Same Sun from a New Viewing Area

Sunday, December 21, 2025

We were up and out the door this morning before the sun made an appearance. The reason was to attend Mass at Sacred Heart in Parker and it is at 8:00AM. It was, as Tom recalls, 50 degrees when we stepped out this morning. It seems very strange to think of today as the first day of Winter. For many years the first day of Winter, to us, meant cold temperatures, 50 does not count we would have called that a heat wave, and snow on the ground. Actually, this time of the year, back in the day, we would have called 40 degrees a heat wave...lol

In the early dawn the sky was a golden orange.

Friday, December 19, 2025

This was our last day in the park so we did spend it packing up. We are excited to be moving on and at the same time a little sad to be leaving. We are happy Nancy made it before we left and sad we would not be parked with her in between Patsy and Bill and us a little longer. Just the same it made for a nice last Happy Hour here to have her join us. 

Credit goes to Tom for both of tonight's pictures.

Happy Hour
Bill, Patsy, and Nancy

Tonight's afterglow was a beautiful golden orange.

Saturday, December 20, 2025

We started the day enjoying our coffee before the sun came up this morning. After spending a month parked in one place, even though we started packing up yesterday, we knew it would take a while before Tom would be starting the Stinger "B's" engine and pulling her out of our site. Check out is 11o'clock here and we were a few minutes late doing so. Today's drive would only be around 20 miles so the Jeep "With No Name" would not be towed behind. Tom left ahead of me, he had two stops to make. One to top off the diesel and the second to top off the propane. I had three stops. One at the office to settle up our electric bill and say a see you next year to Patsy and Bill, the second one was Dollar General and finally the bank for some cash. The plan was to meet out at Plomosa Road to have lunch before continuing on our journey. Today Tom got there first and was waiting for me. That never happens I am always the one waiting but today he said at both his stops there was no line and he was in and out in record time.

Following the Stinger "B" and Tom

as they make their way towards and through
 the Plomosa Mountains.

We found our turn off  of Plomosa and in no time Lyle was directing Tom into a lovely spot where we will enjoy the views and the company. The Stinger "B" and  the Jeep with "No Name" will be here longer then Tom and I but we will enjoy every day we are here. While the guys were doing that Melissa and I mostly just sat and chatted. The guys soon joined us and we decided it was time for Happy Hour. 

Tonight's Sunset

Pink Sky towards the East

Lovely Orange Glow in the West

We have had several nights in a row with the sky filled with a beautiful afterglows!

It is always bittersweet leaving a place we have enjoyed staying. Plus this time we were also saying see you next year to Patsy and Bill. I will repeat myself and say we were a little surprised as to just how much we enjoyed our stay at Park Place RV. We knew it was a nice park but we are boondockers and love being out in the desert. The thing was we wanted to be in a park to get ready for our trip back to Michigan and this ended up being the perfect place to do so. Tom and I agree we will spend more time there in the future.

Sunday, December 21, 2025 continued:

As we road along on our way to Parker the sky was a beautiful

combination of golden orange, rosy pink, and blue.

It almost looked like a smoke signal coming up over the mountain.

We turned west and the sun popped up behind us.
Yes, this picture I took through a dirty window
is the sunrise reflected on a dirty mirror.

Then we could see the sunlight touching Parker, Arizona

Tom took a walk around the area and these are the pictures he took.
Yes, that is the Stinger "B" looking all happy in its spot.
He left the two painted rocks in place.

The sun setting on a good day.

Top picture looking towards the East.
The bottom picture I just liked how the last of the light was 
touching the Saguaro in the distance.

There were lovely rosy pink clouds in the sky this evening.

The last sliver of orange glow before the blackness 
of the night engulfed us.

As I write this we are tucked in out off of Plomosa Road across from our friends, Mellissa and Lyle, who are generously sharing this beautiful spot they have found out here. Tom and I love boondocking and there is a peace about being here.

If you have enjoyed the pictures I have put out there 

or the words I have added that makes me smile. 

If you have time to leave a comment they are always special to read. 

