Saturday January 13: Mild temperatures continue here at La Posa South in southwest Arizona.
Mornings in the Arizona desert
I continue the usual daily activities of journal writing, editing, and music with Rollie. We make a couple of videos of medleys of bluegrass songs we are playing. Clifford spends his days working on the Carnicom Institute Legacy Project, his ham radio, and playing the dulcimer. Today’s unique activity is going to a concert at QIA: the New Christy Minstrels with a couple of the original band members still active in this group, Randy Sparks, for one. It was a very fun concert.
Sunday January 14: My morning desert walk is a time of stillness, appreciating the beauty of the desert.
Morning desert walk
The usual daily activities follow. We all play music and in the evening have dinner, which always includes Rollie and Ninja, at the campfire.
Monday January 15: Today’s temperature: 44/70, not bad for mid-January.
The rising of the sun
Today is a town day – errands, shopping, and laundromat. In the evening, as I’m doing music with Rollie, new neighbors come over to listen for a bit. They are also bluegrass musicians and we might try to get together.
Dinner at the campfire, which we all enjoy.
Tuesday January 16: I’ve decided to start learning Morse Code, since I hear it so much as Clifford is doing his ham radio stuff. It sure does take a lot of listening concentration.
Later, while walking in the wash, I call my good friends, Ken and Shelley Anne, as today is Ken’s birthday. He and I have been friends since we met in orchestra as 7th graders.
After dinner at the campfire, I start reading another Tony Hillerman novel, which I especially like since the setting is the Southwest.
Wednesday January 17: Clifford, Rollie, and I go to Quartzsite this morning to go to the RV show that is advertised. However, when we get there, we find out it doesn’t start until the 20th.
On the way back to camp, we see a little sign alongside the road announcing live music this evening at an RV parked not far from the entrance to La Posa South. We head down there in the early evening and are the first to show up at a campfire where a young woman, Audrey Callahan, and her guitar-playing husband are going to do live music. She is friendly and chats with us until more people arrive. Her singing is quite the treat indeed and we thoroughly enjoy her selection of songs, some of which she has written herself. At the end, she mentions doing travel videos, so I stay and chat with her, being interested in travel videos and blogs, and we exchange FB contact info. I do hope we can stay in touch.
Back at camp, dinner is late, and Clifford, Rollie, and I chat until almost midnight.
Thursday January 18: Today is moving day. We pack up and are ready to leave by mid-morning. Rollie is going Midland, the long-term BLM place north of Blythe so he can attend the bluegrass festival at Blythe. Clifford and I are going back to Roadrunner to get ready for Quartzfest, the ham radio week-long gathering. Our previous spot has been taken by other campers, so we find another place along the same small wash, but closer to the Quartzfest event center. A table and chairs hold a place for Rollie for when he joins us.
We get set up: antennas and radios for Clifford, organizing stuff and defrosting the fridge for me.
Clifford sets up his ham radio antenna
There is a mesquite tree and a big old saguaro right behind the camper, which I am most grateful for.
Old saguaro right behind the camper
La Posa was a great place and I wish we could have stayed longer, but this will do for now, as we need to be here for Quartzfest.
We have a simple dinner tonight and I read until after midnight. Clifford is up even later with his ham radio stuff. Quartzfest is quite an exciting time for him.
Monday January 9: Today’s temps: 53/74, about the same temperatures as yesterday, but cloudy this morning with a forecast for rain. I have tea with Rollie while Clifford goes to the hardware store in Quartzsite. The clouds move off, so looks like the rain passed us by and I am able to charge my laptop. In the afternoon, the wind comes up, bringing storm clouds with it. The heavy rain is quite exciting and as the storm passes, there is an outstanding rainbow over the desert.
Windsocks blowing in the windBeautiful double rainbow after the storm has passedMore of the span of the rainbow, too close to get in the whole arc
I play music with Rollie at his place and he comes over to our place for dinner. Kind of crowded, but it is too wet for music or meals outside. However, no complaints from us. Rain in the desert is a real treat, especially when topped off by a rainbow.
Tuesday January 10: Cooler today and damp. The morning desert walk is especially beautiful, as the landscape is moist and clean today after yesterday’s rain.
Walking in the wash – everything clean and fresh after yesterday’s rainstorm
A favorite big tree – most likely a tree variety of mesquite
Clifford is on the phone with Straight Talk for quite awhile and hopefully has the hotspot issue worked out. I work on emails today, being able to get on the net to take care of some of it, but use my cell as much as I can.
Rollie comes over for chicken and rice dinner at our place. He went to Lake Havasu for errands today and it wasn’t much fun for him, but dinner together is a nice way to end the day.
Wednesday January 11: Today’s temps: 44/66 and sunny.
Walking in the dessert, I take photos at sunrise, enjoying the warmth of the sun after it clears the horizon and I linger for a longer time of stillness before the activities of the day.
The saguaro seems to be enjoying the sun as much as I am
Today is more of the good sameness as previous days: walking in the desert, editing, music with Rollie, and dinner at the campfire.
