January 21st 2016 From Plomosa Road 16.6/1.7

From Plomosa Road January 21^st 2016 (33 53.193 /114 03.166)

 

On Dec 23^rd, I left the endless water supply, sewer connection and shore power at Hickiwan RV Park, next door to the Tohono O’odham Tribal Casino at Why and moved the 3 miles to Gunsight Wash, where I stayed for about 10 days before travelling back to Plomosa, from where this note has been penned. Gunsight is quite different from Plomosa in that the desert floor is flat with a very fine gravel, almost sandy, surface and there is plenty of vegetation in the form of ironwood and palo verde trees as well as the ever present creosote bushes, along with a multitude of other shrubs. Camping at Gunsight was quite social as I had Lyn and Linda Michaud for company much of the time, enjoyed Christmas dinner with them, did a little exploring of the countryside by Jeep and on foot, plus went in to Ajo for a round of scrabble with Gayle Weyers where I took advantage of her weakened condition and distraction from too many phone calls to squeeze out a rare victory. At some stage, Ted Webber from Las Cruces, NM, came along, just as the Michauds were leaving, so Gunsight was never short on camping companions. We hiked a little almost every day, went to lunch at Marcela’s in Ajo a few times and visited Jeanette Nichols for coffee one afternoon.

 

Plomosa Road is about a three and a half hour drive from Gunsight, so easy enough for one day. However, I made a stop on the way at Saddle Mountain RV Park in Tonopah, a highway interchange and not much more on I-10. Several years before, I had heard about the Hot Springs at this place. Called El Dorado, there is a public pool area where clothing is not only not “optional” but lack of same is mandatory. In addition, several “private” tubs in fenced off areas offer, according to the young lady who was shilling the benefits of the place, an “anything goes” environment – all for only $10. Tempting, this might have been but I suddenly remembered something I had to watch on TV so scurried back to the RV Park. Occasionally, even a dedicated boondocker like me has to stop at a Park where one can hook up to water, power and sewer, replenish some tanks and empty others, do a load of laundry and get ready for the next few weeks of camping in the desert. 

 

Plomosa is quite different from Gunsight. Being situated between the Plomosa Mountains and valley floor below on a gently sloping plain, camp areas are located along several ridges that offer fairly level spaces. Here the surface is gravel with some varnished rocks and, if one is lucky, bits of deep red jasper. My camp sits up on a height of land so views are expansive and one can see for miles to the next ridge of mountains 20 miles away, as well as down to the booming metropolis of Bouse where the new Dollar store might be the main attraction. At both Plomosa and Gunsight Wash, the featured performances of each day would have to be spectacular sunrises and sunsets with skies glowing in all colours of the spectrum.

 

The Quartzsite RV Show, about 25 minutes away, takes place every year in January and attracts over a million RVers, most of whom dry-camp in the surrounding desert areas in their ”rigs”. These range from huge motorhomes to small tent trailers, so one sees quite a mixture of lifestyles. In addition, many of the desert rooftops display a sea of solar panels tilted up to the sun, though some, like mine, are flat to the roofs, so I don’t have to climb the ladder and crawl around on my knees to tilt the panels. On the downside, one receives less power from the sun. Others chose to run generators to keep their TV sets operating but camping in one form or another is being done on a large scale. All these people descend on the normally sleepy little town of Quartzsite to wander the markets and spend their money on gadgetry for their “camping” pleasure.

Ted and I had agreed to meet back on Plomosa and do our rounds of the big circus tent, try to keep our wallets in check and see what all the vendors had to offer. Meanwhile, over in Quartzsite, one year is much like another at the show but it is always entertaining to wander around in the midst of crowds of people doing one’s best to avoid colliding with baby carriages hauling small dogs and trying not to knock over ancient little women blinded and weakened by the dazzle of LED light bulbs and the smells of fabulous new-age steamers preparing vegetables or meats in half the time it took to do the same thing two years ago - all “as seen on TV”! This year, I spent my hard earned cash on t-shirts (mine keep shrinking or I keep stretching), a step for the motorhome entrance, a hitch receiver damper to keep the Jeep in line behind me, several LED lights, a broom/squeegee that can clean tiles, carpets, dogs, windshields and much more. Passed up but very attractive options would have been a memory pillow, a 400 lumen flashlight, hiking boots like the ones worn by “our troops” in Afghanistan and a used sofa-bed that may or may not have fitted in the coach. At the time of this writing, the show still has a few days remaining, so I can go and splurge some more, if absolutely necessary. Ted has gone to camp at the Long Term Visitor Stay (LTVS) area near Quartzsite (he likes to be able to walk to the action and doesn’t mind camping with hordes of other eager participants, a bit like the marmots at my cabin, now that I think of it). Recently arrived and also recently departed has been Dick Forer, my golfing friend from Salmon Arm. He is en route to an RV Park in Casa Grande but stopped for two days to camp with me and enjoy hiking around the RV Show.  

 

Arizona is well known for its sunsets but, if one rolls over in bed, the sunrises are often equally spectacular. In fact, at this time of year, the sun pokes its head up at about 8.00, so it’s a pretty leisurely schedule. I generally wake up fairly early but see little point in actually getting up to waste power and fuel on my fancy heating system when I can just stay in bed where it is always warm. At this point in the winter, outside overnight temperatures are still not far above freezing and the coach interior is only slightly warmer until the sun shines in through the large front window, at which time things warm up nicely.

 

The Verizon Jetpack that I bought in late November does not get a signal here on Plomosa, so I am gong to have to drive up the road a bit in order to send this e-mail. Attached, will be a few photos - Some are pictures of the motorhome as it is the most photogenic object that I see on a regular basis – along with the sunsets.

Less photogenic are pics of me with Ted and also with Dick Forer, in front of our respective RVs as well as a shot of a frequent lunch stop in Quartzsite: 

25 me at Gunsight Wash

28 JW and Ted ready to hike

34 Bad Boys Café in Q.

37 Sunset at Plomosa

 

38 Dick and JW with suitcase solar panels