Desert Rats

We were hungry for lazy, warm sunny days with nothing to do but just enjoy and the desert beckoned. On our way down to Quartzsite, we stopped for one night at Laughlin where Fernie has his favorite poker table at the Edgewater. He didn't break the bank but he made enough to treat me to a movie; no dinner, because I'm dieting (what's new?).


Avatar 3D was playing so we donned the funky glasses and settled in for the experience. Ewwwww! My first feeling was nausea as those huge blue creatures caroused in my personal space. I had to remove my glasses a few times before I became comfortable and familiar with my senses being so spectacularly overwhelmed. When it was all over, I felt exhausted from the experience but a bit disappointed that, though the technology was so amazing, I didn't really connect with the story other than to see the analogy to our own decimation of the rain forests. I certainly wouldn't give it a best picture award but maybe best art/set decoration and cinematography especially when I compare it to Precious which moved me beyond my usual emotional response.

It started to rain that night in Laughlin, a rare occurence and it was extremely annoying. We wanted sunshine! We certainly didn't expect it to continue and our drive down to Quartzsite the next day was sunny again and mild. But the storms in Southern California had to go somewhere and so from our desert perch in Quartzsite, we watched as the black clouds encroached over the mountains and the temperature dipped. But we knew it would pass quickly expecting that by the following day, we'd be back to sunshine. It was not to be this time.


More and more ominous clouds rolled heavily over the skies and the rains let loose in torrents. The second night, the winds blew in; monsoon-like rain and hurricane force winds with the threat of tornadoes. Eeeeek! We stayed inside watching the desert flood, the waters gush down the washes and wind-driven sheets of water shoot across the barren land. Amazingly, we didn't even have to put our slides in being parked in just the right direction and also protected by the RV's around us. We were in a circle of 'wagons' much like the early pioneers and it worked to our advantage. Next morning though, we noticed some other motorhomes didn't fare as well with awnings over their slides ripped and hanging.


Quartzsite's peak is in January when the big RV show is on. Thousands and thousands of grey-haired RVers roll in filling the RV parks and turning the open desert into a temporary city of squatters. The roads can't handle the sudden influx and grid-lock ensues. It's always fun to browse around the myriad of tents and swap meets, that sell everything you could imagine but particularly rocks and gems. Once the weather went back to normal – and it did return to lovely warm sunshine – Fernie and I and our trusty little CRV drove out deep into the desert along rutted trails on a hunt for distant geocaches. We couldn't hear the hum of the traffic on the freeway or see the horde of people. We were all alone and it was so peaceful and serene.


Our hankering for a dog in our life is getting stronger and we envy all those we see walking and playing with their pooches. We started to look online for westie breeders in Arizona even emailing a few and when our friends P&C told us they'd babysit if we went to Europe in the fall, we got even more serious about the hunt. It has to be just right though. We won't buy from pet shops who usually get their dogs from puppy mills; we don't want an older dog – but one about 7 or 8 weeks old; we want to deal with a breeder who has taken care to ensure strong and healthy breeding; and it has to be a westie; and we'd really like to get one on our way home in late March. I don't think it will work out and we'll probably not get one until next year but oh how we yearn.


Yuma is only a couple of hours drive south from Quartzsite but it's so much warmer especially overnight. Our friends, P&C saved us a space at the Cocopah Casino. We miss the open desert but it's the best we can do while in Yuma. We'll be here for a couple of weeks before moving on to Phoenix. Geocaching, swapmeets, lunches with friends, a visit with Fernie's cousin, a walk over the border to Algodones, Mexico and just lazy days in the sunshine.