No matter what I am glad you stopped by!

Time With Friends

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

When we got back home from dinner at Silly Al's with the group below the sky still had some lovely dark shades of pink showing threw. There must have been a lovely afterglow while we were inside enjoying good conversation and food.

You probably already have seen this picture of the group we went to
Silly Al's with for dinner Tuesday night on Patsy's Blog.
The thing it was so much better than the one I took I just had to "borrow" it..😊.
Right to left: Bill, Ken, John, Tom, myself, Gayle, Kim and Patsy.

Earlier in the day I joined three other ladies for a few games of Pokeno. Patsy has talked about how much fun it is, so when she said why don't you join us I decided to go and see what it was all about. I counted out my precious pennies and walked over to the club house just before 1 o'clock to join in the fun and I have to say, and fun it was. Of course, it would have been more fun if I would have not lost most of my pennies but sometimes you just have to take the good with the bad...lol

After I got back from Pokeno Tom and I joined Kim and Ken at Patsy and Bill's for Happy Hour before heading over to Silly Al's for dinner.  Where Gayle, Patsy's sister, and her husband, John joined us. Tom and I had not seen Gayle and John in several years so it was wonderful getting to chat with both of them.

It was another good day in Quartzsite, Arizona.

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

It was another chilly morning in the Sonoran Desert, 43 degrees as our day started. But with blue skies and sunshine it always feel a little warmer except if there is a breeze and this morning there was breeze. At a few minutes after 9 I walked over to the Clubhouse for Coffee and Snacks. Tom followed a few minutes later he had a few calls to make this morning. It was a very pleasant hour chatting with people and there were muffins baked by Sue that Tom said were very good.

A little later we headed out to Plomosa Road to pick up friends Melissa and Lyle at their spot out there and drove into Bouse for a late lunch. Two meals with friends in two days, plus coffee and snacks, we are starting to feel like social butterflies...lol

Driving down Plomosa Road we can see
the Plomosa Mountains in the distance.

Then we are driving through the mountains......

As we come out the east side of the mountains
this is one of my favorite views.

I wonder what mountains those are in the distance.

Lunch at El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant in Bouse, AZ
With Melissa and Lyle. The food was pretty good 
but the company was excellent.

The moon was rising as we pulled out of their
spot to head home.

Every once and awhile when you are driving through or near
mountains you get to watch the sun set more than once.
Plomosa Mountains.

After driving through the Plomosa Mountains the sun still
had a ways to go before slipping down for the day.

Looking east towards the Plomosa Mountains
as the sun was setting behind us.

Couldn't let a blog go by without an Ocotillo

Our last sunset for today as we approach AZ-95 
going west on Plomosa Road.

Turning on to Tyson Street as we made our way
home I liked the pink color in the sky.
That little white dot in the upper left is the moon.

I do like the warning on this sign located
on Plymouth Road in Quartzsite.

Our days are flowing by and we are enjoying them all. 

 If you have enjoyed the pictures I have put out there 

or the words I have added that makes me smile. 

If you have time to leave a comment they are always special to read. 

No matter what I am glad you stopped by!

Celebrating the Dance Returns to Blog Land!

So the story of our Journey begins again.

After a long "vacation" from blogging I decided it was time to get back in the "game". Mostly because this is our journey and we do want to remember it when we get old...LOL

No, I will not be going all the way back in time to when I stopped blogging to catch up, my memory is not that good, but I will be inserting pictures here and there along the way from the past. 

We are parked out on BLM Land, Roadrunner to be exact, near Quartzsite, Arizona and my restart into Blog Land will be our arriving here. Well sort of I think I will start each blog in real time and then go back. 

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Today was a day to watch the constantly changing sky around us. We had rain overnight and as I write this a little after 2 o'clock there is the rumble of thunder in the distance and the rain has started to fall. The kind of drops that softly pitter\patter on our roof. Out the window off to the southwest I can see lighter sky not blue just lovely white clouds coming our way.

When I opened the door to take these first pictures this morning 
I could smell the creosote in the air. It is a smell that only comes out
after a rain here in the desert and it is a pleasant scent.

