Mystery Plant

I went out to Lake Mead Recreation Area the other day. Lots of pretty flowers blooming near the road. I kept seeing something quite golden - bright golden in the sunshine - and I wondered what it was. So finally I stopped to see.


Well, I have no idea what this is. It appears to me to be some sort of parasite, similar perhaps to the mistletoe that grows on trees here in the desert? It isn't everywhere, mostly in patches along the road.



First I thought this was only growing on dormant or dead plants (I can't tell the difference), but this host plant seems to be flowering. Actually, in the first picture the plant is much smaller but with the same blue flowers.


This is the same plant without the golden strands on it. I thought it was a purple sage, but I'm a city person, what do I know?


Anyone have any idea what this golden stuff is?

CUACK scoping - Part 3

Wow, I've been busy. I drove up to Katherine's Landing, just north of Bullhead City, AZ. on Lake Mojave. June is the host there, and she's already made the arrangements. I just wanted to see the place and to take some pictures for Joey.

Really nice place. Paved road getting there. Only two and a half miles off the road to Kingman. And I had one bar of cellphone signal there. The rangers were very nice, showed me where we will be parking. It reminds me of Temple Bar, with the concrete picnic tables. I don't think the trees are as tall.


This section is closed now. There will be 50 sites on this side, and any additional people will go on the other side. There are at least two sets of bathrooms on this side. I also saw a small laundromat and pay showers. Very nice facilities. There is also a 50 room motel and a restaurant/bar.


Lovely boat ramp. They also rent houseboats here, I didn't know that. And the rate is good. If you have a Golden Age/Access, camping is $5 and entry is free. For those of us NOT holding those passes, it's more.

CUACK scoping - Part 2

Each fall our WIN group does a kayak trip down the Colorado River. For it's first 8 years, the trip was known as WARM (Western Arizona Rivers and Marshes) For the first few years (before my time) we parked at a BLM campground across the river from Parker, AZ. As long as I can remember, this area has been closed "to redo the bathrooms".

But now someone had said it is open again. Yes!!! So off I go to check it out.


Say it isn't so!!! No workers, no activity. Will it ever reopen?


The campground host (why?) came over on his golf cart to wonder why I was taking pictures. He told me that all their money has gone to Irag, he doesn't know when it will be finished. Is he just a disgruntled Democrat, or does he really know something? "And," he said, "You probably won't like the fee structure if they ever reopen this place. $18 to boondock, $30 for hookups." Yes, you're right, I don't like that. Nice for weekend California people, but too rich for us poor boondockers. So on to Plan B. Sorry, Joey.

CUACK scoping - Part 1

Don't most RVers like to check out RV Parks? It's a great pastime. Those of us who boondock like to check out new places to camp. And kayakers love to find new put-in and take-out places.

When Joey headed back to Colorado, I said I'd check out some things for our fall kayak trip, CUACK (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, California Kayaking). We had already scoped out a great place to park near Blythe, Hidden Beaches RV Park. So one day (actually it was the day I had to pick up the cat from the vet after her overnight snakebite recovery) LJ and I set out to find a good take-out place. I think this will do. It's about halfway between Blythe and Palo Verde, at Peter McIntyre County Park.


Being a county park, they don't negotiate, and have a $10 per vehicle day use fee, but I think we can work with that if we can get five people in a car, that's only $2 per person.

If we wanted a shorter trip, we can always take out at the Blythe Marina Recreation Area, under the Colorado River Bridge on I-10. There is a small fee for that, as well.

What do you DO all day?

My sister-in-law Sharon, who was trying to grasp the concept of fulltiming, asked me once "What do you do all day?". I think I gave her some flip response like "I do what you do, chores, hobbies, just living."

But now that I've been a full time RVer for 8 years, I realize there is more to it than that. There are three basic modes I get in.

When I am traveling as I did last year with Barbara and Ron, I get into the tourist mode. We travel more often, generally to new places, with towns to explore and museums, attractions, and restaurants to check out. I like doing train rides (especially steam trains), boat rides, harbor cruises, trolley tours and the like. We do a lot of those. So on those days I get little done at home. I eat out more often, being out and about during the day. This mode is nice, but it is tiring, and I wouldn't want to do it forever. Last year we did it for 10 months, and that was a little too much. Ron and Barbara were just the best traveling companions, and that made everything okay.

When I am with my singles group, the WINs, I tend to be in a socializing mode. I spend the winter in the desert southwest, trying to stay warm and live cheaply so I can afford to go traveling in the summer (especially now with the fuel prices so high). I generally attend the bigger gatherings over the winter: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Quartzsite, and maybe one or two others. I see people I haven't seen for a while, so this is the time to catch up. Of course the WINs plan activities, too, but I focus more on socializing now. We go to the flea market, out to eat, but mostly we visit outside in the shade. My favorite pastime is going to the nightly campfire. So when I am with the WINs I don't get much done at home. Of course, sometimes you just have to do laundry. So I work chores in where I can.

Then there are those times when I am alone just hanging out or traveling with one or two other people. Then I'm in the living mode. It's during this time I can get projects done, like spring cleaning, organizing my bins, or starting a new beading project. I also read more during this time. It is heaven to just hang out and read (maybe fall asleep for a little nap). Hmmm, heaven. And to have time for beading.

So what I do all day is somewhat dependent on the mode I'm in. Doing sightseeing in Savannah is a lot different than sitting by myself in Quartzsite. And I like that diversity. It means that when I want to socialize, I go to where the WINs are (or at least some of my WIN friends), or when I feel like being alone, I can just go off by myself and sit in the desert and vegetate. And then summer comes and we go traveling to see new things.

Of course, reality rears its ugly head now and then and I'm forced to do housework. And minor repairs are best done when there is a handy gent around (I can't fix anything, this I fully confess. I have two tools: a phone to call the guy to come fix it, and a pen to write the check to the guy who came to fix it.) Or I take the handy gent out to dinner to say thanks. Somehow, things get done, things get fixed, and life goes on.

So this is the life I am so blessed to have. I don't do the same thing every day. And when I get bored or have bad neighbors, I just pull up the jacks and move on. To do something different tomorrow.