More About People Than Places

When we made plans to visit friends in Tombstone, AZ, for early December we realized there were several other friends along the route we could catch up with as well. By our fourth stop we have already seen 14 old friends from high school!

Thursday morning we confirm that the "low" tire on the Jeep from the night before is now flat. Fortunately we have a full size spare, and even more fortunately another high school friend, Larry, stops by and is able to loosen the lug nuts. You know - the lug nuts put on with nuclear-powered pneumatic wrenches. Larry and a three-foot piece of pipe get them off :-) Bill gets the spare on, the flat tire loaded up, and we're good to go again. Wednesday's fun was well worth the flat!

Thanks Larry!

Meanwhile, out on the lawn.......

Tessa's new pal Molly - they got their tails at the same store

We love our time here at Lake Tamarisk, and are excited about returning for New Years.

It's a quick drive to Quartzsite and we're set up at Hassler's RV Park early. We drop off the tire for a quick repair, but when we return from lunch we find that's not the case. We'll come back the next day for the new tire.

Restaurant specials in Q - steak or speakers

Our search finds no mobile RV techs so Bill calls the largest repair place and they give him a referral. An appointment is made for the next day to fix the stairs. 

Friday morning we return to the tire shop and then check out other RV parks. We are returning for a week in January during the busiest time and I want to be sure we have a spot. 

Say good-bye to Bill the Tire

Who knew tires are so funny?!

After booking our week at Quail Run RV Park we take a drive out to my dad's old property near Tyson Wash. It hasn't been kept up very well and there is an additional house built there now, but the two-story garage remains, as does the original house. I choose not to take pics, I'll remember it as it was when Dad lived there.

The tech doesn't show up and when Bill calls him, he "isn't going to make it today". Arrgghh. Tempe is our next stop and I find a mobile RV tech there who can come to our park on Monday morning. Fine, we'll live with the step ladder a while longer.

Mike and Rita Pruitt were high school sweethearts who have been married 40+ years and live in Blythe. They are both good friends of ours, and they suggest we have pizza at Silly Al's in Quartzsite.

 Silly Al's is no longer a trailer with a big deck

We have a great time over yummy pizza and several beers, making ourselves heard over the local musical entertainment. It sounded better the more beer we had....

The drive the next morning is uneventful even through all the Phoenix interchanges until the "iffy" directions off the freeway requires a u-turn in Tempe to get back to our park. 

Apache Palms RV Park is the first "in the middle of the city" park we've stayed at. The light-rail is just out the driveway and it's in the flight pattern for the airport, and is surrounded by apartment buildings. But it is surprisingly quiet, very clean, and is the closest park to more of our friends.

Bill's very good friend David (also from high school) and his wife Tina live here. We invite them over to see our little home on Saturday night - the step ladder is a great conversation piece - and then have a wonderful meal at Four Peaks Brewery nearby.

We planned to see four other friends in the area, but life happens and we'll have to see them the next time through.

Sunday is Sunday - so football and laundry! Yay Steelers - and double yay Eagles!!

I'd like to say that the stairs got repaired on Monday. Nope.  Broke two drill bits and two easy-outs trying to remove the remainder of the bolt, and didn't have a replacement bolt any way. But at least he showed up and tried :-(

We make arrangements for Plan C in Tombstone.

Monday night we watch the game and have a lovely dinner at David and Tina's house. We enjoy the Christmas tree at their place and all the pretty lights in the neighborhood.

Fortunately Tina remembers photos!

David and Tina

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......

New Treasures in an Old Place

Old to us.  Bill's family lived in Eagle Mountain, north of Desert Center, for 18 years. He "played" in the desert around the area for years.  My dad lived 40 miles further "out in the desert" at Iron Mountain for 28 years, and I too spent a lot of time exploring the wide open spaces, old mines, and back trails that make up this part of the Mojave Desert.

Neither of us had seen most of what our good friend Coy showed us on Wednesday!  The exception was Castle Rock where as teenagers we spent many a Friday or Saturday night partying with our crazy friends. It is a beautiful spot that I know we never appreciated enough back then.

Caves and arches make up much of Castle Rock

The new treasures began with a short hike up a wash and behind a few palo verde and ironwood trees. Petroglyphs of incredible designs, and a few more modern signs of early visits.

  
Coy tells us he has seen herds of mule deer in the area. All our years out here, we never even saw signs of them. Now we notice droppings and tracks all day. He explains there are several water sources further up the mountain.

Deer track

Followed by large cat tracks

Further out the dirt road we turn left to a spot with more arches and large boulders - it is completely quiet and absolutely beautiful. Signs that people come here to camp and shoot. It is sad to see the broken glass and clay pigeons scattered around, but we enjoy the remoteness of the place in spite of others' disrespect.

