January 22-31, 2019 — Life continued as usual this week for us while in the desert near Quartzsite, Arizona but as we were soaking up the warmth and sun, our thoughts were with our family and friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin as they endured a polar vortex. Temperatures in those areas dropped to nearly 60 degrees below zero with the wind chills. Those low temperatures with high winds are extremely dangerous to all. Thankfully the temperatures went up after a few days but then Mother Nature dropped freezing rain and more snow on the area.
The harsh winters of the upper midwest where we are originally from are not all bad. In fact, if it weren’t for our great dislike and intolerance of the extreme cold we may not have ever discovered full-time RVing. We are grateful everyday for the RV lifestyle and associated community and can’t imagine our lives any other way.
All nights during the last week of January were free stays on BLM land in Arizona with nine nights near Quartzsite and one night on Palm Canyon Road near the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.
We know we are geeky but it’s fun watching the numbers – watts, amps, voltage – on the solar controller fluctuate depending on time of day, cloud cover, position of the sun, etc. It’s also great having all the power we need while boondocking in the desert with no amenities.
We’re still gathering data and analyzing our solar setup with Battle Born batteries and Victron components and when complete we will be posting a complete review of the system.
We’ve been Jeep shopping for months and finally found one in our price range. It’s lightweight and looks easy to set up as a tow vehicle but sadly, only two wheel drive. Darn!
The Blythe Intaglios, also called anthropomorphic geoglyphs, are gigantic human or animal figures drawn on the ground. The figures are thought to be 450 to 2,000 years old and drawn by the Mohave and Quechan Indians. They are located just north of Blythe, California near the Colorado River on the AZ/CA state line about 15 miles off of I-10. Very interesting side trip when in the area.
Everyone knows California has happy cows but they also have happy sheep. Approximately 550,000 (11 percent of the US total) call the state home.
Freshly harvested cotton bales near Cibola, Arizona rest along the roadside awaiting shipment. The fields are part of the 200,000 acres planted with the crop in Arizona annually.
Believe it or not, we found Ripley, California.
It’s Miller Time in Cibola, Arizona. Neat sign found along the road.
The Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, located along the Colorado River bordering California and Arizona, is a major stop over for migratory birds following the Pacific Flyway. We saw thousands of geese, ducks, herons and egrets along with one lone bobcat that was camera shy and escaped into the brush before we could get a photo of him. The refuge has both a walking trail and an auto tour for viewing the wildlife. What a great place to spend a beautiful afternoon with friends! Thanks Nancy and Al from @imagineourrvdreams for joining us.
Lith-o-pizza is what we’re calling this. Homemade pizza baking on a Pizzazz Pizza Oven powered by Battle Born lithium batteries while boondocking in the Arizona desert. How cool is that!
Our last full day enjoying the Quartzsite, Arizona desert. We had a great time connecting with friends, both old and new, during our time here but the nomadic itch set in indicating it’s time to move on. One of the best parts of the RV lifestyle and community is that we part with others saying “see you next time” instead of “goodbye”. We are already looking forward to “next time”.
Old and gnarly but going strong, such admiral qualities of the Saguaro cactus. Did you know their scientific name, carnegiea gigantea, was given in honor of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie? We do now! Traveling is such a great means of education!
Such an interesting sunset with vivid colors and textures. The Arizona desert puts on a similar sky show every night just for our viewing pleasure. Love it here!
Exciting! 2019 Travel Plans are finally revealed. We were having so much fun in the desert that it took us almost until the end of January to post them! Are we heading in your direction? If so, let us know and we can try to arrange a meet up. We LOVE reconnecting with friends along with meeting new ones. Also, send us suggestions of places to go and things to see along our route as we are always looking for ideas. Happy travels!
Wow did the month of January fly by! We had such great fun in Quartzsite, Arizona but the time has come to move south. Stay tuned to next week as we explore the Yuma, Arizona area and spend a day in Mexico. See you then!