I went out several times before the rain started. There were moments of  white fluffy clouds with blue sky peaking out and dark ominous clouds hanging over the mountains all beautiful. 

As I continued writing and added the above pictures the rain continued to come down with more intensity and the sky turned from dark clouds with some white to shades of grey.

The mountains almost disappeared behind the mist. 

These were the last pictures I took today.
The sun was trying to shine through the clouds to the west
and there was spots of color in the the east.

Tom took these as the sun would have been making its way 
behind the Dome Rock Mountains.

The clouds picked up some nice color as the the sun was setting/

The last little glow of light to the north of us.

If you are a cloud watcher, and I admit to being one, today was a wonderful day to do so the they kept moving and changing quickly. We had rain on and off throughout the day but I am sure all the plants in the desert where happy to see it come down. 

I learned a little bit about the lie we tell ourselves tonight. The one that the RV will be easy to find in the desert after dark because we have driven in so many times. I had a late pedicure appointment in Quartzsite and it was dark when I headed home. This was the first time I ever drove in to our site by myself after dark. I made it but it is a whole different experience. 

About the pedicure, I had an appointment at Tippie Toes Nails Spa with Deena the owner. If you need or just want a pedicure I would say give her a call she does an excellent job. I personally have already booked my next appointment.

Friday, October 31, 2025

After spending a week at the Pilot Knob RV Resort in Winterhaven, CA , just west of Yuma, AZ, we eventually headed north on US-95 towards Quartzsite. Before leaving the Yuma area we had the delightful fun of replacing our refrigerator. The Norcold which was nothing but trouble from the beginning died while we were parked at Pilot Knob. When our Dometic died seven years ago the only thing we could find in stock was a Norcold so not wanting to wait a month we decided to go with it. That was not our best decision. Nine months later that one died. After several phone calls the company reluctantly sent a new one and that one lasted six years but it was nothing but trouble. For one thing ice constantly built up in the refrigerator part and then water would back up and fill every opening including the crisper.  I finally just kept everything in plastic bags. Not to mention if I put one container on top of  another one what ever was in that top container would most likely freeze. Not all the time but probably 80% of the time. I must admit when it died I almost rejoiced except for the cost of its replacement but it is so worth it to have a working refrigerator.

Enough bad stuff. Well except for the engine overheating problem but we have had the radiator checked out and we, meaning Tom, has a good idea about what is going on. So fingerscrossed we have a solution. More later. 

As we were going by the road to the Yuma Proving Grounds I was ready to take the picture, which I have taken and posted several times. But there was no sign and no big guns. I was so surprised I missed taking a picture of the nothingness. 

Then I googled: What happened to the guns and sign at the road to the Yuma Proving Grounds

The iconic Big Guns at the Yuma Proving Grounds have been temporarily removed for road construction. The M1 240mm howitzer, which has stood since 1963, was moved to make way for improvements to Highway 95. The howitzer is expected to return to its prominent display after the completion of the road construction project, which is set to be completed in the summer of 2026.

Mystery solved.

The Tethered Aerostat, a large, unmanned, helium-filled blimp
operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection was flying.

One of the first thing we noticed as we rode along was how green everything looked. It was nice to see leaves on the Ocotillos.

Then we started seeing the beautiful and majestic Saguaros
along with the Teddy Bear Chollas.

It was later in the day when we finally arrived at our spot and parked the Stinger "B" for our first desert boondocking of this Our 12th Adventure.

Looking towards the Dome Rock Mountains as the sun sets 
on our first night parked in one of our favorite places.

Looking to the south we can see the last of the sun's rays on the
Palm Canyon and to the east on the Sleeping Indian.

The sun has slipped behind the mountains and soon the
total darkness of this peaceful place will encircle us.
We are happy to have arrived and look forward to the days ahead.

Saturday, November 1, 2025

I was up and out the door for our first sunrise. As you can see we were not totally set up. No patio area and no chairs. Not long after their were chairs and coffee looking out at the view.