Thursday January 12: Similar weather and daily activities with the addition of writing an essay to send to my daughter Merri recounting the births of my kids. She has a project in mind that needs input from all of us as to our recollection of events, seeing how different people have different perspectives on the same event. This will be quite an interesting project as it develops.
Saguaro with his Palo Verde palDesert companions
As Clifford, Rollie, and I sit around the campfire after dinner, we have an extended conversation about music and the development of instruments, and as we talk I work on the afghan I started yesterday for my granddaughter Jasmine’s baby-on-the-way.
Friday January 5: Today’s temps: 45/76 and mostly sunny. Doesn’t get much better than this.
Today wasn’t a particularly productive day, but I got a few things ready for the post office for the next time we go to town. Clifford has a couple of business calls to take care of, but mostly he focuses on his ham radio. Rollie and I do music in the afternoon and then we all have dinner at the campfire.
Music at the campfire.
I stay up until midnight to finish reading the Tony Hillerman novel that I started a few days ago.
Saturday January 6: Slightly warmer than yesterday, but cloudy.
I go for a morning walk in the early morning, leaving the camper when there is just enough light to see to walk safely. It is a wonderful mysterious time of day.
Clifford and I decide to go to Parker for errands and supplies, as Quartzsite is somewhat lacking in what we need. We are back at camp in time for a quick dinner and then we all head off to the QIA venue, which Clifford jokingly calls the Geriatric Improvement Association since most of the audience are seniors. Tonight is the McDougal Peter, Paul, & Mary concert. This group plays Peter, Paul, & Mary songs in the Peter, Paul, & Mary style. They are very good and the concert was most enjoyable. Later, back at camp, we discover that Clifford’s new binoculars are missing and suspect they were on the hood of the car when we left.
Sunday January 7: Slightly cooler today and jet trails mar the sky.
First thing this morning, I walk out to the main road looking for the missing binoculars, but they must have fallen off further down the road and are no where to be found. Rollie and I make a morning campfire and sit outside to enjoy our hot beverages. Clifford has a ham net in the morning, so does not join us.
In the afternoon Clifford goes to the gun show in Quartzsite. I thought I’d get a lot done while he is gone, but the hotspot is not working and it is too cloudy to charge my laptop. Ah well, play music with Rollie instead. We have nachos for dinner at the campfire after Clifford gets home.
Clean up and then read until bedtime, starting a different Tony Hillerman novel.
Monday January 8: Temps: 54/72 and cloudy.
I go for a walk in the desert before sunrise and catch some of the delicate pretty color of this morning’s offering.
Pretty sunrise color
After breakfast, Clifford and I go for a hike across the desert to the mountain that we see in the background to the east.
Heading across the basin to Shale Mountain (as I call it)The mountain in the distance is where we are headed
This mountain, actually a hill, is made of shale and covered with beautiful pieces of quartz. Being away from the path of most folks, the rocks are not picked over and I could have taken a truckload, but have to settle for a few that will fit in my fanny pack.
Quartz, some with embedded crystals… photos do not do them justice for their beauty
I love the desert here… the stark rugged mountains, along with the vegetation and the beautiful rocks.
View from our picnic spot on the side of Shale MountainLooking like a couple of wild desert rats
About a 5-mile hike… good for the legs and the soul.
Back at camp I do some editing and send a query letter to Ang for her approval. Then Rollie and I play music at the campfire ring. We have dinner there and sit around the fire chatting until quite late.
Monday January 1 – Temps: 37/70, kind of scummy looking. Breezy in the afternoon.
I sit in the wash to read – the warmth of the weak sunshine feels good. As soon as my laptop is charged, I do some edits for Ang and suggest another agent for her book, “Dragons of Va’Ha’Den.”
We have a chili dinner at our place (too windy this evening to have a campfire). Later I finish the book I have been reading, “A Wild Thing,” and it has such a depressing ending that I feel annoyed for having spent so much time reading this past week. A rather uneventful first day of the New Year.
Tuesday January 2 – Temps: 46/73
I walk to the east beyond the wash.
Crossing the wash
Before me is uninhabited desert all the way across the basin. The desert lends itself to serenity. No wonder wise and holy men and women throughout history have spend time in the desert. It is not a punishment; the essence of a desert of this nature makes it possible to achieve a deeper meditative state just by being here.
Cholla in the desert
We decide to go exploring, taking the main La Posa road deeper into the desert, beyond the boundary of the BLM camping area and into the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.
Exploring
We thought we might be able to make a loop to Crystal Hill, but the road is blocked. We hang out for a bit, admiring the scenery – too bad I didn’t bring a picnic lunch for us – and gather a few of the extraordinary rocks that are abundant here.
Hanging out in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge with Clifford, Ninja, and RollieWe consider driving over that “hill,” but decide against it – maybe more exploring than we really want to doLooking south – Kofa National Wildlife Refuge
Back at camp, I do some editing before starting dinner. Dinner is at the campfire tonight, which make the meal a fun adventure. Later, before bedtime, I begin reading a Tony Hillerman novel, only to discover that I’ve already read it. Ah well…. It was still a very good day.
