From 2 channels to 200

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Cool weather! Brrrr!

The temps have been rather cool here in the desert at Quartzsite. It has gotten into the low 20’s at night and only up into the 40’s during the day. On a few days it has even been windy making it seem even colder. But fear not, it is slowly getting warmer and should be in the mid 50’s tomorrow and 69 by the time the RV show starts on the 19th.

Going from air to satellite TV…

I took the big plunge and entered the world of satellite TV. Previously I only had a batwing TV antenna and relied on those channels I could get through the air. But when I could only get 2 channels I decided to check out the cost of adding satellite. Then Jim came over and told me about a setup that a local satellite dealer was offering using the Dish Network. He drove me back there and I wound up buying it.

Now for the fun part. Installing all the equipment and hooking up to the appropriate satellites. The installation was fairly easy. The dish would sit on the top of my ladder still giving me access to the roof when I needed it.

Now for the fun part. Getting it to acquire the satellite signals. I called Dish and set up my account with them, then after making several calls and speaking with their tech support I still could not pick up one of the satellites which I needed. They put me through to Tailgater tech support (who makes the dish) since they could not find anything wrong with my setup. Tailgater said their dish was working properly as it had completed all the tests successfully.

Now it is back to the dealer with the receiver to see if it was faulty. He put it on his bench and found that one of the settings was incorrect and once he corrected it I got a picture. Now it was back to the rig and now the system is working properly. I set it up to see the Los Angeles stations as I am more familiar with them.

I got lots of help during this whole process from all my friends who would come over. This is Cookie, John, and Linda. THANKS EVERYONE for all the help and support throughout this entire process.

Going to be working at the Angels Spring Training

I got word that my background check passed and I will be working for Aramark for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Spring Training games. I am really excited. I made reservations with a campground only 6 miles from the stadium in Mesa to stay there for 2 months. I am not sure what I will be doing but my friends Phil and Sindy will also be working there as well. I worked with them at Amazon and they told me about this job. The job only entails working for 5-6 hours during the 18 games that are played in Mesa. I will not make a lot of money but just the experience of working around and seeing the Angels is a great opportunity for me as I have been a fan of them way back when they moved to Anaheim.

Gathering around the fire….

Everyday we gather around the fire and chat about our day while enjoying appetizers and beverage. It is a great time that we all enjoy. It also gives us an opportunity to meet the new people that come in during the day.

Sunset alert…

I received a “Sunset Alert” from Roger on my cell phone. I was inside my rig with the shades down so didn’t even notice. I grabbed my camera and took this beautiful shot of the sunset.

What a great finish to a wonderful day!

Basking in the sun in Quartzsite

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Before I left Bullhead City, I helped Willie a little with his bike and he helped me a LOT with my side step on the driver’s side. Here is a pic of his bike.

This is a great pic of Blaze, Willie’s Gordon Setter. Blaze is a great dog and very affectionate.

I arrived in Quartzsite late Monday afternoon and found my friends just off 532 in the La Posa West camping area. Prior to arriving I made sure my propane tank was filled as well as my fresh water tank. Then I dumped my grey and black tanks and headed to the site known as Roger’s 1/2 Acre.

I spent Tuesday working at getting things organized and catching up with all that my friends and I have been doing since I last saw them last year at this time. There were five rigs including myself on Tuesday morning but it has now jumped up to seven rigs already. It is sure fun seeing everyone again. This is a pic of all of us getting caught up with each other.

That evening we all got together and John and Linda supplied the pulled pork and buns and everyone chipped in a dish or two. It was a great meal.

Here is a small pic of my rig in one of my favorite places.

Wednesday a few of us walked into town to check out the flea markets.

On the way we passed the spot where they will put up the big tent for the RV show. They were just starting to lay it out and get it ready.

Not too much going on in town yet. Frank drove me around to pick up the Quartzsite White Sheet to check out ads for cars for sale, but no luck so far.

Then we all got together again for dinner and Roger cooked his famous Tri-tip and everyone added a dish and all was well. Here we are gathered just before dinner.

Even Buddy wanted to get a piece of the action.

