Today, we returned to the desert at Quartzsite from being in Palm Springs, CA for the Desert R.A.T.S. hamfest on Saturday. It was a very nice affair and we were busy all day making name badges for the attendees.

The weather was beautiful, down to about 50 degrees at night with a light breeze and quite warm in the sunshine during the day.

We stayed in Quartzsite until about noon on Friday as they had their hamfest on Friday as well as Saturday. We made several badges before packing up and heading for CA.

Tomorrow, we will head for Mesa, AZ and our normal parking spot at Nancy B's for a couple of weeks before heading for Yuma and their big hamfest.

On our way back from Palm Springs, we saw some smoke in the sky ahead of us and then it disappeared, however as we got to Blythe, CA on I10 we found out what caused it, a Swift tractor had caught on fire and the cab practically burned to the ground. The interstate was closed until they got the fire out and things cleaned up and then they opened one lane so the traffic could start moving again. We lost 30 minutes but that could have been worse if we had been a little earlier.

Our photos are of the hamfest yesterday. It was well attended and enjoyed by all. They served breakfast as well as a nice lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers, cole slaw, chips and drinks. It was held at the Boskovich Estate just off of Gene Autry Drive in Palm Springs. The estate sits high above the city at the foot of a mountain. The mountain started about 3 feet from the side of our motor home and seemed to go about straight up to the top. Several of the mountains had snow near the top, an interesting observation from where we were basking in the warm sunshine.

Things have been progressing this week toward the annual Quartzfest in Quartzsite, AZ. Or numbers have grown, in this are of amateur radio operators to 147 units and over 250 people. Other groups are gathering in different areas. The "Beaver" coach group are gathering somewhere north of us as we have seen dozens of beautiful coaches pass our location.

Many are here just for Quartzfest and others are here for the winter. This is a free BLM area with a 14 day limit. You then have to move to another area and back for another 14 days. You need to service your coach, dump holding tanks and take on water every week or 10 days, so you have lots of opportunities to renew your 14 days.

At the opening ceremonies this afternoon they went over the activities and seminars that would be happening during the week. Lots of things going on for the hams as well as the ladies in the group.

We have not had any TV since we got here. In Mesa we had cable. One of the hams nearby checked it out and found that we needed a new antenna on the roof as the amplifier was bad. Actually we just needed the top portion as that is where the amplifier is located.

I disassembled the old one and found some rust on some of the connections. A bit expensive, but necessary if we were going to watch TV off the grid.

Our photos are of the many units that have gathered in only our area. Our organizer this year is Steve, call a do not remember, but a really nice fellow.

The LTVA's are about all full. There you can stay until April for a fee of $40.00. That will let you stay at any BLM in the country for free until April. There are lots of BLM areas, many along the Colorado River. None have any utilities, other than a dump station and a water source.

I did read that, even due to the economy, they were expecting 750,000 to 1,000,000 people in Quartzsite this winter. When you consider 2 or 3, at the most, people in each rig, that is a lot of RV's of all kinds, from the oldest tent campers to the newest diesel pusher motor home.

So it goes in the deserts of Arizona

Here we are in Quartzsite, AZ. We came over from Mesa yesterday afternoon. It took a while as we had to stop for fuel after we got to town so we would have a full tank for the generator to work from. It will only get fuel until the tank is about 50% gone.

There are not a lot of people in this area yet. The LTVA areas are filling up and the campgrounds in town are pretty full. This area is continuing to gain in population but by next week it will be filling up.

Tomorrow, being a holiday, we will stay away from the big tent where all of the vendors are. We will probably go on Tuesday after a lot of people go to work.

We have a few things we want to look at. We have talked about a flag pole for the roof ladder. They make brackets that are very easy to use. We also want to look at a sediment filter as well as a water softener. Not sure we want a softener, but it sure would be nice to have a shower in soft water. The water out here is certainly hard and leaves a scum on everything, including you.

Not a lot going on here at the Amateur Radio area. Things will be picking up the first of next week and it will be crowded after everyone gets here. We will be leaving on Friday for Palm Springs, CA for the Desert Rats hamfest on
Saturday. We will miss the hamfest here in the desert but will be making nametags all week.

Our photos are of our spot in the desert and a shot toward the mountains on our west showing only a few units that have arrived. The last photo is of the same general area of the beautiful sunset here in the desert.

Not a lot going on the last week or so. Just enjoying the warm weather, at least warmer than back east and up north. It has been cooler than normal in the low 30's at night and in the mid 60's during the day, but the sun shines most every day and that is good for the spirit.

We noticed one of the rear tires was flat. We called the road service and they sent out someone to install the spare. We do not know why it went flat as it was alright when we arrived here in Mesa.

It was time for new tires anyway as the old ones were the originals when the unit was delivered. I made a few calls trying to locate new Michlein tires, my preference, and learned that they were on back order as they were not producing them at this time. I talked with Redburn Tire Co. and they had 1 in stock. They checked and found 3 more at their store in Tucson and had them delivered here.

On Tuesday we went to Phoenix to have them installed. A costly project, but they really look good. I went from F to G load range, which will carry more weight at a lower pressure for a better ride. The spare is still an original Goodyear tire but it has a lot more tread and will serve as a spare for a long time to come. It is under the coach and out of the sunlight so it will not deteriorate as one out in the elements.

The whole state of Arizona is still in shock due to the shooting in Tuscon. I am not sure what the impact was on the rest of the country, but it is still tops on the news and probably will be for time to come. Certainly a tragedy for this community, city, state and nation.

We will be heading for Quartzsite on Saturday for a week or so to be with the amateur radio group and then we will go to Palm Springs on Friday the 28th for the hamfest on the 29th. Then we will be coming back to Mesa for a couple of weeks before heading to Texas.

Our photo is out our dining room window at a pretty sunset which occurs when we have a few clouds in the sky. Generally when the sky is clear there is no color, only light until the sun goes over the horizon and then it is dark in just a few minutes.

We would like to wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.

We went out to eat at a local establishment last evening and came home, watched the tv and the celebrations across the world and to New York and called it a night.

It has been cool, at or below freezing the last couple of nights and supposed to be cold again tonight but them warming up a bit in the next few days. It warms up during the day to a fairly comfortable temperature but as soon as the sun goes down, it is cold almost instantly.

We are looking forward to getting back on the road. We will be going to Quartzsite in a couple of weeks but will have to get more lp gas in the motor home before then. We will probably replace the 4 rear tires at that time and get that out of the way for a long time. It will be an expensive project but one that is needed as the tires are 10 years old and the tread is getting down to the retread groves, so it is time. So if the new ones last that long, we will probably not be needing them, or the motor home, who knows.

So, here's wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Merle & Evelyn