My kind of town....Quirksite, AZ

Ahhh, I think I am falling in love with Quartzsite or Quirksite as we renamed it today. I went to breakfast (that became lunch due to the long wait) with three lady rider friends. Two of them live locally, one in Sun City; two used to RV, one still does. Time passed quickly as we caught up as we waited and then ate. After that they took me on a tour of the area.

The first stop was the Reader's Oasis owned by Paul Winer. The store is new but not the merchandise. It's well stocked with magazines, books, and an assortment of music & video selections....all used and there are several spots you can pick up something free (books, magazines). For me the biggest thrill was finding an old issue of RV Companion magazine. I was a part-time columnist, initially covering health topics (Healthy Trails) and later on topics interesting Baby Boomers (like motorcycling). I also designed and maintained their website. One of the issues featured Quartzsite and had my column covering the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies charity run in Ft Pierce, FL.



Now Paul is not your average bookstore owner....not by a long shot. In fact Paul is probably world famous....for being the Naked Bookseller. He typically wears three socks, loosely defined. On really cold days he might have a long sleeved shirt or jacket as well. I had seen several photos in blogs lately, all featuring the blog owner with Paul. The first one had him wearing three red socks. Well, today was mesh day....oh yeah! Needless to say I had to get my picture taken with Paul as did my friend from Sun City. (Don't enlarge the photo if you are easily offended....)



While it's fun to talk about the quirky side of Paul, he does have another more serious side. In 1995 Paul and his wife Joanne lost their daughter Celia at age 8 1/2. Joanne calls Celia her miracle baby....first because she was conceive and second because she survived a birth weight of 1 1/4 pounds and 12" long.

After Celia's death, Paul and Joanne wanted to do something to give back to the community that helped them, a community that Celia loved. They petitioned the town for an area where they could establish a botanical garden in Celia's memory. They worked tirelessly to make that dream a reality and today it stands as a loving memorial to not only Celia from her parents, but from many others. Joanne says it best, "What started out as a small nature trail has grown over the past 6 years into a mosaic of beauty, like a patchwork quilt made by many loving hands and hearts."

Here are just a few of the photos I took there....there are memorials to family, friends, other loved ones including pets. Quite a moving experience. There is also a little miniature old west town, Adamsville, and other items of historical interest.








I hope you will take the time to read the full story behind Celia's Rainbow Garden and visit it when you are in Quartzsite.

For those who wonder how long I will be here, I am moving to the Desert Pueblo RV Park in Bouse this Wednesday morning. I'll be there a week before going back to Augie's Quail Trail RV Park in Gila Bend for another week.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Addicted to Dust

Yes, I made it to Quartzsite and I have been having a ball, thus the lack of a blog for several days (well, that and boondocking with limited generator time).

Harvey and I took a slight detour on our way to Q and hit a Super Wal-Mart. It had been a while since I had stocked up and my list had been growing. We got on I-10 East for 4 miles and got off in Buckeye, AZ. This had to have been the largest Wal-Mart I have been in to date. It had everything I needed and more....LOL!

We hit the road and found our Escapees SOLO folks around 3 pm. Everyone had a good laugh at my looking for "pull-through" parking. Needless to say, we could pretty well pick our spot. Nicely level, far enough from other rigs so my generator wouldn't bother them and was good to go. Well, except it was COLD...much colder than I expected thanks to the wind (we had been fighting it for about the last 50 miles of driving).

There is no way to remember all that has gone on so I will hit the highlights, thus far, in list form:

1. Had Hobo Stew* with the other members of the Full-Time Graduating Class of 2007. What a wild, wonderful, wacky group of folks. The stew was DELICIOUS! Wish I could have spent more time with them but they are 12-15 miles away on the other side of Quartzsite. I know I will see many of them on the road over the next year or two.
   *Take whatever meet, canned goods, etc that you can find, mix it all together and simmer for as long as it takes. Then you've got Hobo Stew. Some of the best ingredients are beef, sausage, chicken, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, carrots...you get the idea.
   
