Back Home in the Sonoran Desert Near Quartzsite, Arizona

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

We started today slowly. There are things that need to be done inside and out of our new to us home but we have time. Over the next few days the new water pump will be installed and the basement and some of the cupboard in here will be gone through. We are purging slowly but surely. 

Tom worked in our basement today and I went into Park Place to play Pokeno, someone had to do it they need pennies...lol, with the ladies. Or as I like to say, I drove into town to visit my pennies. I think I may have left about even today...lol When I got back home Happy Hour was in progress so I joined the circle. 

The afterglow was again beautiful.

Monday, February,  23, 2026

The last four weeks flew by.

Monday, we were up and moving early. Our first stop was at Discount Solar to have our new home's solar installed. They installed our solar on the Stinger "B" and we were happy with the results so to our thinking it would be foolish to go somewhere else. This is an all day job so we needed to find a few things to occupy our time. Second stop was at Mountain Quail Cafe, original one, to meet up with Melissa and Lyle for breakfast/lunch. They will be heading north soon and it was time to say so long and see you down the road. We will miss knowing they are nearby but we will stay in contact. Third and final stop of the day was a site out at Roadrunner our "Happy Place" out in the desert. 

The sun had already slipped behind the mountains when Kim
and I got up to take a picture.

The afterglow was beautiful!
A wonderful sky to greet our being back in this place.

As I mentioned above the solar installation is an all day job so we decided to take a ride. We turned off of Plymouth Road where we could see several RV's parked in an area so we decided to check it out. We have come out at this particular spot when we have cut across from Plomosa Road but there were never the rigs parked out there like know in the past. Mostly we would encounter ATV's. 

I read about a Labyrinth in this area so I was glad when we
came across it not far down the road. It is not large but well 
done. People have left a few painted rocks along the edage.

It takes awhile to walk a Labyrinth and Tom would have had to sit and wait for me so not today. I would like to go back though; for me it is a prayerful, relaxing, and peaceful exercise. I like the feeling of letting go while concentrating on my footsteps as my mind wonders where it may. 

We kept going and the scenery with the Plomosa Mountains
as the back drop was beautiful.

The road was rocky and rutted.

Off to the west the air looked a dirty brown.

A few of the Saguaros we passed today.

We eventually made the decision to turn around as it was getting close to the time to pick up our home. They finished up right around 4 o'clock and after some quick instructions we were on our way out to Roadrunner. 

Happy Hour had already begun when we arrived but they got
up to greet us and Ken helped Tom move through to our spot.

As much as we do like staying in an RV Park, and Park Place RV is a wonderful choice, we were ready to be back in the desert. Though to be honest full hookups will be missed...lol

Home!

Sunday, February 22, 2026

This morning we were up and moving early we had some errands to run in Yuma. Tom wanted to pick up a new water pump, since we will be boondocking we will need that. The one presently in here is working but not like it should. Since, we had planned a trip to Mexico this past Friday, that for various reasons did not take place,  I had place an Amazon Order delivered to UPS Store there. No logical reason as to why I just did.  So that also needed to be picked up. Plus, we did some grocery shopping. I would not complain about the shopping in Parker or right here in Quartzsite but they do not always carry everything we are looking for. So it is nice to go down to Yuma once and awhile. For all those reasons we were in the Jeep and on our way by 7:40. Mass at St. John Neumann is at 9 o'clock and that was our first goal.(We were actually out the door earlier then that but the door lock is still not co-operating so that delayed us. We still made it with five minutes to spare.)

The sun was up and just making its way above some cloud cover
as we went by the road to the palms. 
The bottom pictures are the mountains across US-95 to the west.

Part of the Kofa Mountain Range and always my favorite view.
I may have posted this view a few times in the past...lol

The sun lighting up some of the ruggedness of the Kofa Mountains.

I believe these are the Muggins Mountains in the distance.

