Dec 23

We headed to Parker today to see if we could find some oysters and fruitcake. On the way there I spotted 13 hawks on the wires looking for food. We got to Parker and went to Bashas, whom Ron called last night to confirm they would have these items. Much to our surprise we found both items. We had scouted around Quartzsite and Blythe and no one carried either item. We picked up a few things for Terry also. He's going to be doing some baking in the near future.

We also stopped at Dollar General to pick up toilet paper and paper towels. We took the road south of Parker towards Ehrenburg on the way home. I got some photos taken along the way back. These cranes were out in a field. There were only about 8 of them. These birds winter in Mexico so they just stopped to refuel!

As we were driving along, we spotted some cotton fields. They were being harvested. Tons and tons of cotton. 1st picture is a closeup of the cotton plant. 2nd picture is the harvest and 3rd picture is the BIG bales of cotton.

You can see several bales in the background.

We noticed that the crops are still being flood irrigated today. Where we come from in Wyoming, the crops would be under a bunch of snow by now. It was a good day, getting the items we needed, seeing some crop producing ground and just enjoying the drive.

I have to thank Ron for making the phone call last night to check on the oysters. Hope Terry and Ron enjoy their oysters we brought back for them.

Dec 21

Bob went to wax carving class today. He's still working on the ring he started on.


While he was there, I had to get water for the trailer. Then I made some stuffing for the rock club dinner at noon today. I managed to get it all done and be in town by 10am. I checked the mail, hoping my package from Thompson Enamel was here. I ordered some glass to make my beads and later called them and found out I had it shipped to Quiet Times. But now I won't be getting it till Monday, since they are closed Thur - Sun. Darn!!!


The dinner was wonderful put on by the rock club. We all ate too much and won't be eating dinner tonight.


I took this picture this morning before the sun came up. Looks like the jets beat the sun up this morning.












The B-10 road was closed today on the west end. Hopefully they will be getting thru with the construction soon.












The sunset tonight looked like the sky was on fire. The picture didn't turn out as good as it looked tho.

Dec 19

Bob found this nugget this afternoon. It is the biggest nugget physical size and was down in the ground about 3-4" . It weighs 11.0 grains.


He was excited when he found it and can't wait to get back out there.

We saw a roadrunner outside our door while we were having lunch. Of course the camera was in the truck. Bob went outside anyway, got the camera and managed to snap a pretty good picture. The roadrunner wasn't too scared of him.

The sunrise was really beautiful today...














I spent the day making iris folding cards. Then onto the "hobby room" and I made a few beads.

Bob came home this afternoon after prospecting and pulled a very TALL box out of the truck. It is probably 5' tall...He said Santa dropped it off...NOW I can't wait for Christmas. I'm like a little kid at Christmas...


I talked to my sister the other day and she said when I was little I would open the packages early to see what I got and tape them back up. I don't remember that...

Carley, our Cocker Spaniel, even has a few presents this year. The thing I miss most about living in a 5er is not being able to put up a large tree. But we have some decorations around and it looks good.

Dec 18

We worked at the LTVA again today and it was pretty uneventful. We only had 4 registrations. Few and far between....
One person came in and filed a complaint. We took it and informed the ranger and he will deal with it. That's all we can do about complaints, take them and report them to the appropriate personnel. We don't make judgements, we just state facts of what has happened.
Ron stopped by and I tried to pilot his helicopter. I'm not an experienced pilot yet and it just kept crashing. It was a good laugh tho.
Larry, camp host, brought me over a piece of homemade bread right out of the oven. Boy was that ever good. Got to get his recipe for that!
Not much else happening today, so this is going to be the short post today.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dec 17

We started today by working at the check in station at the BLM La Posa North. It is located about 1 mile south of Quartzsite. I worked here last winter with Jim Cannody. He is in Alaska right now and Bob is working with me. We checked in 4 short term (2 - 4 week) permits and one long term that ends on Apr. 15th. Bob and Sandy starting the day and 2nd picture is Ron and Bob talking outside the check-in station.

I had a special badge made up for my vest that says "Don't yell at me. I'm just a Volunteer."

