY SILLY AL'S PIZZA

AFTER A LONG AND TIRING DAY IT WAS GREAT TO BE BY OURSELVES AGAIN RELAXING QUIETLY IN OUR MOTORHOME

Yep, I got my peaks mixed up alright.  I knew about the two Picacho Peaks in two different States but a few days ago in one of my posts I accidentally linked to the wrong one.  Meaning to link to Picacho Peak California I mistakenly linked to Picacho Peak Arizona.  Thanks to sharp eyed reader Ed in Quartzsite I have been able to go back and correct my mistake.  And another mistake. (Oh Dear) I had been spelling Alfalfa as two words, an Alf and a Alfa.  Nope, one word....Alfalfa.  Thanks to Russel for noticing that.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Cracking an international market is a goal of most growing corporations. It shouldn't be that hard, yet even the big multi-nationals run into trouble because of language and cultural differences. For example, observe the following examples below.
The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax" depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, "ko-kou-ko-le," which can be loosely translated as "happiness in the mouth."  In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" came out as "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead."  Also in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off."The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem - Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanese market into "When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty."  When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that "no va" means "it won't go." After the company figured out why it wasn't selling any cars, it renamed the car in its Spanish markets to the Caribe.  When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word "embarazar" meant embarrass. Instead the ads said that "It wont leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."  An American t-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired "I Saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed "I Saw the Potato."  Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.  In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.----------------
“I was told that I was allergic to cats, but I have two and I'm feline fine!”

My mother said, "You won't amount to anything because you procrastinate." I said, "Just wait."

You have to stay in shape. My mother started walking five miles a day when she was 60.  She's 97 now and we have no idea where she is.
================

IT WAS MOVING DAY UNDER CLOUDY SKIES

OUR NEW LOCATION

With weather channels predicting rain Thursday a high cloud cover moved in over top us late Wednesday afternoon.  We were planning to move anyway so figured it was a good idea to re-locate ourselves away from a sandy clay area right outside our side door.  Add water to sandy clay and the result is gumbo mud.  Not a good combination for RV'ers so we had to go get ourselves parked on a solid stony surface today.  Plus, we had tanks to empty today as well.

LOADING COTTON BALES BETWEEN THE CIBOLA WILDLIFE REFUGE AND BLYTHE CALIFORNIA

NARROW BRIDGE CROSSING OVER THE COLORADO RIVER

FOLLOWED THESE TWO TRUCKS TO BLYTHE WHERE THEY PULLED INTO A COTTON PROCESSING PLANT

BLYTHE HAS A GOOD DUMP STATION AT THEIR WATER TREATMENT PLANT...$7.00

Our winter travels so far have gone much better than last year when we were out here in the Southwest.  I don't know what happened but we just couldn't seem to get our usual RV hats on.  Much better this winter but must say when I happened to notice the date today I thought to myself, in a short month from now about this time we will be keeping a very close watch on the weather between here and Bayfield Ontario.  As much as we have been enjoying our time in the Southwest again this winter we are both very much looking forward to getting home again and back into our cozy little house with all it's familiarities and routines.  We are so fortunate to be Snow Birds and have a home to go home to.  Yes I know I say that every year but every year I just seem to appreciate it more and more.

NICE TO SEE THE OCOTILLOS GREENING UP

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Before heading south for a vacation, it may be a good idea to learn the language of our southern brothers and sisters. And we're here to help... Hah Tu Spek Suthun: 

BARD - verb. Past tense of the infinitive "to borrow." Usage: "My brother bard my pickup truck." 

JAWJUH - noun. A highly flammable state just north of Florida. Usage: "My brother from Jawjah bard my pickup truck." 

MUNTS - noun. A calendar division. Usage: "My brother from Jawjuh bard my pickup truck, and I taint herd from him in munts."

 ALL - noun. A petroleum-based lubricant. Usage: "I sure hope my brother from Jawjuh puts all in my pickup truck." 

FAR - noun. A conflagration. Usage: "If my brother from Jawjuh doesn't change the all in my pickup truck, that things gonna catch far." 

