Meeting Friends on the Road

It's great to see friends as you're traveling around the country. But sometimes, if you stay in the same place long enough, your friends come to you!

I've been here at Quartzsite for some time now. Joey left to head back to Colorado, and that very afternoon LJ came in. I didn't get any pictures of her, I'm still trying to get into the "hauling around the camera" mode. It was great to see her, though, and we had a quiet week here.

On the very day she left, I got a call from another friend who was passing through town. So I drove to Blythe and met John Clairmont, who bought me lunch at his favorite place, Pizza Hut. It was nice to see him even for an hour. I remembered the camera this time, but no, I didn't post the picture of him sticking out his tongue. He will always be a 12 year old. He was on his way to Deming for the LOW rally.


On Monday I got a call from Sue and Ken Pace, our globe trotting friends from Carlsbad, CA. They were driving through and we met for lunch at another fine eatery, Burger King. The place wasn't important, the company was what mattered.

I'll be here for another few days, so if you're passing through Quartzsite, give me a call.

Medical Information on the Go

I saw a product, for $35, that was a thumb drive key chain containing a Word Document in which you could write all your medical information. It seems there are lots of deaths in this country each year because medical personnel didn't have the necessary information about the person they are trying to help.

Well, this sounds like a good idea, but it's $35!!! For free you can get a Vial of Life at most Walmarts to keep in the freezer with your information on it. But I also think it's a good idea to have that information on your person as you roam around. Here's how you can make your own information sheet like the one I keep in my wallet.

Being somewhat computer knowledgeable, I created this in an Excel spreadsheet, six to a page, and printed it out on both sides of the paper (printing one side, then putting the paper back in and printing the other side). Using a paper cutter, I cut six sheets out of each full size page. Of course, I keep all the information up to date.

Whenever I move to a new location, I write in my location and the dates I will be there. I put it into my wallet where the driver's license window is. That way, if I'm in a store or a museum and keel over, they only have to look in my wallet to see what medication I'm on, what my blood type is, etc.

Here is a dummied up version of the front and back of my sheets.

I hope by now most people know about ICE (In Case of Emergency). These are entries you make into your cellphone contact list. I've been told that most medical personnel know to look for ICE entries if they encounter an unconscious person.

If you think of any other information I should have on this sheet, please let me know.

Credit goes to Jack England who gave me the inspiration for this information sheet. Thanks, Jack. I think of you every time I fill out a new page.

Major Surgery

I just had a dollarectomy. I'm fine, and the cat's going to be all right, but the wallet is significantly lighter.


Chloe was bitten by a rattlesnake. What are the chances? Anyway, she's okay and not going to lose any limbs. The snake bit her on the right front paw, and the vet thinks she pulled away fast enough so the snake didn't really get a good hold on her. But she did get enough venom to swell up the paw pretty badly and to make her sick.

The good news is that the vet in Blythe, CA. is open on Good Friday. The bad news is that the snake venom antidote is really expensive. They had to keep her overnight to inject the serum over a couple of hours. Hence the dollarectomy.

Those of us who travel with pets will understand why we pay through the nose to keep our furry companions well, and those who don't have pets won't understand, so no need explaining.

She'll be recuperating for a few days, so she won't know for a while that she's been grounded, at least in this location. I can't wait for the whining to start.

Hi Jolly

Well, we finally moved. We are here at Hi Jolly, a 14-day free BLM area just north of Quartzsite, AZ. Chloe is out chasing lizards, but when she catches one, it grabs hold of her lip and won't let go, so she runs around with a lizard hanging off her face. I'd take a picture of that, but she moves too fast for me.

I took a video of this place, but it was way too big to upload. I need to figure out how to make it smaller before trying to upload it.

Plan B

When we get really behind schedule, we just throw it away and make a new schedule. So now we're on Plan B, or is it Plan C? Maybe Plan D. You get the idea.

We were supposed to leave here last Monday (March 9th). That's the date we were aiming for. But on Sunday, I discovered that my sunglasses frame had broken, so I decided to go Monday morning to Algodones to get a new frame. Now the key to going to Mexico is to get in early and get out early, otherwise I stand in a two hour line, and that's not my idea of fun. So I was up early, drove the 20 miles or so, parked in the $5 lot, was walking toward the fence when I suddenly remembered I didn't have my passport. Well, Shoot. I knew I couldn't get home and get back here before the lines got long, so I had to wait until Tuesday to take the glasses in, and Wednesday morning to pick them up.

