Then and Now

The storm just got worse after my last post. We have now heard that it was 10 miles wide and about 125 miles long. There were wind gusts from 60-75 mph. They really shook our motorhome. I took this picture from our door. It looks like fog, but it's really rain being blown by the wind.

Most of the vendors are in pop up tents. They couldn't withstand the wind and rain. This is all that was left of some of them the next morning. We saw one lady wringing out the balls of yarn she had for sale. We felt sorry for all of them.

What a difference a day makes. This was taken today. Same view as above, but from the top of our motorhome. This is what camping in the desert is supposed to look like.

We went shopping at The Main Event today. There are several different shopping areas, just like different strip malls in a town. Some are large and some are VERY large. There's The Big Tent, Rice Ranch, Tyson Wells, and Sam's Swapmeet.

When we got home it was actually nice enough to sit outside and do some stitching. There was a cool breeze blowing, so it was best to be out of the wind.

Ron's Bored

Ron is bored! Having to stay inside out of the rain is NOT his idea of exciting. He can only read and play Nintendo DS for so long. So, what else do you do on a VERY rainy day, but go out and wash the motorhome and the car. Since we have no faucet, the rain can rinse them off.

Nothing but RAIN!

Nothing but rain today. It started last night after dinner and hasn't stopped since. They have closed schools, roads, and are predicting thunder showers for tonight. We now have Quartsite Creek running through our camp where it was dry desert yesterday.

Norm went out to check on the "wash" to see how high the water was getting. He is wearing the new boots that he got at the auction the other day.

This is the dry wash that is on the other side of our motorhome. It usually is dry, but you can see the water starting to run. Ron just got back from checking it again and said it is running pretty good now. They have flash floods in the area where we are camping. I just hope the water stays where it is supposed to.

Ron had a few things he wanted to pick up so we decided to try and head into town. This is the "wash" we have to cross, but usually it is dry. If it gets to high, we are stuck as there is no other way out.

This was our first stop. As we walked in there were actually quite a few people shopping. We said, "Who would come out in weather like this?". The cashier said, "People from Montana." We laughed and added and Washington. There are tools on one end of this building and household items on the other. Rosemary is holding a corn mug that she bought for her brother-in-law who grows corn. Price $1.00. We also each got a few picture frames - price 25 cents - cheap, cheap, cheap!We really haven't had time to look at many motorhomes and since we were going right by a lot we wanted to check out we decided to stop. After we had only looked at a couple the rain and wind just got worse, so we headed home. By the time we got to the car our pants were soaked!

These signs were going up as we headed home. We were hoping there wasn't one on our road.

We made it back across the wash, now full of water; and to our camp, also full of water, and it's still raining.

Shopping in Quartzsite

How can I describe a shopping day in Quartzsite. Maybe these pictures show it best. Norm and Ron are coming up just one of the many rows of vendors and this is just in one section. More vendors and the big tent of commercial exhibits are across the street.

Just about anything is here and there is lots of it. Look at how many bits there are and this is just one box. Boxes and boxes of tools and nuts and bolts. It's a giant Hardware Sales! The boys can keep busy for hours looking through this stuff.

This vendor had old books, kids toys, glass figurines, plants, tools, glassware, etc and etc. We don't need or even want any of this stuff, but we are here for the adventure!

This machine is making homemade ice cream. Did we have any? No, it's just a little to cold outside. Shortly before this picture was taken the wind started to come up and the clouds were moving in for our evening rain.

Quartzsite, Arizona

Here we are arriving in Quartzsite, Arizona. This is the land of sunshine, RV's, vendors, and PEOPLE! It's like going to a HUGE state fair. Look at the people parked at the side of the road and the traffic. They are all going to see the RV show and shop at the various vendors.This is what the town looks like from the air. At times there have been around 75,000 RVs here. I haven't heard a number for this year. Look for the overpass in about the middle of the picture. Follow the road to the left. Do you see what looks like a dirt road taking off to the right? We are just to the right of that road.Here are a couple camp pictures. Everyone just drives out onto the desert, finds a little bush and clear spot they like and sets up camp. There are a few "roads" that are used for getting in and out of the area. They are nothing more than well traveled dirt.This is looking out the door of our motorhome to where we park our car. You can see one of the "roads" in front of the rigs across from us.

