As we near the end
of February, more and more blossoms appear in the desert here at
LaPosa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, where Clifford and I are
camped in this BLM long-term area. I find great pleasure in walking
in the desert in the morning, taking photos, just being present to
the ambiance of the area, the colors, the sounds, the feel of it. I
have found a few spots where I can sit on old dead and downed tree
trunks, soaking up the morning sun with my eyes closed. I have named
the desert Serenity, for that’s what she is to me.
Along with the
desert experience, life goes on with trips to Quartzsite for errands,
Clifford is recovering from a bout of bladder infection, blogs are
written, photos are edited, books are edited, music is played with my
brother Rollie who is camped next to us, meals are prepared and
eaten, domestic chores are taken care of. No two days are exactly
alike, depending on the weather and the needs of the day.
FB posts, Clifford’s
ham nets, and the Canadian Broadcast news that we listen to draw more
and more attention to the corona virus, some of it factual
information, but sensational alarmist headlines take center-stage.
Our life changes very little, but we have concern for those who will
be facing hardships.
February 20 to 24: Every morning I walk in the desert at LaPosa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, where Clifford and I are camped.
Sunrise reflected off Shale Mountain
It is the time to center myself and I always find flowers or trees to take photos of, often posting one for my Higher Vibration Series. It is important to find that calm peaceful joyful center of my being, as the externals may not always be so calm and peaceful.
Great gnarly old trees live here
Desert shrubs in bloom
One day, clouds move in and there is a bit of a rainstorm followed by a rainbow. Rain in the desert is such a treat, so life-giving. Everything looks fresh and bright after a rain.
Rain-bearing clouds move in
A rainbow after the rain
Clouds begin to dissipate
We
make a couple of trips to Quartzsite for errands and music, but other
than that, we are quite content with our spot in the desert with its
huge wild “front yard.”
Trees and blooming shrubs in our wild front yard
Rugged mountains to the south
We continue with our usual projects, ham radio and dulcimer for Clifford; photography, blogs, editing, and viola for me. Almost every day we get together with my brother Rollie and play bluegrass tunes. It is a good life here.
February 16 to 19: Our life here in the desert camping at LaPosa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, is somewhat like it would be if we were at homebase in Utah in that we would still have errands, still need to do laundry, still buy groceries. We would still work on our projects: ham radio and dulcimer and CI for Clifford; taking photos, editing, blog writing, and playing viola for me.
Rugged mountains to the south
What is different is that my brother Rollie is camped next to us, so we share meals, hike together, play music together, and Rollie and I play cribbage almost daily.
Rollie cooks up some burgers for us and friends
And the desert itself – that marvelous bit of land that stretches for miles is the greatest difference. I find peace and joy daily in meandering about, catching the rising of the sun as often as I can and finding the inspiration for my daily Higher Vibration Series. (Daily posts on FB and on my website.)
Shale Mountain at sunrise
I have named the desert Serenity, for that is what she is to me.
February 11 to 15: My morning walks are like little retreats for me. A time just to be, not to think deep thoughts, not to work out problems, not to dwell on the meaning of life, just time to be aware of my surroundings: the light of sunrise, birds chirping, flowers becoming more abundant, the variety and texture of desert vegetation, the color and nature of rocks.
Palo verde at sunrise
Flowers
Blooming
Desert ambiance – a visit to the saguaro I call Grandmother
It is hard to not pick up pieces of quartz, some very white and often with crystals embedded, to take back to camp. More and more, I leave almost all of them in place, appreciating them, but not needed to keep them. I take lots of photos and a few of these will make it to posts and even fewer to my Higher Vibration Series.
The morning dance begins
The special moment of the rising of the sun
The beauty of gnarly old trees
Besides the morning saunter, my day is filled with meals (preparing, eating, cleaning up), blogs, editing for a couple of authors, sending texts with photos to family and friends, and playing bluegrass on viola with Clifford and my brother Rollie.
Clifford
participates in ham nets daily, but also devotes hours to playing his
dulcimer, learning new songs and making accompaniments.
Clifford playing his dulcimer
While much of the
world is in turmoil over political differences and the spreading
coronavirus, we are in a bit of a sanctuary of sorts, with the wind
being our most troublesome issue.
Monday February 10. LaPosa South, Quartzsite, Arizona. Today is my birthday and I am happy to be alive and well. It is cool and windy when I go out for my morning walk, but it feels good to be outside. I am thinking I should have planned a hike for my birthday activity rather than going to town for pizza.