2. I've eaten in a couple of local restaurants, courtesy of several friends.
   
3. I've seen every variety of camper - I won't even attempt to name them all but wow, what a variety - types, styles, brands, sizes, classics, homemade and more.
   
4. I've had my first (and definitely not my last) meal cooked in a solar oven. What a wonderful way to cook. I see one of these in my future....much easier and cheaper than using a conventional oven. YUM! With the prices in propane rising and the cost of using my generator to run the microwave, this would actually be a cost effective item (and would would involve healthier eating).
   
5. I got out to meet some of the local folks - dinner time at The Yacht Club. Great people, love the quirky flavor here (yup, I'm definitely a fan of quirky). Convinced me that I need to exercise more to get my back, hips & knees back into the groove of dancing. Good band, too!
6. I've seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets...photos to follow...almost every day.
7. I've met other RVers who also travel with a motorcycle as their "toad".
8. I sat in front of, behind, beside, all around multiple campfires - moving as needed to lose the smoke and keep my voice! (Someone asked if that was why my nickname was Froggi...)
9. I've learned that I have to remember to turn off my propane heater for the day or in 4 hours my generator won't charge the batteries enough to keep the heater firing all night long....even when set at 60 degrees.
10. Solar is definitely in my future....but I am much more comfortable boondocking than I expected and that is a good thing!
    

Here are some random photos taken so far....



As a friend posts in his blog....I am having TOO MUCH FUN!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Tag, you're it!

We all remember playing tag when we were kids...great way to get exercise and unless all your friends ganged up on you, the playing field was pretty equal. Well, I've discovered that we can play tag as bloggers.

I was reading an entry in my middle daughter's crafting blog and she was all excited because she'd been tagged. As I read about the tagging, I thought this would be fun to share with RVers. There are many, many blogs I follow. Some folks post daily, some more than once a day, some less frequently and some very infrequently. But I follow them all (and thank goodness they don't all post every day - phew!).

So, here are the rules as I've modified them to fit our RV lifestyle:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Share the 5 top places on your "want to see or want to see again" list.
   
4. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

See? Fun and easy....so here are my lists.

Random/Weird facts about me:

1. I didn't get my first tattoo until age 54 - I now have six.
2. Besides 30 years as a computer professional I have also been a:
   A & W car hop
   Grapefruit packer
   Fiber optic construction inspector
   Long distance telephone operator (back when we used switchboards with wires)
3. My favorite ice cream is black raspberry -- followed closely by Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey!
   
4. I hate to have my head underwater when swimming.
5. My favorite flowers are daisies and black-eyed susans (I also love wildflowers).
   

Top 5 Seen/See Again list:

1. Yellowstone - rode through from three directions on the motorcycle, now want to camp there.
2. Australia - maybe someday....
3. Alaska - since I know I will never ride my motorcycle TO there, what better way to go than RV there and then ride!
4. Yosemite - never been there but hear that it's better than Yellowstone.
5. Glacier - another visited on bike but want to camp there, and I want to revisit the Blackfeet friends I made in nearby Browning while volunteering on the reservation.

Now, who to tag....I hope all selected will play along! Since I'm the starter, I'll go with ten blogs I follow - listed in no particular order.

1. Diane & Andy - diandy
   
2. Ellie & Jim - justravelin
   
3. Chris & Jim - Geeks on Tour
   
4. Kris & Al - On the Road
   
5. Sandra - Nightly News
   
6. ZoAnn - O. B. Sirius
   
7. Randy & Di - Life on the Road
   
8. Tom & Paula - Our Adventures with Emily
   
9. Kelly & Al - Travel with the Bayfield Bunch
   
10. Brian & Heidi - RV Boondocking the Good Life

Let the games begin! Everyone enjoy watching for the TAG posts from these folks - I'm headed off to let them know they've been TAGGED.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

My own personal drive-in….

