Closing Out Our Time in Quartzsite and Battle Born Batteries

As we close out our time in Quartzsite, AZ, we focus on the sunsets in the desert as God puts on a spectacular show almost every evening!

Most of the "Q Tribe" regrouped back at our camp on Plomosa road so we sat around a propane campfire catching up on our various adventures while apart.  We also had Donna & Mark from Oregon join us.  We enjoyed the opportunity to get to know them.

So happy Wes & Kelly were able to rejoin us after a mechanical problem with their rig had them towed to Blythe! 

The circle returns and Wes is now using his new 200 watt solar suitcase to keep his batteries charged.

 It's hard to stop taking photos of the sunset skies over the desert.

Our neighbors, Helen & Heinz, parked by "Helen's Cactus" just like they've done
for the past 10 years as they avoid the Canadian winters!

Wes & Kelley and Mike and Joie's rigs
Both bought 200 watt solar suitcases while in Quartzsite.

New to the circle, Mark and Donna's 5th wheel rig

So we finally made the leap and bought two lithium batteries, a 2000 watt Victron inverter, and battery minder from Battle Born Batteries.  We first learned of them while at the RV Nomads premier in Wellington, TX last October.  They were a sponsor of the event and gave a presentation that we attended.  Al's been researching batteries since then and knew we wanted to go with their system.  He's talked to several people who already use these batteries including Kathy & Dave.  This upgrade will give us 3 times more usable amps then we currently have!

While at the Battle Born booth at the Big Tent in Quartzsite, we ran in to Lisa & Dan of @Always on Liberty.  They also gave a presentation at the RV Nomads event last fall and were quite humorous.  They are retired US Coast Guard members and so they are now "always on liberty (leave)".   Also in the photo is Sean Nichols, co-owner of Battle Born Batteries. 

Lisa and Dan invited us back to their rig later that night to see their electric arrangement.  They were not parked very far from us so we took them up on their offer.  Dan showed Al how he powers his 5th wheel for extended stays in the desert.  Another couple were camping with them and we remembered meeting them at the RV Nomads event too.  They are Matt & Dianna who are seeking to visit all 400+ National Parks in the US.  Matt helped get our Chevy out of the mud when it was stuck last fall.  Small world!

Now Al needs to decide if he'll replace our one lead acid battery with the new equipment himself or have it professionally installed.  I think there will be a lot of YouTube videos in his future as he researches this project.



It's been interesting how our paths cross with people we've met previously on the road.  We've only been full-timing since August 2nd, 2018!  One couple, Tom & Lori, we ran in to at the RTR and we previously met last April in Pahrump, Nevada where we were attending an RV-Dreams Education rally.  Great to see them again!

Well, January came to a close and it was time to move on to our next stop, Mesa, Arizona.  We made it 9 nights of boondocking/dry camping without any trouble.  That's a new record for us!

Just a few more sunset photos captured by Al:

Now who's ready for some baseball?



Links to people mentioned in this entry:
Kathy & Dave:  OffOurRockerRV.com
Lisa & Dan:  alwaysonliberty.com
Matt & Diana:  adventurousway.com
Mike & Joie:  @OurMobileBackpack
Kelly & Wes:  @RoadHoundAdventures
Tom & Lori:  tomandlorirvlife.com

Blythe Day Trip

We took a day trip with Dave & Kathy to see some sights in Blythe and Quartzsite, CA.  First was to see the Blythe Intaglios.

I didn't know what an intaglios was so it was amazing to see and learn about them.  These things are between 450 and 2,000 years old!

Intaglios, also called anthropomorphic geoglyphs — gigantic human or animal figures drawn on the ground’s surface — are known throughout the American Southwest, South America, and New Caledonia.

The palette of these “drawings” is the earth itself; the artists scraped the dark rock of the desert ground to expose the lighter soil underneath.

With the largest human figure coming in at 171 feet (52 meters) long, they are difficult to see from ground level and are best viewed from a helicopter or drone. In fact, the figures are so difficult to see from the ground that it wasn’t until 1932, when a pilot happened to look down and notice them, that they were rediscovered by modern society. 

Our ground views of the intaglios:

This guy has better viewed from his head due to the terrain.

Notice the big foot and knee on this one.

As you can see, they are much easier to make out from the air.  Luckily Dave brought his drone to get some great shots!  That's us viewing from ground level.  

Photo courtesy of Dave @OffOurRockerRV.com

Photo courtesy of Dave @OffOurRockerRV.com

For more info about the intaglios check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blythe_Intaglios

Along the route to our next stop, Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, we stopped to check out the bales of cotton that were recently harvested.

That's a lot of cotton pickin!

Here's a sample I just picked up along the road.  

Our next stop was Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.

Kathy and Nancy on the trail behind the visitor's center

A great stop for migrating birds.

We even saw Sandhill Cranes!

I like the guy hanging out on the pole at the bottom.  Hope no one poops on him!

We even saw some sort of  big "cat" but couldn't get our cameras out quick enough to catch a photo of him.  It could have been a bobcat or something similar.  Good spot Kathy!

Interesting sight after leaving Cibola.  

Ok, so Quartzsite can be a little different.  One such place is Reader's Oasis Books.

Bookstore owner Paul Winer has spent a couple of decades wearing nothing but a strategically positioned sock. Signs outside invite visitors in for photo ops.

Naked Bookstore Owner

"There's a naked man in Quartzsite! You have to see him!" That's what my friends kept telling me. Since my friends steer me to the most unique sights, I went to the naked guy's bookstore.