Morning desert view
Morning light on t he trees in the wash
When I get back from
my walk, I mention this to Clifford and within minutes, we have
decided to do both, starting with a hike to the mountain that is
about 2 ½ miles away. We invite my brother Rollie to join us. A
quick smoothie, hiking shoes, water, snacks, hat, hiking sticks, cell
phone and charger – and we are on our way.
My brother Rollie and me
The birthday girl
Clifford
It is a great day for a hike with clouds keeping it from being too hot. We stop for photos now and then. Since it is my birthday, I am allowed to stop as often as I want.
Clifford and Rollie (looking at quartz) and Ninja
Looking back toward camp, a visual of where we are
Shale Mountain coming closer
More clouds as we approach Shale Mountain
Once we arrive at Shale Mountain, my name for the mountain since up close it appears to be made of nothing but shale, we have our snacks and relax until we see rain in the distance and rain clouds building behind us.
Ninja and Clifford relaxing at Shale Mountain
Shale
We see rain to the west and the north
We hustle on back, no stopping for photos, (well, not many), but the rain storm catches up to us and we are drenched by time we arrive back at camp.
Storm cloud over Shale Mountain catches up with us
After a change of
clothes, we all head into Quartzsite and finish off the afternoon
with the best pizza ever at Silly Al’s. As we leave, it is pouring
rain again, which to me is another gift, making an extra special
birthday.
Saturday February 8, there is no morning walk in the desert, as Clifford and I are driving from our campsite at LaPosa South to Yuma, Arizona, which is new territory for us once we pass the Palm Canyon turnoff. The drive is scenic in a desert sort of way. In Yuma, we take care of our business, have lunch at Subway, and buy supplies for the upcoming weeks. Back at camp, I put together shelving, stackable bins, that will keep stuff on my side of the bed much more organized and tidy. This is important when living in a small space, and I’m pleased with the results.
Scenic in a desert sort of way
On Sunday, I go for the morning desert walk, happy to see the desert marigold bushes beginning to bloom.
Desert marigolds are blooming
Ocotillo and companions
Apache plume in bloom
Back at camp, as I prepare a photo for my Higher Vibration Series, I experiment with double-exposure. It is fun to try something new and the results are interesting.
Trying a double exposure
Today is a paperwork day, not a fun part of the day, but important. Clifford’s ear is bothering him and he naps a lot. In the evening, we are treated to a beautiful sunset.
Sunset at close of day
My brother Rollie comes for dinner and afterwards, we play cribbage. With a 24-point hand, I win the game tonight. Win or lose, I am still the dish-washer.
A winning hand
We are hearing more and more news of the coronavirus, which doesn’t sound like a good thing going around. Being out here in the desert, mostly by ourselves, it is less of a personal concern than it is for many folks. However, it is does seem that this will have a world-wide effect for its economic impact.
Clifford and I are camped at LaPosa South, BLM land south of Quartzsite, Arizona, next to my brother Rollie.
Monday February 3 to Friday February 7:
Monday is very windy, all last night and into the day. Dust at sunrise gives an other-worldly look to the desert when I go out for a morning walk.
Other-worldly walk
Wind continues the next couple of days, although not quite so fierce.
Sunrise Saunter
These are days when we mostly stay inside to work on projects, including music with Rollie in his motor home. I edit photos, write blogs, and edit for a couple of authors, including a submission for Ang’s children’s book, Permaculture for Kids, an excellent little book to introduce kids to permaculture.
Interactive introduction to Permaculture
Clifford is involved with his ham radio and dulcimer, writing his own accompaniments.
We make a couple of trips to Quartzsite, one day for mail and another day to pick up our Amazon order, supplements that we sent for, as there is no place to buy locally.
Morning walks in the desert
I walk in the desert in the mornings and sometimes near sunset, in spite of the wind.
February 1 & 2: I am very much enjoying quiet morning walks in the desert here at LaPosa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, where Clifford and I are now camped.
LaPosa sunrise
I find so much beauty in the trees, especially old and gnarly trees, the few flowers that are blooming, and the fantastic variety of rocks, especially the white quartz sprinkled liberally over the desert floor. Daily there are opportunities for photos for blogs and photos that I share on FB – the Higher Vibration Series and the photos groups that I belong to.
