Daisy's Humiliating Day

Hi Everyone. Daisy here. I just have to tell you about my most humiliating day ever.

Can you imagine - having to have a bath outside in the desert? Out where everyone can see what I look like when I get wet? How absolutely humiliating, you know? Grandma decided I was starting to smell kind of "doggy" the other day. Personally I think she's far too persnickety, you know what I mean? What am I supposed to smell like after 6 weeks in the desert, running through all the sand and cacti that are around, rolling in the dust when I want. After all, I don't have any snow to roll in so I gotta do the next best thing.

Anyway, Grandma ran to town this morning and brought home some of that awful dog shampoo and Grandpa took us out behind the motor home where he has an outside shower. He soaked us down and Grandma scrubbed us both good. I must admit that it felt really good when she scratched us with her long fingernails - but don't tell her, okay? It didn't seem to bother Beau - but nothing ever bothers Beau. Me? I found it very embarrassing - after all, what's a lady to do anyway.


But having a bath did have its rewards. At home Grandpa blows us off with the air hose out in the shop after we've had a bath. Then Grandma rubs us all over with a big towel. But here we got to run and shake and shake and run out in the desert. And the air temperature was almost 90 degrees, so it really felt kind of good to be wet and cool.


One of the things that I found so embarrassing was that Lucy, that cat that thinks she's such a princess, watched the whole episode through the window. She thinks she's pretty smart because she doesn't have to have a bath.

And then after we were both dry, Beau got to hop up on the davenport and pat Grandpa on the back for the good job that he did. That Beau - he always gets to get up on the couch first. He's SO spoiled.

Talking about spoiled pets - look at this picture of Lucy. She doesn't even have to drink from a water bowl on the floor like Beau and I do. She gets her own plastic cup up on the counter!! She thinks she's too good to drink with us.

I just want all these other pets to go away so I can have Grandpa all to myself.

Oh, well, tomorrow will be a better day.

Love Daisy

Out of the City and Back to Sanity

Hey People, I have to apologize for not posting anything for a whole week. I just know you've been waiting with bated breath to see where we go next. We left Las Vegas and spent several days in Lake Havasu City where we had such a crappy Internet connection that I could hardly download my email, let alone read any blogs or make any entries. I use a Verizon air card to connect to the Internet when we travel but I found out that Verizon is very "iffy" in the area thus the weak service if we had it at all. So I've got a lot of catching up to do on reading your blogs as well as posting about my exciting life (snicker).

Anyway, we finally got out of that insane city, Las Vegas, last Thursday. We were set to leave on Tuesday morning, all loaded and even going down the street, but before we reached the corner to turn onto the highway I discovered that our electric step had not gone up. Now you just can't go driving down the highway with your step hanging out. For one thing, it looks funny, and for another it's highly unsafe. You could damage something that would be expensive to fix. So Ole backed the rig up and parked it back where it had been for 10 days, got his tools out and started to troubleshoot the incident. He finally was able to determine what the problem was and get it fixed by noon the next day, too late to take off for our next destination. So instead we decided to do some touristy stuff OUTSIDE of Vegas and took off for a place called the Valley of Fire. Of course we had to drive all the way through Vegas to get on the way - here's a shot taken just before we got to the "spaghetti bowl" which of course was 100% under construction and a real mess.

The Valley of Fire was only 20 miles or so north of Las Vegas, but of course it took us longer to get through Vegas than it did to go the remainder of the trip. The Valley of Fire was Nevada's very first state park, so they're pretty proud of it as they should be. It's beautiful and very intriguing. Here's our first glimpse as we drove through the entrance.

All the formations come from the wind sculpting the rock over the centuries. I thought this one looked a lot like the Crazy Horse Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota - only this is nature made, not carved by man.

Here's just a few of the petroglyphs that you see all over the park, put there by Indians some 1000 years ago. Isn't it amazing that they're still there after all this time?

Here's Ole and the grand dogs exploring a bit. Daisy and Beau loved sniffing all over and they were very good about staying right with us and not wandering off at all.


So we enjoyed that day a lot and made it back to Nephew's house in south LV by 6 o'clock. The next morning (Thursday) we took off for parts south and landed in Lake Havasu City where we have friends that we meet up with at the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally every summer. We met them 10 years ago in the parking lot of a hotel in Lead, SD that we were both staying in. The guys were out in the parking lot cleaning up their bikes and struck up a conversation. Us gals were still in the room getting beautiful for the day, and when we came out the guys had decided that we would ride together for the day. We've been riding together ever since.

They are wonderful people. They raised 11 children, 2 of which were their biological children, 9 that were adopted and of those 9, 5 were of other ethnicities. Now they have 22 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. People who do those kinds of things are truly special people (Hi, Linda from Up North). I only had one child and I thought I was busy!!

Anyway, we spent a couple of days with them, went out to dinner a couple of times, attended a motorcycle show and a car show and just generally lolled around with them. Then it was time to go.

This morning we headed south again for a few more miles and ended up back in Quartzsite, mainly because it's time to do laundry AGAIN!! Remember that story? At least I know they HAVE laundromats here and they're easy to get to.

When we arrived here this afternoon it was pretty warm - up in the 80s. So Daisy parked herself in the shade of my van and supervised the set up of camp.

She was a good supervisor because it didn't take long and Ole was in his lawn chair with something cold to drink and napping in the sun.

So tomorrow is laundry day and then I plan to spend the afternoon sitting in the sun with a good book. I've had our mail forwarded here so we'll be here a few days waiting for that to come. By that time Big Brother will have caught up to us as he wanted to stay in Vegas longer.

I talked to Lovely Daughter this afternoon. She keeps reminding us it's time to come home - ha, ha - what world does she live in anyway!! It's COLD back there!!

Love Lena

The End of the Rainbow

It's been raining for the last couple of days - don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining because it's much better than snow. But then I understand it's been raining at home too (Minnesota). Rain in February in Minnesota. Makes for lots of ice. But we don't have to deal with that in the middle of the desert, do we?

I caught this as the rain clouds were moving out of the area last night. I thought the colors and the cloud formations were gorgeous.


And then I caught this!! Couldn't find the pot of gold though - darn. I thought the difference in the color of the sky was quite interesting inside and outside the rainbow.

We took our RV into town to get the generator fixed yesterday. Remember, I told you that the generator had quit genning (making electricity). Ole and Big Brother had spent several hours working on it on Friday but couldn't figure out what was wrong. That's unusual for the two of them not to get things figured out. After all, Big Brother used to be a "rocket scientist" and Ole spent 30 years in electronics. But they finally gave in and we took it to a generator guy in town who had things figured out and fixed within 15 minutes!! And not for a lot of $$$$ either. Just a simple thing that the guys had missed. So that was a big "whew"!

While we were at the generator place we met a guy who worked at the place during the winters. He was from a town about 30 miles from where Ole and I live. He and his wife have comedown here every winter to work for years, he on RVs and she as a waitress. They have a 5th wheel parked right in town.

We had the doggers in the RV of course, Beau sitting in the driver's seat and Daisy in the passenger seat, as usual. (Driving Miss Daisy, you know.) He commented on the dogs and asked if we had run into any coyotes being we were camping out in the desert. I told him that we had but to this point they hadn't caused any problems. He told me the story of his next door neighbor's little dog that had to go out during the night a few nights ago. A coyote came right into town, snatched the little dog and had lunch. Coyotes are very smart - there's a reason Wiley Coyote was named such. You remember him on the Road Runner cartoon series, don't you? I understand the coyotes biggest trick around here is to hide under your rig if they know you have a dog, wait for you to put your dogger out whether tied up or not, and jump out from under the rig and snatch the dog.

I told him I didn't think the coyote would have much of chance with two German Shepherds and a Plott Hound bred to hunt bear and wild pigs. But he said in that case they lure the dogs away from the rig out into the desert where a pack of coyotes attack and do their thing. Good thing these dogs don't get outside at night unless Ole is with them.

Ole and Big Brother are going to finish installing the generator in his new rig today and then tomorrow I think we'll pull out and head for Vegas.

All for now,

Love Lena

Flash Flood!!

It rained all day yesterday. Hard. And the wind blew too. So it didn't take long and all the little gullies in the desert were running full of water. Some of them weren't so little either.

Bruno, Big Brother's dog gets chilly very easily because he doesn't have much fur. So Big Brother took pity on him, let him jump up on the davenport and covered him up where he slept the afternoon away. Man, can that dog snore - loud.

Here's a shot of our "camp" taken from my front door. That's Big Brother's old rig on the left and his new one on the right. It wasn't very pleasant trying to move from one rig to another in all that rain and wind. I think we'll be able to finish up by today.

I had to play gopher yesterday and run to town for parts during the heaviest of the rain storm. It's five miles to town and when I went into town the highway was fine. By the time I was headed home again, about a half hour later, there was water over the road in places, some of them deep enough to reach the bumper of my car. I'm sure there's water in the gulches this morning.

The sun is trying to shine this morning and it looks clear to the west. I hope it stays that way.

Lucy (my kitty) disappeared last night. When she didn't show up when I went to bed last night I really didn't think anything of it assuming that she had crawled into a corner somewhere to curl up and sleep. But when I woke up this morning and realized that she hadn't come up on the bed at all last night I began to worry that she had gotten outside somehow. She generally doesn't show too much interest in getting out, but loves to at least look out the door. After walking the doggers this morning I came back inside and called for her. After a bit I heard a very weak, pitiful meow and realized that she was inside somewhere, probably in a cupboard or closest. When I traced down the meow and opened the closest door there she was curled up on the jeans that I had stacked on the shelf. She was, of course, none the worse for wear but happy to get out where she went immediately to get a drink of water, then to her litter box and next to her food dish.

Now those darn doggers have learned a new trick too. And I'm blaming Ole for it - and I'm not happy about it. About 7:30 every morning they come to my side of the bed poking and whining because they've learned that Ole doesn't hear them and is good at ignoring them. The agreement was when I agreed to let the doggers come along on this trip that HE would be the one that would be getting up with them in the mornings and taking them out for their last walk at night. Well, the last walk at night is still his, but somehow that first one in the morning has kind of slipped from his supervision. Most mornings they will wake me and when I get up to put on sweats and a jacket they immediately hop in bed and take up MY space!! What a trick - wake me - make me get up and then jump up on the bed so there's no room for me to get back in. Well, this morning I fooled them all right. They were going out whether they truly wanted to or not. If I have to get up and go out and get cold - so do they, darn it. We'll have no more of this monkey business on my watch!

Well, Happy Snowstorm to those of you back home!!

Love Lena

I Think We're in the Flight Path

I had to turn on the air conditioner in the car today. Imagine that. It's February. Just sayin' is all.

When I talked to Lovely Daughter today she said it reached 38 back home today (Minnesota) and was melting. It's about time - the January thaw is just a bit late.

I think we're in the flight path of these little critters. I hung a humming bird feeder on the tree outside the windshield of our RV and I get heavy traffic most of the day. Mornings are really busy as are late afternoons. The antics of these little guys are amazing. They're just like helicopters when they stop in mid air and stay there, then buzz on to somewhere else. The first morning we were here I got buzzed by one so close I thought he was going to get caught in my hair. The next morning I got within 3 inches of touching one that was hovering at the feeder.

Today has been a frustrating day. Our generator seems to have died. Ole and Big Brother have worked on it most of the day, sending me to town for parts, etc. But all to no avail. We're dead and the only guy who works on these generators won't be back until Monday. $$$$$. Fortunately we have solar power but we're supposed to have rain and cloudy weather through the weekend. Imagine that - in the desert - rain.