It was a great day. We were joined by Jim and Terry from Beaumont, CA. We even were treated to a beautiful sunset.

Stay tuned for more Quartzsite adventures.

2nd Year on the Road

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Jim Melvin

On July 12, 2012 I just completed my second year of fulltime RVing. I can’t believe I have been on the road so long. So once again, as I did last year, I will summarized this fantastic year with some of the highlights.

Remember you can click on any pic then click again to enlarge.

Working in Texas

To start I was in Texas and decided to work for a month to help defray costs of traveling to Texas to see my family. What a mistake that was. It was 106 degrees and higher the entire month I worked. Oh well I will definitely know better next time to stay away from there during the summer.

Grand Canyon of Texas

After my work duties were over I headed to Palo Dura State Park in northwestern Texas. It is know as the Grand Canyon of Texas and a very beautiful place. While there I hiked the Lighthouse Trail and took this pic of myself standing on the plateau in front of the lighthouse.

Taking advantage of my NM state pass

Then it was off to New Mexico where I wanted to take advantage of the last few months of my New Mexico State Pass. My first stop was Clayton SP.

Then on to Sugarite SP, just south of the NM/CO border. This next pic shows Lake Dorothy just north of Sugarite SP.

My next stop was Cimmaron SP and the town of Cimmaron.

Fulfilling a boy scout dream

I also visited Philmont Scout Ranch, which had always been a dream of mine ever since I was a Boy Scout.

More of beautiful new mexico

After that it was Eagle Nest SP, Coyote Creek SP (where I saw a bear), Storie Lake SP and then on to Villanueva SP where I got my semi-annual haircut. Finally it was off to Hyde Memorial SP.

Then in October I met up with all my good friends at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta where I stayed and partied for 10 days. Even had a balloon land on top of my rig. HA!

After the Balloon Fiesta I drove south to Poncho Villa SP to enjoy a Escapees Chapter 21 Rally. Of course that also included a trip to Palomas, Mexico where I had to have some dental work done and make sure the margaritas still tasted as good as always.

A visit to the Whitehouse

Next stop on my route was Canyon de Chelly (pronunced d’Shay). Located on an Indian Reservation it is a beautiful place and a must see for anyone in that area of Arizona. Of course I had to hike the Whitehouse Trail, which is so beautiful.

Monument Valley

From there it was to Monument Valley, UT. Talk about a fabulous area, don’t miss out on seeing this.

On my way to Amazon

Then I drove north to Interstate 50. It is known as the loneliest highway in America. And believe me it really is. You could drive for miles and miles and never see a car or truck in either direction. You would not want to break down on this road.

My destination was Fernley, NV, where I worked for Amazon for 8 weeks. By the way it was probably the hardest job I have ever had. Thankfully the 8 weeks went by fairly fast, although it took a couple of months to get healed from the aches and pains I suffered at that job. OUCH!!! On top of that it was very cold as well. Four degrees when I left there.

I then drove to Reno, NV and parked my rig and flew to SO CA to spend a week with my family over the holidays. It was really great seeing everyone and getting caught up. I even played some golf. Actually I tried to play some golf. HA! What a joke!

Time to warm up

Then I hit the road to get out of that cold weather up north and drove down to Quartzsite, AZ. There I met up with a whole bunch of Lazy Dazers (about 20 rigs at different times) and relaxed in the wonderful Arizona sunshine. Of course I also saw the crazy RV show and even saw a concert by Paul Winer (the Naked Book Seller) although he was fully clothed. Great show by the way with SRO.

With the help of all my friends I was able to upgrade my rig with new LED lighting, another 12v receptacle and an outdoor motion sensor light.

Next stop – Imperial Dam

In February I left Quartzsite and headed to Imperial Dam just outside of Yuma, AZ I really enjoyed my stay there with more friends. Got to do a lot of hiking in the desert. Plus don’t forget the wild donkeys. HA!

Heading south of the border senor!

Then it was south of the border to Mexico with the Harvest Host Wine and Whale Watching Tour. What a fabulous trip that turned out to be. Visited 5 wineries, with great wine tasting at each. The wineries were located in the Valley of Gaudelope with very beautiful scenery around. Also stopped in Ensenada for a day, where we had a great lunch down at the fish market and an opportunity to stock up on lots of great seafood. Of course we also had to have some cervasa’s (brewskies) at Hussong’s Cantina.

