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We decided to leave Q yesterday and head home to Palm Springs. We had to leave on Sunday anyway and with the weather being rainy on Friday and everyone but Chuck being gone, we decided to head out.

We had a great campout thanks to everyone. We met some wonderful new people, as usual, and reconnected with those we had met before. It's what the Quartzsite event is all about. Thank you all.

Before we left we got a call from Steve Hunter, an old friend and full timer. He came over and visited for about an hour with his new boxer Prada. He lost Rocky, his older boxer, last year. It was great to see him. He is always the same, happy and interested.

Then we met a couple of guys that came in later in the day on Friday. John from Cathedral City and Jeffery from Palm Springs. John had been out the previous weekend with the BIG group for the Saturday night pot-luck and thought that everyone would still be here. Big surprise. Bigger disappointment. And we were leaving too! They seemed very nice and we felt for them, but we needed to pack up and go.

Steve was not having a good day. Friday he started with upset stomach and more back pain. Today was worse with fatigue added. So I went to town to get black tank chemicals and then started the rest of the packing up process, folding the chairs and tables and putting them in their respective cases and storing them in the rig. Chuck helped with the screen on the front windows and the awnings and folding up carpets. Steve got up and helped more than he should but said he was feeling better.

Soon we were packed up and on the road. It's hard to leave Chuck out there by himself, but there were still people from the group around so he wasn't isolated in the desert.

We got home without issue. Steve was feeling much better and drove the whole way. The house was still here and still beautiful. We had an easy dinner here at home and slept in front of the TV before retiring. Just like old people. Hah.

I know I'm still in Quartzsite but man is it different now. So many people have left. There are only about 6 of the original group of rigs scattered haplessly around what used to be a circle. We have more of a view, but miss the friends.

Wednesday some folks, like Don Coats and his group left. Brian and Bud who sponsored the rally left. Yesterday sweet Mark, and Joey and his friend left. Rob and Joe left with their friends. Dave and Joe from Manhattan Beach left as did Gary and Mike.

Today Scott left for some fourwheeling in Borrego with friend Neil and a group, and he took John and Derek with him. They will meet up after the ride at the Slabs in Nyland. Perry and Tom left also. Then Dave and Mitch decided to head for Palm Springs today.

That leaves Chuck, us, Ron and Barry, Frank P, Doug, and a couple of guys we don't know. Supposedly the Rainbow RV group are coming in this weekend but last year they separated and wouldn't even acknowledge any of our group. And it's off and on rainy. Just spinkles, but not so nice as it has been. Oh well.

We went over to the dump site today and waited for an hour and a half to dump the tanks. We listened to old radio shows on XM raidio so it wan't too bad. And at least that job is done and our tanks are empty. Hurray.

Some good things have happened too. Yesterday Frank P took Steve and I out Geo Caching. Steve said it was an Easter egg hunt with GPS. And it is sort of like that. There is a club of people that hide small objects or just logs to sign in different places. They are hidden in unusual places. They list them on a website with GPS coordinates and clues and it is for you to find them, sign the log, and return them to their hiding place for others to find later. Sometimes there are "travel bugs" that you are meant to take and hide in another cache. It is a game that is played by people around the world.

Well, I got hooked immediately. It's something that we can do wherever we are, wherever we camp. We can do it at home. In fact there is a cache just three blocks from the park where we live. I can hardly wait to find it. I can hardly wait to make a cache of my own.

Chuck made a dinner last night for Scott, Frank, Steve and I with steak, potatoes and a wonderful salad. We already had two pies for dessert so it was a wonderful evening.

Then we went to the fire, seemingly the last, where Dave brought our a power pack and a record player (yes a record player) with albums from KGB radio in San Diego of homegrown artists and original songs from the 70's and 80's. The albums were sold as a fundraiser in it's day. What a hoot. The whole thing was surreal.

It sent me straight to bed. Another wonderful day. Thanks all. You make it nice.

Here it is Thursday already. I've been lax in writing because I've been so busy doing cool stuff.

First of all, and sooo important, we have a new satellite dish. It is automatic and finds three satellites and locks them in all without us. That is exactly what we needed since in the past year of trying we have only gotten signal with our manual dish when we have paid a professional to come set it up for us. Hurray!!!

The main thing I wanted was signal so I could watch the inauguration of Barack Obama. I am so excited about his presidency, and so happy to get rid of GW Bush. It was exciting, emotional, strong, and truly brought tears. Maybe now we can get America back on track. Lets hope anyway. With Obama we at least have a chance.

After the inauguration we decided to hit Tyson Wells swap meet, which is huge, and bought some parts and pieces and things of interest, like drill bits and tye dyed t shirts. Stuff. It's just fun to roam around, look at what is new this year, how many stalls have the hats with fake hair on them.... Stuff.

There have been pot lucks every night here in camp. The food is so good an plentiful, but not all of it goes together well in the digestive system. Oh well. I love it anyway. And I brought enough for a couple more. I still have lasagne and mini tacos.

