We have a hurt puppy :(

As I mentioned in my last entry, Maya landed wrong after jumping off an easy chair at Paul and Joans on Tuesday. I don't think she had a very comfortable night as she woke us up a couple of times whimpering. There wasn't much we could do as she was laying under the bed and wouldn't come out. In the morning though, she seemed to be doing a bit better, in that she would move about although still wasn't putting any weight on her sore leg.
Yesterday we had made plans to meet up with Paul and Joan at the AMPS Model field. Paul and I would spend the afternoon flying while Joan and Chris went for pedicures. I had a great day flying. Managed 3 good flights with the jet while Paul did 4 or 5 with his smaller models.

I guess they don't get many guys flying jets at this club as mine generated quite few appreciative comments. It is a bit of a tight place to fly as they are about 4 Kms right off the end of a runway of a very busy full scale airport. They have a rigidly enforced maximum height limit of only 400' and I found it a bit of a challenge to stay under that.
After flying, we dropped my stuff off at the trailer and then met Paul and Joan at a Japanese restaurant for dinner.  All in all, a really nice day.
Maya had a better night last night, curling up on the bed and sleeping soundly all night. She was still not putting any weight on her leg this morning though so we decided we would take her to see a vet. I think it was a good thing we did, as it looks like she has torn her cruciate ligament.  These are a pair of ligaments behind the kneecap that hold the bones of the upper and lower leg together. Fortunately the vet doesn't think she will need surgery but will have to take it very easy for 4 to 6 weeks. That isn't going to be easy to get her to do! They did give her some anti inflamatories to help with the pain and reduce any swelling.
Otherwise, today was laundry day again and we managed to get that chore out of the way for another couple of weeks.
We have had a few more clouds around the last few days which has been making for some fantastic sunsets.  This is the one just as we were heading for dinner last night.

New digs for Feb.

Yesterday morning we pulled up stakes and, after saying our goodbyes, pulled out of Boomerville. It was a bit sad saying good bye to new friends we had got to know in the 3 weeks we were camped at the Boomerville site but both Chris and I were looking forward to some new vistas. Also, both our grey and black holding tanks were full to almost overflowing. I don't think we could have stayed another day without dumping even if we wanted to. Our first stop was at the RV Pit Stop where we were able to take care of that issue as well as fill an empty propane tank and our water tanks as well. After one more stop for fuel we headed East.
Rather than just stay on I-8 all the way we turned onto Hwy 60 after just a few kilometres and took it to Peoria. After one stop in Wickenburg for lunch and ice cream we carried on to our destination which is the Pleasant Valley Airport and RV Park.
We were here for 2 weeks last year and enjoyed our stay so decided to come back. The airport and RV park are run by Rick and Jenanne and their cockatoo BeeBop.
After getting set up we made a quick trip to Fry's to restock the fridge and pantry then back to the trailer for the evening.
We did contact our friends Paul and Joan Good and set up a visit for today.

Today started out with a quick stop at a different Fry's as the one yesterday didn't have a couple of items we needed. After that we met up with Paul and Joan for a couple hours.
While we were there, Maya, who was with us, jumped off their easy chair and must have landed a bit wrong as we noticed she was favouring her right rear leg. Chris checked her out and didn't find anything seriously amiss other than she was a bit sensitive when Chris was checking her knee. I suspect she landed a bit wrong and may have twisted it a bit. We will keep a close eye on it and if she doesn't show any improvement in a day or two may have to take her to see a vet.
One thing we both notice this year compared to last is how green everything is. Rick was saying they have had a couple of days of rain every month for 3 or 4 months so far. The forecast is also for some more rain this weekend. He is thinking that we may get to see the desert in full bloom earlier than usual this year.
While the nice weather would be desirable, I would love to see everything in bloom.

