Quartzsite postscript

Michael completed his video-editing and now that we are connected back to the WWW, he was able to upload the video to YouTube.  
Here is the link for your viewing pleasure with snippets of gray-haired Alpiners whooping it up in the tent at Desert Rat Rally XV in Quartzsite, our trip to Desert Bar, and the Bouse Fisherman:
https://youtu.be/uhpXLRUHTuA

The Alpine Desert Rat Rally

After 7 days and 7 nights, we have come out of the desert and are connected again to civilization. Our first Alpine Desert Rat Rally XV was a fun experience as was our first real dry camping adventure. I can certainly understand and appreciate what draws folks into the wilderness, away from the hub-bub of city life, to commune with nature.

Every morning, I watched the sun rising over the mountains, and every evening, the sunsets tinted the dimming sky in reds and purples. The night sky was a clear indigo speckled with bright twinkling stars. During the night, I heard no sound other than occasional screeches of wild coyotes (once the generators stopped running, that is!). 

This is of course hardly roughing it, and we were quite self-contained and comfortable in our Alpine, with a full water tank and empty waste tanks. The solar panels kept the batteries charged during the day and if we needed to, we fired up the generator to use the microwave/convection oven, though we relied on the gas stove if we needed to cook. Dry camping is not at all bad, and now we know that we can do this again quite comfortably in Alpine. 

Imagine a flat desert plain, dotted with various cactuses and desert shrubs, encircled by distant mountain ranges.  This is the Sonoran Arizona Desert, basically a gigantic sand box, a vast wilderness area that is dusty, rock-strewn, and deserted.

However, for the past week thousands of RV’s congregated and parked in clusters on BLM land (Bureau of Land Management) in this normally quiet, vast nothingness. The tiny town of Quartzsite and its outskirts swelled with the arrival of thousands of retirees who came to play and to shop.  It was winter camp for the seniors who were here to hang out in the desert sunshine, socialize with other RV-ing friends and groups, scoot around in their all-terrain vehicles, and shop in the Big Tent where dozens of vendors ply all sorts of wares that RV-ers simply have to have.

Just as children love to play in a sandbox with their toys, we did too.

The Alpine group gathered about 5 miles north of town on BLM land along Plomosa Road. There were over 50 coaches at this rally. 

We met in the white tent for breakfasts, social hours, "gearhead" meetings, a couple of educational seminars, dinners, a swap meet, entertainment, and even for dancing one night. 

our Alpine group, coaches neatly lined up

We caught up with Alpine friends we had met previously and enjoyed meeting new members and getting to know them too. The Alpine family is spread out all over the US, and a few came from as far as Alaska, Illinois and Missouri for this rally.

Mac the fire safety guy 

We played down town, walking through the Big Tent, looking at all the RV-related goods and services. 

inside the big tent, jam-packed with gray-haired shoppers

We played in the desert. One day we hiked to see the palms growing in Palm Canyon in the Kofa Wildlife Refuge with new Alpine friends, Steve and Sue. The scenery was spectacular and the stillness surrounding us peaceful and awesome. 

Californian fan palms clinging to the canyon crevice

This is a link to more information about how these palms appeared here: http://www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails/trailNRT/PalmCanyon-AZ.html

Here is what else we saw in the Kofa Wildlife Refuge:

a plein air artist with his dog (which reminds me of
our Alsatian, Mira, we had at home in South Africa)

saguaro, ocotillo, and cholla cactus

this ocotillo is in bloom

a typical landscape scene in these parts

peaks lit up by the late afternoon sun

twilight in the desert

On another day, we went off in search of the Quartzsite Rock Alignment. The area north of Quartzsite was used as a training ground for General Patton’s troops during WWII, and rocks were laid out spelling QUARTZSITE and forming an arrow pointing the way. 

give me a "Q"

give me a "U"

give me an "A".......  put them together and you have -

A little further down the same road we went in search of the Fisherman Intaglio, the outline of a fisherman drawn on the desert floor by ancient Indians. The Bouse Fisherman is a 30-foot long geoglyph of a person spearing a fish and though we were able to make out the shapes, it would be best seen from the air.

looking at the fisherman from the side, the large patch is his body,
his head on the right, legs on the left, and the spear head
made of white stones in the foreground

Another day, we took Jeep on our first off-road trip to Desert Bar, an experience that still leaves me amused. 

