Busy Times with Quartzite Firstimers

Nicolaus, CA

Thousand Trails Resort

Steve hasn't been released from his Doctor yet after his eye surgery, so we moved out of the Elks as we had an incident with speeding drivers in the parking lot that resulted in a police visit.  Then we are off to Arizona.  First we stopped at another Thousand Trails that we have not been to yet.  We wanted to have a short drive so Steve could see how it is driving the rig again and setting up/tearing down since it has been 3 weeks.  

Lake Minden at the campground is very pretty.  If we were able we'd have kayaked here.  It's a nice campground if you can be here in Spring and Fall.  It's cold now and can be foggy in the winter and very, very hot in the summer.  There were some nice walking trails we did which made Steve feel much better to be outside again.

We stayed 5 days as Steve had one last doctor appointment before we could head out.  He was finally released since the gas bubble in his eye that is holding the band in place had finally shrunk and broken up.  Until that time he had to stay under 500ft elevation.  We did a quick visit to see our grandson once more before heading to Arizona.

Monetery, CA

Elks Lodge

   

   

Our two youngest boys were enjoying some successful duck hunting.

As we drove to Lancaster we passed up some oil fields.

Lancaster, CA

Elks Lodge

We had to rearrange some stops but were still able to meet up with our friends,  Rick and Angie, at the Lancaster, CA Elks Lodge.  They have had their new trailer for a year now but just got the new truck.  They love it!

It was crazy windy and very cold as we headed out.  Driving through town we had a tumbleweeds blowing across the road. (video)  We also drove Rick and Angie down the Musical Road.  If you drive 45 miles an hour you can here Mozart play with the vibrations on the raod.

Quartzsite, AZ

La Posa LTVA BLM

The next day we arrived at Quartzsite at the LaPosa South LTVA.  We had other friends that were leaving Arizona and heading back to CA and wanted to stop for a few days at Quartzsite too.  None of them had been here before.  While it was somewhat less crowded due to Covid and the Canadians not traveling, it was still busy.

My panoramic picture looks a bit different as we were really parked in a square.  The guys built a nice big fire ring in the middle.  Bob & Kathi, Jim & Jenny, us and Rick & Angie's rigs.  Rick and Angie brought their new E-Bikes and when they took them for their first ride, Rick got a flat tire.  So many sharp, evil things out here!

I'll say this is the coldest, windiest and wettest time in Quartzsite yet!  Kind of a bummer for the first timers, but we still did some fun things and had several fires.

Me and Jenny.  Our kids went to school together back in Placerville.

We did the Big Tent, vendor tents, and went to Bill Bob's Adult Daycare (above, Angie & Rick)

Of course we had to make our annual trip and take them all to the Desert Bar.  It's miles out in the middle of the desert and runs totally on solar.  Very cool place.  The drive down the washboard dirt road is an experience in its own.

The best burgers and garlic fries.  We split a pulled pork burger.

Seems like they add on every year.  There's an entire new seating area and the downstairs grill is now upstairs in the new section by the dance floor.

Taking a picture up above.

Bob, Kathi, Angie, Rick, Steve, Me, Jenny & Jim.

Jim and Steve

When that whole Bernie Meme thing came out we had to have a little fun with it too.

Look who joined us out in Quartzsite!

We had to take them to Silly Al's for pizza too.  Social distancing with tables spaced out and masks unless you're at your table.

It was a great time and they all loved it even though the weather was less than perfect.  Jim & Jenny headed over to Lake Havasu and Bob & Kathi went back to Congress to be with family.  This was also everyone's first time boondocking too.  They all did great!

Kofa Mountains, AZ

King Rd

We drove down south on 95 towards Yuma to boondock some more on King Rd.  Hardly anyone out here and cell service is super fast compared to Quartzsite.  Steve actually takes the week off now. while were at Q.

Our nice view of the Kofa Mountains around us.

It was still cold but we had some great fires and blankets!

The flowers that our friend, Rose, gave us back in Placerville are still looking good.

While Steve was working I took Rick and Angie out to some of the local things to see.   We went to the Stone Cabin and other times they drove and spent the day in Yuma and they went to the nearby ghost town. 

Up above the Stone Cabin.

On the way to hiking up Palm Canyon we stopped at the Circle of Life.

We hiked the short trail back to the palms.  It's about  1/2 miles round trip.  Easy hike to the palms.  If you want more adventure, you can hike up the tight chute up to the palms themselves.  I you look across the canyon, up in the sunlight you can see the palms.

Here they are zoomed in.