Boomerville wrap up

Well, Boomerville is now officially over for this year. While quite a few people have already left, there are still quite a few here, at least for tonight anyway.
After a fairly laid back day yesterday, most of us went into town to the Grubsteak Bar for the Hitch-Up dinner. For $12 they served up a choice of chicken or pulled pork along with a green salad and potato salad. Apparently the Boomers had some money left over from last year so they picked up half the food bill which was nice. Afterwards a few of us went over to DQ for dessert.
This morning after breakfast we made our last trip into the big tent as I needed to see the folks at Flag Pole Buddy. One section of my flag pole was starting to get pretty worn and they said that if I brought it in on the last day of the show, they would replace it free of charge which they did. Always nice to see good customer service!
We also wandered around a bit more and did another swing through the Tyson Wells shops as well before heading back to the trailer.
Chris had some apple pie filling left over from one of the snacks she had made a few nights ago, so she made up a bunch more small apple pie/tart things as well as some butter tarts. She served them up around the fire tonight and they went over incredibly well. It seems a lot of the Americans here have never heard of some of our Canadian snacks and pastries. Go figure!
While she was doing that, I was getting things put away and prepping the trailer for travel. Our plan is to pull out tomorrow morning and head toward Phoenix.
While I have very much enjoyed our time here and we have made a number of new friends, I am looking forward to a bit more sedate pace for a while.
A last couple of photos from Boomerville 2019.

 A fitting send off. The last sunset

While we haven't had a lot of fires in the evening, the last one tonight was the biggest and best I think.

Goodbye Boomerville! Hope to be back again next year.

CARE auction

Since my last entry, I am happy to say, the weather here has pretty much gone back to normal. The wind has died back to just a light breeze and the daytime temps are back up into the low 20's. The nights are still getting a bit cool, going down to 5 or 6C or so but as soon as the sun comes up it warms up fairly quickly.
Wednesday and yesterday, Chris had been doing quite a bit of baking, getting things ready for the CARE auction. C.A.R.E. stands for Continuing Assistance for Retired Escapees. It is a non-profit located in Livingston, Texas started by Escapee members to help those members who can no longer travel or are recovering from injuries or illnesses. The various Escapee chapters and BoF's usually do some fundraising to help the organization operate.
Traditionally at Boomerville during the second week they do an auction. All the items up for auction have been donated either by Escapee members or by manufacturers or dealers in the RV industry. As we have the big RV show going on here now, quite a few items were donated by vendors at the show.
We had so many items donated that the auction, which started just after lunch, ran til about 4:30. They had 4 auctioneers taking turns and a bunch of "Vannas" showing the items.

The Vannas (photo lifted from the Boomers FB page.)

A small portion of the loot up for bids

A small portion of the attendees at the auction

One of Chris's cinnamon roll trays up for bid

The baking Chris was doing was for donation to the auction. She made up 4 pans of her world famous cinnamon buns with creme cheese icing as well as 2 pineapple upside down cakes.
There were a number of other baking items up for bid as well but Chris's stuff brought in the most money by far. Believe it or not, her baking brought a total of $296! Adding to that, one of her Swedish woven throws went for $85 bringing her total to just over $380!
They haven't announced a total yet but I expect the total revenue from the auction and other associated revenue generating things yesterday will probably come close to $8,000.

As yesterdays festivities went late into the afternoon, Chris and I decided to go out for dinner. We wound up at the "Times 3 Eatery" in town. Both of us chose the ribs special for $11.99. It was OK. There was plenty of food but I think they plated the sides well before the ribs were ready as when we received the plates, the sides were barely warm while the ribs themselves were hot. Can't really blame them too much as the place was packed as is almost every restaurant in town at this time of year.

Today after breakfast we went back into town to the big tent as there were a couple of items I wanted to pick up. We wandered around there and a couple of other places for a few hours until my right ankle started to get a bit sore, then headed back to camp arriving just around lunch time.

There was also a big group potluck dinner this afternoon. People started to gather around 3:30 and food was served just after 4.  We had a visit from Gerry and Marilyn Gerow who winter in Yuma this afternoon as well. They were also able to join us for the potluck.

Finally at sunset, the Desert Winds Twin Cinema fired up and we all enjoyed a showing of the Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz classic, "The Long Long Trailer"!

Oh, and the total that was announced after the potluck was just over $11,000. This was for everything generated in the last 2 weeks.

Wind, wind and more wind!

The last few days have been pretty much same old, same old, so I haven't felt the need to update things too much.
We have been hanging around Boomerville for the most part with only one quick trip into town today to pick up some more water which we shared with our neighbours.
Part of the reason for hanging in close is that it has been cold and very windy since Monday. The wind during the day has been gusting upwards of 60 KPH at times which makes it quite hard to do much out doors. Yesterday in fact it got so bad I took our flag pole down as I thought it might break as it was bending over so much.
We were supposed to do a community pot luck Monday but it was also cancelled due to the cold and the wind. It has been rescheduled for Friday along with a showing of the Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz classic, "The Long Long Trailer".
Yesterday we did get a chance to have a small gathering of some of the Canadians here. We did it in the lee of a strategically placed motor home and also used our truck to block some of the wind as well. If you look at our flag in these shots, you can get an idea of the wind and the heavy coats will illustrate the temperature.