Yup, he was naked, except for a little crocheted "sock" over his privates. Nothing covered his backside. Fishing line held up the sock.

Besides being a free spirit, Paul is a really nice guy, an accomplished blues musician, and cartoonist. He's very approachable and will gladly pose for a photo (PS. Don't bring the kids.).

Unfortunately or Fortunately, depends on how you look at it, the Naked Guy was not in the store during our visit due to health issues.  His wife was there and told Kathy that he's having another surgery.  Hope he'll be feeling better soon.

Part of his and his wife's story is their daughter Celia.  They were told they could never have children but as sometimes happens, God had other plans.  Their daughter was born premature in 1986.  Against the odds she lived until she got a viral infection and died in 1995.  Her parents started a botanical garden in her honor in Quartzsite and it's called Celia's Rainbow Gardens.

More info on the store of Celia:  http://www.celiasrainbowgardens.com/Story/

Our last stop for the day was Hi Jolly Monument.   This memorial pyramid marker honors one of the United States Government's first official camel riders.  

During the mid-1800’s when much of the southwest of America was still uninhabited desert, the government decided they would deal with the terrain like the desert dwellers of the Middle East and hire camel drivers, such as Hi Jolly, to carry their goods across the arid terrain.

The story of Hi Jolly:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hi-jolly-monument

Back at camp, it's just the Kathy & Dave (@OffOurRockerRV) and us remaining from our tribe.  Let's see who comes to join us next.  We're having a great time in Quartzsite and still camping on BLM land for free.  How many days can our tanks hold out before we need to dump them???

Quartzsite, Arizona

After being at RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendezvous) for five nights, the group had enough as we didn't really feel like that was "our crowd".  It was a fun event and I appreciated the opportunity to attend some of their topic chats and meet fellow RVers. 

A couple, Pat & Ellen, who follow Joie and Mike on Instagram came to RTR to meet them in person and mentioned where they were staying in another area of Quartzsite and that there was lots of room there.  So we all packed up camp and headed to the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land off of Plomosa road. 

We're allowed to stay on BLM land for 14 days (for free!) and then we're supposed to move at least 25 miles to another site for at least 7 days.  Thanks to the US government shutdown, there was no one to enforce the rules so we stayed a little longer than allowed.  Shhh! 

Quartzsite is very popular this time of year and there is a "Big Tent" event where it's possible to buy all things RV related.  There are also many different groups that meet up here on BLM land and form communities with organized events.  The groups can be based on interest such as a Jeep group or RV manufacturer or friends.  The Escapees also have chapter events here.  We attended some of the Boomers events.  It's a pretty fun experience and everyone is so friendly! 

We were lucky we moved on the day we did because after we got moved and settled in, the next day it poured rain!  Here we're huddled under Pat & Ellen's EZUp to keep dry!

Our camp turning into a swamp!

View from inside our nice and dry RV!

Can't have too many photos of the new truck!

Our Circle of Friends! (Photo courtesy of Pat)

After the rains we were treated to a beautiful sunset!

 After the rains the sun came back out and we had beautiful days!  Here we're gathered for one of our many group chats. 

Dinner with our Quartzsite family (from left:  Al, Nancy, Dave, Kathy, Mike, Joie, Wes, Kelley, Dogs, Ellen, and Pat).  Cool photo taken by Pat with his drone! 

Pat has a real cool drone and the goggles to see what the drone is seeing.  We got to play with his drone and I know what Al will want for his birthday in February! 

Ellen watching the drone, Pat steering the drone by watching his cell phone connected to the controller
and Al enjoying the view!

Our view from this location in Quartzsite is beautiful!

One day another YouTuber couple, Paul and Lorena of @TheMotorhomeExperiment had a meet and greet.  I didn't know this couple before so I "studied" up before the meet.  They had a nice gathering of over 50 people and played a fun ice breaker game as we all sat around a couple of campfires and laughed.  It was very entertaining and fun meeting them and hearing their story. 

A video from the event can be found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTXqURNz4Bw

Paul and Lorena of The Motorhome Experiment

Another night a different group nearby our camp had music so we brought our chairs and walked over and joined their campfire and listened to some great music out under the stars by @notesfromneptune.  This event was called Ooberfest 2019 hosted by @OutsideOurBubble . 

Check out the event at https://outsideourbubble.com/ooberfest-2019-thanks/

One day it was Dave's birthday so he celebrated with a bag of Cheetos instead of a birthday cake.  Funny thing is Kathy and Dave lost track of the days and started celebrating a day early thinking it was his birthday on Saturday when it was really Sunday.  Ah, the retired life!

Eventually our group of friends had to break up.  Pat & Ellen went to meet friends visiting Phoenix.  Kelly & Wes and Joie & Mike went to check out some land in Bullhead City.  So, and then there was two! 

Ok sorry, another photo of our new truck and the trailer!

After the holidays we left California and picked up the RV in Surprise, AZ and headed to Quartzsite having no idea what to expect.  Thanks to Joie and Mike, we met in Quartzsite for the RTR event and through their Instagram account, met up with Ellen and Pat who introduced us to Kathy and Dave.  Our time with this group has been a blast and we consider them all friends now and look forward to connecting with them again when our paths cross.  

Pat & Ellen from Washington:  @Rolling_Along_Country_Roads

Joie & Mike from California:  @OurMobileBackpack

Kelley & Wes from Oregon:  @RoadHoundAdventures

Kathy & Dave from Wisconsin:  @OffOurRockerRV

I created a new Instagram account so if interested, you can follow us at @ImagineOurRVDreams

Next we did some sight-seeing with Kathy and Dave.