Location, Bouse, AZ
We are back at our friends
Jack and Judys place south of Bouse.
We stayed 3 days on West Darby Wells Road south of Ajo. It is one of the nicer dry camps we have
ever had. The weather was beautiful and we hated to leave.
On Saturday we drove south
to Organ Pipe National Monument. We had been here several years ago and of course
the border crossings into the park had created lots of media hype in recent
years. And yes, a young park ranger was killed in 2002 by drug smugglers however;
the park is well patrolled by both park rangers and border patrol.
The campground is so nice
that we wish we had camped there for a few days. It is laid out in a fan shape
on the side of a hill over looking Mexico. All sites have paved pads with water nearby. For
only $6.00 with the senior card it is a great deal.
On Sunday we drove to
Quartzsite and camped over night at Rice Ranch. We walked around the Rice Ranch
and Tyson Wells selling areas but there are few vendors now.
On Monday morning we had
the rig in Lifestyles shop to have the water heater looked at and the low point
drain valves replace. Both valves were cracked and leaking so we could not let
our water pump on when it was not being used as it would cycle on as the water
pressure dropped.
While the RV was in the
shop we went to the bakery for pastries and then to the selling area near the
Post Office. We got the low down on town politics from the lady selling metal
gee-gaws. She told us that last year the seller permits were down 300 from the
year before and this year they were down 700. That’s 1000 permits in 2 years.
Many sellers we talked to said they aren’t coming back.
So, who will take the place
of Quartzsite in coming years? Tucson has taken over the gem and mineral aspect of
Quartzsite. The general sellers need some place to go. I was told that an area
in Tucson is slowly becoming a selling area. Maybe it will
take the place of Quartzsite in the future.
We had lunch with jack and
Judy and EJ and then checked out the fabric and bead store. Eventually the RV
was done but they didn’t have an electric heating element so we picked one up
at Gamblers which I will install later. A few Ben Franklins later, we picked up
the RV after buying some groceries, and proceeded to Bouse and got parked just
in time for cocktail hour.
Yesterday I moved a few
wheel barrow loads of rock for Jack and then installed the water heater
element. Of course that meant draining the hot water heater. I had put in a new
sacrificial anode this summer but it already was deteriorating so I put in a
new one from my spare supply. After I removed the electric element I saw lots
of calcium deposits in the water heater so I flushed them out with the help of
a wire hook and the water hose. BAD DECISION! With the electric element out,
the water ran back inside around the outside of the water tank and inside the
RV under the sink soaking part of the carpet. I knew this before I started the
job but completely forgot about it as I was cleaning the tank. BUMMER! I need
someone to follow me around and whack me up side the head when I am about to
screw up.
Lots of paper towels and
bath towels later mo9st of the damage was cleaned up. The carpet however will
take a while to dry. It only reinforces our decision to remove the carpet this
summer and replace it with vinyl flooring.
Lots of wind yesterday.
Overnight it rained and today we have snow on the mountains to the east and
intermittent showers including some hail. Temps are in the 40’s.
We have a general plan for
the next couple weeks as far as our travels go. Once we leave here on Monday,
we will be heading home slowly. There is more dry camping planned and visits
with friends before we park the rig.
