Since she woke me up in the middle of the night, made me get up, and ride over a bunch of mountains in the dark, we did sleep in until almost 9am! I think it’s the first time she let me sleep in during the entire trip! She was grumbling a lot about rodents. I think they are kind of fun to chase, so I don’t get the big deal.
After she fed me breakfast, made coffee, ate, cancelled some camping reservations and took me for the potty walk, we drove a long way (193 miles)! She does not like driving Clarice in big cities (Phoenix) and wanted to get away from rodents, so we headed west to leave them both behind. I sat by the passenger seat and looked out the only window I can see out of when we are driving. Did I mention she fastens me to the passenger seatbelt with a dog seatbelt? I can only lay down between the seats or sit up and look out the passenger window. The ride was boring, so I finally laid down and chewed my bone. Eventually, I napped for a while. When I woke up, we were in Quartzsite!
Quartzsite
According to Mom, there is Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land all over the area. They have huge short term visitor areas that offer water and a dump station as part of their use; and there are locations you can camp for free. People actually buy a season pass for $180 that is good from October 15 to April 15. I can’t imagine! It’s not really paradise unless you LOVE the desert. I personally find the stones and thorns pretty annoying! Plus, she keeps me on leash to keep me from finding any snakes or coyotes without her guidance! She bought the 14 day pass for $40. I guess we are stuck here.
The view is not bad and we are pretty far from our neighbors, so that’s nice. I also get a 2 mile potty walk twice a day, so that’s pretty good from my perspective. Mom likes the 4 bars of 5G.
Discovering Softspots
When we first arrived, Mom backed into the spot and managed to find the only soft spot in the entire area with the right rear wheel! We were softly stopped as we slowly backed up…by the roots of some dead plant.
After pulling forward and getting out to check for any damage, she found the mudflap sticking straight up out of the soft spot! Oh boy! Fortunately, we recovered all the parts but the mudflap was damaged.
The mudflap sat in my riding spot for a long time (7 days?) as Mom tried to get it fixed. We went to the RV place in town, they did not have time to look at it. Then we went to the tire place. They wanted to put a new hole in the RV to add a new screw hole. “OK”, Mom says, “that’s an idea, but I’d rather buy a new one. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Fixing a Mudflap
Mom spends a lot of time on the computer, and since we had 5G she scoured the internet looking for possible solutions. She felt that it should be able to be fixed since it was such a minor thing. Back in her CPA days they had little plastic circles for fixing torn holes on workpapers. That’s really all it needed she told me. She even went so far to post a question on the Travato Owners and Want-to-be’s facebook page looking for a solution. Finally, she drove to Blythe to get groceries and stopped at the ACE hardware to buy Gorilla Glue which she had found on the facebook group. She glued the hole together and then let it sit for 24 hours as recommended.
The next challenge was getting the screw back in, because it is inset. The adjustable wrench would not fit between the tire and mudflap on a straight line and since it was inset it would not attach to the screw on a 180 degree angle. So she used her backpacking Leatherman multi-tool and managed to get it all put together after several tries. There is another piece that also screws onto the frame as a clamp and she had to figure out how that went together. She did not pay close enough attention when she took it apart. Finally, she went to the “neighbor” and borrowed a small socket wrench to verify she had tightened the screw enough, and the mudflap appears to be fixed! Yay!
Mom is not good about asking for help, so this was a big step for her to go to the neighbors. I was very proud of her!
More about Quartzsite
If you are a rock hound, this is your place! Mom had to resist picking up stones as Clarice just does not have room to carry a bunch of rocks!
I wish I could have seen the camels and met Hi Jolly! I’m pretty sure they would have liked me.
Changing Plans and Planning!
Mom cancelled our Grand Canyon, Banff and Jasper reservations, and decided to change the route to Alaska. With all that good 5G she spent a lot of our 14 days planning. After two major wind storms, she told me she was sick of the desert. Utah would just be more desert, so we are skipping it. She was sad about Banff and Jasper but says we may hit it on our way home.
Yay, we are heading to the seashore and will head up the west coast! A friend is also going to join us for a couple of weeks. I’m excited! Someone else to give me treats! This is what the route looks like now! It starts when we left Big Bend.
A Beautiful Desert Thing
One beautiful thing about the desert are the sunsets. Here is one we had in Quartzsite. I will miss those. Mom says it’s probably because of all the dust in the air! She was kidding, I think?
Well that’s my post. I hope you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the update, Dottie. So great to get your perspective. Utah is one of our very favorite states – especially Bruce and Zion National parks, though Zion has gotten too crowded. Enjoy the coast!
Dottie, your 4 pawed perspective has been delightful to read. Do your best to keep Karen inline, the best you are able. :<)
You know me so well, Joyce! Dottie says thanks for the support. She is doing her best, but it’s a hard job!
Dottie – Great job on the post! 🙂 Love the sunset picture! Tell your mom I said hi!
Thanks, Sue! I told Mom, hi. She says she misses you!
Loved your post Dottie! Good job helping your mom with the planning and the mudflap! Can’t wait to hear about Alaska!
Thanks, Ellen! The mudflap was pretty much all Mom…but I offered support by laying right by her.