The Laguna Mountains behind what looks so empty without
the howitzers in place at the entrance to the road leading to
the Yuma Proving Grounds and Imperial Dam

A closer look at the Muggins Mountains

Not long after the above pictures we start seeing fields where
vegetables grow and a citrus orchard.

Not long after these first fields we are turning left onto Fortuna Road which took us to E 40th Street and another left turn and then the church on the right. This is a large parish with lots of young families and it is nice to sit among the different generations versus when we go to Mass here in Quartzsite where it is mostly people around our age, not that going to Mass here is not enjoyable it is just different. Every congregation we join has it own atmosphere or vibe. There is a difference in the noise level when there are young families with children but it is a good sound. It is the sound of children being taught our faith, being taught it is important to take time out of our lives to spend time with God, by example and that is a good thing. (I want to stop here and say something about what Tom and I believe. We are Catholic and we do believe going to Mass on Sunday is an important part of our week. That does not mean it is the only time we pray and it does not mean we do not respect what other's believe. At the same time understand this is who we are, therefore, there will be times, as in the past, and going forward our Catholic Faith will creep into this blog.)

After Mass we made a stop at the RV Store for the water pump
then we headed over the Yuma Landing for brunch.

After lunch we stopped at Sprouts, Walmart, Fry's, and to pick up that Amazon Order before turning back north and headed home. It ended up being a longer day then planned but we can say we accomplished what we set out to do.

If you have been on US-95 by the Yuma Proving Grounds you
have seen this Tethered Aerostat Radar System in the sky. 
Today it was on the ground. The corner right picture was in the 
morning the larger one on our way home.

It has been several busy but good days in a row but again we are glad to again be parked out in a place we feel at peace.

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!

A Friday Afternoon Ride

Saturday, November 29, 2025

As I sit writing this, this morning the sun is out and I can see blue sky out our windows. It will probably be a quite day for us. Tom will have the fun of going over to the laundry room to do a batch of jeans and I will probably do a couple of batches here in the Stinger "B" but that is probably as exciting as our day will be. Which is perfectly okay.

Friday, November 28, 2025

Since, I titled this blog a ride I probably should write about that. Though lets face it, usually the pictures tell the story and yet at the same time they never do the scenery justice. Today's ride took us through the LaPosa South LTVA to the power line. We followed that road over into the Kofa Wildlife Refuge and then turned onto the road that leads to the Crystal Hill Area. We went a little past there before turning around. We started later in the day and we didn't want to venture to far in. We have been on several rides back in this area and will probably head that way again but for today it was time to turn around and make our way to US-95.

Looking back at the Dome Rock Mountains.

I have searched the maps we have and done some googling
and cannot identify what mountain or hill this is. I think it may
be part of the Plomosa Mountains but I am just not sure.
It is behind the LaPosa South LTVA.

Looking back at the Dome Rock Mountains.

We went by several ocotillos today. Some filled with green leaves,
others turning brown, and several grey ones waiting for the rain
to come again. There were even some with red blossoms
decorating the top of their branches.

The pipeline road is wide and fairly smooth. 

Here and there it looked like a carpet of green on the desert floor.
This is one thing we never thought we would see in the desert.
I do have trouble telling the difference though Alligator or Crocodile?

Some Brittlebush in bloom. 

Sometimes I am curious so I look things up. Today's look up was about the Brittlebush and I found it amazing just how many things this simple bush has been used for. 

Bighorn sheep and mule deer feed on this bush along with rodents that eat the seeds. 

It also has a long history of uses by indigenous and pioneer peoples, including:

Glue: The resin collected from the base of the plant, yellowish to brown, can be heated and used as a glue. The O'odham and Seri use it for hafting, to hold points on arrows and harpoons.

Sealer: A different sort of resin collected from the upper stems is more gummy and generally a clear yellow. The Seri use this to seal pottery vessels.

Incense: Early Spanish friars learned that the resin made a highly fragrant incense, akin to frankincense in odor.

Gum: The Sells area Tohono O'odham children use upper stem resin as a passable chewing gum.

