Empire Landing and Crossroad BLMs

He who smiles in a crisis has found someone to blame.

 

It seems we always tend to race forward to what we figured would be the farthest winter distance.  Until we get there we’re still on a mission.  Had we not been on a mission we might have hung around the Palm Springs area for quite a bit more time.  The park was wonderful and the site was super. 

Roadrunners wander around the park in Palm Springs.

However, we still needed to get new license tags on Terry’s Jag (aka RZR).  We were close.  It was only about 140 miles to the Elks Lodge in Parker, Arizona.  We could have stayed at the nice Wal-Mart there for as long as we actually had figured we’d be in town but with electricity we’d have air conditioning in the afternoon.  We pulled into the outside side at the Elks.  Had we remembered it was Halloween we probably would have moved inside.  I’m not sure that would have mean less noise at midnight but at least Terry might have slept better.  After the last time we had several items stolen off our trailer, he’s become just a tad paranoid.  However, now we have chains and locks on everything and not just bungee cords someone can cut.

Road from Palm Springs to Parker not overly exciting.

Even though we didn’t stay at the Wal-Mart in Parker we did have to drive there and check it out.  Snowbirds are definitely heading south.  We know.  The parking lot was filled with them and their trailers, motorhomes or 5th wheels.     They say the parking is free but we know it’s not.  We think it’s probably about the most expensive place to spend the night.  Why do we say that?  We say that because after pulling in we usually spend a bunch stocking up in their store.  However, we still love the quick stopover.

After our licensing task was behind us, we made an appointment to have a complete service done on the new toy.  After all, the JAG (aka RZR) was a used vehicle with some miles on it.  We wanted it serviced and wanted to make sure it was in good mechanical condition.  So, as much as we hated to depart with the $$$$, we figured it was what we needed to do.  We made an appointment for the following morning.

Crossing the Colorado River between California and Arizona.

With the drop off taken care of we were off to check out a few local camping areas on the California side of the river.   You never know what you might discover.  We had already found a park on the Arizona side of the river we really liked.  The Pirate’s Den is new,   We loved, loved it except there were no long term riverfront sites available there.  However, we could get one for a week with a cabana for $360. We opted out.

Emerald Cove RV Park

Back across the bridge and over the Colorado River we drove.  Parker Dam Road follows the river to the dam and then crosses back over on the Arizona side.  There are quite a few RV parks along the way.  We had visited the Emerald Cove RV park.  It’s a nice park and part of the Colorado Adventure park group.  We don’t have a membership in this park but can book it using our Preferred RPI card.  We did discover that the land (all of it or just some of it??) was leased from the Bureau of Land Management.  If you enter the park from the northern end, a sign indicates it’s part of the Desert Riviera and BLM..  We were surprised with that.

 

The problem with some campgrounds in this area is that cell phone coverage often goes to No Signal.  For us that could mean not only no phones but no internet.  Normally, we like to at least test our phones before we book any long-term stay.

OHV Area

Just down the road is more BLM land and  a couple OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) loading areas as well as two more BLM campgrounds.  These campgrounds also accepted the Federal senior pass for a 50% camping discount and allowed 14 days of camping in a 28 day period.  One of the campgrounds (Crossroads)  had campsites right on the Colorado River. With the discount card the price would be $2.50 a night. Fantastic!  I bet this place is packed in January … just packed. 

Crossroads BLM

The next campground area we wanted to view was at the Empire Landing BLM.  A dump was onsite and 16 sites had water and electricity. The fee was $30 for sites with hookups but the Federal pass was also accepted.  This was a super BLM, and with a first come reservation system this place will also be packed I am sure.  There are an additional 32 sites without any hookups but facilities are close.  

The only problem we saw with parks along Parker Dam Road was cell service.   This was the same problem we discovered along the Arizona side of the Colorado River too.  AT&T service was intermittent.  We could test the service with our phone but had no idea whether our Verizon aircard would work.  We have two aircards for just this same purpose.   Sometimes AT&T works and sometimes Verizon works in places we go.   Perhaps it was time we got a Verizon cell phone for the same reason.  That’s just what we did.  Now we have a new phone number to remember.  Verizon and AT&T are both covered with the phone and with the internet.

Empire Landing BLM

To be continued  …………………….

‘Tis life on the road.

Searching .... Searching .... No Signal

 

Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.

 

Don’t you just hate it when you’re expecting a call or maybe even not expecting a call and notice that your cell phone is searching for a signal.  It wouldn’t matter if someone was trying to call you or not because without a signal you certainly can’t answer.

Recently I have noticed that at night and usually fairly early in the morning my cell phone has issues with that signal.  Having a No Signal message seems to be more the norm lately during the wee hours.  As the morning moves along my phone’s signal does too.  It goes back and forth from No Signal to Searching …. to a few bars. 

I also have an air card with the same carrier and on the same account.  I have service on my air card.  I can get on the internet, write emails and also send them.  Thus, I have answered the question I keep asking myself about why not just switch from the air card to an iPhone hotspot.  I’ve often wondered if the signal was as good, better or worse using the hotspot as the air card.  I think I have my answer.  The answer to that is definitely not.

Others had also come to the same conclusion indicating there was a slower delay in the hotspot and not in the air card.  The biggest advantage for us would be that we’d save about $35 a month to switch over to the hotspot.  However, if  it doesn’t work as well, saving that $35 just wouldn't be worth it.  When we want signal, we want signal.  Well, we also want good bandwidth but don’t have much control over that.

The other morning I received a text at 7:04 AM.  However, that text had been sent the night before at 10:00 PM.    That is just a little bit of a delay … don’t you think?  