I took a 6 mile bike ride with Scott in the morning yesterday. We headed down the unpaved Old Yuma Road, which was fun till cars came by and kicked up dust. It's a lot harder to ride on gravel and dirt though. But I made it.

Then we took off for The Main Event in search of the corian people to have a flip up shelf made for the rig. They didn't come this year. At least not that we could find. Oh well.

Later we headed for Chuck's new favorite restaurant for lunch, The Grubsteak. Well the place was jammed and the waitress said they had all just been seated so we were looking at an hour to order. So we decided to go someplace else. At my suggestion we tried Sweet Darlene's.

My mistake. It was crowded but there were seats for us. What we didn't know is it would take an hour to get the food that we ordered. By that time we were not going anywhere without FOOD. When it came Steve's was mediocre, Chuck's was okay, and I enjoyed mine. At least we had a rest off our feet and talked with some nice snowbird ladies about other restaurants and the history of the town.

After some fuel we decided to look at the RV sales lots around town. We hit La Mesa RV and Holiday RV and Paul Evertts. We saw a few 36' deisel rigs that were attractive and actually getting down to an attractive price. I'm just not ready to have a mortgage in this economic environment. We'll see down the road. We really could use more room and an updated coach, but the one we have is ours and comfortable and we are not unhappy.

Last night we decided to again try the Grubsteak for dinner. Mark decided to go with us and Scott decided to stay home. He was tired from working with his solar controllers and bike rides and I understand an even longer wait at a Mexican restaurant for lunch than we had.

We got seated right away this time but the Grubsteak was out of steak. Interesting. Chuck really wanted Calamari anyway. Guess what?! No Calamari. So Steve and Chuck had cocoanut shrimp and Mark and I had a great burger. We were all happy with our meals and came home happy.

It was a busy few days, with a lot of fun, a lot of food, and a satellite signal in time to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama. I'm happy.

Yesterday was another gorgeous day. We had a lot of fun, spent too much money, had a few drinks and a LOT of good food.

We started the day with a doggie gathering across the circle. We saw everyone with small dogs gathering over at Mitch and Daves so we took the Buster over to see how he would do with a group. We were pleasantly surprised. He was not barky, not too intimidated and was actually friendly with some of the dogs. In the past he would bark and try to intimidate them into leaving him alone. This time he ignored most of them but wasn't disturbed. Quite and improvement.

We then took off for town. We went to the Gambler to see if they had refrigerator door shelves since one of ours has broken. They didn't so I will go online to find one. We then headed towards KB Tools and looked around there a bit, met Scott and John and headed back for camp.

I really wanted to get the satellite thing figured out so Scott took us back to the tent to talk to the automatic roof satellite dish poeple. We decided to stay with Dish Network since we have them in Palm Springs and already for the coach. They told us it would not be a problem finding a signal. Push a button. We'll see. Everyone else said it is not always that easy, but with Direct TV it is the same. Today they are coming to install. We shall see.

Potluck was good again last night. I was surprised at how few campers left yesterday. Usually on Sunday a lot of guys have to go home and back to work. Very few left and more seemed to arrive. Thus we had another great group around the fire.

I got to chat some more with Mark, and Dave and Mitch and John. Derek was there, as well as Bud and Brian, Chase and his friend Tammy. Gus and Bob were there, and of course Scott and Chuck. Many, many more.

We got to bed by 10 and slept until 7 this morning. I guess we sleep well in the dark, quiet desert. But it's a new day with new adventures.

Let's see what mischief lies ahead today.......

We left San Diego after a full days work at 9:00 Friday night and drove through the mountains on highway 8 as far as Seeley, just west of El Centro. We stopped at a rest stop for a few hours sleep. We woke up at 4:00 AM Saturday and took off for Yuma. It was perfect to leave at that time to avoid a blinding sunrise since we were travelling due east. We got to Yuma, stopped at Barneys for gas and coffee, and headed north on the 95 just in time to avoid direct sun.

This is a video of our group taken by John and Derek the night before we arrived. Our spot looks so empty to us. Maybe next year we'll get there even earlier.




We got to Quartzsite at about 8:00 Arizona time. Everyone was surprised to see us so early but we didn't want to miss a thing. The time here is a gift not to waste.

We got set up with some help from Chuck and then Steve and Scott started with the satelite dish. I have to tell you , this thing is the most frustrating thing we have ever dealt with. "Oh it just takes practice and the first few times is hard but then....." Bullshit. We had two other people come to try and get a signal with no luck. We have been told that for travelling DirectTV is the best and easiest. Eveyone here but us has DirectTV. We have Dish Network. They all have signal. We don't.

First I'm buying a roof mount dish, and then getting out of my contract with Dish and going with Direct TV. We'll see what they have at the RV show today.