Wednesday January 3 – Temps: 40/69 and cloudy all day.
I walk in the desert for photos at sunrise, then make a pot of yerba matte tea and start a campfire.
Sunrise colors
Rollie joins me, coffee in hand, and we chat as we sip our hot drinks. I do enjoy a morning campfire!
Enjoying a morning campfire. Notice the additions to the fire ring .
In the afternoon, we make the 30-mile trip to Blythe, California, to a small music store, as Rollie needs strings for his mandolin. Very nice lady owner there. Long-story-short, Rollie and I end up playing some bluegrass music on store-instruments: Rollie on a guitar and me on a cello. What a hoot!
Back at camp, we have a late dinner of left-over chili and then I start a different Tony Hillerman novel, reading until well after midnight.
Thursday January 4 – Temps: 43/73 and mostly sunny.
I walk in the desert and take photos, glad to have some sunshine and blue sky overhead instead of jet trails and murk. I sure do love our spot and the unencumbered desert here.
The sun has risen over the wash
Very cool old trees grow in and along the washThe moon sets over trees in the wash
In mail that was forwarded to us at Quartzsite, I have a letter from Social Security indicating a problem with my allotment. The nearest SS office is in Blythe, and due to a deadline to take care of this, we make another trip to Blythe. I read as I wait for my turn to be seen and when I finally see the woman, she is not the least helpful. I have to dig for every bit of information to know how to proceed.
Back at camp, we have a quick soup dinner, as we are going to a music presentation at the Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) venue. This proves to be a community event with some very accomplished performers and some just so-so, but everyone’s contribution is appreciated by the mostly senior citizen audience. Maybe Rollie and I could play there sometime; it is something for us to consider.
Friday December 29: Today’s temp: 38/71 and clear. Today is moving day and we have decided to go to La Posa South, a long-term BLM place just to the north of Roadrunner on 95, for several reasons. One: it is close; two: water and dumpsters are available at La Posa; and 3: it is close enough to Quartzsite to attend events that are coming up soon. I have seen La Posa South from the highway and it looks crowded – like a sea of RV’s without much vegetation for privacy. So, I have my reservations about moving there, but it is only for a couple of weeks.
We pack up and head to La Posa South, parking at the entrance to pay our fee, then driving in to find a spot. The further in we go, the fewer RV’s there are and the more vegetation. We find a side road and then a hint of a road that takes us out to a very wide wash.
A hint of a road takes us to a wide wash
The trees here are tall and lush, the shrubs thick, so there is privacy from other campers in the area. Beyond the wash is uninhabited natural desert all the way to the mountain on the far side of the basin. Looks like we have found a good spot.
Once we get our rigs set up, we decide where to make a fire ring, picking a gravel bar just a ways out in the wash and protected by trees and shrubs.
Getting our rigs set up
The gravel bar will need some leveling, but we will leave that until tomorrow. I make smooth pathways from the camper to the gravel bar for safer walking,
Paths from the gravel bar to the the campers
Clifford gets his ham radio set up right away, and Rollie does what he does to get comfortable.
I take photos at sunset, happy to be here in this beautiful spot.
Looking east at sundownAnother view from our campsite at sundown
Saturday December 30: Today: 40/74 – great temperature, especially for December.
Today is settling-in day: reorganizing, sweeping and mopping, hanging out lanterns and wind socks, and so on. While Rollie goes to a jam session, I watch Ninja and begin leveling the gravel bar. Rocks are are abundant in the wash, so I start getting a fire ring in place. When Rollie returns, he brings firewood and levels the gravel bar even more so we can set up a picnic table and chairs. The fire ring is a work of art in progress as we both gather rocks and add to it.
From the wash, viewing the gravel bar center of operations
Good day for playing music outside and the gravel bar becomes our music center. First Rollie and I do some bluegrass music, then Clifford gets out his dulcimer.
Getting set up to play music: Clifford and RollieView from camper: Clifford plays his dulcimer. Fire ring hidden by shrubs
When the afternoon begins to cool, we build a great campfire and have nachos for dinner sitting around a cheery blaze.
Cheery blaze; fire ring a work of art in progress
Sunday December 31: Today: 41/69 and overcast; jet trails mar the sky, so no photos with sky today, but beautiful rocks remain a delight.
Beautiful rocks – many quartz – are in abundance
Rollie and I run errands in Quartzsite in the morning while Clifford stays at camp and works with his ham radios. In the late afternoon we go to a bluegrass jam session with several musicians gathered around a campfire. Rollie is able to join in on all the songs, but I am limited to following the most basic chord progressions. But it was fun.
I read “A Wild Thing” when I go to bed, but am asleep before midnight; Clifford is still up, just listening to his radios – so the New Year, 2018, arrives without any fanfare on our part.