Toothbrush: Oldtime cowboys used brittlebush stem as a fine toothbrush.(I thought this was interesting.)

Medicinal: Seri use brittlebush to treat toothache; the bark is removed, the branch heated in ashes, and then placed in the mouth to "harden" a loose tooth. Cahuilla used brittlebush to treat toothaches as well, and used it as a chest pain reliever by heating the gum and applying it to the chest. Waterproofing: It has been used to waterproof containers.

Varnish: It has been melted then used as a varnish.

We saw several Saguaros, and they were all about the same size
propped up like this on our ride today.

I did do some research about these Saguaros and I could not find out anything specific about who was propping them up. My guess would be they were endanger of falling over but that would just be a guess. What I did find out is there are groups out there working to save these majestic giants. One article talked about the fact that it is not the older giants that we should worry about the article said they can be resilient. It is the younger ones, the baby ones, who are failing to root and thrive. These saguaros above are not those. A baby saguaro at ten years old is probably only going to be about an inch tall. So even though I could not find out any specific information about why and who is propping these up and several others we saw, I did find out that there is research being done and people doing what they can to make sure these beautiful cacti are here for the generations to come. 

Teddy Bear Chollas. We saw a lot of these guys, also, today. 

More Ocotillos 

A giant saguaro surrounded by Brittlebush
with the Dome Mountains in the far background.

I believe this is a Hedgehog Cactus.

Kofa Mountains

About a quarter of a mile from this windmill was this sign top
insert and about a quarter mile past it there was an identical sign.

More pictures of the mountains

and Saguaros

as we drove along.

One of the many washes out along the roads out here.
Insert is looking down this wash when we were at the bottom.

I would like to see how they erected these out here.

One last picture of the Dome Rock Mountains as we approached
the highway. You cannot really see it in the picture but the flat
area in front of the mountains was a lovely green.

We had plans for dinner but we knew the group was out at Kim and Ken's site for Happy Hour so we made a quick stop on our way back into Quartzsite.

Left to right: Patsy, Kim, Ken, and Bill

The plan was the 
Legendary Fish Fry at Mountain Quail Cafe.
Which we both enjoyed.

Thanksgiving, November 27, 2025

It is always nice to be inside an RV Park on a holiday and have the opportunity to enjoy a nice meal with fellow travelers. This year we enjoyed a delicious meal with friends. The park provided the turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing. Those who could brought a dish to contribute to the meal. If you couldn't bring a dish you could make a contribution which will be going to the local foodbank. We certainly had a wonderful variety of sides and desserts to choose from. They do an excellent job organizing the dinner here.

Left to right: Bill, Tom, Ken, Kim, Patsy and my plate waiting
to be filled with delicious food.

We ended the day sitting and visiting with our dinner companions
as the sun set leaving a beautiful afterglow behind.
It was a wonderful way to end a good day spent with friends.

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

We started our Happy Hour early. Melissa and Lyle joined us from Plomosa Road, Kim and Ken drove over from Roadrunner, and Patsy and Bill made the long trek over from their site which is one away from ours...lol It was a lovely few hours chatting away. This was the first time Melissa and Lyle and Patsy and Bill met but hopefully we will have several more opportunities to all get together over the next few months. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. 

 

Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Today I had my haircut at the Moon Dreams Mobile Hair Salon. I will definitely be back. This salon is full service and located on Kuehn Street. I was impressed with how cute it was. It is at the end of a small bus her and her husband made into a home and business. 

Moon Dreams Mobile Salon

Back to today, Saturday, November 29, 2025

Today's Sunset

As I finish writing this the sun has set on our day. I mentioned at the start of this blog it would probably be a quiet day and it was. Later in the afternoon we went outside and Tom brought out the container I store things in to put out on our patio tables. I have never before put out Christmas decorations this early but today that is just what I did. Then we sat and just relaxed while Tom grilled the meatloaf I had put together earlier. It was a special ending of a day one with just the two of us enjoying this time and place. 

 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!