BAHS - noun. A supervisor. Usage: "If you don't stop reading these Southern words and git back to work, your bahs is gonna far you!" 

TAR - noun. A rubber wheel. Usage: "Gee, I hope that brother of mine from Jawjuh doesn't git a flat tar in my pickup truck." 

TIRE - noun. A tall monument. Usage: "Lord willing and the creeks don't rise, I sure do hope to see that Eiffel Tire in Paris sometime." 

RETARD - Verb. To stop working. Usage: "My granpaw retard at age 65." 

RATS - noun. Entitled power or privilege. Usage: "We Southerners are willing to fight for out rats." 

FARN - adjective. Not local. Usage: "I cudnt unnerstand a wurd he sed ... must be from some farn country." JU-HERE - a question. Usage: "Juhere that former Dallas Cowboys' coach Jimmy Johnson recently toured the University of Alabama?" 

HAZE - a contraction. Usage: "Is Bubba smart?" "Nah ... haze ignert." 

VIEW - contraction: verb and pronoun. Usage: "I ain't never seed New York City ... view?" 

GUMMIT - Noun. An often-closed bureaucratic institution. Usage: "Great ... 

ANOTHER gummit shutdown!
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A JEEP RIDE FOR PHEEBS AND I THIS MORNING WITH GORGEOUS SCENERY ALL ROUND

Luckily no wind this morning because it felt like the coldest morning we have had this winter so far.  I think we were in the low 40's with a predicted high today of 66F under clear blue sunny skies.

ANY MORNING WALK IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST IS A BEAUTIFUL WALK

THE REMAINS OF A LARGE TAMARISK TREE

A BIG OLD CHOCOLATE COLORED MOUNTAIN ON THE HORIZON??

NOPE, JUST A BIG PILE OF DIRT AT THE OTHER END OF A GRAVEL PIT WE WERE WALKING IN NEAR OUR RIG

AFTER HEAVY RAINS HEAVY EQUIPMENT IS OFTEN NEEDED TO FIX THE ROADS

DIFFERENT LOOKING DUMP TRUCKS IN THESE HERE PARTS

Both Pheebs and I were really needing to get ourselves out for a Jeep ride this morning so with Kelly deciding to defrost the fridge us guys was out the door and gone on down the road in a big cloud of gravely desert dust.  Decided to follow a bouncy road leading in the direction of the Trigo Mountains east of us.  

'CIBOLA PIT ROAD' HEADING EAST TOWARDS THE TRIGO MOUNTAINS

Oh how I love being out dragging along slow on these lonesome desert roads taking in all the magnificent scenery stopping here and there for a photo or two.  We don't venture into any rough spots like we sometimes used to do and I'm Okay with that.  Bouncing around inside the Jeep like a ping pong ball doesn't seem to hold the same appeal for me anymore like it once did not that long ago.  It's gotta be that damn age thing again!!

AFTER ABOUT THREE MILES CIBOLA PIT ROAD ENDED AT A LARGE UNUSED GRAVEL PIT

NOT MANY SAGUAROS IN THE AREA BUT WE DID SPOT THIS ONE

AN ATV TRAIL AMBLES THROUGH THE DESERT

THE JEEP CAN BE SEEN UPPER LEFT

The road ended at the base of the Trigo Mountains in an old rather large gravel pit after 3 or 4 miles.  The landscape swept upwards a bit and we were able to get out for a walk around and enjoy the views.  This is a rugged land and it is that very ruggedness that has always appealed to me so much.  Everywhere one looks the landscape changes and just keeps on changing.  Mountains, valleys, hills, and plain's go on forever.  For me there is nothing to bore my impatient eyes.  Each bend in the road pulls me further along, each mountain range beckons me to come and say hello.  One day soon this wondrous land here in the Southwest will not be accessible for me anymore and I will be very sad.  However, I am so fortunate to have taken an interest in photography years ago enabling me to at least amass thousands upon thousands of reasonably decent photos of our travels.  I will have my memories.

