ADIOS TO QUARTZSITE; PHOENIX, HERE WE COME!

This morning we said goodbye to our many friends and drove away from Boomerville in a cloud of dust.  What a great stay we had – so many good friends we’ve made over the years, and new friends we will look forward to seeing somewhere down the road.  The fantastic weather made it a better experience than in some years past – high temperatures in the 70’s with lots of sunshine, lows in the 40’s with a lovely full moon at night.  Very little wind, a blessing!

I’ve seen estimates that Quartzsite, with a permanent population under 3,000 residents, hosts over a million visitors during January and February.  Vacation housing in Q is VERY limited (maybe non-existent); the vast majority of visitors arrive in RV’s, by the tens of thousands.

To me, it is fascinating – and inspiring – that so many people can converge on the intersection of US Interstate 10 and US Highway 95 for two months, a temporary community powered by solar and generators, carrying their own water, food, and fun, creating “neighborhoods” of friends and/or like-minded individuals… it is an amazing slice of life.  To those not part of the RV’ing community, I know it seems odd and likely unappealing, but for us, in our neighborhood of friends and soon-to-be friends, it is a special time.

BUT, it felt good to arrive at Saddle Mountain RV Park (click here to read our review and see photos) in Tonopah, about 90 miles east of Q.  Odel spent all afternoon getting the dust off of Scoopy and Jules, then replaced our water pump which began to malfunction at the end of our boondocking stay.  I got all the electrical appliances working – hot water heater, the satellite, antenna, and TV’s – and turned my attention to our upcoming move from Scoopy to our rented loft.  If all goes as planned, renovations on Scoopy’s interior will begin on Thursday.

Tomorrow – the first of two moving days - will be a full day, with an early start.  Before I sign off, though, another Costco recommendation. 

I know I have mentioned Costco’s Kirkland brand pre-mixed margaritas before – which we now improve with just a splash of Grand Mariner (Triple Sec would work just as well, but they don’t sell it at Costco and we are into one-stop shopping) – and they were a GREAT hit when we partied with Mary and Elaine and their friends during yesterday’s football playoffs.  Here is another great, new-to-us Costco purchase:  THINAddictives Cranberry Almond Thins.

These are like super-thinly sliced biscotti, a crisp vanilla-almond flavored, not-too-sweet cookie-like treat.  Within this box are 20 packages, 100 calories each.  They make a great snack with tea, or for a simple dessert.  The price is $6.99, I believe, about half (or less) the cost of 100 calorie cookie packs from the grocery store (and AT LEAST as tasty).

Adios for now.