Photo lifted from the Boomerville FB page.

The good news is that it looks like the worst is over! Yaaayyy! Very light winds and lots of sun in the forecast for the next while so hopefully we can get caught up on some outdoor stuff.
Oh, by the way, we are up to 222 registered rigs here as of about 6 PM! Possibly a new Boomerville record.

Sunday Flyday

To start with, yesterday was quite a busy day. I had thought about going flying in the morning but there was so much interesting stuff happening around Boomerville, I decided to stay here.
We started out with a pancake breakfast at 8 which took about an hour, then there was a good round table discussion on batteries and charger systems which took another hour and then through the afternoon I wound up helping a couple of the neighbours trouble shoot their solar systems.
Later in the afternoon was a chili cook off with 9 different chili dishes up for judging. They were all good but I found a couple that stood out. I think one of my favorites actually won the contest.

After that was the usual happy hour then the normal evening routines.

Today however, I did get to go flying. It was a nice sunny, no wind kind of day so I unpacked the jet, loaded up the truck and headed for the local flying field.

There were quite a few guys out, most of them with small electrics and a few with glow fueled engines. I was the only jet there which roused a fair bit of interest.
I managed to get 4 flights in but was having some issues with the engine. Flight #2 had a flame out only a minute into the flight and #4 had another one just before I was planning to land anyway. Fortunately I had lots of altitude and speed both times so was able to get back to the runway safely. I will have to do some investigating as to why.
After flying, Chris and I went back into town and wandered through the big tent at the RV show for a while. We didn't buy anything other than a huge bowl of ice cream for $5. After finishing that it was back to camp arriving just in time for happy hour.
One of the organizing crew here collects pictures of funny signs so after dinner and once the sun had gone down, he did a video presentation of his collection. Some of them were hilarious and had the whole group in stitches.
Tonight is also the lunar eclipse and as I write this the moon is half covered. There is quite a bunch out around the camp fire watching it. I will go out before bed when it should be fully occluded and the blood red moon visible.

Now and then

The other day I mentioned that I would post some before and current photos of Boomerville. Well, here they are. I took these from the roof of our trailer. The left hand of each pair was taken on Jan 6 just after we arrived at this camp site. The right one of each pair was taken yesterday when we had approx. 160 registered RV's for Boomerville. I tried to match them up as close as I could.
Keep in mind that this is just one small area of the desert around Quartzsite. There are 9 or 10 large areas that for the next couple of weeks will be packed with RV's.
You should be able to click on each photo to load the full sized version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night Redlands RV treated the Boomers and a bunch of others to a hosted BBQ at their temporary service facility in town. I am not sure how many were there but I would hazard a guess at between 350 and 450 or so. They served up pulled pork, BBQ brisket I think, beans and corn. There was some BBQ chicken as well but they were out when we got to the front of the line. There was also a full hosted bar which was also nice.

Still growing!

Boomerville is still growing. As of the happy hour circle tonight we are just shy of 150 rigs.

When I left off the last entry, I had a tank load of black water in the back of the truck that I wasn't able to get rid of on Tuesday. Yesterday morning we had a couple of things that we needed to get done. That was one but the others were laundry and Maya had an appointment to get groomed.
So right after breakfast we headed into town. First was to drop Maya off at the groomer then I dropped Chris off at the laundromat so she could get started with laundry while I took care of the other chore.
The RV Pit Stop in Quartzsite is only half a block north of the laundromat so over I went. Recall that Monday and Tuesday were very wet here. I guess they must have had some water pooling in the parking lot at the Pit Stop and had dug a small 4" deep drainage channel to direct the excess water into the dump station. Unfortunately, after things dried up, they neglected to fill that trench back in and guess what I found with my right foot as I stepped out of the truck? Yup, I turned my ankle! At first I was afraid I had broken it again as it was the same one that I did break 20 or so years ago. It sure hurt like it anyway. Once the initial shock had worn off, I could tell that it wasn't broken as I could still put some weight on it and managed to hobble around to the back of the truck and finish dumping the tank. I think the most annoying thing was that the attendant, who was right there and saw what happened, barely gave me an "are you OK?" before walking away. Also when I mentioned that the ditch was a hazard and should be filled in, they didn't seem to care at all.
Anyway, I finished dumping that tank and headed back to the trailer to load up again. When I got back to the Pit Stop, they still hadn't done anything and I doubt they had any intention of doing so.
At any rate, after finishing that chore, I went back the laundromat to pick up Chris as she was just finishing up. Then over to the groomers to pick up Maya and back to camp.
It took another half hour or so to get the clothes line set up and other stuff put away before I was actually able to take my shoe and sock off to see what my ankle looked like. Surprisingly, while there was some swelling, there was no bruising which was a good sign.
I took things pretty easy for the rest of the day and stayed off my feet as much as possible and by bed time, the ankle was feeling quite a bit better although was still somewhat stiff and sore.
Today was better yet. While it is still pretty stiff, I can walk with only a slight limp and it doesn't hurt much unless I step on something wrong.
Over the last few days we seem to have connected pretty good with another couple here parked next to us. Michael and Kathy Canto from Washington. This morning Chris and Cathy went into town to the Rock, Gem and Jewelry show at the QIA complex while Michael and I re-positioned their trailer to get better exposure for their solar panels. Michael also does most of their cooking and had made up a bean soup kind of dish which turned out to be more like a chili. Regardless of that it was very good. It also came with a homemade corn bread which was also yummy.
Tonight was the first night where we actually had a campfire! So after supper we went over and joined the gang around the fire for a while.
Oh and just before supper, we were treated to another fine Arizona desert sunset!

