February 2013 - Apache Junction and Quartzsite

February 4th - Boyce Thompson Arboretum - Apache Junction

We visited our friends Malcom and Kathy who are camped at Queens Valley RV Park, just East of Phoenix.  We met at the "Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park".  The park originated with Colonel William "Boyce" Thompson, a very wealthy mining magnet, who purchased the land in 1920.  He wanted to display various vegetation from different regions to improve the use of plant resources.  There's a well manicured trail leading around the park. Freya nicely agreed to pack our water for us! Off we go:

The Apache Jump originated when the last 70 of the Apache warriors at the tale end of the "Indian Wars" agreed to leap off the cliff rather than face capture.  May they rest in their happy hunting grounds.

  Colonel William "Boyce" Thompson's Residence in the background,

They grow REALLY big asparagus around here!  On Friday, Malcom is planning on hiking to the top of the hill in the background.

Just at the base of the above picture is a bench.  Park employees excavated a foot of soil from the base and found many artifacts.  They decided to leave the site as is,  to preserve the originality of the site.

We had a very pleasant walk and thoroughly enjoyed the various trails leading to the various theme gardens. We drove a little distance to a lovely pub at Superior.  They serve an excellent home made burger while you enjoy their eclectic display of flags, pictures, bills, etc.

Pomegranites

February 8th - New Digs!

 The secret is out!  We have a new home!

Ray had a really bad time in Quartzsite with his leg giving out and a four day spell with crippling sciatica.  After reviewing our situation ... and his, we decided that the fifth wheel does not work for us.  Too much setting up, moving furniture (by me) and too much bending into the basement of the trailer for stuff.  We now know that he will be facing another spinal fusion when we get back to Nanaimo this summer as he was told if his leg is impaired then surgery will be required.  We expected this next surgery, but thought it might not be for a couple more years.  In hindsight he should have had all four vertebrae fused the first surgery, but his doctor said he was "way too young" and would try and hold off as long as possible.

 The new "Plan"...

 After viewing a multitude of coaches both in Quartzsite and in Mesa, we have purchased a beautiful used 2011 Phaeton 40' motorhome, a used 2012 Ford Edge SUV to tow. The truck is being sent back home with all of the stuff we do not need.  We will sell the truck in Canada as soon as we can.  Our great friend Gary Glover offered to fly down and drive the truck back to Vancouver Island this weekend.  We had arranged to send it via truck transport but Gary and his wife Janice would not hear of it!  It is wonderful to have such caring friends.

Freya has a couch to sleep on again and is quite happy with the new abode, as well. The people here at Luxury RV have been awesome.  They offered us to stay in their lot for a week or more to transfer all of our stuff to the motorhome, get the satellite dish, solar panels and some batteries swapped out.  So free camping with free water, 50 amp power and sewer.  The best part is I am doing laundry in our own rig.  No more laundromats!  Tom, our salesperson,  is also helping with the purchase of the Ford Edge as he had been in the car business years ago and knows all of the general managers of the dealerships personally.  We will also have his hitch guy install our tow hitch and connections for the SUV.  Tom will also ensure that all the paperwork is in order to import the motorhome into Canada.

So here is our new car! The best part is that Ray can get into it after surgery as it is high enough off the ground that he does not need to bend very much.

 We should finally be back on the road by the end of next week.  It seems to take forever for paperwork between Canada and the USA.  Oh well, retired!!! nothing but time. It has also taken me 4 days to get the fifth wheel emptied and moved into the motorhome in between looking at cars.  Not as fast as I used to be.

 

February 19th - New Coach and back to Quartzsite

Well we finally escaped from the RV lot in Mesa on Wednesday night.  Ray drove through Phoenix in rush hour traffic and then I took over driving the motorhome to Quartzsite towing the new SUV.  His back was hooped, so I put on my big girl pants and accepted the challenge!  Made it with no problem!  It does drive similar to the truck and fifth wheel but with a whole lot more visibility   Air brakes were easy to use after we had some instruction from the RV techs.  In a motorhome it really is set up for “dummies” to use with very little effort.  There were no hills to go up or down so I did not need to use the engine brakes or shift up or down from drive.  We used to shift up and down in the truck anyways so I was prepared.  We arrived in the dark uneventfully.  Our friends were waiting for us and we managed to find them as Ray is walking down the gravel road yelling "Bill??? Bill??" 

 Loving the motorhome.  It is very “house-like” and feels more like my old house in Nanaimo.  Having various sliding out trays in the basement is proving so much easier for Ray as well.  Packing up to move ... I am ready in 10 minutes so no more moving furniture etc.  Just secure the stuff on the counters, pick up a few throw rugs, pull the slides in and voila!

Had a few problems with the solar system that Luxury RV transferred from the trailer.  We ended up going to Discount Solar in Quartzsite to redo everything that was done with new wiring etc.  A long day for us but now we know it is done correctly.  We have to hang around Quartzsite until Friday as the documents for the car are being mailed here so we do not have to drive all the way back to Phoenix to get them so we can import the car to Canada.  Here are some pictures of our past week.

Showing off the new sign that we had made at the Quartzsite RV show!

A couple of days ago it was warm and for once no wind in the afternoon.  We noticed various flying machines!  Here it comes..... 

Everyone wave as he goes by!

He was impressed enough with our communal wave that he gave us a smoke show!

What is that!

So, as you can see, we are trying to take it a lot easier for a few days and then start travelling again.  The plan is to go towards Bouse and camp until Friday and then after we receive our mail we will start heading north. We stopped at Plumosa LTVA which is on the way first.

February 28th - Bouse,  AZ

 We have been staying in a little community called Bouse, about 1/2 hour north of Quartzsite. We stayed 2 nights at their community park with hookups and managed to get some chores done like laundry!  I love my washer and dryer, however sheets smell much better when hung outside.

While there, the town celebrated a community event raising funds for the volunteer fire department.  Very reminiscent of us doing the same thing in Port Clements in the Charlottes.  Lots of kids games, some singing and playing of guitars and violins.  They also had 2 helicopters on site that transfer people in this area when needed to various hospitals in the larger centers.

They had a parade which contained mostly quads or side by sides.  There was even 2 mules puling a wagon which we did not manage to get a picture of.

After 2 days at the community park we drove a couple of miles down the road and met up again with Bill and Elke to boondock for the rest of the week.  We are still waiting for our documents from the Ford dealer so we can take our new car across the border and have to go into Quartzsite and check the general delivery.

Need a hug dad! 

Enjoying the sunshine. 

Our flagpole

Today we are heading down through Quartzsite and continuing on to Yuma.  The plan is to take a day trip down into Mexico at Algondones as I broke my mouth guard and they have the ability to make me a new one in 24 hours.  I have my models so it will make life easier.  I am going to a dentist that Bill and Elke recommend as they have used them for the past four years or so with no complaints.

After a couple of days in Yuma we will start going north and plan to spend some time around Lake Havasu area.