Back in Quartzsite for a week or two

 Displaced from near Lake Havasu City, AZ and was in Quartzsite less than an hour later.

It's more crowded than the last time I was here but not too bad if you get away from the main access road in the La Posa South LTVA.  No free ride this time due to a government shutdown, so I paid the $40 fee for 2 weeks at the fee station and got my sticker. 

Then I spent an hour in line at the RV dump station, to dump tanks and to get fresh water for the main water tank. I had gotten a propane fill up in town beforehand so I was good to go in terms of consumables. 

The weather is warm at 76° F and mostly cloudy skies which tone down the fierce sun rays.

Tonight's sunset was OK.

Altitude: 1053 ft

More T'dubing

 Thursday, January 29

A warmer but windy day here, not too bad but enough to get one's attention.

I went for a short ride before lunch to check out the BLM camping areas to the north and south of me.  Bottom Line, I picked the right one to camp in.

The camping area to the north along US95 wasn't very large and had a lot more camping rigs.  First though, I tried to get to that area via OHV trails but they proved too technical for me.  The next two pics were taken after electing to not pursue steeper hill climb type trails further north.

So, a short sprint on the highway and then I went into the northern camping area via the highway entrance.  Note the wind-driven dust storms in the hills to the west of the highway:

A bit of wandering and then I returned to the highway to go south of my camping area.  This one wasn't as full as the northern one but definitely sandier in terms of access roads.

There's a "Scenic Area" pull off spot along the highway.  I think this is the view that it refers to.

The needle is Monument Peaj

After a late lunch, I went for a short 2 mile hike along a section of the wash carved out by seasonal rains I assume.  The temperature had soared to 68 degrees so it was quite comfortable in the bright sunshine.

I came upon the ruins of an abandoned? travel trailer.  As you can see, it's been thoroughly destroyed.

I got a GPS location of the wreck, and hopefully can report it to the responsible BLM field office.  They probably know about it but just in case.

Friday, January 30

No riding, just hanging at camp, enjoying a warm day with temperatures in the low 70s.

Saturday, January 31

A bit of riding to check out the Havasu Riviera area.  Not much to report, a gated community for the rich near a private marina.

I checked out the dispersed camping area nearest to Lake Havasu City's southern border.  Cramped and crowded it was, not much to explore further in....

Rode back to my campsite, no new camper rigs appeared last evening and things are quiet except when dirt bikes or OHVs motor by....

Sunday, Feb 01

Another lazy day here in the Standard Wash BLM Camping area.

It was the warmest day so far, hitting 80°F!  Nice and sunny too, the only annoyance being dirt bikes and OHVAs who don't know enough to slow down when passing campers to cut down on the dust....

Given a chance, most people disappoint.

Warm enough in the morning that I had a visitor:

Had a pickup truck park nearby most of the afternoon, he didn't setup camp, just sat there.

In the late afternoon, spotted a family hiking along the ridgeline to the south and decided to practice with the bino to phone camera adapter:

Cameraphone at 1x, no bino

Bino in use, 1x zoom

Bino in use, 3x zoom

Cameraphone at 30x zoom

Sunday's sunset:

I displace tomorrow, moving to Quartzsite unless it's too crowded still (most likely).  In which case, I'll check out the possibility of camping in the Kofa NWR; failing that the Winterhaven near Yuma.

T'dubing around the off-road areas near Lake Havasu City, and London Bridge!

 Tuesday, January 27

I did a little bit of riding around the area, checking out some trails that led further into the OHV areas.  Pretty rocky terrain here with trails that are sandy but not too bad.

As you can see I. The following pics, it's a wash...some small hills, some ravines, and lots of rocks and some trails.  Not the most exciting scenery but this area doesn't have as many campers as the two further to the north along US Highway 95.

Next to the BLM area, there's some kind of excavation operation, digging up the land for what looks like sand and dirt to me 

Wednesday, January 28

I rode the 10 miles or so to check out the London Bridge tourist attraction.  Originally built and situated in London, England.  It was purchased, taking apart, and reassembled in Lake Havasu City.

An interesting project and tourist draw apparently.  I rode Yagi over the actual bridge a couple of times to get these shots.  McCollough Road traverses the bridge, and there is a park area with a water canal running under it that you can stroll about in.

I did not tarry long at the bridge, and said I continueed north to around the area near mile marker 192. I had seen some interesting rock formations from the highway as I drove south on Monday and had wanted to check them out.

I would find myself close to the above formation 

I call it the Catchers Mitt

There are several nice camping spots, in this BLM area. The access road is right at mile marker 192, and while the road is rough in spots it's better than in the Standard Wash BLM area where I am camping.

You can ride up almost to the top of the hill where the state provides land for an antenna complex.

The view from near the top of the hill

The mountain where the telecom antennas were located.

About 55 miles of riding today under mostly cloudy skies.  The high temperature was 66 degrees with a s wind.  

I woke to 41 degrees Fahrenheit so it was a bit chilly riding into town, even though I had waited till it was 50 degrees.  Not too bad though.  Riding home in the low 60s was just fine.

Sunset was OK:

Heading South after a Visit with Blazeourway's Lori and Chris Z.

 Martha and I spent almost a whole week visiting with Lori and Chris Z. in Meadview Arizona where they have a base of operations. 

Here's a picture of a mockingbird that spent some time on a bush near my last campsite at the McDowell Regional Park campground: 

During our time visiting with Chris and Lori, we meant the new addition to their home, a rescue puppy terrier called Pinky. 

The weather wasn't really conducive to ridng as it was just cool enough to be a nuisance even in the full sunlight.  So we did some chores, basically hung out with Chris and Lori, and just caught up with each other's lives. 

The main chore was helping to almost finish the installation of baseboard in several rooms of their home.

Lori cutting baseboard to fit....

Lori, Chris and Pinky beside their new truck

Which will eventually replace Stewie, their overlander vehicle.

Today, I left them to start driving south in the VRRV while Lori took Martha to Las Vegas to meet up with a neighborhood friend for a few days before she flies home to Colorado. 

I drove perhaps three and a half hours or so to a BLM dispersed camping location south of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. There's still a fair amount of RVs and Camping rigs in the three dispersed camping areas near this city but I found a nice spot nonetheless. 

Tonight sunset was pretty good, I'm glad to be on the road again. 

Mid-60s for temperature today, a little warmer tomorrow.

Altitude: 1194 ft.