Rain, rain, go away!

As mentioned previously, yesterday was the official first day of Boomerville. When I checked the register we were just under a hundred registered RV's here. As soon as I can, I'll get up on the roof and take a couple of photos. I took some when we first got here, so it should make for an interesting comparison.
One of the scheduled things here is a daily walk every morning at 9, so yesterday a few of us headed out into the desert. I think we went about 2 Km's before we turned around. After that we just hung around and socialized until 4PM when the first official Happy Hour started. The first one is used to make general announcements as to how things work here and to introduce the newbies. Of everyone here, probably about a quarter of us fit that category. All the newbs are asked to get up and introduce themselves and give a short description of where they're from, how long they have been on the road, etc. I took one for the team and gave our short spiel.

Photo lifted from Boomer Facebook page

 Most of the folks at the back of this crowd are all the newbies waiting to do their introduction.

After that was all over; it took about an hour, everyone just mingled and sampled all the snacks everyone is encouraged to bring. Chris had made up some chocolate squares which we quite a hit and disappeared very quickly. There was some rain in the forecast and about 5:30 the first few drops started to fall. It didn't take long after that that everyone started dispersing. By 8 or so it had set in to a fairly steady rain and it was still raining at 10:30 when we turned in.
I had a shower last night (inside that is) and while I was washing my back I felt a small twinge in my left shoulder. I have a rib that every once in a while pops slightly out of place. I was hoping it was just a brief twinge and would go away, but no, during the night, the muscles around there started to tense up and by this morning I was in a fair bit of hurt.
It also rained all night! I woke up several times to the sound of rain on the roof and what with my sore shoulder, had trouble each time finding a comfortable position so I could get back to sleep.
When I finally did get up around 6, it was still raining and all around us things are very wet. I think it is wetter now that it was during the last rain we had at Imperial Dam. All the small washes around us are collecting water and you can see it running downhill. I am sure the larger washes and arroyos have fairly heavy streams running this morning.
Back to my shoulder for a minute. This happens occasionally and Chris knows what is needed to pop the rib back into place. It isn't fun for me as she has to apply a fair bit of force while I am laying on my stomach. But it usually helps.

I do hope the rain ends soon as our black tank is almost full and I will need to transfer some of its contents into our portable tank and haul it to the dump station in town. I don't relish the thought of having to do that in the rain!

Here is the forecast for the rest of today and through tomorrow. This snap was taken just after 10.

About 12, the rain let up so I pumped most of the black tank contents into our 30 gal drum and along with an empty propane tank, we headed into town to the RV Pit Stop. After filling the propane tank, we find out that their sani dump was not available today due to some kind of failure. They suggested another spot but when we got there they were wanting $15 to use their dump. We elected to wait and I can deal with the tank tomorrow.
On the way back to camp it started to rain again and rained quite hard til about 2:30. Now the fog has rolled in and visibility is down to only a few hundred metres.

Anyway, that's quite a long entry for today so unless something else newsworthy happens, I think I will put this one in the can.
Addendum: Around 5 PM the clouds moved out and we got about a half hour of sunshine and then this...