Angie squeezing up the chute! (video)

   

You have to bushwhack to the bottom of the canyon and find the right spot to climb up.  It is a lot of rock climbing and some spots are as narrow as a couple of feet.  

Made it!  A quick snack and rest and we headed back down.

The narrowest part of the chute.

Our camp with the full moonrising.

That's our rigs.

We had a great time with Rick and Angie and I think they really had a good time at Quartzsite and here at King Rd.  They headed back home to CA and we spent one night in Yuma to clean the rig , tanks and do some laundry.

Yuma, AZ

Thousand Trails Resort

Thousand Trails only has 1 park in Arizona that we can use with our Zone Pass.  They decided to add another so we stopped in Yuma at the Cactus Gardens RV Park.  It was your typical private park.  Tight spots but clean and people were friendly.  We had full hookups on site D35.  The sites aren't very long or wide and we barely fit.  It's always nice to get a deep clean in after boondocking out in the desert. 

Patagonia, AZ

Patagonia State Park

This is a very clean and well kept state park in the far SE part of Arizona, very near the Mexican border.  There are many trees that they keep very well trimmed but are quite close to the pavement.  Luckily they gave us one of the bigger sites but we still barely fit.  Steve did a great job backing in between the trees that surrounded us.

We were in site  #90, 50amp/water.

We spent a few days here and hiked a bit and kayaked on the lake.  We got a calm day and the temperature was nice in the 70s.

We kayaked all day paddling around the lake and back into all of the creeks as far as we could get.  It was a great stay and I'm glad we finally got to visit here.
 

Best Campgrounds of 2020 and 2021 Plans

Rancho Cordova, CA Elks Lodge

What can I say?  2020 had a lot of bummer moments.  With Covid our plans, like others, had many changes and we opted to stick mostly to CA.  There were some silver linings though.  We gained another daughter-in-law and our first grandchild!

Since we stayed mostly in CA, we decided to try out as many of the Thousand Trails Parks as we could.  Normally we only stay in the one by Placerville when we are home for the holidays. I added all the Elks Lodges that had camping on the coast too.  Hardly any boondocking or other places we normally seek out, but not bad.  This was a very different year for us.

 Read on to see how this changed our numbers.

 

When looking for campsites, we prefer privacy, easy access, gorgeous views, on or very near water for fishing and kayaking, nearby hiking and biking trails, not too far from towns for amenities, entertainment, good food and water/dump.  We also love areas with history, breweries and other fun things.  Since Steve works from the rig, all of these spots have great Verizon cell signal unless otherwise noted. We also love to boondock and love FREE camping.  If we have to pay, anything  in the Twenties is what we shoot for.  Anything above $30 stings a bit but sometimes that's what it is.

Here are our favorite camping spots of 2020 (in no particular order):

1. Anza Borrego Desert, CA
FREE. Easy to get to on BLM land, right off a paved road..  This spot was large and flat and perfect for visiting Borrego Springs area.  Good Verizon as well.  Water and dump at the Red Earth Casino nearby.

    

 Great boondocking, hiking and sight-seeing.

2.  Alabama Hills - Lone Pine, CA
FREE.  I've been waiting to go here for years!  It can be hard to get one of the awesome spots up against the rocks.  Roads near the rocks can be sandy, rocky and very uneven.  We persevered and got a great spot!  So much hiking!!  The Movie Museum in town and the Manzanar Internment Camp are must dos!

    
                Life Rocks!                                 Mt. Whitney                          Several Arch Rocks

3. Lost Dutchman State Park, Apache Junction, AZ    

Beautiful, sparkling clean campsites, nicely spaced with a spectacular view of the Superstition Mountains and great hiking!  $30 to camp with electric and water ($20 with no utilities).  This is an all-time favorite and is always on our list! An annual stop for us.  If you get lucky being here at the perfect time in March/April , you may hit the peak bloom.  Spectacular!
    
                                         So much hiking, kayakingand exploring!

4. King Rd, AZ
FREE camping on BLM land between Quartzsite and Yuma.  All the beauty of the KoFa Mountains but none of the crazy crowds.  Fantastic Verizon!  

    

Plenty of hiking, fun over in Q and lots to do in Yuma.

5. Lake Pleasant Regional Park, AZ 
Less than an hour from Phoenix, but so peaceful.  Plenty of hiking and kayaking on the lake to keep you busy.  $22, no hookups but other loops offer more.