So we were aiming for Thursday or Friday to leave. But Ted was sure it was going to be very windy on Friday, and I don't travel on race days of course, so we're looking at Monday the 17th (Happy Saint Patrick's Day!) Ironically, Ted did go before us. He's already at Hi Jolly in Quartzsite, waiting for us.

But then on Sunday Joey gets a really funny noise coming from her propane system, and on Monday morning we have to get Pete out here to look at it. After he determined it's the shut-off valve (why it's making a high pitched whine, we don't know), the wind came up. So now it's really windy here, coming from the north.

So now we're going to leave tomorrow. No, really, we are. Really.

Joey and I are leaving tomorrow, and Brad will follow as soon as he gets the storage locker cleaned out and all that stuff stuffed into his rig. We may never see him.

We're trying to talk Pete and Randy into following us when their business is finished in Yuma; we hope to see them down the road.

With fuel prices so high, we are going very slowly up the Colorado to Las Vegas. When I arrived here in Yuma two weeks ago, diesel was $3.47. Now it is $3.97. AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH. That's the only word for it.

New Camera

I knew if I was going to be putting pictures on this blog, I better get a new camera. The one I had was seven years old, and the shutter delay drove me nuts. Joey got a new camera after she saw the pictures that Jody Miller had taken with her camera. So of course when Joey showed me her camera and its capabilities, I got a huge case of camera envy. Nothing would do except for me to get one, too. So I did.

It takes really good pictures. And videos. So I may do a video sometime, too.
My old camera had 3.3 magapixels, this new one has 8 megapixels. It is a Canon Powershot 5 IS (Image Stabilizer)

This picture of Casey is really clear.


This camera has a 12x optical zoom on it. Even from far away, this picture of Chloe is very detailed.



I took a picture of Sadie, Joey's Dalmation. Isn't she a cutie?



Joey and I have been teaching each other how to run it. The book has 199 pages; it is way more complicated than my last camera. But we'll get proficient soon, or maybe later.

Cat Pictures!!

I warned you there'd be cat pictures, and here they are!

When Chloe was just a kitten, she liked to sleep next to Casey. But Casey would have none of that. As soon as Chloe jumped up beside him, Casey would move. But finally now they best buddies and Casey allows Chloe to sleep on the same seat. Here they are on the driver's seat. Chloe is the one closest to the camera.


Chloe has been climbing this tree all week, and I finally got a shot of her up there.

Casey was in the rig while I was outside taking pictures of Chloe up the tree, so he came out into the cat cage to see what was going on.

What was he thinking?

Well, this certainly falls under that category, all right. This happens far too often, and I'm always curious about what was he thinking?

I've been here for a couple days, in the desert on BLM land, and this morning I discovered someone had pulled in right behind me, not over 5 feet from my back bumper.

Why? Why would someone I don't know park so close to me when there is so much land here to park on?



Look how much land there is behind him. Why would he have parked so close to me? I don't get it. I would ask him, but there is no way to do that without sounding accusitory.



This would be a good time for my "12 feet is the suggested distance for fire safety, and good manners would suggest parking even further away." speech, but I'm afraid it would fall on deaf ears.

What kind of a view does he have out his front window? Nothing but my rear end, which we all know is nothing to look at. But he doesn't even have that, because his windshield is covered over all the time, so he has no view out the front at all. Why have a class A motorhome if you cover the front windows day and night?

I just have to shake my head and laugh. Everybody's so different, and as much as I just can't figure out why anyone would park like that, it must make perfect sense to him. I guess I'll just smile and appreciate the differences. Different strokes for different folks!!

Ahhh, the desert

I'm parked on some BLM land near the VFW just north of Yuma, AZ. I've camped here numerous times over the years, and I feel comfortable here. I know that if I can get a place behind that hill, the road and train noise is reduced a little. And that tree is the one Chloe likes to climb. So we're happily here for a week or so.

Last night I was again awed at the quiet of the desert. That's one reason I like to bookdock, it's so quiet out here. There are a lot of rigs here right now, maybe 50 or more, but at night all you hear is the silence. No water heaters, no water pumps, no generators, no road noise, not even any barking dogs. Just quiet.

Okay, I'll admit if that crazy crop duster is working past midnight, that can spoil the whole mood. I've seen them flying at night, but not here, yet, anyway.

