The Sun Setting on Our Neighborhood and A Ride With the Harquahala Mountains in the Distance

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Up after the sunrise this morning we really did not have anything planned beyond our coffee. There was a beautiful blue sky and Tom stepped out to set up our chairs so they could dry out after last night's rain. Coming in he said he thought it was a little to chilly to sit out this morning. As we sat drinking our coffee inside I mentioned we had several batches of wash that need to be taken care of so what to do today was decided. After a late breakfast we headed into Quartzsite to do laundry. Not my favorite thing to do I would much rather be using the combination washer/dryer in our home. The thing is when we are boondocking it really is not practical to use it and truthfully I like boondocking in the desert more then I dislike using a laundromat. 

Back home after putting our clothes away it was time for Happy Hour. With very little wind, finally, and the sun shining down it was by no means hot but warm enough to sit out and enjoy a couple of hours of talking about this and that. I say this and that because honestly for the most part I would not be able to tell you everything we talked about. What I do remember is the conversation flowed, we enjoyed the company of friends, and more then once laughter filled the air around us. Then as the sun began to make its way down towards the Dome Rock Mountains the coolness set in and it was time to say Good Night and head inside.

The sun had already slipped behind the Dome Rock Mountains
when I took this picture. It left behind a golden glow which
filled the sky above our neighborhood.

Top to Bottom
The sunlight could still be seen touching the mountains to 
the North, South, and East of us.

That was our day nothing to exciting just normal every day stuff. The special part is we spent it parked in the beautiful Sonoran Desert near Quartzsite, Arizona.

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Today's Coffee Hour started with a calm breeze in front of the Stinger "B" and then the wind was upon us. We persevered and moved our chairs to the other side and continued our Coffee Hour or maybe it was two. During that time the wind found us but we continued to persevere for a time. Then we all agreed the wind had won for now and we headed inside to the calm of our homes. (When I say we I mean mostly Deb and I. Doug came and went. Tom went for fresh water and spent time with us while he pumped it in to our tank. Then he went and dumped our blue boy after we went inside.)

Looking at the weather for the day it looked like the wind would be with us until later in the day and just as it was predicted to calm down it looked like the rain would be starting. Decision was no Happy Hour this evening. Tom and I decided to head over to Parker for Saturday Vigil Mass.

Heading North on AZ-95 we could see dust in the air. 
I believe those are the Mesquite Mountains.

When I saw these clouds my first thought was there
is a mustache in the sky..😊. 

At this point we can usually see mountains ahead of us.
Today we could mostly see dust.

It is hard to tell in the picture but all we could 
see was brown dust ahead.

The Altar at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Parker, AZ.

After Mass, since we were in Parker, we headed over to Walmart to pick up some groceries. 

Then we went out to dinner at one of the Mexican Restaurants. I will only say one thing about where we ate, the service was excellent.

After finishing dinner we walked out the door to pouring rain and that is what we pretty much drove the 41 miles home in. Though it did slow to a sprinkle a couple of times when we turned into Roadrunner it was pouring down. It is always some what of a challenge finding your home in the inky black darkness of the desert and rain well that just adds another layer of fun. The good news we had not bought anything that needed to be refrigerated so we only needed to get ourselves inside for tonight. Yes, we did succeed in finding our way home once again. There have been a couple of times over the years when for more then a few moments we thought we would be sleeping in our vehicle...lol

Friday, February 24, 2023

Looking for a new place to boondock in the future we decided to head east to an area near the Harquahala Mountains. At around 9:30AM Deb, Riley, Tom and I headed out in the Little Black Limo followed by Doug and Yuma in the Little Silver Streak. Merging on to I-10 we were headed East towards Salome Road. It was a good day for a ride blue skies with big white clouds. We did find a couple of places with wonderful views but the cell service was spotty at best and that was just for texting if you were standing in the right spot. None of us were able to connect to the internet or make a phone call. It would be a nice for a couple of days if you do not mind the lack of cell service. It is on our list of possible spots.

Never the less it was a beautiful ride down Eagle Eye Road. The sun, the clouds. the shadows on the mountains, and on the desert floor all came together to put on a wonderful show of light and dark throughout our time in the area.