Countdown: Last day before the official start of Boomerville

Today is the last day before the official start of Boomerville 2019 and rigs were pulling in all day.
The day started with a trash run to the local transfer station. I volunteered for this as I needed to head in that direction to make a water run anyway.
After dropping off the trash, I continued in to the RV Pit Stop and filled up our new 60 gallon water bladder. Normally water around here is very salty so most people use Reverse Osmosis treated water for their drinking water.  The going rate around here for that is $0.25 per gallon or $1.00 for 5 gallons. The Pit Stop has a deep well and their water actually tastes pretty good. It is cheap as well at only $3.00 to fill our 60 gallon bladder. Besides water, they also sell propane at a fair price and have a good sized RV Sani dump as well.
While filling up I could hear some activity over at the Quartzsite model flyers field so stopped in for a short visit there on my way back to camp. There were quite a few guys out and I hung around for a bit before carrying on.
At 11 there was a pre-planned trip into town for any of the ladies that wanted to go for brunch and shopping. The 'Boomer Babes Brunch'. Apparently some of the guys feel there are too many ladies only events so someone decided to 'crash' the party!

There was a 'Boomer Bad Boys Breakfast' run yesterday, so I guess the gals are entitled to an outing of their own once in a while.

I remember checking the sign in sheet around mid day and noting there were around 65 registered rigs so far. Probably another half dozen rigs rolled in through the afternoon and there were even one or two who arrived after dark tonight.
The nightly happy hour gang has grown a lot just since last night. This is something that happens every afternoon starting at 4 and goes until it gets too chilly. We have a large fire ring but haven't used it yet. I suspect once we are officially underway tomorrow, they will be lighting fire.

As you can see in the photo above, it was another nice day today. The forecast for tomorrow is now starting out sunny then increasing clouds through the afternoon and showers overnight and into Tuesday. Better than snow any day!

Friends visit Quartzsite

Yesterday our friends from back home, Lyle and Barb, came over from Hemet for a visit. They arrived around 2 PM and we had a nice visit for an hour or so then all of us joined in on Boomers Happy Hour at 3. They had brought some steaks and a package of mushrooms along so around 5 we retired back to the trailer and got supper started. Chris added some stuffed baked potatoes and asparagus which we had bought earlier in the day and I barbecued the steaks. Everything was delicious. We visited for another hour or so and then parted for the evening with plans to get together again today.
This morning we met up about 9 and wandered around some of the shops and flea markets for most of the day. I found a few things that I can use at one of the stops and Lyle and Barb found a few things at Tyson Wells including a neat back pack for their dog Elsie. Not a back pack to go on the dog but a back pack to carry the dog! They have a mini Schnauzer and sometimes on some of their longer hikes and walks the dog gets tired. In hindsight, I should have grabbed a pic of Lyle with Elsie on his back.
We wandered around until about 2 when it started to rain lightly then parted ways. They had to head back to Hemet, about 3 hours away.

Sometimes people look at me a bit strange when I describe the 'toys' I take with us. Also the storage required to bring them.
Well, this afternoon a rig came in that makes me feel better. My 'toys' are nothing compared to this guys!

Boomerville is starting to fill up with around 40 or 50 rigs here so far. And the event doesn't officially start until Monday.
The long range weather forecast is looking like the next week or so is for more clouds and showers. Tuesday and Wednesday especially could be a bit wet. We shall see.

Getting ready for Boomerville

Things have been pretty quiet around here for the last few days. We have mostly just been hanging out around camp with the odd trip into town.

Yesterday, those of us who are here early for Boomerville spent part of the day getting some things ready for the arrival of the masses this weekend. We had to make a run to a residence about 10 Kms south of Q to pick up a bunch of stuff that gets stored there, then put together the Boomer banner that greets new arrivals and set out some other signage on the highway. We also wanted to mark off our claim to this section of the desert. There are a number of other groups, some large, some huge, that gather out in this general area. This is a new area for the Boomers as well as they kinda got pushed out of the old area that they had been using for the last 20 years or so by a huge group who we have been told are expecting upwards of a thousand attendees.

That's Gretchen Gritz Mattison, the organizer of this event helping us set the banner up.

I found a couple of videos, one on YouTube and one on Vimeo that give some idea of how busy it gets around here in the middle of January. Just click on the links and they should open and play in a new window. If anything they underestimate the number of RV's in the area.

The weather yesterday was more seasonal for here. It was nice and sunny and a warm 20C or so. Late in the day some high clouds moved in and just after sundown we were treated to this.