Someone had the brilliant idea to create a bar and restaurant in the middle of nowhere, open only on weekends, and the folks continue to arrive in droves to check it out. 

It's a shuddering 4.5 mile drive along a primitive road to get there, with a fair amount of jostling and bouncing through rutted rocky terrain. 

bouncing along with the others who took the "good" primitive road

The gray hairs with serious off-road vehicles come in through a more primitive route, climbing over rocks and dunes.  One of the Alpiner's Jeeps, while negotiating around a large rock, slipped off the edge of the road and had to be pulled back up by two others.

the Alpine group lining up for their challenging off-road drive to Desert Bar

some folks have weddings here

At the end of the road is a dusty, rocky, cactus- strewn and stark venue. There is a church façade for weddings, and an outdoor terrace with a couple of bars and fast-food areas to eat. It was noisy, crowded, and the food would not win any awards. Yet the folks continued to pour in by the dozens, the parking spots snapped up as soon as anyone left. 

overlooking the lower restaurant section

Michael waiting in line for our burgers

a band playing for our enjoyment

the serious off-road vehicles that arrived here cross country

And yes, it took 4.5 miles of bouncing, jarring and jostling along the same primitive road to get back to the highway. I left wondering “why?”…, laughing at how very gullible folks are. Someone discovered a gold mine when they came up with the idea for Desert Bar. They must have asked themselves what would entertain the thousands of retirees who call this area home during the winter months while they hang out in the their RV’s in the desert. And they hit gold!

Quartzsite is located 17 miles from the  California border, and started out as a water-stop in the desert. There is a lot of history in the area, from pioneers and settlers who came here and settled the town that is now Quartzsite, to prospectors and ranchers, whose descendants still live in the town. During the winter months, this becomes a retiree hang out, with abundant sunshine and mild winter temperatures. Over 60 RV parks and 11,000 acres of BLM land cater to those who enjoy coming to the desert. No wonder Quartzsite has become a popular winter destination, even if only for a few months in the year. It would be rather uncomfortable to have to endure the summer temperatures of over 120F! 

Day 10: overnight in Riverside

It was a long day. We left Pismo Beach around 11AM and finally pulled in at Rancho Jurupa in Riverside after 5PM.
Because we are going to be dry camping in Quartzsite (without any amenities), before leaving Pismo we topped up our LP Gas. This will be our source for running the fridge, for cooking, the hot water tank, and should we need heat, the furnace.  After our LP gas fill, we still needed to hook up Jeep.  
By 11AM we were under way for the 240 mile trip, traveling south along Route 101.  

From Santa Maria all the way through to Glendale we drove along the dotted scenic route on the map, which today was partly obscured in the mist and occasional light rain. You could still see the outlines of the rolling hills, and everything looked lush and green.

As we turned south, the ocean sprang into view and under today's grey sky it looked a khaki green. Large waves rolled in one after the other depositing a wide swath of foam along the shore.

view of the Pacific, and the El Camino Real mission bells that mark Route 101

Route 101, a black ribbon between the ocean and the mountains

Driving through the Los Angeles outskirts was a stop-and-go ordeal, and today being Martin Luther King Day, the traffic was lighter than usual. We agreed that living here and driving the highways on a daily basis must not be pleasant. It seemed to take forever.

About 40 miles from our destination, the "jacks down" alarm sounded its high-pitched scream. It has sounded previously, typically within the first hour of driving.  After activating the "store" button, the alarm would stop and we always continued on without further incidence. 
Today, however, the darned alarm would not go off. It was a pretty miserable drive for the next 30 minutes, stuck in 5 lanes of slow traffic, with nowhere to pull over to investigate the ear-splitting screech. Just before entering on to Route 60, we saw a golf course parking lot and pulled in to see what was going on with the left rear jack. As if it was not enough dealing with the screaming jacks down alarm, our GPS was now alerting us that we were violating an RV weight restriction in this area. Michael checked that there was fluid in the HWH system, and then investigated what was going on with the left rear jack. He extended the two back jacks, cleaned them off, retracted them, and all worked fine.
Alarm off, jacks stored, we made our way back to the on ramp to Route 60 and 24 miles later, pulled in to Riverside's county park, Rancho Jurupa. The Leggs stayed here earlier and based on Janet's recommendation, we decided to come here too. It's a pretty park with a small fishing lake and the RV sites are large, paved and level with full hookups. We were happy to get a pull-through site and we have internet.