The sun coming up on our first day boondocking in the Sonoran Desert.

When I turned back after taking the pictures of the sun rise
the Stinger "B" and the Jeep with No Name looked wonderful
parked in this place with the sun's rays on them.

The views around us as the sun came up on our day.

Today was filled with the setting up our space for our time parked out here. Tom worked outside setting up our Patio Area and I worked inside. The first thing on my agenda was moving everything from the coolers into the refrigerator. We had turned it on when we arrived and this morning it was wonderfully cold inside. I did not have much hope for our freezer food but to my surprise most of the meat was still frozen solid. I had thought I would be spending most of the day cooking the meat from the freezer and then refreezing it. But we only had some sausages and hot dogs totally unthawed and Tom grilled them and I refroze what we did not have for dinner. So all in all it was a good day.

Sunday, November 2, 2025

The sun was up several hours before us this morning and the picture below was the only one I took today.

Took this while we sat and had our coffee this morning.

We went to 11:30 Mass at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Quartzsite this morning. Then later in the afternoon Patsy and Bill came out for our first official Happy Hour of this season. I failed to take a picture but Patsy brought her cute tripod and set up it up to take one. She

posted it on her Blog Chillin' with Patsy One of us has to be on the ball as they say and she was.

Monday, November 3, 2025

Today was pretty much a do nothing type of day. We slept in and then sat out and enjoyed our coffee. You may notice a pattern emerging of what our morning consist of but what can I say it is how we enjoy starting our day.

While we were sitting out to our surprise a very tiny sort of silver in color snake went slithering by. It is the first time we have ever seen any type of snake near where we were parked. 

After spending some time googling we are pretty sure it was a Western Threadsnake.

Western Threadsnake

(Rena humilis)

Order: Squamata

Family: Leptotyphlopidae (blind snakes)

Other common names: worm snake

Spanish names: culebra

Distinguishing Features

This small snake, which is about as thick as a pencil lead on average, reaches a maximum length of 16 inches (40 cm). It is usually pale brown, pink, purplish, or beige with a silver sheen. The hard, shiny scales on the underside are similar in appearance to those on the back, except lighter in color. The head and tail are blunt, with a spine at the tail tip. Vestigial eyes appear as spots under the head scales. Teeth are lacking from the upper jaw.

It was not very big and it looked silver in the sunlight.

A little later while we were still sitting outside we watched
a Goodyear Blimp go by.

Later we watched the moon rise

and the sun set on what had been a lazy sort of day in the desert.

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

There was no more putting it off today we needed to take a ride over to Parker to visit the Walmart and pick up a few needed groceries. We did take a detour across Plomosa Road to Bouse where we turned left onto AZ-72 which took us into Parker.

Saguaros on the side of the Plomosa Mountains.

More majestic Saguaros.

Even after the Saguaros have died there is beauty in them.
I know what I see what to do see?

Some Ocotillos still had their tiny green leaves while others 
are losing their green color and they will soon be bare of leaves.
Still my favorite desert plant.

Later back home we watched the moon rise

and the sun set.
Another good day in our journey.

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

This is a collage of the two different hummingbirds who
have been coming into the feeder. 

My research says the one on the left is a male Anna's Hummingbird. I think the one on the right is a female of the same species or a young male. I have not been able to get a clear enough picture to put in the Merlin Bird ID so for now it is just a guess.

The moon rising was partially covered by clouds
tonight but still beautiful.

Then the few clouds that were in the sky made for
a wonderful afterglow.

I feel this blog getting lengthy so I will stop here for today. I do have an FYI for my blogger friends I may have been out of the world of blogging and not making many comments but I have been reading your blogs and sharing with Tom what you have been doing. I cannot explain what happened and why I quit writing and commenting. I do know once I stopped it was hard to start again. For all of us who blog it is our own special Journey and for me it is about our memories so today I begin anew.

If you have enjoyed the pictures I have put out there 

or the words I have added that makes me smile. 

If you have time to leave a comment they are always special to read. 

No matter what I am glad you stopped by!