Oh well, at least there's no possibility of us freezing to death down here (snicker).

Love Lena

It's a Hard Job, but Somebody's Got to Do It

I wore sandals today. And shorts. And a tank top. And I got a wee bit pink from the sun today. And yes, I wore sunscreen. Just thought I would let you know, that's all.

I just knew I had to write something tonight if for no other reason than to get Mr. Reader's Oasis in all his glory off my front page. His wife makes him little "socks" and ties them on with little ribbons so the socks don't fall off. Just wanted to share that bit of information with you. That's all.

Anyway - we're still here in Quartzsite and enjoying the wonderful blue sky, sunshine and warm weather.

Here's where Quartzsite is - see it under that green star down there just west of Phoenix?

Last year there were over a million people that came through here during the winter season to attend what is supposed to be the world's largest rock, gem and mineral show. There's lots of other things going on here than rocks, but you get the idea. As I mentioned in a previous post, there's only one hotel/motel in the little town, so you have to bring your own digs - namely some kind of an RV. There are so many RVs in the area that they're parked all over all the BLM land that surrounds Quartzsite. You just pull up out in the desert, pick the bush you like the best and park. It's called dry camping or boondocking. You have to be able to exist without any of the comforts of home - like electricity and sewer and water. See how the rigs are camped wherever in the desert?

We're very self-sufficient and can go for a little over a week before we have to find a dump and a water source. We've got solar panels on the roof that charge lots of batteries that generate our electricity. So we can watch TV at night, turn on lights, run the microwave - you know - really roughing it.

Here's one of the vending areas that deal in rocks, gems and chunks of minerals. I didn't know anything about rocks before I came to here. Not that I know a lot now, but more than before. And I've found some of the most beautiful Australian opals here in the last years. I love the blue/green sparkle that they have. I had some made into a watchband and I get a lot of compliments on it.
A few nights ago we went out to dinner at the Quartzsite Yacht Club. Yes, I said yachts in the middle of the desert. It's a certified yacht club and you can buy a membership here that will allow you into many different yacht clubs in the United States. We haven't gotten that exclusive yet - we just go to eat their great fish dinners.

Then, in the center of town there's a grave and memorial to Hadji Ali - a camel herder in the area around the mid 1800s. The Government in all its wisdom decided in 1856 that they would use camels to transport people and goods across the deserts of the Southwest. Of course if you have camels you have to have a camel herder and Hadji Ali was brought to America. The Americans couldn't pronounce his name so he was eventually called Hi Jolly. The Civil War came along and the government turned its interests to other things and dropped the project. The camels were turned loose to fend for themselves outside of Quartzsite, and supposedly you can still see, on occasion, some of their descendants roaming the deserts.

We're truly enjoying the warm weather here. Winter average highs are in their 60s and low 70s, nights in the high 40s and low 50s. But just think of the contrast - in July the days commonly reach 110+. One year we stayed here until April and it was getting pretty warm by then for us Northerners. I'll take a little more moderation even if I have to move around the country to find it.

Otherwise, the days are busy sitting in a lawnchair in the morning drinking coffee. Doing a bit of shopping in the afternoon. Coming back to the campsite about 4 o'clock, starting a bonfire, having a toddy or two and then grilling something for supper.

It's a hard job, but somebody's got to do it, you know.

Have you ever been to Quartzsite, AZ?

Have you ever heard of the Reader's Oasis in Quartzsite? It's a used book store and is probably one of the most highly sought out tourist attractions in the area. Now mind you, I didn't say the most highly RATED I said the most sought out.


Below is a picture of the owner. He dresses like this all year round unless it's really nippy - then he wears a jacket. This is no lie - this is for real!! I've seen it with my own eyes - well, not IT, but him anyway. YOU know what I mean!!










So does this pique your interest? Any comments please?

BTW, I think Beau is on the mend. He seems better today and the swelling in his shoulder and leg are down.

More later - as always

Love Lena