Puerto Penasco -- Wednesday

Today, we loaded into cars and headed as a group to an area called "Shack's Fifth Avenue", which is one of the shopping areas of Puerto Penasco. Here's a few pictures (the last one shows some of the bargains...... and a couple of people who were wondering "why did we buy these damn swinging chickens?")

We later returned to the campground for lunch, and then Patsy and I walked along the beach with my metal detector. It was not any good because they have set off so many fireworks on the beach, metal is everywhere! The last picture shows the "old port" area that is across the water from the campgound. It is another tourist area with a lot of places to eat fish. We plan to go there as a smaller group tomorrow as several folks went today.

At 5:00pm tonight, we had our own "happy hour". Some folks brought food, and we had a campfire. There was also a nice sunset.
After dark at the happy hour, I was given a suprise. Some of you know that I purchased a set of lights for the bill of my ball cap at the Canton Trade Days in Canton, Texas. It has three LED lights that are very bright plus they can be set to flash. I wore them at night at the Gulf Coast campout, and when I got to Quartzsite. Some people liked them and wanted some, and others hated the flashing. I looked all over Quartzsite and could not find any for a couple of the guys in the Gulf Coast Camping Club, and I have not seen them here in Puerto Penasco either. One guy in our group, Virgil Hoff, found them in a free camping catalog handed out in Quartzsite at the entrance to the RV show, and ordered enough for the rest of the group here....... except, they have FIVE lights!!!! After dark tonight, Virgil stood up to make some comments about me, and all of a sudden, everyone turned on their "head lights"! Boy, was I speechless!!

For Mayfield Harris and Mark Didelot (and anybody else who wants a set), the website is:

http://www.rvtoyoutlet.com/

The stock number is #RV 5917, and they sell for $9.99. I checked, and could not find the item on the website, but if you call the toll free number, (1-888-786-8853) you can order it.

Viva Mexico -- We're Here

We had a plan to meet along the side of the road at 11:00am this morning. Once all arrived, we left for Mexico. All in all, it went pretty well. Here's the front of the line...... others are around the curve in the road. We left with 20 people in 11 rigs...... 8 motorhomes, 2 fifth wheels, and one Airstream teardrop trailer.

We got through the border crossing fairly quickly. Patsy and I were waved through, but two of the RV's were stopped for inspections, but they were quick. The trip was somewhat uneventflul with nice desert scenery. We were some kind of sight with 11 rigs spread out. Here's a shot from the front windshield looking at the back of Mike and Linda's Itasca (approaching the border crossing), and out the back window looking at Karl and Sandy's fifth wheel with others following, and a picture of most of us lined up just inside Mexico waiting for the rest to pass through the checkpoint. UPDATE: I got some pictures today from the nice lady traveling behind us, Sandy Park, show our rig. I have now included it. Here are some pictures passing through Puerto Penasco, and entering the RV park.

The campgound is nice. We are all parked in the same section, some on one row and the remainder on the other with our backs to each other. The park is right on the beach, and it is well kept. It has free WIFI, but it does not function really well. At times, loading pictures (a function that takes a while) seems to time out before it is completed resulting in no picture and a do-over. At least, we have access to email and the internet. Here's a picture of the beach area and Patsy walking toward the beach. It was a little cool and windy today!!

This evening, most of the group went to the local restaurant for "happy hour", and dinner. The following are pictures in the bar (with a shot of the bar decoration), and later in the dining room.

Tomorrow, we plan to explore the town.

Monday -- Gila Bend to Ajo

We began today in Gila Bend. We made our run to the Post Office to mail Megan's gift, and then back to the Love's to dump the MH tanks and to fill the gasoline tanks on the MH and car. Then, it was off to Ajo, 40 miles away. Along the way, we say a lot of groups of motorhomes returning from Mexico. This was a typical scene.....

Ajo was a pleasant surprise. For being in the middle of the desert, it is pretty nice. Not much grass in the yards, but they are well kept and neat. After we arrived in Ajo, we set up in the campground, and then headed off to the Organ Pipe National Monument park. The following are pictures at the park and enroute. The first two were along the road showing seguaro cactus. I don't remember the name of the cactus in the first picture with Patsy, but I can tell you that if you touch it, you will be picking small 'toothpick' size stickers out of your finger (about 4 of them!). The second picture with Patsy shows a "pipe organ" cactus along with some seguaro cactus. I think the last picture shows a cactus where smugglers hid drugs under it several years ago!! Boy, it is growing in a wierd way. There were others, also!! Got an email and phone call from my daughter-in-law today...... all good news. Her dad was hospitalized with a stroke. We were concerned, especially since we are headed into Mexico. Today, we found out that what he had was an "Inner Ear Infection".......... what a relief. The email contained some pictures and a video of our grandkids. Take a look. The first is the grandson with his wonderful mother, and the second is our grandaughter.....

Looking Forward

Tomorrow at 11:00am, we plan to meet up with 11 other rigs of RV'ers that we met over the RVAmerica bulletin board or at Quartzsite, and we will travel 90 miles into Mexico to Puerto Penasco. We are supposed to have WIFI at the Mexico campground, but I am not sure that is a given.

Also, Patsy and I found a nice campground at the Organ Pipe Monument National park today, and we are going to propose to the group that we spend a final night together there when we get back.

Sunday -- Yuma to Gila Bend

Today was a slow day. We woke up a little late, and went to a laundromat that we had spotted to wash clothes. We did bed sheets, pillow cases and rugs to get rid of the desert sand. We did a final stockup of diet cokes from Sam's Club. Patsy made a us a nice lunch of Trader Joe's potatoes and bell peppers with some pork tenderloin and gravy that we had in the freezer.