Last night was the big potluck. The headcount by Brian was 83. It was a good crowd. A lot of people showed up this year. (Some of the important ones, ahem, Randy and Wayne, Kathleen and Jeannie, didn't bring Dakota to visit Uncle Tedd.) But many new faces were here which is great. Bud and Brian are here as is Ray Q, the boys with the gorgeous boxers, Dave and Mitch, John and Derek, and friend of theirs from Palm Springs Mark, who is delightful. Also here is Carl and Ron and Barry, Chase in a 5th wheel, Tall Tom with his two great Corgies. Too many to remember all the names. I think there at least four Chucks here. Over 40 rigs by last count.

The food, of course was everyone's best and delicious. The liquor and beer flowed like Iguasu Falls, and everyone had a great time catching up and sharing the years experiences both good, and bad. The fire was special with Brian building it as usual. He does such a great job every year. But this year John of John and Derek got some copper pipe, filled it with rolled garden hose, cut it in 12 inch sections and placed it deep in the fire. The results were wonderful colors in the flames. What a treat, especially after a few cocktails.

Steve and I retired about 9:30 after a hugely long day. I slept well til morning. Steve is still asleep. The rig is now warm enough to wake him. I think I will.

I can't believe that another week has slipped through my life. I'm sure I had fun, or I would remember. We always remember when we didn't have fun.

We are excited about the impending trip to Quartzsite. We leave on Friday after work and will go as far as the rest stop in El Centro. We'll sleep there for a few hours before heading on to Yuma and up the 95. We are busy packing the rig and getting all of the food in that we will need for at least the first few days.

Reorganizing the storage is a big deal as travelling in the coach is different than living in the coach. And for this trip we need different clothes, more food on board, more booze on board... One thing we found out is that they don't sell Skye vodka or anything better in Quartzsite. We will now be prepared to entertain when we arrive.

Our neighbor Ken will watch over our site here and is taking care of the plants. Steve's prize orchid collection will be in good hands and moved over to Ken's shady area. Thank's Ken. Everything else will be gathered together and covered with a tarp to protect it and make it look a bit tidier.

It's a lot of work to get ready but it is so much fun to see our friends in Q that it's all worth it.

It's been a quiet weekend, but one filled with stuff to do.

First of all was getting rid of Christmas. We had to take down the trees, and I put ornaments back in their original boxes, bags or in whatever they came to us. This is no small task, but most of the original boxes are marked. This year something happened. I must have donated an entire carton of our ornament boxes when we donated old and unwanted ornaments to Revivals (an AIDS related charity). Oh well. I figured out another way to store them.

The house is back to the Palm Springs look. Steve and I are coming closer together with our ideas of what wall treatments to do in both the media room and the living room where the walls are now siding. I really don't like the use of exterior siding on the key walls in those rooms, but to find something that keeps the linear feeling, keep it in mid-century and that we can afford, let alone agree on, is a major challenge. We're seemingly getting there though. It just takes some time.

We were supposed to be able to stay til Tuesday, since I have now changed my work schedule. I used to work on Tuesday, Thursday Friday and Saturday. Now I will work Wednesday through Saturday with Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off. We will now have Saturday night, Sunday, and Monday here in the desert, leaving to go home on Tuesday morning. Just like a vacation every week. Except this week.

We are leaving for Quartzsite, AZ on the evening of the 16th for a 10 day campout with Gay RV groups Travelling Our Way (TOW) and Rainbow RV. We will be camping in the Bureau Of Land Management (BLM) long term camping area. It's basically out in the middle of the desert. We form a circle with a campfire in the center. There have been as many as 80 rigs for the first weekend. Last year only around 60 rigs were there.

To get ready for the trip the RV has got to go in for some service. Steve discovered that the left front leveling jack is leaking hydraulic fluid. I'm sure that will mean replacing it. Maybe with a rebuilt like we did with the other side a few years ago. Maybe new. Whatever will get the job done fast and done well.

At the same time I want them to check and see why the new water heater keeps shutting down. The light in the coach that indicates it is not functioning comes on intermittantly. We had the water heater replaced last year just before Quartzsite so it should be functioning.

After those items getting fixed it's just meal planning and packing the right clothes. I can hardly wait to get there and get setup and see our friends. It's alway a great group and a wonderful time sharing with people we see only there once a year.

It's also where we met some of our good friends, like Scott, Mitch and Dave, Ray Q and so many more. Unfortunately some of our core group won't be there this year. Randy and Wayne and Dakota from Canada, and Kathleen and Jeannie decided to do the east coast and Florida this year. Man will we miss them. They are some of the best folks we have met at the Q gathering. Maybe next year.

We will see so many great people and perhaps meet some new ones this year. The event always seem to touch our lives in positive ways with new people and new experiences.

Well, I guess I had better enjoy the last few hours here today so we can get home and prepare the rig to travel to County RV tomorrow.

The sun is out and so are we!! Hurray!

We stayed at home, shopped a little and generally reflected on last year and looked to the hope the new year can bring.

We wish health and prosperity and peace in the world as usual, but also have hope for the incoming President Obama and for the overturning of Proposition 8 here in California.

May we all have a wonderful 2009!