This is one of the vendor tents. It sells kitchen gadgets. Ron found an oyster knife that he liked.

However, when we went to pay we noticed that the handle had a crack in it. The vendor told us to get another and that he would give us the broken one for FREE. Turned out they were all cracked, but we still got one for free. It was Ron's lucky day!

This is what the main road looked like as we were heading into town today. It is bumper to bumper for miles and this is all day long. Fortunately everyone is patient and courteous. If you need to turn onto the street or make a turn to get of you don't have to wait long for someone to let you in.

We went to the auction this afternoon. It is held twice a day at 12 and 6. You get your number when you come in the door and then take a seat. I was number 79. The auctioneer is sitting in the chair up front. As he is getting bids he keeps telling you "cheap, cheap, cheap" and he is right. Norm bought 800 toothpicks for $1.00. They also had microwaves, generators and everything in between, even fur coats. There were lamps, glassware, licorice, M&Ms, heaters, and just about anything you can think of. Ah, I bet you are wondering what we bought. We got a couple lids that go on 2 liter pop bottles, a couple candle lighters, and some lawn size trash bags. Nothing very exciting really, but they were "cheap, cheap, cheap!
Remember I said this was the land of sunshine. Well, I was wrong on that. We have seen very little of it since arriving in Quartzsite. Today started out beautiful and sunny, but that was short lived. The wind started to blow, the clouds moved in and we are having a real storm right now. It has been raining for hours and the desert is now one big mud puddle. YUK! I thought we drove this far to get away from the rain.

Scottsdale, Arizona

We had a great time visiting with Amber and Jerad in Scottsdale. Amber is here to run the Phoenix Rock and Roll Marathon.

One of Amber's co-workers has a condo in Scottsdale. Her and Jerad have stayed here before - Thanks Sam. This time we got to come and visit them since we were in the area. We returned to our Lost Dutchman campground at night. It was a little drive, but actually worked out very well for us.

We took several walks around the condo complex as the weather was perfect for walking and the complex is quite beautiful.

We went through the rose garden. Yes, they are blooming this time of the year down here, and they smell soooooo good.Next we went through the cactus garden. They have their own special beauty and are quite remarkable.Our niece Jodie flew in on Thursday night as she is running with Amber on Sunday. Here they are with their bags of race info. What you can't see hidden behind their orange shoe tag is another number. Jodie's is a 3. Yup, she was runner number 38,651. That's almost like the population of Bellingham running through Phoenix.Jodie and Amber are by a cactus outside the condo. These don't look to prickly, but Jodie got her shirt caught on one as she was trying to move away from it.
The girls got a packet of recipes in their race info bags. One was for citrus salsa. We went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and bought the ingredients we needed. I think they actually picked a few oranges off the trees right outside the condo to use in it. It's a pretty fun thing to do. It's like picking apples at home. The salsa is not only very bright and pretty, but it was delicious.

Jerad and Amber were sitting by the fireplace and you know I never pass up a photo opportunity. So, here's my cute kids!
And my cutie niece Jodie!

Phoenix Freeways

I told you I'd try and get some pictures of the freeways. It's kind of hard to do going 75 MPH, yes, the speed limit here is 75. We were not going that fast, but it's still hard to get a picture when you're zipping by the subject. I know freeways are not usually very exciting, but the ones in the Phoenix area are works of art. Here's a sample of just one of the designs. They are made out of different colored rocks. Notice NO litter. This design has a little more detail and even more colors.

This is a good example of the red concrete they use. It blends in with the natural dirt and mountains in the area.

This shows an overpass with a design in the cement and also a section of another design.

We plant bushes along our freeways and they plant cactus. There were actually 3 of them at this spot, but I only managed to get one in my picture.

This is the freeway exit we take to go see Amber and Jerad in Scottsdale. We are on the exit ramp and will be turning left and going under the freeway. As you can see there are designs in the concrete as well as on the side hill with the plantings. What you can't see is the huge design that is under the overpass. I was to close to get a picture of that.