Haven't updated since there was nothing much new. They've been working on my suspension but the final hold-up was the air bag system. It's now here and HOPEFULLY all will go well today with the rest of the work and I'll be out of here tomorrow.

The last two nights have been spent nestled in the Lily Pad inside the facility. Upside? Nice and cozy....especially when it dropped to 30 last night. Downside? No satellite television. Sure am glad I have a huge stash of DVDs. The first night I watched Disney's "Cars", "Ice Age" and "Bug's Life".

"Cars" made me nostalgic for the west since it was set on Route 66 and was a play on the old towns of the 1950's and 60's. Diners, neon lit motels and quirky friends....gotta love it. Factor in the beautiful scenery, albeit in cartoon fashion, and it made me yearn for the west.

Last night I watched "Dreamkeeper", a Hallmark made for TV production. I'm not sure when I ordered it or even why, unless I had seen a promo for the show. It was breathtaking, educational, heartbreaking and heartwarming....three hours long, I will watch this again. If you haven't seen it and have any affinity for Native American folklore, this is a must see.

I'm missing my favorite prime time shows, can't TV what the satellite can't "see", but in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter. Just keep your fingers crossed that the Lily Pad is standing firm and tall on all legs come morning. Oh, and that her water pump leak is fixed as well (yeah, I know, it's always something!).

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Fun, silly and interesting....

Want to have some fun while you waste some time and maybe get some education, too? Then stop by this site started by a friend of mine - WOW, THAT'S..... You'll see sections for the Big, Cool and Tacky as well as unusual motorcycle sightings and interesting roadside eateries (especially those that are Big, Weird, Tacky or otherwise). Hope you enjoy it as much as I do and remember to check back weekly for updates and new submissions.

Quick update on the job, things are going well. I have a lot to learn and that will take time, but at least I remember the 'spiel' for answering the phone now...well, most of the time. Only hung up on one person so far, so that's pretty good. The day goes by quickly and is never the same. I'm learning the tasks but have yet to piece them together into the overall picture. I know that will come....it had better. In two weeks the gal I'm assisting is going on vacation for 2 days and then will be in a class for 2 weeks. GULP!

Still having a heat wave here....I've become a motorcycle weather wimp. Just too hot to ride. I finally gave in and put the battery charger on the bike....just so if I find an hour when it's not too hot and I feel like grabbing a ride, at least the bike will start.

Well, it's past my bedtime so better quickly close...remember to check out Wendy's site above!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Nothing to say....

Seems folks think I have something to say, I've gotten several messages asking what's up....but unfortunately there have been no changes since I last posted. Well, at least no changes in the house selling area. Only one showing and nothing came of that. As I've said before, I refuse to fuss about it, can't change it anyway.

I have started sending out resumes again...maybe something will turn up. I know, what happens if I get a job and then the house sells. Well, at that point, if I like the job I will stay in the area and find something cheaper to buy...hopefully I will be able to buy a small used RV and get in some weekend trips for practice. Then, when I can better afford it I will take my stab at full-timing. Remember, everything happens for a reason. I'm just waiting to see what the reason is for the delay.

I've been watching TV in the evenings and started putting MONK on TiVo. I love the show and the quirky character. But as I watched the shows recently, I realized that I am somewhat obsessive as well as Monk. Not as bad, but still like things in their place, count letters in words in my mind, like symmetry in things (except when asymmetrical seems more symmetrical - okay, so you have to be me to understand that ). I even took the "Are you MONK-ISH" quiz - yup, it's official. I'm more MONK-ISH than most.

I do like quirky....some of my favorite TV shows and movies have involved quirky people and places: Northern Exposure, Soap, WKRP, Mash, Mystery AK and even The Prisoner series. I once lived in a place with quirky flavor.....if the winters weren't so harsh, I'd live there now. Always something of interest happening.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna