2011 January » tgif: let's RV

Got The Flu In Q

Jan 312011

Sorry I haven't updated for a few days but I've had the flu (or some such crappy virus) and have been down and out for 4 days. It feels like it is over but I'm still strung out from the ordeal. That means I did nothing but stay in bed and replenish supplies during that time. Went through 2 bottles of Nyquil, 5 gallons of drinking water, a couple of oranges and very little else. It also screwed up my plans on what I wanted to do over the past few days.

If feeling up to it I'll leave tomorrow for Parker to get settled in for the Parker 425 race. I'll report back once I get it all figured out.

Kickin' Back In Q

RV Day to Day Life No Responses »

Jan 252011

Not much to report. Just taking it easy and relaxing. I'll take the short walk to the RV show once a day just to get some excise and maybe a bowl of ice cream. There are a lot of people leaving today. The people next to me left this morning and are headed to Yuma. Would guess I've seen 50 or more heading out. I still plan on staying around until the 1st then head to Parker.

The weather has been beautiful. Mostly clear with highs around 70 with lows in the mid 40s which is typical weather for the area. Yesterday I did find cool surprises for Jess and Ryan, still looking for something for Bryan and Sara.

Spud has been enjoying the weather. We take a long walk every day and then just lounge around soaking it up. He never wants to come inside at the end of the day. I already have my "farmers tan", maybe need to head to the clothing optional area to fill it out

The Quartzsite Big Show

RV Destinations No Responses »

Jan 232011

I was going to update yesterday but last night there was a campfire get together. By the time that was over it was too late and I was in no shape to try and update.

Yesterday the RV Big Tent opened up. I got up around 8am and already there was at least a mile long line of cars trying to get parked. Thankfully I'm camped close enough and it's less then a 1/2 mile walk to the show. I ended up getting there about 9:30am and the tent was packed. It was close to impossible to even walk around. The best deals I seen was at the Camco booth where they had a lot of refurbished items for sale. Campfire In A Can was only $75 compared to $150 and they also had catalytic heaters at half off. I would guess about half the vendors were RV related, the rest were cookware, health foods, leather goods and other such trash.

I did wind my way through the tent but gladly retreated outside to walk around the vendors setup around the tent. Outside was a number of larger displays. Generators, hitches, bar-b-ques and other things could be found there. One thing I found interesting was the Toy-Tote. It is a carrier that attaches to the back of your own trailer. Rather then just using a trailer hitch for connection it actually bolts on the back and has a small wheel under it that supports the weight of the item it is carrying. Since I have been looking for an easier way to carry my MoPed this might fill the bill.

Back To Quartzsite

RV Day to Day Life, RV Destinations No Responses »

Jan 202011

I made it back to Quartzsite today. It was an easy 3 hour drive from Scottsdale. I am now in the La Posa West BLM camping area which is the closest camping area to the RV show. That also means it is the busiest area to be in. I really don't mind that as I've spend the past couple of weeks with no one close by. Since the RV show is within easy walking distance I won't have to fight the traffic and the lack of parking.

I have also heard all these stories of things that go on in the more popular areas and wanted to get "first hand" experience. So far, at 10pm, it appears that the vast majority are already sleeping... we'll see what the rest of the week brings.

I did run into town on the MoPed to get some pop, bread and butter. Wanted to make some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner but was out of bread and butter.It's only about a 1/2 mile to town and only about a 1/4 mile was on the highway. I had to worry about all the ATVs running around more then the cars and trucks.

As you can see from the pictures below, things are a bit more crowded but still not as packed in as a commercial campground. I would compared the spacing between coaches to be about the same as Michigan state campgrounds. I've talked to a couple of people around me and one is from Canada and the other Iowa.

That's it for today, maybe have something more interesting to report on tomorrow.

Fort McDowell Casino

RV Destinations No Responses »

Jan 192011

Today I decided to play tourist and visit the local casino. Fort McDowell Casino is only about 15 minutes away so it was just a short drive. I didn't take any pictures because I went in using the back entrance as they were having a car show and the main entrance was blocked off at the time.

The casino is one of the nicest Indian casinos that I have been in. There are not only the vast expanse of slot machines, but table games, poker and bingo. There are 3 or 4 restaurants and the prices were not that bad. I had breakfast for $7.00. There is also a sushi bar where you can sit and have custom sushi made then play video poker while you eat.

