A Treasure at the BLM

"Dream as if you'll live forever.  Live as if you'll die today."

There are many kinds of treasures.  Sometimes we think of treasures like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or trunks of pirate’s gold in a sunken ship.  Other times it might be the friendship of a very special person or the spouse of a child.  Treasures come in all forms.  This treasure was something we didn’t expect to see right on the BLM.  In other words, we found something other than dirt and sand or rocks and cactus.  We found an old rock cabin.  It’s not hidden.  It’s out in the open and I’m sure many others have seen it.   It was in an area that we had not visited before.  Anything out of the ordinary and unexpected we think of as a new found treasure.

The LTVA was established as a place for campers to spend the winter.  The year?  1983 !

Our ride into the desert on Tuesday started out heading east on one of the many sandy riverbeds.  However, it wasn’t long before we got a tad bored with that and turned around.  Bored?  Well, it was a been there, done that thing.  We decided we were going to go someplace we hadn’t been.  We were going to do a little exploring.  There are four different and separate LTVA camping areas south of Quartzsite right off Highway 95 and within about 4 miles of town.  We were going to check all four out.

We started on a trail from La Posa South.  The trail definitely was not due north.  It went a little east, a lot west and even more north.  Eventually we ended up at La Posa North which is a camping area  just south of Rice Ranch at Quartzsite.  Even though there were quite a few campers set up for the winter, there were many more great places to settle in.  Some were already rocked off thanks to the occupants from last year. 

Next stop was La Posa West.  It was just across highway 95.  In January this place is packed with RVs since it backs the location of the Big Tent.  Campers here don’t have to fight long lines of traffic trying to get into the main attraction.  It’s just a short walk to all the entertainment and shopping .

Cabins in the BLM?

We were surprised to see that La Posa West and La Posa Tyson Wash were connected.  We did not know that the Old Yuma Road ran from one to the other.  It does!  The roads and trails within these two parks wind through many great camping areas.  No wonder these parks are full. 

 

The trails also head up into the local hills and that’s where we went.  We discovered the little cabin that at one time belong to someone.  It was half there.   There were several rooms separated by rock walls, a well used fireplace and even cut-outs for windows.  At one time many years ago someone actually spent some time here.    It was a fun find and to us a little treasure.  However, we weren’t the only ones out on the trails exploring the area and the cabin.

We worked our way around the trails and back across the road to La Posa South.  What a nice ride.  I want to do it again but Wednesday is reserved for another part of the desert.  We’re going to visit the gold mines.  We’re thinking that we’re really going to find gold!!

Terry’s been working on a little stagecoach light.  It’s been glued, had putty put in the right places and sanded.

Bet you’ve never seen one of these.  Well, maybe I should say I hope you’ve never seen one of these.  This used to be the adapter that was plugged into our Honda 2000 generator.  We’ve used this plug for a couple years … never a problem.  Never a problem that is until a few days ago.  One prong melted away along with the plug when it came partially loose.  Another repair.  We’re getting used to these repairs and doing repairs isn't a fun thing to get used to.  

‘Tis life on the road.

A Chill is in the Air

 

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.

 

Saturday night was the first night we slept in the motorhome in two months.  Amazing to have just one long room and not two.  There definitely is a difference in space between our cabin and our motorhome …. definitely.  Our TV is also smaller and we have no theater chairs to sit in.  Hmmm.  Regardless of the difference it still feels like home.  Even Duchess quickly adapted back to it.

Being closer to town also is different.  Tammi wanted to go shopping.  We were close and it was easy so I went along for the company.  She absolutely insisted we have our nails done.  Well, in the working days I had my nails done regularly.  It got to be a pain because you had to keep it up every couple of weeks.  I can tell you appointments like that in an RV just don’t work.  It took a while for my red nail polish to become history but eventually it did too.  I agreed to a manicure this time while I waited for her to have her nails done.  Ever had your nails done while your manicurist is on the phone the entire time either with phone calls or texting?  Such was the case this time.  Ask us the tip that was left.  Just ask.  Tammi decided to have her nails done another day and another place.

Next stop …. Red Lobster.  It had been forever since either of us had visited a Red Lobster .. forever.  I love seafood but normally I am not a Red Lobster fan.  However, this time it was really nice.  First of all, we split one order of catfish and one bowl of clam chowder.  The catfish was so good we ordered one more and split it too. 

Terry and Lee were out working on the trailer getting it ready for it’s trip south.  It’ll be heading that direction without much on it other than tool boxes that they felt were necessary. There won’t be any ATVs and only a bike … mine .   

Monday rolled around and the Jeep went in the shop for a complete work over. The mechanic wanted it two days but it's stretching to three since we had games Tuesday night and the drive-belt needed to be replaced.  We were either going to rent a car or borrow one from Tammi.  Tammi’s option was easier so that we did.

We figure we still have another trip or two to the cabin.  The other day we worked on caulking at the cabin and more putting away of tables, ladders and the such.  The deer were sure happy to see us visit.  They ran to the feeder and waited for us to fill it up.  For some reason I got the idea that they missed us.  Well, maybe it really wasn’t us.  It was the food we usually provided.

Have you ever priced bikes?  I mean at a specialty bike shop and not at Wal-Mart.  Well, after riding Tammi’s and the one we got from my brother, I did.  There really is a difference!  I have the little folding Adventurer bike with 6 speeds we picked up at Camping World a couple years ago.   My plan had been to buy the little one speed folding bike.  I was sure there wasn’t much difference other than a gear or two.  It didn’t take long to figure the few bucks between them was really worth it.  However,   after riding the other two bikes now I’m going to say there is a huge difference between the one I have and spendy ones … a huge difference.  Price is only one consideration.  Weight is definitely another.  I used to think a good bike had to be a Schwinn.  I’m definitely behind times. I had no clue that bicycles could go well over a thousand bucks let alone five times that and more!!

The daytime temperatures around here are pretty nice but fall is certainly in the air.  It's getting downright nippy in the evening.  Another couple of weeks or so and we'll be on the road again.  Just how nippy are the evenings?  Well, if you had an evening with a little wind, they can be pretty nippy.  Check out this picture of Sabrina last night at the soccer game. 

 

We had two soccer games last night.  Sandi's team won their game.  Jordie's team had another tie game that went into double-triple overtime.  That is the third time this year!!  It makes for a long game and a long evening.

Sandi's game

 It's definitely the family things we're going to miss.  We've had so many of them this year.

Jordie's game

‘Tis life on the road.