One high point since my last entry was on Mon, Jan 7. This is the day Chris and I celebrate as our 'anniversary'. Monday was a bit of a milestone for us as it marked 25 years we have been together! Where has the time gone? Maybe a better question is, how did I get so lucky as to find someone like Chris who has put up with me for so long?

Chris and a few others drove up to Parker for a WalMart run this morning. While they were gone, quite a few more folks arrived. We actually had a full circle around the community fire pit for 'happy hour' this afternoon; probably 20 or 25 people. Once things are in full swing that circle will probably be 8 or 10 rows deep.

Photo lifted from Boomers FaceBook page.

On the move again.

We had another nice sunrise yesterday although that was the last we saw of the sun all day. The clouds rolled in and it actually threatened showers a couple of times during the day.

After breakfast we went into town as there was a yard sale that had caught Chris's attention as well as a flea market / craft fair at the QIA (Quartzsite Improvement Association). The QIA is kinda like a community centre and fair ground. They host a number of events there such as the flea market we went to yesterday.

While wandering around the QIA, I ran into an old co-worker from BCLC. A fellow named Eric Jeffries who retired back around 2003 as I recall. I hadn't known it but he and his wife Gertie have been wintering down here for the last 12 years or so.
After that we headed back to the trailer for lunch and a fairly quiet afternoon.
Around about supper time it started to rain lightly and the showers continued all evening and through the night. Not nearly as heavy as the rains we had while at Imperial Dam although enough to thoroughly wet things down.
While doing dishes after supper we ran out of water. I knew we were getting low but thought we had a couple more days worth. We had planned to refill when we moved over to the Boomerville location on Tuesday, but this kinda prompted us to move a couple of days early.
So this morning we packed up camp, dumped our holding tanks, refilled water and made the move. It wasn't far, maybe 15 Kms or so. The new location is North of Q and just North of Plomosa Rd. Over the next week or so we are expecting up to 200 rigs from all over the states to congregate here. If you click on the Our Wanderings map in the right margin you can see where we have been and where we are now.

Lots of wide open space (for now)!

Friday, Washday, Flyday

It was still pretty chilly last night with the temp just below 0C. However the forecast for today was for light winds and a high around 14C with clear skies. Chris had some laundry that needed doing and my thumbs were getting a bit itchy so I loaded up the Carbon Cub and laundry and into town we went.
I dropped Chris off at the laundromat and I carried on out to the model field. It is only a couple of Kms further up the road so only took 5 minutes or so to get there.
There were a few guys there when I arrived so I put the Cub together for a flight. The guys who were there were all from BC. There were two guys from Invermere who I had met last year, Ted Harold from Quesnel who we fly with at Burns Lake in the summer and a fellow from Salmon Arm who I had not met before.
I got a couple of flights in and then started packing up as I figured Chris would be done soon. I guess I timed it right as she texted me just as I was about to leave.
Once back at camp I set up the clothes line and we hung up a bunch of stuff to dry. After lunch I took Maya for a good long walk and Chris worked on a craft project she wants to finish.
One other thing; Chris had an appointment with a chiropractor yesterday and it made a world of difference! She is pretty much back to normal again. I recall I went through something similar a number of years ago and as I remember, it was pretty uncomfortable.

Blythe and more groceries

Today we headed back across the Colorado River into California to Blythe as there were a few grocery essentials we were in need of. Quartzsite has a couple of grocery stores but they are pretty small so not a lot of choices. Also the prices here are a bit on the high side. Blythe isn't all that big either but it does have a decent Albertsons and a Smart and Final and Chris had researched a few things that were on sale.  It is only about 20 minutes West of Quartzsite on I-10 so makes for a fairly quick trip.

What with the colder weather we've been going through propane much faster so today we also took our 2 empty tanks and filled them as well. We did that here in Q as Arizona prices for any fuel are way cheaper than California.

We got down just below -1 last night but at least it was a bit warmer today although the wind was blowing pretty good again. According to the forecast, things are supposed to moderate a bit for the next few days. Sure hope so.

It may be nice and sunny but it's still chilly.

Yesterday morning Chris woke up with a very stiff and sore neck. She isn't sure what triggered it but it really knocked her for a loop. She was pretty much out of action most of the day. The pain had abated somewhat by bedtime so she was able to get a decent sleep. This morning was a bit better again so fortunately I think the worst is past. There is a chiropractor who comes to town once a week, so she has an appointment for an adjustment tomorrow.