Ouch that hurts!

 It's hard to believe but it has been 2 months since our last post.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then....   a lot.

So let's bring you up to date.

We departed Quartzsite on Feb 8.

Ron, Maxine, Rob, & Pat all headed to Catalina State Park near Tucson,

and we headed back south to Senator Wash BLM Land north of Yuma.

Our plan was to get back together with R&P in 2 weeks at Organ Pipe Cactus NP, and then

all of us get back together a week after that up at Lake Roosevelt.

After 17 days of boondocking, our first stop at Senator Wash was the water fill and dump stations.

Potable water station at Senator Wash

We scouted around looking for a good spot to park.   This time of year it can be

challenging to find a decent spot but we arrived early and while not the best, we found

a large spot that took advantage of the prevailing winds to keep the dust down.

Our spot at Senator Wash

We spent 2 weeks here going to hikes and pursuing other projects

Picasso at work

Mid point of our stay, a cold front came thru with high winds and dust storms.

The next morning however dawned clear and cool with a setting moon.

A couple of days prior to departure my left knee started to bother me.

I had been feeling something for a while but nothing major.

All of a sudden it was becoming harder to hike so I took a few days to rest it.

Departure day - we headed south east thru Dome Valley enroute to I-8 east of Yuma.

We've never taken this route and it was a nice and quiet green ride thru the farm fields.

Dome Valley - NE of Yuma

Upon arrival at Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, I could hardly stand on my left knee.

Something was definitely wrong.

I'd had my right knee replaced in July so that I would have plenty of time prior to our

departure for England to get it back into shape.

All of a sudden, this wrench in the works, only 2 months before departure was starting to

get me worried.   I ordered a cane from Amazon and received that a day later, but even with

that, moving about was extremely difficult.

Twin Peaks CG site # 83 at Organ Pipe

We had planned on a week at OP but after some frantic calls to doctors in Tucson,

I secured an appointment in a few days so we had to pack up early and hit the road.

Looking East from Campground road

Long story short...

A couple of doctor visits, an MRI, and just a week ago a quick Arthroscopy on my left knee

and Voila...   my knee is feeling great!   Not 100% mind you, but I'm able to get around without

any assistance and almost pain free.

So now the next few weeks will be filled with 3x per week visits to Therapy, lots of home 

therapy, and steady progress.

Barring another shoe dropping, we are back on track and scheduled to hit the road on

April 25 and meeting up with the Queen Mary2 on May 15.

Some progress on Victory while home.

It should be an interesting trip.   I have a lot of great stuff planned including

renting a Motorhome in Scotland for 10 days.

Gracie, due to her age and poor hips however will not be able to do much walking around.

We dont want to leave the dogs alone in rental homes, so against all of my objections,

I've broken down and gotten a doggie stroller so that we'll be able to head out and bring her along.

My traveling freak show!

Oh the Humanity!

Fingers crossed - our next report will be from the road headed to NYC

Quartzsite - The times they are a changin...

When we last checked in, about 3 weeks ago, we were still in Senator Wash, 20 miles north of Yuma.

Since then we have moved 80 miles up the road for the annual flocking of the snowbirds in Quartzsite.

We arrived here about 2 weeks ago and will be leaving Tuesday. 

Our group of 4 busses will be scattering about for a while but most of us re joining

a little further down the road.

Kate and I will most likely head back down the road to Senator Wash for a couple of weeks

before we meet up with Rob & Pat at Organ Pipe Cactus National Park on Feb 22nd

Now for Quartzsite....

I won't go into too many details as to why we are here, and what goes on, as we've been coming here

every year since 2013 with the exception of 2021 which had us remaining away due

to Pandemic Inturuptus.

If you haven't head about "Q" you can simply go back to January in any year on the left  (except 2021)

and learn all about what goes on here.

It seems as if the chain has been broken.

Many of the old Montana folks no longer come here and  now a new breed of modern 

nomad seems to have taken hold.

I'm not certain if this is a result of the times, a natural spin off from the movie Nomadland, or

most likely a combination of those and perhaps other factors.

One of the requirements to camp on BLM land is that your unit be self-contained with a permanent

holding tank capable of a minimum 10 gallons capacity.

Yet this year the area is filled with people - young and old - living in cars, tents, and mini-vans.