I was surprised at how calming the quiet is. I can feel myself relax in a way I hadn't the whole time I was parked at the Chandler Elks (no offense to the Elks). When you're in the city, you hear constant background noise, however distant, and I think that adds to the general stress level. I remember my neighbor in New Jersey telling me that on September 11, 2001 when all the planes were grounded, she noticed the silence as being the absence of that background noise she was so used to. She said it was strange, too quiet. Made her uncomfortable. I guess some people just don't like silence. I love it.

Have you ever slept somewhere that quiet? I remember clearly the first time I did. In 1999, even before I went fulltime, I was traveling from Albuquerque to Roswell, New Mexico. I chuckle now to think how new and clueless I was. I had a Trailer Life Campground Book (that WAS a long time ago, when I thought I needed it), but it didn't list any RV parks between me and Roswell. I actually thought all RV parks would be in the campground book!!

So I pulled off the road at a picnic area, and decided to stay the night. There was almost no traffic on that road, and no trains within earshot. Nothing manmade in any direction except the road. I could certainly believe something from outer space could crash out there and no one would ever notice. That was the strangest feeling, the silence so loud. Every once in a while the cats would look around, wondering perhaps if they'd gone deaf. It was a new feeling to me, and I just loved it. I slept better that night than any in recent memory.

That profound quiet is one of the things I look forward to when I boondock. Of course, there are other things, too. The darkness, the night sky with its millions of stars so bright. But that would be blogfodder for another day.

Excitement for the day

It happened at the rest area just west of Gila Bend, AZ on Interstate 8. I had just pulled in to have lunch when a tow truck pulled up behind me. Not just any tow truck; this was a TOW TRUCK, serious enough to haul a motorhome.


The motorhome next to me was broke down, and had to be towed back to Phoenix. Wow, what would that cost? Luckily my neighbor didn't have to find out, since he had emergency roadside service, and it wouldn't cost him a thing. I'm a firm believer in roadside service. My neighbor has Good Sam, I have CoachNet, there are others, I'm sure, as good. It took a while to hook up the rig since they had to disconnect the driveshaft, and a small crowd gathered to discuss the situation.

My neighbor said that he'd been losing power, and was able to just coast into the rest area. Now that's the way to break down, right into a rest area. He unhooked the car, and he, the wife, and the two dogs followed the tow truck down the Interstate.

You might think he had bad luck, but seems like pretty good luck to me. Even though he's broke down, he's in a safe place, doesn't have to pay for the towing, and they have another vehicle to drive while the motorhome is getting fixed. I hope his good luck holds.

The Jewel of Gila Bend

Ah, Gila Bend. A tiny desert town between Phoenix and Yuma. I'm proud to say my home Elks lodge is here. But not much else, I'm afraid. Recently I found a new place on the main drag, a square stucco building with a great sign - Little Italy.


Nino and Antonella are from Sicily, and they opened this Italian restaurant two years ago. They make their own sauce, and the food is very good. (I'm from Iowa, remember, so my taste is ...questionable) I always judge a place by the lasagna, and it is really good here. The rolls are homemade, always hot. Yummmm.

There are pictures and posters from the old country on the walls, and this guy is standing in the foyer. I'm just not sure why.


I highly recommend this place if you're ever in Gila Bend. And best of all, there's a huge vacant lot across the street where you can park your rig while you have lunch. I love being able to stop for lunch and not unhook my car!!

Chandler Elks

I'm here at the Chandler Elks, Chandler being a suburb of Phoenix, AZ. The people here just couldn't have been nicer. The lodge is on a fairly busy road, and the car wash next door has its noisy moments, but it's very quiet at night, and it's convenient to where I need to be, and close to shopping. One night I heard a pack of coyotes. Can only wonder where they live around here.


I've had neighbors on and off, and now there are two other rigs here. They are nice neighbors and did not park too close. Mine's the big brown one on the left end. I get more sun at that end; those trees cut off the sun in early afternoon.


I'll be leaving tomorrow morning (before the race) to go to Gila Bend. I'm having Ron (RV Sat Link) install a second line from my TV Satellite dish to my DVR. I'm really liking the fact I can record a program and watch it while fast forwarding through the commercials. With the second line I can watch something else while the machine is recording the first program. More efficient that way, and I don't feel that I'm wasting electricity. I've been boondocking too long.

I wondered when was the last time I had electrical hook ups. I couldn't remember, so I looked it up, and it was September 23rd , 2007. Hastings, Nebraska at the fairgrounds. Probably won't see electric again for the foreseeable future, and that's okay with me.