Interesting side note for Tom and I: the last time we took a ride down this road was to drive up to the Harquahala Smithsonian Solar Observatory which we did on Saturday, February 25, 2017. The ride was a once in a lifetime one we would not attempt it again. Yet after all is said and done we are glad we took the ride. The views at the top were breathtaking. Click Here for those pictures if you are interested. Doug and Yuma also took that ride a few days later in 2017. Click Here for the great pictures Doug took. 

Most of the pictures I took on this day were of the mountains. I just love how the sunlight lights up all the "nooks and crannies" and the shadows of the clouds brings a dark contrast that is constantly changing. I often describe it as a dance across the mountains because that is what I see a beautiful dance of light and shadows. 

This is one of the places 

we saw that would be a 

beautiful spot to park.

With views  

that seem

to go on forever.

There is so much beauty to be seen

we just need to be willing to look

with "open eyes".

It is beautiful how the sunlight hits one area of the desert floor

while the clouds keep the rest of the area in the shadows.

I have more pictures of this ride, and I am pretty sure Tom has some, that I will share in the next couple of blogs. I am going to stop here for now before I have to much of a picture overload. 

When Tom and I look back and talk about this day we will be remember a good day spent with special friends with beautiful views in every direction.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

A Short Ride Down Tyson Wash

Thursday, February 23, 2023

When we first looked out this morning there was blue sky with clouds floating by.  The wind though not as strong as the last couple of days was still with us and the temperature was in the cool range. In no time at all the clouds covered the sky above us with just some hints of blue along the horizon.

Looking out the front window our view was empty.
The Igloo was gone.

Deb and Riley were off this morning in the Dogsled with the Igloo following behind. They had an appointment; Deb talks about this on her blog, On a long and lonesome highway...

Looking towards the Northwest 

 this morning. The sun was touching the mountains.

After a late breakfast we headed into Quartzsite. We are thinking of making some changes to our solar system. Tom has been doing some research and he had some questions so we went in to see if we could get some answers. More on that once we make some decisions.

An interesting "guy" in the distance.
This is actually two Saguaros.

Looking out towards the mountains as we are going
by La Posa South LTVA.

After getting some answers we headed over to Quiet Times to pick up a package. Then we took a ride down Main Street turning towards Kuehn Street. Heading East on Kuehn we reached the Tyson Wash and decided to take a right turn into the wash. We had crossed over the wash when we took a ride down the Pipeline Road on Tuesday so we decided to see if we could take the wash to the Pipeline Road. No real reason except it sounded like it might be fun. This wash is basically a bumpy soft gravel type and not far in Tom put the Jeep into sand mode. It was a fun ride and the views were great. One thing about riding or walking in a wash is it makes you aware of just how powerful the force of  water can be. 

Going by Q Mountain

Looking ahead down the wash.

Halsey Williams Mill

Williams Mill, also called the Halsey Williams Mill, is an ore processing facility located on the backside of “Q-Hill” just south of downtown Quartzsite. Built sometime around World War II, the mill was fed ore from nearby mines which were either sent off to market or for further processing. The mill site underwent redevelopment over the years and processed tungsten, lead, silver, and gold in its lifetime.

The top of Q Mountain

It was about here that it started to rain, it was mostly sprinkles.

This is were we left the Tyson Wash and 

turned onto the Pipeline Road.

Then in a few minutes we could see our
neighborhood/home ahead.

Looking out at our view towards the northwest
the mountains are behind the dust.

The rain really started to come down just before Happy Hour this afternoon. Happily Deb, Riley, and Doug were able to make it through the raindrops to join Tom and I inside the Stinger "B". The rain continued to come down and while we were chatting away Deb noticed what was a perfect rainbow.  Doug went out and took a beautiful picture of the entire rainbow check it out on his blog, Miss Adventure Travels.

As the light of this day faded we said our good nights.
Looking out as they left we could

see puddles in the desert.

There are a lot of wonderful things about this lifestyle. I believe most of us would agree the friendships we have made along the way is the best part. At the same time it is not always perfect and right the now the weather is not great. We did have a few nice days this past weekend but between the wind and the cold temperatures it is not fun. Yet we still find things to do and life goes on and it is good.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.