There are a couple websites that indicate they will send to any carrier’s text.  One is smseverywhere.com and the other one is Cellphonemessagesender.com.  I’m guessing there are probably more but these two were easy to find.  You can send the text for free.  Free is usually good but not always.  I’m not sure about the speed of the text going out.  I tried both of those and discovered there was a problem.  The problem I found is that it was easy to send but the sample texts were never received.

I also sent a message to my phone using my own email.  I received that text message on my phone almost instantly.  Of course, it just happened to be when I also had a few bars so I could test it.  It can be handy to send a text to someone else's phone especially when you know they don't have access to their computer or internet.  For a Verizon cell signal this is the email address 10digitphonenumber@vtext.com and for an AT&T cell phone, this is the email address 10digitphonenumber@txt.att.net. 

It's amazing what you can discover on the internet.  Here's a little tip I found.  The website shows how to boost your WiFi signal with a beer can.   If you’re interested,   check out complete instructions here.

‘Tis life on the road.

Text, Email or Phone -- What's Your Preference?

 

“The Internet is the most important single development in the history of human communication since the invention of call waiting.”  Dave Barry

 

Communication has certainly changed through the years.  Way back when Pony Express riders transported the mail across the country it took just about forever to send mail and receive an answer.    Now even though some of our grandchildren may believe our lifetime might just have been during the time of the Pony Express riders or even before Alexander Graham Bell become a popular household name, it definitely is not true.

We were all very much raised with the telephone. Some of us were on party lines.  Remember the party lines?  You had to count the long and short rings in order to know if that ring was for your household or one of the other five households on your party line. If you wanted to make a call, you needed to be sure no one else was talking on the phone.  You could always listen in or even interrupt the conversation but that really wasn’t a polite thing to do.  It was a time when we were all taught telephone manners. 

Communication today is very different than just a few years ago.  We have choices now in how we want to communicate with family, friends and even for business.  The internet and cell phones didn’t exist just a short time ago.  Today, it would be hard to imagine living without either. 

 

Not everyone has converted to the internet or even to cell phones.  However, almost everyone has.  If you want to communicate with others and travel, you have to have some way of keeping that connection.  There are a few out there who I know that are not internet saavy and there are a few out there who don’t have a cell phone.  In my little RV circle this is more the exception than the rule.  Our communication choice has a lot to do with what we are comfortable with.  It’s not that folks in my little circle are “as old as dirt”, it’s just that some of these communicating tools were developed during their lifetime and they never quite made the transition to it.  However, if they haven’t, their spouse certainly has.

However, almost everyone has. There are a few out there that I know who are not internet saavy and there are a few out there who don’t have a cell phone.  In my little circle this is more the exception than the rule.  Our communication choice has a lot to do with what we are comfortable with.  It’s not that folks in my little circle are “as old as dirt”, it’s just that some of these communicating tools were developed during their lifetime and they never quite made the transition to it.  However, if they haven’t, their spouse certainly has.  How else would we keep tabs on each other?    

The internet has certainly become a big player in the communicating field.  Heck, the internet has become a big player in just about every field.  Almost everyone has at least one email account and many of us have more than one.  After all, we’ve got to have that extra one or two to give out to all the places that want it in order to give you their discount.  Then, they bombard your email account with spam.  Grocery stores aren’t too bad but give it to World Market, Harbor Freight or Barnes & Noble and you’ll notice your mailbox fills up fast. 

I’m an expert on emails.  How do I know I’m an expert?  It’s because I recently discovered I had over 13,000 of them in my main inbox.  That’s the downside of emailing.  If you don’t clean it out, it accumulates.  If it accumulates, it takes forever to clean it up.  Well, I'm finally in the process of cleaning out this gobble-de-gunk.

 

Regardless the amount of spam mail we now get, having an email account is a necessity in my book.   That’s where Dish Network, AT&T,  Mellenicom and American Express send my bills. It's also where my banks send the statements and the list goes on and on.  I'm certain this change in technology is what is causing the post office to lose billions.  People aren't buying stamps. The internet has been around for about 20 years so why didn't they see it coming?   For us using the internet and corresponding with emails (or even Skype) is a way of life.  It’s something we have to have and something we can’t imagine not having access to. 

Internet connection has changed too.   Remember dial-up internet?  Dial-up certainly wouldn't work for RVers and neither does cable or DSL.  Most of us are thankful for our aircards and satellite connections no matter how restrictive they can be.  What other options do we have other than using the internet supplied at RV parks   ... not very many. 


We rarely call our phones a telephone anymore.  We call it a cell phone.  We can communicate on them similar to a telephone by putting in a phone number and waiting for the phone to ring.   Now it seems almost everyone has their own cell phone and are able to use it all the time. 

We can reach for that cell phone to read our emails, search the internet or even send a text.  You will never get some to get a smart phone.  You will also never get some to give up their smart phone.  It's their world.

There are always those who say they like to hear the voice because it gives them a closeness. Then, there are others who would rather send a text.  What category are you in?

I'm a texter.  I think it's faster.  Terry would rather talk than text.  I can get to the point and say what’s important at my convenience but not everyone texts either.  With a phone call it has to be at the convenience of both parties but not necessarily so with other methods.  A text is fast, it’s quick, it's quiet and it's usually misspelled in some way or other.  Either it’s because text-talk is a whole new language and you’ve learned it or it’s because your fingers are fatter than the keys and you’re always in a hurry.   I have fat fingers.

Can you tell that my mind wanders to many different subjects when we're not on the road? That will soon change though.  Summer is flying by and cooler weather is just around the corner.

'Tis life on the road.