OCTOBER 2016 - March 2017

TRAVEL TO DEATH VALLEY, 49er ENCAMPMENT, and exploring the Southwest

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TRAVELOGUE # 11 - Quartzsite AZ (Big Tent, Social Gatherings, Toyota Rally, more Social Gatherings) and on to Lake Havasu and back into California

Tuesday January 17 - Monday February 6, 2017

Published March 30, 2017

Quartzsite, AZ! After stocking up on propane and groceries, I headed out to Plumosa Rd, about 8 miles north of Quartzsite where there were some huge BLM lands that allow (free) camping. This is where the LOWS and ESCAPEES and a lot of other groups hang out during the big RV Show and events. It's one of their biggest social gatherings of the year. I parked near Escapees SOLOS friends (Myrna, Celeste, Gail, Dave Anderson, and others). First day there, we went to a huge Happy Hour event for ALL Escapees (there are many chapters and different interest groups). Loads of food, BYOB, and live music. Then back to where the Solos were, and had a huge hot dog dinner, followed by a camp fire and Gail and I played and sang a bit. Next day was Thursday, had breakfast provided by an Escapees group, then I packed up and moved back into the heart of Quartzsite to be with other Toyota RVs like mine for a Toyota rally all weekend.

There were at least 25 Toyota rigs of various year and model with people coming and going all weekend. This is a great opportunity to share ideas, show off custom improvements, and get answers to technical questions. Great fun! We all pitched in on Friday to put up tents and tables for a gathering place, when the wind got so bad we had to take it all down and do it again on Saturday. The planned group dinner on Friday was cancelled. On Saturday, I walked over to the "Big Tent" of the RV show (only a block or so away from our camping spot) and wandered around for a few hours. Bought a very neat pet hair broom that really helps me keep the dog hair under control! Hundreds of vendors selling all kinds of stuff for RVs and traveling. I can only do that for a few hours and then I'm brain dead. Had our potluck dinner and bonfire. Sunday I walked over and wandered around a huge area of Flea Market vendors - bought a few more things, then was totally done with shopping! Still about 2/3 of the folks were still around, so we did potluck leftovers and hung out.

Monday morning I left early to go back up to Plumosa Rd in time for the annual meeting of the SOLOS group. Did I mention that shortly after joining the Solos in Death Valley, I became the new webmaster as soon as they heard that's what I do! There's a lot of overlap with many people belonging to both LOWS and the Escapees Solos group. On Tuesday the LOWS invited all the Solos and some other singles groups to their area for a wine and cheese Happy Hour - it was fun to see some familiar faces - then the Solos had a potluck dinner. So much food - I felt like I'd never be hungry again! Wednesday was the last day for most folks, and I too headed out going north toward Parker and Lake Havasu. Spent several days at a county park on the Colorado River just north of Parker AZ so I could do some work for a client and then one more night to avoid high winds in the forecast.

Saturday, next stop, Lake Havasu. I found an RV park just north of Havasu City and the London Bridge. Next day I explored Havasu City, then stopped to view the London Bridge, then drove over it to a peninsula which is basically a huge park. We walked all around the park - it even had a dog park! The London Bridge was dismantled stone by stone and shipped to AZ. It is an impressive structure. Seems weird to have it here in America, but oh well. From Wikipedia:

London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It was built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. It was dismantled in 1967 and relocated to Arizona. The Arizona bridge is a reinforced concrete structure clad in the original masonry of the 1830s bridge, which was purchased by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London. McCulloch had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge numbered and transported to America to construct the present bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu. The bridge was completed in 1971 (along with a canal), and links an island in the Colorado River with the main part of Lake Havasu City.

Headed north from Havasu City, camped on open BLM land, then crossed the Colorado River, drove through Needles, CA and westward on old Route 66 across the Mojave Desert. I thought there might be some interesting places on the way, but it was basically totally desolate! There were a few ruins from better days, but not much. This section in eastern CA was a good section to get thru as quickly as possible. (I remember driving thru the desert in the 70s in the middle of the night to avoid the heat - this trip it was only around 70 degrees). I stopped for another few days at an RV park in Victorville (between Barstow and San Bernadino). Park was minimal, but had wi-fi so I could do some work. Lots of open space behind the park to walk with Sunna.