Later visited La Bufadora (the blow hole). Another very scenic spot.

The wineries were great plus the wine was even greater! Even got to see a colt that was born that very day. How exciting!

I am NOT an illegal alien!

After crossing back into the US I drove to Tamarisk LTVA where I stayed for a week and met some really wonderful people. We hiked ever day in the desert and one day we were surrounded by Border Patrol cars who thought we were illegal aliens. No comprende Senor! What a trip that was!

One of my very favorite spots

After spending so much time with so many wonderful people, I needed a break and decided to head for one of my most favorite spots in the Clark Dry Lake bed of the Anza Borrego desert in southern California. It is 7 miles outside of Borrego Springs. This place is so peaceful and always gives me a chance to reflect on my future plans. It was here where I made my resume on workamper.com and emailed it to various people. Within 10 minutes I had a call for the job I would be working at this summer. More on that later.

Back to the coast

Then it was off to the west coast to Oceanside, where I parked my rig at the Elks Club and took the train up to Orange County to see family. It was back and forth visiting different members of my family and it was great seeing my Mom. Love you Mom!

Heading up north

Then it was time to hit the road and head up north. My first stop was the Trona Pinnacles outside of Ridgecrest, CA. It is like a trip to another planet.

From there it was off to the Alabama Hills just outside of Lone Pine, CA. This has been one place I always dreamed of venturing to even before I had an RV. An absolute MUST SEE.

From there it was off to Mona Lake, where I stayed for about 5 days and ventured around the area seeing the tufa’s at the edge of the lake and the weird cloud formations.

I also took a side trip to the old ghost town of Bodie, CA. Much of the town is still intact as it was a hundred years ago. Really neat and another MUST SEE.

Then I finally made it to Oregon where I stayed at Goose Lake SP, La Pine SP and finally Crooked River Ranch.

My workplace for the summer

I met up with my area managers who I would be working for the summer in Prineville, OR. I am the camp host at the Ochoco Divide, a NFS campground. It is on the summit (4,726′ elevation) of Hwy 26. This campground is nestled among giant (200′) Ponderosa Pines among other pine trees as well. I have now been here 2 months and love this job. I get to meet a lot of interesting people and have lots of areas to hike in.

Well that about wraps up another fabulous year of my fulltime RV lifestyle. There were some tough times (truck breaking down) and some great times (caravan trip to Mexico) as well as taking time out to see my family, which is very important to me. I had lots of times spent with great friends and even some time to myself to ponder how lucky I am.

I almost can’t believe it has been two years since I have set out on the road. I would also like to thank all my wonderful followers who have been with me as I experienced each and every day. Every day is a new adventure.

Quartzsite Car Show

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Classic Car Show

On our hike down to the produce store Ann, Jerry and I stopped in the big tent for the Annual Classic Car Show. There were still many vendors left over from the RV Show that were located in the center of the tent. On either end of the tent they had many classic cars on display. They were all shined up and looking good.

Tear Drops and smaller rigs

They even had Tear Drops and small trailers that were towed behind some classy trucks. They were really fixed up nicely. It reminds me of the time I was at camped at Camp Sherman in Oregon and was invaded by a “Sisters on the Fly” club. Some of those gals had small travel trailers, Casitas and Tear Drop trailers as well. You can see that post at Moving on to Camp Sherman. It was great fun seeing all the different types of rigs people own.

Finally this one was a small trailer that was nicely decorated and very comfy. Nothing I would want to live in fulltime though, but it sure would be nice for weekend jaunts.

Beautiful Arizona Sunset

After hiking back to out campground we had a small get-together for “Happy Hour” and I got this pic of another beautiful sunset.

More Quartzsite Happenings

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Jim Melvin

WIN’s Ice Cream Social

Saturday Andrea and I drove over to the WIN’s (Wandering Individuals Network) Ice Cream Social off Palomas Rd north of Quartzsite. The WIN’s had invited all the LOW’s (Loners on Wheels), Escapee SOLO’s and the Escapees Boomers groups over as well. They had lots of ice cream and it was really a fun time. I did catch up with a few of my friends in the LOW’s group and it was fun chatting with them.

Final Upgrades to “The Breeze”

I finally purchased a couple more of the LED lights to go into my rig. That will be the last of my purchases for this winter. John installed my RV Motion Sensor light which replaced my existing porch light. Later he adjusted it so that it wasn’t too sensitive.

Roger installed the LED lights that replaced the fluorescent tubes. What a difference. One LED gives off more light than two fluorescents. Thanks go out to both Roger and John for all their help.

Sunset and last campfire

We had our last campfire and burned up the remainder of the wood that John supplied from his property in Colorado. We sure had a lot of campfires from all that wood. I also took a pic of the sunset.

Sunrise and farewell

I got up early to bid farewell to all the people who were leaving this morning. I even got to see this beautiful sunrise.

There were six people and three dogs who departed this morning. They were Ed and Carol (and gopher), John and Linda (and Sadie), Roger, and finally Steve (and Jiggs). We all had a wonderful time together and they will be missed. Annie and Rick (and Dweezle) were going to leave but Rick was feeling much better from whatever was ailing him and the day was so nice they decided to stay another day.

Tonight at our Happy Hour was Ann and Jerry, Chuck and Beverly, Annie and Rick, Andrea and I. We had a nice time but it was a bit quieter.

RV Show

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Lots to see at the big tent

I decided to go down to the RV Show at the big tent and leave my wallet at home and take my camera instead. It was certainly a lot cheaper that way but also a lot of fun. Here are some of the pics I took. If you enter the tent from the south side you are greeted by the Michelin Man.

Everyone likes FREE camping

Once inside the tent don’t forget to stop by and say hello to Don and Kim Greene. They are the nicest people you will ever meet and they run Harvest Hosts where you can camp overnight for free at many wineries, orchards and farms. Just click on the link below to be taken to their site for more information.

Right now they are running two tours of wineries in Mexico and in the Fall they will be running a 23 day RV trip to the wineries in France. In the works is also an RV tour of the wineries in New Zealand.

Here is a pic of Don Greene posing in front of his booth.
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If you get hungry

This is the soup lady where you can get easy to fix packaged soups. I bought them from her last year and they were really great.

When lunch time rolls around you might want to stop off at J T’s Louisiana BBQ. They have both beef and pork sandwhiches for only $4. They are soooo goood.

This BBQ is operated by JT and his family. Here you can see them cooking up that delicious BBQ in the back.

And then top that all of with an ice cream cone.

We all could use extra money

If you are looking for a great job next winter check out the Amazon booth. They will sign you up for a job at three different fullfillment centers. I signed up here last year and worked at the Fernly, NV center. It was a good job that gave me some extra spending money.

While walking through the tent I ran into Clay and Tami who I worked with last winter at Amazon. In fact I saw quite a few co-workers while walking the tent.

Lots of other stuff as well

This guy takes laying down at the job quite literally. He is selling bedding.

Need a hat?

Checkout these butts! HA!

Old guys rule!

If you have any pains you might want to stop off at this booth.

Maybe you just need to clean your RV.

No need to be in any hurry. We all have plenty of time.

Finally you might even hit the jack pot! Great name for a toilet.

RV Show and Paul Winer Concert

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Jim Melvin

We just couldn’t wait

The RV Show started on Saturday 1/20 and everyone said they were going to wait until either Monday or Tuesday before going in order to avoid the crowd. But guess where everyone was on Saturday. We were all in the big tent of the RV Show. HA! We were just like little kids on Christmas day after Santa had delivered our gifts. Everyone had to see what was the latest and greatest thing to spend our money on. Some of us had made lists of those items we wanted to purchase. Others just wanted to see what the vendors were selling. I couldn’t take many pics because it was so crowded. I will try to go back and take a few of the interesting exhibits.

This pic shows Annie driving Rick, Andrea and myself to a spot close to the big tent. We didn’t want to walk too far with all the good stuff we might purchase.