We had a lady come in and said she was attached by a dog that lived near by in a camper with its' owner. The dog had been running loose and it came up and got her on the arm. She was lucky to be wearing a long sleeved sweatshirt. We contacted the camp host, Larry Seal and he proceeded to contact the BLM ranger on duty. The ranger arrived and waited till the Quartzsite K-9 police unit arrived.

The ranger and policewoman talked to the victim and then talked to the suspect. He was issued a citation for having his dog off the leash and leaving it unattended for long periods. He was given a warning about collecting native wood on the BLM land and about not cleaning up his dog feces. If he doesn't comply he will get evicted.

We were wondering if we would have to send Ron's Life Flight helicopter over if things got out of hand. Luckily we didn't have to call for backup.

I just looked outside after Bob came home from Ron's and Terry's and 3 police cruisers went flying by with lights going. Somethings going on back in the desert.

Bob was over at Ron's and said that Ron has mastered his remote control helicopter very well. He has it lifting off the ground, cruising around and landing to perfection. Now Bob wants a small helicopter. Guess I'll have to get him one for Christmas. Bob got his large helicopter charged and hopes to be able to try to fly it soon.

This is BOB getting some of the sand and dirt off of the shale. It looked like a real promising spot for gold to collect. So he went out and swept out some crevices. He brought it home and put it thru the spiral pan and didn't find any gold.

Bob got some packages mailed off to the families in Laramie this morning. He had to wait in line for 45 minutes but hopefully they will get there by Christmas.

Dec 15

We started the day off by going to the rock club's monthly pancake breakfast. It was good as usual. They served pancakes, sausage links, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee. Quite a few people showed up. Some of the members set up their wares on the tailgates of their vehicles and sold them to other members. Great way to do some close Christmas shopping.

Bob and I bought a model remote control helicopter today. It is supposed to fly! More on this later. Maybe we can put a camera on it and fly with the reindeer??

Bob changed the oil in the Honda 2000 generator this afternoon. The Honda's a gem and well worth taking good care of. He also checked the air filter and it was ok.

We filled the tanks with water and dumped the black and grey water. With the bigger dump tank we changed to, dumping is a lot easier.

This evening Bob was remounting the DETacc amp that sticks to the side of the Minelab metal detector with velcro. He also cleaned some of the desert dust off, not that the cleaning will last long.

These nuggets are the take so far this winter taken with the Minelab GP 3000 metal detector. Not enough to buy a tank full of diesel but fun never the less. Just think, when you dig one out of the ground, it's the first time it's been seen by man ! ! Cool Stuff! ! !












Is this the Rhinestone Cowboy?

















Here's a better picture of our Christmas lights. You can kind of see the American flag and Wyoming flag in the background.

Dec 14

Windy again today and COLD! It didn't get over 58 where we were with the wind blowing it was a lot colder. I had on a sweatshirt and coat to stay warm in the wind.

We visited some vendors this morning. Checked the mail, went to the library to check out some more books. I picked up 2 books by Jonathan Kellerman (good author) because I'm finishing one now and need a couple more to read next week.

Bob and I will be starting to volunteer at the check in station on Mon and Tues. We were asked by the camp hosts the other day and decided to go ahead and work. We worked there last year and had fun doing it. These days are our slow days so it should work out good.

I spent the afternoon at the rock club. I shaped some arrowheads that I can finish at home. That will only take a short time, but I enjoy it. Pictures to follow when I finish them.

When we were out I got some pics of some Christmas decorations.

I was wondering if this is the Quartzsite airport? We found the hanger but see no runway...Planes are there but no pilots...Makes me wonder????

Bob got our headlight fixed on the truck. It was dim when we turned on the headlights and come to find out, when we had a mouse chew through our wiring harness last year, when it was fixed the mechanic fixed it, it wasn't spliced good. But now it is fixed and we have headlights again. Bob also picked up some diesel injector cleaner for the truck. He said it will help with the gas mileage. Right now we are getting about 17 MPG. At 3.22/gallon it will be great if it helps. We had to get some gas for the generator tonight. With the cold weather, we are staying inside more and using the generator more. The heater has been turned on in the evening and first thing in the morning, so we have to keep the propane topped off also.