Bill pointed out the heart in the rock

Apparently at the same time we kids were partying at Castle Rock there were at least two small "communities" in the nearby hills.  

The first is the remains of a small hippie commune where a tiered garden with rock stairs and a sitting area were built along the deep creek bed. Large pieces of shiny quartz remain at the site.

Large tiered garden

Before heading to the next community site, we look for the road to another treasure in the area.

We don't see the road so "find" our way through the rock and sand, adding some more desert pinstriping to the Jeep, appreciating the trail-rating in several spots.

Just before we reach our destination, we join the road :-)

"Hidden" at the top of a large boulder. We knew the family, but not Roi

One of many wonders at this stop

Desert Nomad

Spotted pumpkin rock

More signs of humans. Shade made for bad photos of the stove and bed springs "inside".

Our final stop of the day is the Zion site. Coy and another friend found the place on one of their many explorations of the area. The first surprise is after a short rock scramble to a large water basin built from concrete and rock into the side of the mountain. There are two spigots at the bottom, but it is dry.

Complete with plumbing

Coy and Tessa

The water tank is about four foot deep and twenty yards long, solidly constructed

Back down the rocks, around a corner, to a rocky trail. On the left is a huge dry river bed, beautiful slate hills on both sides. Several "signs" are painted along the path. Some instructional and others inspirational.

Parts of the trail still have concrete sections, but most of it is loose rock, narrow in places. When we round the final bend and see the 20 foot tall "Mustard Seed Dam" built of large rocks, and the large concrete slabs to the other side of it, we wonder how they hauled everything up there - and who stacked all those heavy rocks that high? Perhaps divine intervention? Likely mules. I'm also impressed with the paint that has lasted at least 38 years on these dark rocks exposed to the harshness of the desert!

The path to "Zion"

Mustard Seed Dam

I love these guardian stones along the trail

Not sure what it's waiting for

Until I see the other side. Okay, sorry......

Other than limited information on a cult calling itself the Kingdom of Zion, and signs at the site of inhabitants from 1968 to 1977, we couldn't find anything about what and who was here. The fact that we were in high school less than ten miles away at the same time is......well, it's weird!

We had such a great time hiking just under four miles, back in our desert, enjoying these new discoveries with our good friend. Many thanks Coy.

Don't Park Over the Sewer Grate...Unless...And...But..Then

We clearly have not mastered the "smooth departure day" from the hometown. But, before we left on Monday morning we were able to see the kids a couple more times.

Saturday evening we met Emily's family for pizza and conversation - great people, we're so glad Emily made the effort for all of us to meet!

Sunday morning I went to Ezra's house for coffee and more happy baby time.

"S'up Grandma?"

All the kids were able to stop by individually throughout the day for last visits and hugs for now. We will miss them all so much.

Time to get back on the road.

Our launch day in June we stopped at the Chevron station next to I-5 and all our gauges stopped working. This time.....

....our steps broke. 

While filling the tank Bill attempts putting them back "in" and hears the bolt drop to the ground. And roll into the drain grate under the rig. Seriously? What are the chances?? This really sucks.

Unless...a guy pulls in as we're leaving and happens to have a telescoping magnet in his front seat, and in one move retrieves said bolt. Yay!

Sheared off at the threads :-(

And...Camping World is just down the street!

But...it's a special-order part and they don't have one. 

We're baaaack...

Which is why you carry baling wire next to your duct tape.

Bill secures the stairs and we finally leave around 11:30 AM.  Geeeez!  Quartzsite will have someone who can fix them in a couple days. The step ladder is "new fun".

Then...we get to Beaumont, CA, and after a quick set up at Noble Creek Park, we head over to our friends', Stacy and Eric, home for Monday Night Football and a gathering of more friends. All is once again good :-)

It is pretty special when you can let one person know you're going to be in town for the night, and have a dozen more drive long distances to get together for an evening of great fun and food. Once again got almost no pics.

Friends for 40+ years

Always happy when we can get together

So our return-to-the-road day had a bumpy start, but ended on a very high note!

Tuesday morning we follow Stacy and Eric to see the Sparkmans. They were two of our teachers in high school! Yes, it was a special small town that has managed to stay connected even though the town closed in 1985. It was a short, but very delightful, visit.

Back at our little park we finish packing up, hook up, and hit the road east.

If you're in the area and need a nice, clean, safe, level and quiet place for one or more nights, Noble Creek is a well-kept secret with easy access from I-10 on the west side of Beaumont. FHUs (although the sewer had a padlock on it at our site), lots of green grass, very level sites. It would be tight if full, but the views of the mountains in sites 20 - 24 are very nice.

Tessa especially appreciated this part

Level sites with nice views

The wind does blow here most of the time :-)

<Hi Emily>