Then, we hooked up the car and headed out of Yuma toward Gila Bend ......... 100 miles of nothing but two rest areas with minimal services.

On Saturday I spent a little time fooling with my 12 year old CB radio, and decided it was time to replace it. The channel display had some lights go out several years ago, and was hard to read. Lately, people have not been responding to me (nope not what most are thinking!!), and I discovered that the mike was not putting out! I wanted another Cobra with SWR metering and the weather channels. There were none in Yuma, and I was hoping we could buy one at the Love's in Gila Bend. If not, we would have had to drive to Eloy, Az...... about 65 miles from Gila Bend in the wrong direction for Mexico to go to a Flying J truckstop. We arrived in Gila Bend about 4pm, and were lucky. They had what I wanted at the Love's. I purchased it from the Assistant Manager, and when he found out we were in an RV, he invited us to overnight in an RV space on the parking lot. They also have a dump station......... so, in the morning, we will dump, get our last gasoline until we come back out of Mexico, and head to Ajo. Here's a picture of our "lovely" overnight spot!!!

In case you are wondering why the urgency, the caravan is planning on communicating with each other on the way to Puerto Penasco using CB........... especially if we get separated on the way. Here's a picture of what Patsy calls my "trucker trash" CB with lighted display:
We're ready to "put the hammer down.... good buddy!!!


I found out that I could get 24 hrs of WIFI at Love's for $6.95 (a bit steep, but it has been a while since I could sit in the MH and work on the laptop), so I went for it. I've spent so much time on the laptop, that it is after 10:00pm (Texas time), and I am too tired to mess with the CB install. I will do it first thing in the morning.

Gila Bend was something of a surprise..... a disappointing surprise. The town boasts 1700 residents, but it has one main road (business I-8) that runs about 2 miles. All businesses are on it........ what businesses are still alive!! It does have a U. S. Post Office, and we will mail a birthday gift to Megan before we leave in the morning. Here are some Gila Bend pictures: Some nice cactus at a local motel, a gift shop with unique items in front, and Main Street Gila Bend.....
The rest of the group is leaving Quartzsite tomorrow, and we will all meet up in Ajo, AZ (pronuonced AH-HOE) tomorrow afternoon. It is only about a 50 mile trip from here. As noted before, but you may have missed it, we have conned another couple into going with us to Puerto Penasco...... Bob and Linda Klyne. They have a web site:

http://www.because-we-can.net/

and will be posting "whatever" about our trip also. He has already begun with some postings about Quartzsite. If you look, you will notice that he complained about some junk RV's that moved into the area he was staying in when he moved into my spot when we left. Since he parked his Junque in my old space, I know exactly how he feels. Check his site out.

More later. We head into Mexico on Tuesday Afternoon. My daughter told me not to do anything stupid in Mexico and get thrown into jail. I told her I did not think it was a crime to be stupid in Mexico or the US!! All she said next was that she wasn't coming to bail me out!!

Goodbye Quartzsite.... Hello Yuma

Friday, we were on the road again! We left Quartzsite about 10:00am. Bob and Linda were going to move into our space, and join the RVA group. It was an hour and a half drive to Yuma, and we went straight to the "Arizona Market Place" aka New Flea Market. We purchased some baking pans that fit Patsy's portable oven, and a few odds and ends. We also found a 'La Mesa RV" lot here and looked over some Winnebagos and Tiffin motorhomes.

Afterwards, we found the Sam's parking lot, and abandoned the motor home. We then took our Yuma street map, and explored in the CRV. We found both Super Walmarts, some laundromats, and most importantly, a car wash the the motor home would fit into. We ended up boondocking on the Sam's lot with about 20 or so other motor homes. To cap off the night, we celebrated being out of the desert with a dinner at The Olive Garden restaurant.

On Saturday, we found the Yuma visitor's center, and picked up some more information. We started out with a tour of Old Town Yuma, which is small, cutesy, and under construction!! Here are some photos of the Main Street fountain, and a 'old casino' eatery.

After that, we drove past the old Yuma Territorial Prison, a mission church, and a casino with lots of RV'ers enjoying the free parking.

We then went to what everybody refers to as "the OLD Flea Market" which is located near a greyhound race track. Since it was Saturday, it cost us a whole fifty cents each to get in! We bought some cookware, a couple of belts for Richard, and a basketball for Matthew. Here's a picture of Richard with the ball, and Patsy at a part of the market.

Since the motor home and car had left Houston in a drizzling rain, went through a snow/ice storm, and then spend a week in the sandy desert, we decided to "bath" both of them at the car wash that we found. We then did some cleanup on the inside.

Quartzsite -- Thursday

Today, was a slower day. We got up a little later than later, and went to the Tyson Wells vendor area to buy a cowgirl hat for Sharon Hoff, who has a small head like Patsy. I managed to drive through some back ways, and picked up Patsy within a few feet of the shop.

When we got back, we decided that since we are leaving for Yuma tomorrow, that we should dump and take on fresh water today. We decided to leave about noon, and once again, do the "you show, I'll keep us up in line....... then I'll shower, and you move us up" routine. Once again, it worked. It took us an hour to move up, and by the time we got there, we had showered, picked up the motorhome, and Patsy had lunch out and thawing.

We picked up a map of Yuma with stategic locations marked up on it from "original" Linda, and marked up a map of our own. We've located laundromats, Walmarts, restaurants, and the flea markets (two of them).

I also talked to a guy about free, high speed WIFI at the library. Boy is it GOOD!!

For the crafty folks reading this, I took a couple of photos. Groups have different signs to mark directions to their camps in the desert, and one used a Snoopy made out of two milk/water cartons. Here is a distant and closeup shot: