Celebrating the Dance

Friday, January 7, 2022

Six Days, Six Sunsets, Two Sunrises, Plus We Moved

Friday, January 7, 2022

When we got up yesterday there was a plan in place. Though we do a lot of "flying by the seat of our pants' and like it that way sometimes a plan needs to be in place. If you have been reading this blog you know we have been remodeling/replacing some of the things inside the Stinger "B". One of the items that really needs replacing are the front curtains. They have as the saying goes, seen better days. When I did a search this summer looking for curtains one of the places that came up was Active RV Upholstery Center at the Arizona Market Place. Most of the places you order online and they mail you the finished product. Though they will mail material samples for you to look at. Personally I liked the idea of being able to go into a store front and talk to someone in person. So we had stopped in December and talked to them, looked at their work, and decided to have them replace our curtains. The plan was to stop there yesterday, he would come out and measure, and we would have them installed when we head back that way in February. (Normally he just has you bring your old ones in to use as a pattern and then you pick them up. Since, I did not like the length of the ones we have now and because we live in here fulltime and did not want to be without curtains. He agreed to measure and then install them for us.) Unfortunately, when he came out to measure he found that our carrier is not the usual one and he will need our curtains to be able to reuse the portion of the carrier that is attached to the curtains. So it was decided we would come back in February, he will take the curtains, make the new ones and then we will go back and he will install them. Doing it this way we will be in a place with less rigs around versus Quartzsite in January and we will just make do with a sheet on the front window for the seven days. (More information then you needed but we need to remember what happened.)

The second part of today's plan was to stop and park out near the Palms. We pulled in, unhooked, then I went to see if the spot we were considering was open and it was. I drove in even though there was somewhat of a bump/ridge to get over and sat for a couple of minutes. Looking around there was a group of Van People gathering nearby and decided it just was not the place we would like to park. I did continue down the road and checked out a couple of other spots and for whatever reason nothing felt right. So I headed back to where Tom was waiting in the motorhome. After discussing our options we decided maybe our best bet was to continue on to Roadrunner BLM. It is a place we feel comfortable parking at and though there is one spot in particular we favor we have never been unhappy or disappointed in any spot out here. So Tom turned the Stinger "B" around and we headed further North.

Just one of those days. I guess it is a good thing we never etch anything in stone...lol What we have discovered over these past years is that sometimes when "the Jello jiggles" those end up being some of the best times.

Tonight's Afterglow

I thought I had missed the sunset and then

it popped out just below the clouds and above the mountains.

After the sun slipped behind the Dome Mountains
we had some nice golden color in the sky.

Tonight's afterglow was beautiful.

The following is some catching up going backwards from yesterday. Fair warning there are a lot of pictures included.

Thursday, January 6, 2022

The sun rising on our last morning parked out

near Ogilby Road until February.

Our neighborhood has a slight reconfiguration this morning.

Doug explains the reason here.

It was actually a decent morning for sitting out and

taking pictures of the shadows as they stretched across

the desert floor. One of my favorite times of the day.

It figures since we really needed to be

packing this morning it would be a sitting out one.

One last picture of today's sunrise.

One last sip of coffee, one last picture,

and I am getting up packing needed to be done.

Passing by the last of the green fields we will see on

US-95 as we head north.

Going by the Yuma Proving Grounds in the distance.

Castle Dome

I was watching out the window when all of a sudden
it dawned on me that I was looking a Saguaros.

I like being parked out on Ogilby by all the Ocotillos
but I really do miss seeing the Saguaros.

We are parked in our new yard and these views will be

what we look at for the next few days.

Bringing the views in

a little closer.

The sun starting its slow descent towards the Dome Mountains.

Then the shadows start to stretch out across the desert floor.

The sun slowly leaving

our sight.

It is always a nice gift if the last of the sunlight turns

the clouds a rosy pink.

I know what I see in these clouds.

I wonder what you see.

So all and all not a bad day. After spending sixteen days parked out by friends, Cathy, Shane, Doug, Nick and Yuma that included a wonderful Christmas and New Years we will miss them and our spot. It is always bittersweet leaving a place we have thoroughly enjoyed with friends. Yet it was time for us to move on for a while. We will continue enjoying our days and look forward to gathering back together again soon.

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

We were up and moving early today which is our last full day in this spot for awhile. While drinking our morning coffee the sun was coming up.

Just peeking up over the Ogilby Hills.

Closer up.

As we headed towards Yuma I thought this was fog along the
base of Pilot Knob. Later talking with Cathy she mentioned
there was smoke that smelled like garbage burning when they
were dumping near here.

Going west on I-8 the fields are a beautiful green.

Imperial Sand Dunes and what we thought
the desert would look like.

The All American Canal

We had a late Happy Hour tonight and watched the sunset.

Gone from sight but the light lingers

leaving behind color in the sky along the horizon.

I do love how the blue then pink color seems to hang

over the mountains after the sun has set.

Tuesday, January 4. 2022

Tonight's sunset.

Looking back at the mountains.

Took a walk to include a couple of Ocotillos.

Turned around to walk back and it looked to nice
and shiny in the sunset.

I believe these are the Ogilby Hills.

Earlier today Tom went out and gave his
new battery chain saw a test run.

The results of his afternoon run to find wood in the wash.
Is this lovely campfire with friends.
Left to right: Nick, Doug, Tom, Cathy, and Shane

Tom and I sat for awhile after everyone headed home to
watch the fire burn down to the beautiful red glow.

Side Note: No trees are ever cut down Tom looks for dead wood in the washes.

Monday, January 3, 2022

Walking back from Happy Hour at Cathy and Shane's I just managed to catch the end of this evening's sunset.

Sunday, January 2, 2022

The only way to describe today was cold and windy. In my minds eye I can see family and friends in the frozen north rolling eyes. Really guys it was.

We did go into Yuma for Mass but that did not last long as we sat by someone who had decided they needed a lot of perfume/aftershave on. So I started coughing and could not control it so we left. Mainly because of the way things are these days I am sure everyone in the vicinity thought I was there infecting them all.

(Short side note: really people there are a lot of people out there that are allergic to strong fragrances there is no need to bath in it before going to places you will be in close proximity to others.)

No Happy Hour tonight because of the cold but I did venture out for a few minutes to take some pictures of the sunset.

Down in the wash for this one.

The Cargo Muchacho Mountains in the sunset.

The sunsets out here never disappoint.

We are glad you stopped by!

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

Saturday, January 1, 2022

The First Day of a New Book and a Quick Catch-up Post.

Saturday, January 1 2022

If the wind would not have been blowing so hard it would have been a quiet day in our neighborhood. It was somewhat of a lazy day though Tom did go and get water. Then later in the afternoon we took a walk across the wash to enjoy a Happy Hour in the shelter of Cathy and Shane's clam; not long after we sat down Doug and Yuma joined us.

The sun going down on our neighborhood.

The first sunset of 2022.

Catch-up Post
Thursday, December 30, 2021 (Today was about the Clouds)

We were up early having our coffee as today was the day we decided we would go into
Los Algondones. Doug's grandson, Nick is coming with us and we knew it would be fun having someone along who was going for the first time. Nick wrote about the short trip here on Doug's blog. He did a nice job writing about his first impressions of visiting Los Algondones.

I just caught the sun before it slipped up behind the clouds.

We have turned onto I-8 and are headed east.

The clouds will be with us most of the day.

Pilot Knob is in the distance.

Parked and we are just about to walk into Mexico.

Having walked up and down several of the streets and through the booths we stopped for lunch at El Paraiso. There may have been Margaritas involved and if there were they are still very good.

I can see Nick across the way doing some chatting.

We took a short ride down a road on the south side of the

All American Canal. The sun is trying to make an appearance.

Back home a little later we decided to go over to Yuma to run a few errands, have dinner out, and pick up a curbside order at Walmart.

I honestly could sit all day and watch the clouds float by

while the sunlight moves across the mountains.

From the first time I sat out and watched the sun's light

and the shadows of the clouds on the mountains

I have thought of it as a beautiful dance.

I cannot think of any other way to explain it.

Even when there are no mountains I love to watch the clouds float by and change shapes in the wind. (I cannot remember a time I have not enjoyed this.) The shadows they produce letting the light shine through on the mountains is a wonderful bonus that comes with being out in the desert where beauty stretches out towards the majestic mountains. Sometimes it seems like you could take a short walk and reach out and touch these mountains and other times it seems like the desert stretches on forever.