As you can see the big tent was packed with people. It was hard to get up close to vendors but where there’s a will there is a way. Nothing was going to stop us from those LED lights, soups, dips for the happy hour, etc. etc. etc. The big thing at the show seemed to be the LED lights. I even saw food vendors who were also selling them. After all you have to be able to see what you are eating.

Dogs want to see the show too

I got this pic of a Corgy for my sister who also owns one. Her Corgy is named Lando and is a great dog.

Saturday was a very windy day so I took this pic to show the flags of the big tent flapping in the wind.

This is outside the big tent with more vendors surrounding it. I felt sorry for them as they had to endure the brunt of the wind and dust that was blowing.

Taking care of business

On Monday I had to dump my tanks and refill with propane. Normally it is an easy task and only takes a few minutes. But not at Quartzsite while the RV Show is going on. I got there about 1:30pm and the line was not too long, but it was still about a 45 minute wait. Her is a pic of the line at the dump station.

I then drove into the RV Pit Stop in town and filled up with propane. It is literally just like a pit stop in a NASCAR race. They get you in and out of there in a matter of minutes. They are very organized.

Always nice meeting new friends

This is a pic of my neighbor and new friend Nancy of the Nancy’s Road Trip blog . She was heading over to the WIN’s (Wandering Individuals Network) which is a singles group off Plomosa Road in the free BLM area. Andrea and I have planned on going over there on Wednesday to meet the WIN’s.

Paul Winer Concert

The big excitement today was the Paul Winer Concert at the QIA in town. If you don’t know, Paul Winer is the naked bookseller at the Readers Oasis Bookstore. He is also a very talented musician and used to play in clubs and bars for many years. Today he put on 2 concerts and they were both totally sold out. It was a great time that everyone enjoyed. It was especially nice since it only cost $5 per ticket.

This next few pics shows he and his fellow musicians playing. They were really great!!

Finally I took a video of his last song. This guy is really full of energy and has a real gift of gab as well.

Quartzsite Happenings

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Warm and sunny days

I just wanted to update you on all the latest happenings in Quartzsite. The weather has been getting much warmer with temps being in the low 70’s during the day and high 30’s at night). The last couple of days have really been beautiful with calm days and no clouds.

A real jackrabbit

A few of us decided to walk into town to the produce market next to the post office. They have some really nice produce. On the way as we were walking down Old Yuma Road, Frank and Cookie drove by with their dog Buddy in the back seat. That really set off Sadie (John and Linda’s Labradoodle). She wanted to see Buddy. She started jumping up and down like a jackrabbit. I took a couple of pics but it didn’t really show how she was jumping. At times all 4 paws were off the ground.

A neat toyhauler

On the way we ran into this guy who had a really neat red RV. He happened to be working on his engine so I stopped by to have a talk. His rig was actually a custom built toyhauler with room for a small car under the back bedroom. He even gave John and I a tour of the inside. It was very spacious and very well built. We didn’t recall seeing any windows but after looking at the outside pic there is a couple. They must have had the blinds closed because everything looked rather dark. Not like our bright Lazy Daze rigs.

Wash day and lunch at the Grubstake

The following day several of us headed to the Laundromat and then off to the Grubstake for lunch. It is getting more crowded every day as it approaches time for the RV Show which starts on Saturday 1/21. We were all lucky to get to the Laundromat without having to fight too many people for either a parking space or a washer/dryer. In a few days it will be an absolute madhouse all over town. Linda and I walked down to the bakery about 2 blocks from the Laundromat while our clothes were washing. As you approached the building you could smell all the wonderful things they were baking. I picked up a loaf of freshly made French bread and a couple of apple fritters, while Linda got a loaf of bread and a couple of bear claws. Then we returned and finished our laundry.

We all planned to meet at the Grubstake for lunch later on. Their food is sooooo gooood!!! Most of us had the $5 fish special and Roger had the hamburger. I didn’t hear any complaints about the food whatsoever. It is a great place to eat. Again we were able to walk right in and get a table. I wonder what it will be like in a few days.