Across from us is a group - one of the people there told us they were affiliated with some

youtube group called MiniVan Lee.

Upon our arrival, one of the group had staked off vast swaths of the desert with yellow caution tape.

It seems as if these new people think that they have the right to arrive and claim the land

sort of like a modern day Columbus.

We ignored the tape and when one of them came over to protest I explained that we've been coming

here for about 10 years and how things work on BLM Land.

I don't think he was happy but he went away.

Meanwhile, where friends Jim & Kristi parked, some nutcase in a van came over yelling

that they were "spoiling his view and would have to move"

When they refused to move he started waving a machette and threatening them.

They called the sheriff which caused him to jump in his van and speed away.

We see them dumping buckets in the washes and can only suspect what they are dumping.

One person even left their tent and a bunch of junk - I guess she felt it was someone elses job

to clean up after her.

I was raised camping with my dad and he instilled values such as "leave the campsite

better than you found it" and "leave some firewood for the next camper"

All of these decent traditions seem to have been replaced by personal rights and "freedoms"

The freedom to be a jerk or a slob.

The "Homeless Camp" across from us during a day of high winds and dust storms.

Many of the tents and garbage blew away

This "genius" tried to drive his van thru a wash and became "high centered" so he spent

several hours trying to dig himself out.   He wound up spending a night stuck there.

Not to mention the destruction of sensitive vegetation that he caused

and is relied upon by wildlife when we are gone.

Here you can see the pile of garbage left by one of the "Van People"

3 vans are in the photo and more across to the right.

In the recent past there were none.

Each morning they emerge with tubs of unknown "fluids" that get dumped into the wash.

A few washes down is another larger encampment.

It looks more like a Woodstock (Quartzstock) group.

Dreadlocks & beat up vehicles everywhere.

 Grateful Dead Music and the smell of pot fill the air.

What was once an annual gathering of retired folks has turned into less of that and more of 

what appears to be a giant homeless camp, teleworker hangout, and refuge for

those who just don't want to work and don't give a damn about taking care of the land for

people who will follow.

In 10 years I never saw garbage here.  This morning passing the "Grateful Dead Camp", I spotted

glass bottles discarded in the wash next to them.

The times they are a changin....

I'm really going to reconsider coming here in the future.

Budget cutbacks mean no rangers to patrol and enforce the rules anymore and a new

crowd with no respect for the land or others seems to be taking over.

I now call it Quartzstock.

Well that is enough of my Quartzstock rant.

On the positive side - we finally got to see friends that we have not been able to see for

a couple of years.   We also made some new friends and had a great time.

R&P followed us up from Senator Wash and we parked in our usual place outside of the

smaller but still decently sized Montana Circle.

We arrived on Saturday - the start of the big RV show - so more people were already here.

Usually we arrive a week or so prior to the show start.

The Montana Circle 2022

At first it was just the two of us.

But within a few days there were 4.

Other friends, Stan & Marilyn, were parked nearby and came over for happy hour.

We were also joined by a few couples that Stan and Marylyn knew.

When the winds picked up we moved to the downwind side of my bus.

The Big RV show ended a week ago now and most of the retiree types have cleared out.

The circle is gone but the Nomadlanders, (and us) remain.

The Montana Circle is now gone

Our visit here was a success in that my goal was to see if I could get a decent deal

on a new Blue Ox towbar.

Mine was just bumping up against its "useful life"

It was still in good condition but getting worn.

My friend Stan - who loves to make a deal - wound up talking to Blue Ox and then

a neighbor of his who needed a new tow bar but did not have the $$'s for a new one.

Stan brokered a discount with Blue Ox for me and then I sold my tow bar to his neighbor.

All in all I saved almost $100

His neighbor, who pulls a small 1,800 lb vehicle, got a 10,000 lb towbar for peanuts

and everyone was happy,

Stan is the man!

We are here for tonight and tomorrow nights.

On Tuesday Ron, Maxine, R&P head to Catalina SP in Tucson.

Bobbi & Kevin will as well, then continue onward to the east coast.

We'll head to Senator Wash and perhaps visit with some friends who are warming up

in Yuma at one of the dozens of RV parks down there.

Only 98 days till we board the Queen Mary2 in Brooklyn for 5 months in

England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

There is a lot of traveling coming up so thanks for riding along.