THANKSGIVING…DESERT STYLE

We spent Thanksgiving with our new “desert family”.  A few days before Thanksgiving, Pat, one of the ladies from the Desert family came over and invited us to join the group for Thanksgiving dinner.  It would be on Saturday the 19^th because one of the couples from the group had to return to Colorado for their family Thanksgiving.  Every one brought food to share and great conversation.  We were going to have a campfire but it turned out to be a bit to windy for that.

Then on Thanksgiving Day there were 8 of us that went to the local diner and had dinner together.

On the way home we were treated to yet another great sunset.

Safe Travels and Stay Healthy,

Jim and Barb

DESERT ADVENTURES:

Did I mention that Abby loves her golf cart rides?  During a golf cart ride we came upon a little sign with a Capital N on it.  I told Jim that it must be pointing North.  Then I noticed there were arrows pointing North and East.

Then we came to the next sign:

At which time we turned around and went the opposite direction!!!!!

You never know what you will find in the Desert.

Safe Travels and Stay Healthy,

Jim and Barb

THE MEMORIAL

When we were setting up our campsite we noticed a rock with a message pasted to it.  It was a memorial to a fellow that had parked here for many years.  He was an United Airline Pilot, he loved to RV and fly Kites.

To Bob "The Kite Man"

I think we will go get some kites and fly them on News Years day in his honor.  That should be fun.

Safe Travels and Stay Healthy,

Jim and Barb

ON THE WAY TO QUARTZSITE, AZ

We finally had enough snow and cold weather at Cousin Bob’s so we headed south to Quartzsite, AZ.  We left at 9AM on Nov 10^th to beat the thawing of the ground, less mud to contend with.  However, the camper and truck was caked with mud by the time we got to the highway.   It eventually did wash off.

The county side is very diverse here.

Once we got into Quartzsite we did have a very pretty sunset.

This will be the area we will call home for the next three months.

Staking our claim to our part of the Desert

Landscape of the Desert

Landscape of the Desert

Scenery out  the back of the camper

Our Resident Catus

Safe Travels and Stay Healthy,

Jim and Barb

MOTHER NATURE HAS A SICK SENSE OF HUMOR!!!!

For several weeks we have had beautiful blue skies:

One evening we were treated to a super sunset:

Then on Saturday (11/4/11) we woke up to THIS:

I left Ohio to escape this.  The good news, it was gone by 1PM that day.  But it's still cold.

 It is time to move on to warmer temperatures!!!  Friday we will head for Quartzsite, AZ for the next 3 ½ months!!!

Safe Travels and Stay Healthy,

Jim & Barb

THE NEIGHBORS

When you think of neighbors you think of those people 50 or 100 feet away from your house, right?  Well, out here (at Cousin Bob’s) the neighbors are MILES away.

Bob took us over to meet his neighbors the other day….1 mile away.  We meet Fred and Cheri.  They have been building their vacation reteat up here in God’s country for the last 15 years.

Fred said most of the building materials are from Costco, the thrift store or Harrah’s (yes, Las Vegas Harrah’s).   The reason things came from Harrah’s; they live in Las Vegas.  When casino’s remodel, which they do often, you can get things for dirt cheep!  He picked up sliding glass doors for the house that way.

It is a very interesting collection of items, sort of like a giant antique store.  If you are into eye candy this is definitely the place to go.  You can look around the place 15 times and see something different each time.  They have things on the walls, things on the rafters, things out in the garden in the trees, hanging from the deck ceiling.  This place is a virtual wonderland of chukkas!!!

Fairy windchime

The sun room.

Chandalier in the sun room...the rainbows in the house are awesome!!!!

The livingroom.

Etched glass window they had designed. (Thats Cheri)

Sprial staircase to the upper loft area.

 Out in the Garden:

EVERYONE needs a todempole in their yard!!!



These look cute together!!!

Faries tucked in the under brush!!!

A statue they have in the garden.

A little ZEN time!!!

A place to sit and observe the resident coyotes.

Fred said that this gate leads to another dimension!!
I just took his word for it.

In case you tire of looking at the unique items they have about their home, there is an upper deck they have for an awesome view of the country side.  You can see forever!!!

You can barely see the top of  Bob's house.

The mountain with a dent in the top is a valcano!

Thanks Fred and Cheri for sharing your retreat with us.

Safe Travels and Stay Healthy,
Jim and Barb

BOONDOCKING…JIM’S WAY

This is our maiden voyage in the Boondocking adventure.  Jim was in the planning stage for this for 2 years prior to leaving “civilization”.  

We have discovered that the solar panels are not as efficient as we hoped they would be, but Jim keeps saying that is because the sun is not as high in the sky for them to work at full potential.   I guess that is why we have a generator on board to supplement the electrical needs.  As long as I can still work on the computer and watch TV and have heat in the camper what more can I ask for?  Oh, yeah, Jim is still cooking all the meals (I love it).

Good purchases (additions) for the camper have been the freezer, the additional refrigerator, the added cabinet in the kitchen, and the two extra 100 gallon tanks for the back of the truck.  These things have definitely made this adventure a lot easier.  There are still a few more things that need to be addressed in the camper, like the washer and dryer needs to be hooked up but other than that things are working pretty well.

This has become our home now and with that being said, what do you do to your home when you become dissatisfied with something?  You rip it out of course!!!  We are now in the planning stage of removing the couch and dinette seating area and replacing it with cabinets and free standing lounge chairs and dinette chairs.  (more on this later---when I get my way).

Pictures of Boondocking----Jim’s way:

This is really roughing it!!!!

A small visitor to the camp site.

Adding water to the camper.



Water goes in...what comes out???



We have all the comforts of home!

Let's not for get...Abby likes her golf cart rides!!!

With scenary like this how can you not love it out here!!!!

Safe Travels and Stay Healthy,
Jim and Barb