I started playing the a slot machine and lost $20 in about 30 minutes. Figured I'd risk another 20 bucks and at one point I had $80 in credits. In about 45 minutes that had dropped to $40 so I cashed in to try something else. Moved to another slot machine and lost $20 in about 10 minutes.... time to move on.

Walked around a bit to see if there was something that interested me and settled on the $2 black jack table.They have an interesting "25 cent side bet" play at this $2 table that you have to play each hand. If you get a 2,3 & 4 in your hand, they pay you $10, all the same suit pays $25. 4 in a row pays $20 and $50 respectively. I guess there are bigger jackpots but didn't look into see how much they were. I am sure it is done just for the house to make extra money but I did hit it for $10 once. I put up $20 to play and ended up being at the table for close to 3 hours before I lost it all.

Really not a bad day. I was there for close to 6 hours and donated $40 to the Yavapai Nation. If in the area, stop in at the Fort McDowell Casino and try your luck.

Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction

RV Destinations No Responses »

Jan 182011

I took a trip over to the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction at WestWorld in Scottsdale AZ. It was about a 45 minute drive from McDowell Mountain Regional Park where I am staying. Even though I got there around 9am I had to park about a mile away. Of course luck has it that the person in front of me had problems with his ticket and it took them 15 minutes to get it straightened out while we all stood there waiting to get in.

Once inside there was a large display from Ford that had most of their vehicles on display. Just past that was a GM display and then the vendor booth. The vendors had everything from automotive accessories to diamond jewelry, Tempur-Pedic Mattresses and home furnishings. Some of the more interesting items I seen were wood framed bicycles and new motorcycles that looked like vintage (early 1900's) bikes. Of course there was nothing there that was in my price range.

McDowell Mountain Regional Park

RV Destinations, RV Parks & Campgrounds No Responses »

Jan 172011

When I got up this morning I decided to head back to the Phoenix area and spend a couple of days at the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction. Many of us have watched it on TV and I figured this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see it. There is a lot more going on there besides the auction. They have a big car show, lots of vendors, ride & drives in addition to the auction.

It took me about 3 1/2 hours to get to the McDowell Mountain Regional Park located north of town. It's about a 45 minute drive to the auction but I had heard the park was really nice. It is part of the Maricopa County Park System. I stayed at Usery Mountain Regional Park (also part of the Maricopa County Park System) a few weeks ago and it was an awesome park. McDowell Mountain park did not disappoint.

Geocache GCZJGD - Patrick's Notched Saguaro

Geocaching 2 Responses »

Jan 152011

I had a bit of time today so thought I'd grab a cache that had me hiking a bit. This isn't a long hike, about 1/3 mile. But I did find out later that of you drive around to the south side of Q Mountain you can get a lot closer to it. I parked on the north side and had to hike up and then down the side. The only advantage of this hike is that you pass by an abandoned mine you won't see from the south side. There is another mine just southwest of the cache.

The cache area looks to be a bit of a party place as there are broken beer bottles and other trash in the area. But it is still an interesting hike with the mines to check out. The cache location can be seen in the photo to the left.

I took a Samboree patch and left quartz.

Q Update

RV Day to Day Life No Responses »

Jan 152011

Not a lot to report other then things have been picking up in Quartzsite. The traffic is getting heavier and the parking lots of the restaurants and stores are not full and it's hard to find a parking spot. Last week I could park close to anywhere I wanted to go and now it's almost impossible to get a parking spot that is close to anything. Don't plan on being in a hurry if you are driving in town, speeds are now about 20MPH and you have to watch closely for other drivers as they try to figure out where to go. Not a big deal, I don't have a timetable to keep.

The temperatures have been decent the past couple of days with highs in the 70's and lows in the 40's. I did walk around the Gem and Rock show today and headed out to Q Mountain to grab a geocache. The geocache was just a short 1/4 mile hike and was by some abandoned mines so it was pretty cool grab.

Tomorrow is Sunday but everything is open. Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow. Will most likely drive down to the long term camping areas to see how much they have filled up. I want to move to one of those areas on Monday so maybe I'll be able to get an idea of where I want to stay.

Geocache GC19AD0 - Give Me A Break

Geocaching No Responses »

Jan 132011

An easy grab located on the side of the road. This was the last one for the day so I did take a break on the bench nearby to enjoy the nice weather. There is a paved bike path that runs down the road so you could easily bike to this one. The cache container was a bit beat up but everything was intact. Took a Hanna Montana pin from the swag and left a magnet clip. The cache is located in the picture.

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