Improvements on my rig

On Friday John and Rodger came over to install a 12v receptacle under my dinette. Previously I had to hook up my inverter on the other side of my rig and run an extension strip to my dinette to power my computer and charge my phone, camera and both of my Kindles. This is a pic of John installing the receptacle.

That is one of the GREAT benefits of meeting up with other Lazy Daze folks. Everyone has great ideas and they are willing to help you with improvements on your rig. Here is a pic of my inverter at work in its new spot. This is so much better than dragging the 10 ft extension across my floor.

A great wiener roast

That evening we planned a wiener roast for dinner. We had all the hot dogs and fixin’s and a lot of GREAT side dishes. It was a super meal and everyone had a good time. Then we all sat around and had great conversations about anything and everything.

I think everyone has decided to stay home for the weekend and refrain from going to the big tent which contains the RV Show. I went last year on the first day and it was way too crowded. So we will probably head up there either Monday or Tuesday. I will take lots of pics to show you what is going on.

Pinata Party – Ole

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Jim Melvin

POI Instructions for our Garmin GPS

A couple of days ago Ed, Jerry, Beverly and myself all got together in my rig so that Ed could show us how to add POIs (Points of Interest) to our Garmin GPS. We were all able to connect to my 3G/4G Hotspot to get on the Internet. Ed went through all the steps explaining everything at each step. Once we had everything set up it was quite easy. I was able to add Wal-Mart, Reststops, and Pilot Gas stations to my Garmin. Then he showed us how to access it on our Garmins. How cool!!! Thanks Ed for being so patient with us. Here is a pic of all of us (except me) working on this project.

Later on everyone made a mass hike to the dumpster about 1/4 mile down the road.

More shopping

We also did a bit of shopping on Kuehn St. Lots of vendors. I bought an Indian Taco at Ed’s advice and was it ever good. Shredded beef on Indian fry bread. Very good! I wish I had taken a pic of it.

Then we also did some shopping in the Tyson Wells Flea Market. I ran into a neat collection of old bottles.

One of the vendors had this sign up. I guess we are all in the same boat. I would like a few of them myself.

Before we left I picked up my license plate holders.

Pinata party

That night we had our pinata party. Chuck and Beverly had been at Algadones, Mexico and purchased a pinata and also some tamales. Everyone furnished something for dinner and happy hour that had a Mexican theme. Here is a pic of our pinata.

After dinner we all tried to break the pinata. We all had a great time and Linda finally broke it and candy was everywhere. I put together this small movie of everyone trying to break the pinata. We all had a great time.

I took this pic of the Big Q on the side of the hill.

A Day In Q

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Heading into town

Today a bunch of us went into town to do laundry and eat lunch. Roger and I went to the BIG Laundry across from the market. Luckily there were washers available when we walked in. It hasn’t gotten to the point where it is so busy you can’t even find a parking space. Once the RV Show starts it will be impossible! Here is a pic of the dryers. Lots and lots of them.

Grubstake – uum good!

After completing our laundry duties we headed to the Grubstake restaurant. It was a great place for lunch. They have fish and chips special for $5 and it was more than enough for me.

Checking out all the stuff

I wanted to walk around town so I had Roger drop me off at the light. Then I got to wander thru the acres of stuff. I was looking for a bike but didn’t see anything I liked. I am sure I will find one somewhere. I am also looking for a new chair as mine has seen better days. I saw this giant chair but it looks like it may be a bit tough getting in or out of it.

I also saw this giant rock. Just what I need for my rig. I am trying to figure out where I could put it. HA!

I found the “Too Crazy Ladies booth in the same spot as it was last year. They are making some license plate holders for me. I will pick them up in a day or two. It makes no sense to hurry out here.

Concert in the desert

I walked back to our campsite. On the way I saw this group of musicians giving a concert out in the middle of nowhere. They were playing country music when I went by but Ann told me they were also playing gospel when she walked past them. I must apologize for the fuzzy pics. I am still trying to get used to my new camera and had it on the wrong setting.

Road to our home

This is the turnoff to our campsite. It is #534 and it even showed up on my GPS when I first got there. It is amazing how a little dirt road can even appear on a GPS.

Finally our campsite. As you can see there is lots of room for all to come out and enjoy the wonderful desert with us.