THAT FAR HILL HAS REALLY BEEN DUG INTO

A BURRO PATH

THOUGHT I HEARD SOME 'HE-HAW'- BURRO SOUNDS DOWN THERE IN THOSE TREES

NOT SURE WHO OR WHAT LIVES OVER THERE IN THOSE HOLES

We're about due to tend to our fresh, gray, and black tanks so we'll be making a move shortly.  We'll combine that with a few other necessary things that have come up and whether we return to our spot here in the Cibola Wildlife Refuge or not remains to be seen.  Because we like the quietness and lack of people here I think we will but maybe not before dropping around to a few other favorite spots in the area first.  We'll see.  It all has to do with how we're feeling at the time.  And I emphasize 'we' not just me as sometimes I'm sure it is perceived with me being the sole author of the blog:))

WE HAD TO KEEP A WARY EYE OUT FOR RUMBLING GRAVEL TRUCKS TODAY

PHEEBS AND I CROSSED THE COLORADO RIVER IN OUR TRAVELS TODAY AND IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY HERE FACING SOUTH YOU CAN SEE PICACHO PEAK WHICH IS ABOUT HALF WAY BETWEEN WHERE WE ARE AND YUMA....PICACHO PEAK IS ON THE HORIZON AT UPPER LEFT AND LOOKS LIKE A TALL DOUBLE PEAK 

DRIVING ON TOP OF A BERM ALONG AN IRRIGATION CANAL

RE-CROSSING THE COLORADO FROM WEST TO EAST

Have noticed the past few days our daylight is slowly lengthening which is always a 'feeling good' sign we are slowly but surely making it through another Winter season on our way to Spring.  

GROANER'S CORNER:)) A TEST FOR 'OLDER' KIDS.  THE ANSWERS WILL BE ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE,BUT YOU JUST CAN'T QUITE REMEMBER THE CORRECT ANSWER. DON'T LOOK BELOW FOR THE ANSWERS UNTIL YOU HAVE TRIED IT OUT.

01. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, the grateful citizens would ask, Who was that masked man?Invariably, someone would answer, I don't know, but he left this behind. What did he leave behind?________________.
02. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. In early 196 allwatched them on The ____ _________Show.
03. 'Get your kicks, __ _______ _______.'
04. 'The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to ___________________.'
05. 'In the jungle, the mighty jungle, ________________.'
06. After the Twist, The Mashed Potato, and the Watusi, we 'danced' under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance called the '_____________.'
07. Nestle's makes the very best . .. . ._______________.'
08. Satchmo was America 's 'Ambassador of Goodwill.' Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us.
His name was _________________.
09. What takes a lickingand keeps on ticking? _______________.
10. Red Skeleton's hobo character was named __________________and Red always ended his television show by saying, 'Good Night, and '___________ ' _______________.
11. Some Americans who protested the Vietnam War did so by burning their______________.
12. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the trunk in the front was called the VW. What other names did it go by? ____________ & _______________.
13. In 1971, singer Don MacLean sang a song about, 'the day the music died.' This was a tribute to ___________________.
14. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit. The Russians did it. It was called ___________________.
15. One of the big fads of the late 50's and 60's was a large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist. It was called the ___________ ____________.
16. Remember LS/MFT _____ _____/_____ _____ _____?
17. Hey Kids! What time is it? It's _____ ______ _____!
18. Who knows what secrets lie in the hearts of men? The _____ Knows!
19. There was a song that came out in the 60's that was “a grave yard smash”. It's name was the ______ ______!
20. Alka Seltzer used a “boy with a tablet on his head” as it's Logo/Representative. What was the boy's name?


01. The Lone Ranger left behind a silver bullet.
02. The Ed Sullivan Show
03. On Route 66
04.To protect the innocent.
05. The Lion Sleeps Tonight
06. The limbo
07. Chocolate
08. Louis Armstrong
09. The Timex watch
10. Freddy, The Freeloader and 'Good Night and God Bless.'
11. Draft cards (Bras were also burned. Not flags, as some have guessed)
12. Beetle or Bug
13. Buddy Holly
14. Sputnik
15. Hoola-hoop
16. Lucky Strike/Means Fine Tobacco
17. Howdy Doody Time
18. Shadow
19. Monster Mash
20. Speedy
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