    

6. Sweetwater Regional Park - San Diego, CA 

This park we heard about from other RVers.  It's a great place to stay for visiting San Diego.  We spent 10 days here.  $30 for FHUs on large, private spots overlooking San Diego.  So much to see in this city.  We biked, went to the Zoo & USS Midway and many other landmark areas.  AWESOME!

      
   USS Midway Aircraft Carrier                San Diego Zoo                    Sweetwater Campground

7.  Old Rim Rd - Payson, AZ

FREE boondocking on National Forest land.  At this particular spot there are marked sites that are very  spread out and private.  The Mogollon Rim is well over 5000 ft elevation and perfect for summer stays. Lots of hiking, kayaking and watching the Elk.  Just plain relaxing!     

     Kayaking Willow Springs  The Rim is on the other side of the trees.   Sunset on the Rim!

8. Texas Springs Campground - Death Valley, CA

$16 gets you a nice site with water and dump.  So much to do in Death Valley!

      

Honorable Mention:

We are not big on private parks, Thousand Trails or Elks as a first choice.  This was a quirky year so we made the best of it.  We find Elks to work out when we need to be in a big city or expensive area.

-Elks Lodge, Monterey, CA: Small park, not too level.  Clean, quiet, awesome location, kayaking.

-Elks Lodge Napa, CA: Great location for wine tasting and kayaking.

-Elks Santa Barbara, CA: Great location for exploring the beach and area.

-Thousand Trails Groveland, CA: Great location in Yosemite NP.

-Thousand Trails Idyllwild, CA: Great location for hiking.

-Thousand Trails Ponderosa, CA: Great location near Placerville on the river.

For those that might be interested, here's a breakdown of the places we stayed, and the costs:

	Stays	Nights	Total	AVG (per night cost)
County Park	4	20	$527.00	$26.35
Elks	22	154	$3689.50	$23.95
Fairgrounds	2	2	$45.00	$22.50
State Park	1	7	$140.00	$20.00
National Park	1	2	$32.00	$16.00
Thousand Trails*	14	93	$600.00	$6.45
Boondocking**	4	51	$0	$0
BLM	4	26	$0	$0
National Forest	1	9	$0	$0
Walmart	1	0	$0	$0
State Rec	0	0	$0	$0
National Rec	0	0	$0	$0
Private Park	0	0	$0	$0

* We renewed our Thousand Trails membership for $600/yr in September of 2020.

** Boondocking for us is anywhere we stay for free which is not an organized campground.  It can include time at family and friends and other areas. This year we spent one night at a Casino and 1 night at a hotel (which I didn't count the stay or cost at $100). Some of our boondocking will be at BLM, National Forest, etc, but I give them a separate category because we generally spend a lot of time at them and I like to keep track of that.  Sometimes there can be a small fee to camp at them but most of the time it is free.

We traveled 5,845 miles and had 54 stops averaging 6.7 days a stop.

We have 155,000 miles on the truck.

Yearly Comparison
2014 - (need to add)
2015 - (need to add)
2016 - Yearly Campsite Total: $3494.50
            Daily Average: $9.57
2017 - Yearly Campsite Total: $5090.50
            Daily Average: $13.94
2018 - Yearly Campsite Total: $4038.00
            Daily Average: $11.06

2019 - Yearly Campsite Total: $5530.00

            Daily Average: $15.15 

2020 - Yearly Campsite Total: $5075.50

            Daily Average: $13.90

What was different?

Wow, I was surprised to see how much we spent.  Well, California is an expensive state.  Guess it was a good thing we had that Thousand Trails.
We boondocked MUCH less and stayed at more Thousand Trails and  Elks Lodges due to another sons wedding and the birth of our grandson. Covid kept us in place in Monterey, CA for 85 days.

We don't care for memberships or private parks but we needed a back up place to stay since the Placerville, CA Elks Lodge has been full on more occasions so we renewed our Thousand Trails Membership as we are "back home" for 6 weeks.

Plans for 2021:
Our plans have changed already and we haven't even left CA yet!  Steve's eye surgery has us here until we get the doctor's OK to travel. Probably Between the 7th and 14th of Jan.  Quartzsite and King Rd. will probably be out.  We will spend the remainder of Jan, Feb & Mar in Arizona going back to CA for Jaxon's First Birthday.  Then we will spend April - May in the upper gulf states and celebrate our nieces wedding in Florida in May.  After the wedding we will meander through the middle part of the midwest states and pop into Colorado in Sept. We will get back to Arizona Oct before returning  to CA for the holidays.

We're really missing the Superstition Mountains in AZ right now.  

This isn't my picture but, yes, it IS this amazing.

Safe Travels where ever you end up!