Next stop, Valencia California's Camping World. I had decided to buy their portable solar panel set, but they didn't have any in stock. So, I spent the night in their parking lot and next day drove to Camping World in Bakersfield after taking a good hike with Sunna in a nearby park. Then I drove east to Kern County Park to test it out. Ended up spending 4 nights there. The solar worked really well! I still have a lot to learn, but it's a good start. It allows me to work on the computer all day and some TV in the evening and still have a fully charged battery! Even when it was cloudy the gain was impressive. Even had enough juice to watch the Superbowl! This park was one of my favorites of the trip. Quiet, on the river, wide open spaces, lots of trails in all directions, and lots of fun wildlife. Saw several Great Horned Owls, and lots of birds on the river.

Next I headed west. Made the drive from Kern River to Pismo Beach in one day....

 

Camels were brought in by the US government in 1855 thinking they could carry more and were more heat tolerant than mules (true), and they also brought in camel drivers who spoke the language the camels (imported from Africa) understood. This was successful for the most part, but then the civil war interrupted and they were disbanded. For years there were wild camels running loose.

Above: My first view of the "Big Tent". Below: stock aerial photos give you an idea of how many RVs there were. Look off into the distance. Thousands of acres of BLM land where camping was allowed. You can see the Big Tent in all three photos - gives you some perspective!

NOTE: I have heard that as many as 500,000 RVs visit Quartzsite every winter, most of them around the same time frame! The population of the town of Quartzsite is less than 4000!

 

Happy Hour event for ALL Escapees (there are many chapters and different interest groups). Loads of food, BYOB, and live music.

TOYOTA RALLY:

Remember, the NEWEST of these rigs was made in 1994 - and some were from the 70's and 80's. Mine was made in 1991 on a 1990 Toyota one-ton truck. I'm in the middle left above, the one next to the little white table below.

This view was taken from the other end. Below, a young couple from WA who live in their Toyota full time, do computer work and travel extensively. Their next adventure is to drive to the southern tip of South America!

Above, Carol and her dogs. Below, Monday morning at the dump. Shortly after I took this photo, another Toyota rig pulled up, so there were 4 of us emptying our holding tanks! It was a Dump Party (Lopezians will appreciate that!)

This was at a County Park on the Colorado River, with CA on the other side.

Below: Pirate Cove RV Park, next to the county park.

HAVASU CITY and LONDON BRIDGE:

Very touristy - shops, boat rentals, etc. Fun destination.

Flags: US, Great Britain, Arizona

This large peninsula was mostly park land. They had dozens of lighthouses all around the park -- 1/3 replicas of well known lighthouses. Above, see the brown lighthouse on the far side of the Bridgewater Channel, the pair flanking the mouth of the man-made canal as it came into the lake.

Great paths - and even a dog park (below)!

The color of Lake Havasu was brilliant. Below, last drive across the London Bridge.

Camping on BLM Land near Needles.

Above, you can see a few white spots above - those are other RVs. Not too crowded.

Above: See my RV at the top of the photo? We walked all over and no leash! Below: this is a pipeline crossing, not a bridge.

ROUTE 66 - Across the Mojave Desert:

This is symbolic of what I saw on Route 66 - Not Much. There weren't even very many abandoned ruins!

So much diversity in the desert! On one side of the road, old mine tailings. On the other, snow capped mountains in the distance with a cinder cone in the foreground!

Saw this statue all by itself with nothing around. A few miles later, I saw a second one and signs that this had been a planned development that never happened.

Lava flow in the foreground - at least 10,000 years old!

Another crater and more snow.

I took this photo because I couldn't decide if the tower on the right was a real tree or not. Turn out, it's NOT. I saw more of these faux tree towers in other places.

KERN COUNTY PARK and SOLAR:

Great horned owl - in a Eucalyptus tree.

View of campground and Kern River from a hill top nearby. Below: Ring-necked duck and Egret.

There were lots of walking trails all around the campground. I loved this place!

Got Solar! 120watt briefcase solar. It folds up and fits under my table. I'm learning how to use it most effectively. For now, it's most helpful during the day to let me work on the computer without draining the battery, when I'm not hooked up to electricity. Called "boon docking" - don't ask me why! I spent a lot of time this winter boon docking and this will allow me to do more - it's cheaper and usually nicer! You can camp anywhere!

Two Great Horned Owls flapping in the tree top at dusk.

The striking green hillsides were everywhere in CA - they had so much rain this year that it caused massive flooding. The drought is over (for now).

This is Oildale - it was a sea of oil wells... Just north of Bakersfield in Kern County, it is surrounded by HUGE oil fields with 30,000 or more oil wells! What a surprise to come on this from the beautiful hills around Kern River! The town was nice looking, but I don't think I'd want to live there!

 

Next installment - CA coast - then back to the central valley