Tomorrow we complete the remaining 196 miles to Quartzsite. Before we leave, we will prepare for our stay in the desert: we need to fill the fresh water tank and dump the waste tanks so they are completely empty. This will be our first experience dry camping in the middle of nowhere. We have heard so much about Quartzsite and what a popular destination it is for RV-ers. We will be joining our Alpine group. Apparently there are 50 Alpines that have signed up with a few extra joining us. There will also be many other RV groups gathering during this week which coincides with the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show. Since there will likely be no internet access, and it may be a while before I am able to share with you what the fuss is all about, here is a link you may find interesting should you wish to check out how we will be spending some of our time next week: http://www.quartzsitervshow.com/

Day 9: last day in Pismo

Tomorrow we head out to join the SoCal Alpine group in Quartzsite, Arizona, for the annual Desert Rat Rally. We have enjoyed our stay in Pismo Beach, albeit short. We always look forward to coming here and with each visit, it feels more and more like home. 

Alpine and Jeep

the beach used to slope gently upward towards these eroded "cliffs"
you see that Michael is walking past 

At this time or year, and owing to the effects of the El Nino winter storms and king tides, the beach looked quite different. The extremely high tides have caused a lot of erosion, exposing rocks that were previously hidden below the sand.  It looks as if the beach surface is now one or two feet lower than before, allowing the tidal flow to reach far higher up the beach.  It has not kept us or others away from our daily walks (me) and runs (he) each morning, followed by an evening sunset stroll to the pier and back. 
Today, with a high surf advisory in effect, the pier was closed. We watched the waves rolling in, crashing, and thundering far onto the beach. It was quite an awesome sight.































The weather has been quite pleasant, raining only once overnight. To Californians it feels cool and I find it amusing that the women wear boots and down coats while I stride in my usual lightweight long-sleeved top that I typically wear at home in spring and fall. 

We have also noticed how very green the hills are after the recent rains in California. 

When our route to the beach took us through the State Park, we stopped at the monarch grove to observe the butterflies. To keep warm, the butterflies cluster together. In this photo, what looks like leaves hanging down are actually clusters of monarchs. As the day warms up, they become more active and fly high above the eucalyptus tree tops. 
What clever little creatures to call Pismo their winter home.




In the afternoons, we have spent time on various projects. Michael has worked on his favorite projects - the Alpine and Jeep. We had a leak in the storage area, which we discovered during the torrential downpours back in Washington State. Of three possible entry points, by process of elimination, he thinks it could be related to the furnace vent. He bought a new vent with a rain shield flange across the top, a bit like a deflector, and installed it. We are crossing fingers it makes a difference. 
His other project is to install a new radio and speakers in the Jeep. Ever since I met this guy, he has been tinkering with sound systems, and a good one in his vehicle is a must.

As for my projects... I spent a few pleasant hours dreaming up quilt tops, and have started piecing an "I-Spy" quilt. On this trip, I also brought along my embroidery module to see if future embroidery projects in the Alpine are feasible. Yesterday I spent a successful couple of hours embroidering kitchen towels for our rally hosts.



Now that we have a "toad" (tow vehicle), we were able to drive to do some shopping and stock up for our time in the desert. 

Once again, Pismo has been a perfect destination.  My only complaint is that our stay was not long enough.
Here are a few beach scenes for you to enjoy as we did:

we could not walk beyond the white cliffs this visit because the tide was too high

this pelican seemed to enjoy posing for me along the pier

the view south from the pier, the tide coming in and spilling far onto the beach

a surprise in the sand as we walked on to the beach this morning - a Pismo clam and a starfish

there were dozens of these little Sanderlings, scurrying back and forth, on the hunt
for a meal... they amused us greatly, especially when one finds a snack, and others chase after it to steal it away.

horse riders on the beach

a wild and woolly winter scene in Pismo, quite mysterious and beautiful

Sandpipers resting on one foot.... quite unperturbed by the waves crashing and rolling in

previously we could walk past this rock all the way to the cliffs in the distance

Pismo Beach seems to be popular at any time of year

the boardwalk with its numerous cafes and shops

this morning, a musician playing out of his truck entertained folks along the boardwalk

adios Pismo and we hope to back again soon....