Back in Quartzsite

(Clicking on the pictures will open them larger in a new window.)

March 1, 2018

We left Borrego Springs this morning after 13 days, 9 parked on Roadhouse Canyon Road and 4 parked at the American Legion Post 853. It is always sad to pull out of a place we have enjoyed but it is time to say goodbye to the Santa Rosa Mountains and roll our wheels towards the next adventure that awaits us down the road.

I still have 3 catch up postings of three of our days in Borrego Springs and it is important to us that we include them. So they are going to be popping up. I just decided to post this one in real time since we have moved on.

Our first stop today was at the Walmart in Indio, CA to replenish our supplies. We then made the decision to drive back to Quartzsite. We had thought about stopping at the George Patton Museum but decided to save that stop for another time. Not wanting to pay the price for diesel in California we pulled into the Love's in Quartzsite  on a "Wing and a Prayer" after hearing the ding and reading the warning that we were low on fuel a few miles out. Once the Stinger "B" had a full tank of diesel our next decision was where to park; never a fun proposition after dark which is why we usually avoid doing so. Since, we are somewhat familiar with the Roadrunner BLM, having parked out there a couple of times, we decided it was our best bet. So we pulled in, drove into an area where we have parked before, took our best guess, and Tom shut her down. Knowing when morning dawns we can always move.

Looking out this morning we did not do to badly finding a spot in the dark but we can do better. We are having our coffee while we decide what to do next. Seriously considering driving back to Dome Rock to be closer in the few days we will be here. We do have wheels underneath us after all.

The Stinger "B" has a full tank of fresh water, empty holding tanks, a Jeep
hooked on, and is ready to leave.

Good Bye Santa Rosa Mountains

We are on S22, Borrego Salton Seaway, driving through the Borrego Badlands headed towards our next adventure. It is a beautiful drive. Well the scenery is beautiful the road itself is another story but it is a road worth taking.

The collages were taken with my phone the others with my Nikon and all were taken through a somewhat dirty front windshield.  Okay, a really dirty front windshield the Stinger "B" is in need of a good bath.

The Salton Sea can be seen in the distance.

We have turned north onto 86.

It was hard to see through the haze but there is snow on this mountain.

Our shopping done we are on I-10 headed East and going up.
 The mountain directory says it is between a 3 and 5 percent climb and it is
length, 13 miles, can make it a hard climb in hotter weather.
We did not have the hotter weather but the amount of semis making the
climb made it interesting.

The highway ahead.

Just thought this was an unusual looking semi.

There are three bunches of "topless" palms not far from Joshua Tree on I-10.
Not sure what happened to them but this is the third year we have seen them.

We are now chasing our shadow.

Coming into Blythe, CA with the sun setting behind us.

We have crossed into Arizona and I have posted several pictures of the ride between Blythe and Quartzsite, it is another ride with views we never get tired of seeing, so I thought I would have some fun and see what the camera effect, photo illustration, would have on the scenery. Just in case I have not mentioned it before,  I really like what that effect does to the pictures it takes.

Then we turned a corner and there was the moon in all its beautiful glory.

I wish I knew more about the manual settings on my camera and how
to set up for night shots. It was so beautiful and I know these photos
do not even remotely resemble what we could see.

The moon over Quartzsite.

While Tom is filling our tank both drivers pulled up and left to get ???
We may be here a while.
Luckily the one on the right pulled out just as Tom finished.

It ended up being a longer traveling day then we had planned but our plans are very seldom written in ink so they are erasable and changeable. Plus, I had mentioned to Rick and Kathy, It's about time, we would be back in Quartzsite this weekend and it would be nice to get together if they had time. They suggested going out to the VFW for their Fish Fry so we have plans for dinner. So all and all "our plan" fell into perfect place. 

"If you just go with the flow,

no matter what weird things happen along the way,

you always end up exactly where you belong."

~Tom Upton

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

If you would like to leave a comment we always enjoy hearing from you.