One day we have a
potluck picnic with my brother Rollie who is camped right next to us
and the friends on the other side. Rollie has been here since
November, in the very same spot that we had two years ago when we
came here together for the first time. He has improved the fire ring
and pathways that we started then.
A gathering of friends
Cell service is
weak, so projects that need the internet (such as posting my blogs)
can be slow slow slow, but many other activities are carried on with
the natural flow of the day.
Sonoran Desert
Although there are
thousands of RV’s out here in the BLM land, we are not crowded
where we are, along a wash, three miles into the desert off highway
95. It is a peaceful place, good for the soul.
January 27 to 31: Monday starts with a move from Roadrunner BLM where Clifford and I have been camped the last two weeks to the long-term LaPosa South, both south of Quartzsite, Arizona. It is just a few miles, but moving is moving and everything has to be packed properly. We arrive at LaPosa South and set up next to my brother Rollie. The ground is a bit uneven, but levelers and stabilizers get Cougar level and solid. Then we load up laundry and head to Parker, 35 miles to the north for laundromat and stocking up on supplies for the next month.
Cougar at LaPosa South
Tuesday is mostly a settling in day, although there is time for music with Rollie and neighbor Roy, a bluegrass friend from Missoula, Montana. What a pleasure to do music with a really good bass player. In the evening, Rollie, Clifford, and I go to a concert in Quartzsite. McDougal West is a Peter, Paul, and Mary Tribute group. They are really good, performing many Peter/Paul/Mary songs, and it is a delight to listen to them.
McDougal West
The next day, our
friend HB arrives for a visit. We sit out at our campfire ring to
talk until the wind drives us back to Cougar. Talk continues through
the afternoon, as HB and Clifford discuss Carnicom Institute and the
changes that have been made and continue to be made. It is a good
visit and we look forward to seeing him again in the spring.
Rollie’s rockwork at the campfire ring
One day we go to Quartzsite for errands, including the post office and buying propane. We also go the funky bookstore on the edge of town.
Funky bookstore
Quartzsite is unique in that most of the people here are RVers living in the desert. The grocery stores are small and inadequate for the number of RVers spending the months here, the line for General Delivery at the post office is only open for an hour a day, which means there is always a long line, the dollar stores are untidy and can’t keep up with the demand. But beyond that, most of the establishments are tents – flea market style, lined up neatly. It’s like no place else in the United States, as far as any place I’ve been. It is like being in a foreign country, but not necessarily a place of poverty. People camping in the desert live in anything from small tents to vans, to modest travel trailers, to mega Class A motor homes worth several hundred thousand dollars. Your neighbors can be any of these, and mostly folks just want to enjoy the solitude of the desert and not be bothered. Some people come for a few days, but others come and stay for the seven-month long-term period, setting up portable sheds and lining dirt tracks with rocks and solar lights.
I start most every day with a walk in the desert, loving the serenity and ambiance I feel here.
Desert Sauntering
Sunrise
Palo Verde
Snag
Clifford works with his ham radios every morning. We clear a spot for table and chairs in the trees along the wash next to us. This will be a quiet spot sheltered from the wind by the trees. Most days we play music with Rollie, sometimes joined by Roy. Clifford and I both continue with our projects, dealing with the weak cell service/hotspot/internet.
The last days at Roadrunner, January 22 to 26, include participation in Quartzfest, the ham radio gathering held just south of Quartzsite, Arizona, which is attended by several hundred ham radio operators. A variety of classes are offered every day, mostly around radios and antennas, which Clifford is interested in. He and I also attend a couple of classes geared to first aid and survival.
View from our campsite at Roadrunner
We spend an afternoon at the Big Tent & RV Show, a big deal here in Quartzsite, browsing the plethora of vendors selling their wares or services. While open-house viewing of RV’s is a big draw for most folks, we are not interested in that so much, being perfectly content with our Cougar.
We get together with my brother Rollie to play bluegrass music a couple of times and one evening we go to bluegrass concert in Quartzsite.
Brother Rollie
Clifford on the dulcimer
Carol on Cello for this one
Cello and viola
Another day we go to one of the tents that sells burgers, “eating out” Quartzsite-style.
Eating out in Quartzsite, Arizona
The
usual activities of photography, editing, writing, and reading
continue for me, while Clifford works with his radio for hours and
plays dulcimer when he is not on the radio. It is a busy time for
us.
