Typical Quartzsite 2012

Spent the day in Quartzsite having the dogs groomed (20 bucks each!) and getting a couple more tie-dyed tee shirts...even Donna broke down and bought one.

Anton Hagely's general store. Old adobe built in 1893 that had a hotel attached to it at one time.

           Interesting story of this grand tomb stone. Hi Jolly, real name was Hadji Ali, came from Syria in 1856 to be a camel master that took care of the animals during a government experiment for an animal that was seemingly adapted to the desert. The government ended the program and let about 40 or 50 camels roam the desert for years. Hi Jolly died in 1902 and was so famous that the town built this tomb and even added the ashes of some of his beloved camels to a time capsule in the tomb.

That's right...a naked business man. Paul Winer was a very good musician years ago who gave it up and decided to  open a bookstore called "Reader's Oasis", but hates wearing clothes. Paul, who is in his late sixes, recently started working as a musician again and has a band here that plays "boogie woogie" music. The town at one time tried to clothed Paul but the ACLU got involved and the town figured he was good for business after all. This is what Quartzsite is all about!

Motorhome upkeep

While at Quartzsite for the month we decided to have some solar capability added to the motorhome at the rate of about 400 amps per hour. At the same time we decided to address the slide covers. Both were torn and the one that opened the large slide keep jamming which necessitated me getting on a ladder to put the slide out and then again to bring it in.

The old awnings with exposed gears (plastic) were chewed up and some gear sprockets

had broken.

Ron is hooking us up with new 'incased" awnings...all by himself.

Looking good but more important...functioning like it should. Quite a budget buster for a couple months but was expected and accounted for.

Raptors

   We have a new hobby (well actually it is a hobby we have always had but now more time to enjoy it) of watching, learning habits and identifying birds of prey. Eagles, Osprey's, Kites, Hawks, Falcons, Owls and even lowly buzzards. Of course the Red-Tailed Hawk is the easiest for us so far but we are reading about some of the other hawks and falcons for identifying purposes. What I need is a better camera because favorite resting places for the hawks are telephone poles, but they fly off immediately when we park and open the car door.

Red Tail having a bad "feather day".

Yuma

First time I have seen a Gatling Gun up close.

Some adobe bricks out to dry.

Train going east on the "Ocean to Ocean" bridge in Yuma.

Not a fence I want to be on the wrong side of...

Yuma 2012

Spent the day in Yuma going to the Territorial Prison and a few other spots.

Imperial Dam

The Imperial Dam was completed in 1938 for desilting and diverting the water into three aqueducts, The All-America Canal, The Gila River and the Yuma Project. The large gates divert the water to huge settling ponds that then send the water (other than the All-American Canal) "under" the Colorado River to points east.

Two of the gates were open when we walked across the dam.

Water from gates is going to the settling ponds upper right hand of photo.

I took the photo below from Wikipedia to show how extensive the complex is.

Yuma Proving Grounds

Drove through, or at least close to the Yuma Proving Grounds where they develop and test the latest in cannon, tank or aircraft armament.

                                                                        Talk about a rocket...ha ha
Little John is the smallest rocket that can carry a nuclear weapon.

I remember very well following these tanks, maybe this one in particular, on foot in Vietnam

(M60)

Big Brother

I have seen this along the Arizona border and never looked into until now. It is called a Tethered Aerostat Radar System.                          
      The aerostats are large fabric envelopes filled with helium, and can rise up to an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m) while tethered by a single cable. (straight from Wikipedia) They can carry up to 1000 kg of downward facing radar looking for people or groups coming north across the border.

Went back to the area today on the way home from Yuma and found the support center for each one of the aerostat inflatables. It was down an unmarked road about a mile with only a sign to warn people off...which of course we ignored,at least to within 200 yards to the gate. You have a shop, huge radar array and if you look at the right hand side of the photo you will see a guide wire that the aerostat is attached to while hovering up to 15,000 feet above.

Castle Dome

Castle Dome is a wonderfully preserved mining town 9 miles off Hwy 95 about 40 miles north of Yuma.

Driving to Castle Dome.

There was quite a bit of silver that was mined out of the Castle Dome area.

                                             The blacksmith shop...Just for my brother Joe.

                                  Got to watch out for any gunslinger that has been drinking.

Castle Dome cemetery.
                                                                          

                                                              

Desert wildlife

I stopped for a minute to take a picture and heard a scary noise in the brush but could not see anything. Then as I looked harder out came this jackass that I found very unlike the one's that hang around Oatman or Red Rock. This guy was almost as big as a horse and ran like one too. Very fit wild animal.

Chuckawalla Valley Prison complex

On the road to "rock hounding" we came across the Chuckawalla Prison complex which besides being one of the most remote in California, housed two Prisons, Chuckawalla and Ironwood Prisons. Talked to a very nice gate guard who explain no picture taking while... he was looking, wink, wink.

If you did escape there is nothing for miles...

Rock hounding

When out on a 11 mile dirt road to Hauser's geode Bed.

You'd think our road led us to the moon as stark as this landscape is.

We were looking for geodes but found only rocks, lots of rocks.....

Blythe Army Air Field

Although it was built in 1942 for the Army, the Army never occupied the base. The Air Force took over immediately and made it a training ground for bombers. B-17's and B-24's were a common bomber flying around Blythe back in the day. It's was turned over to the city after the war for a local airport.

Not sure what the array is on the tower but assume is was radio communications.

This huge hanger is showing its age.

There was a gate in front of the steel staircase leading to the roof but it wasn't locked so I could see over most of the airfield. Silly Benji followed me up and scared the crap out of me because had he falling down the steps it would of been a hefty vet bill.

Why I didn't know we were staying in a "ghost town" for a month?:-)

Another beautiful evening in Ehrenberg, Az.

Ehrenberg-Parker Hwy

I guess it depends on if you are "coming or going"...as to whether you are at the beginning
 of your journey or at the end of it?

The cotton fields of Ehrenberg.

Donna and I noticed a cotton harvester rolling down the small county road we were on, so of course we followed. Nearer to the fields were no trespassing signs but one of the farm managers told us to come on thru and take all the photos we'd like. He also fielded (get it, fielded..ha ha) some questions for us.

This harvester makes only one run down the row before it's full.

The packer in the previous photo packs the cotton into these huge bales...up to 25,000lbs each

All that from this little flower.
                                     

  Below is an addition to the cycle of cotton farming. After the cotton is pulled, then a brush tractor tries to pick all the cotton that the stripper misses. This tractor and apparatus chops the cotton plant down to about 2 inches before it is tilled into the ground. The state requires the roots to be plowed up by January 31^st otherwise it promotes a fungus that can get into the soil.

After all is said and done the fields look like this and will be replanted with cotton starting in March.

Ehrenberg, Az a hot town

Can you imagine in a town of maybe 1000 there would be a hangout for Donna?

I guess we have to stay another month!:-)

Ehrenberg Pioneer Cemetery

First day of exploring the area. Right out of the box (across the street from rv park) is a Pioneer Cemetery. Donna and I both like going thru old cemeteries (out of curiosity but at the same time don't want to see any newer one any time soon).

Most of the mounds were from the 1870's and "unknown" but the last burial was 1988!

Ehrenberg, Az

Left Moabi on Jan. 1st and arrived same day at Rivers Breeze on the Colorado River for the month near Blythe, Ca

Very large spots for an rv park.