Quartzsite 2010 rally happenings and photos

I walked over to the fire ring at 4 pm and was surprised that no one was there for Happy Hour  - just kidding, it was pretty easy to figure out that we were cancelling Happy Hour tonight - not a single person even wandered that way except Mike who went to check on the "freebie" table.. At 7 pm, the rain has stopped but the wind is blowing. But the desert smells heavenly - if you've ever smelled wet desert, you'll be waxing nostaligic right now.

Things WILL be better tomorrow !  I was going to pray for clear skies for our Birthday Party on Thursday and our Potluck on Saturday but then I remembered Brother Bob's admission to "be specific" about what you pray for and figured I'd end up with clear skies and 90 mph winds so I'm rethinking my prayer.

BTW, although it rained last night, and it's raining tonight, at 10 a.m., when 16 intrepid walkers headed off on our 2-miler, the skies were blue with light breezes.

Wish you all were here.
Wendy

HERE is the latest latest list of 50 names, and 33 arrivals.

Looking at the list, I would imagine there are a number that probably will not show up. Note there are several that were due on the 15th. Perhaps they will show up -- or let us know that they have canceled.

Wendy -- yes it "was" another great walk day. I improved my time by a full minute for the 2 mile course, and turned in a 21.5 minute mile average. The rest of the group came in farther ahead of me than in past walks, so it appears everyone is improving. I hope Rita walks with us tomorrow so I will have some company back there . . .

Betty, the posted list should be current now. Tom gave me the names of his friends so they are included as well.

whats with this weather here? I just drove 1400 miles to get away from a lousy Calgary winter, maybe I should should start driving to Mazatlan today.

It's unfortunate that the rain will disrupt our rally outside activities but just think of the  desert in the spring.  This rain is what brings the flowers. I'll bet it is not nearly as cold at Calgary.  One thing we can never manage is our weather.  I just relax and enjoy my  inside activities. ..rReading, playing on computer, I've even  oiled all wood withthe orange stuff I learned about at an RV show. Life is still good.

Betty

Betty,

You certainly are one of those "half-full" glass people! One reason why we all like you so much.......you go girl.

Marie

Rain all night from the 3rd storm. So unusual to see flowing water out here.

Good shots, Russ. No rain today yet where we are in Tucson, but lots of wind @ 35-40 mph. (Justin's Diamond J RV Park, 9 mi west of S Tucson.) The forecast is for sustained 40 mph gusting to 60 mph tonight, with rain. Do you all take any particular precautions when there's a forecast for high winds like that, when parked?

(In the high mountains @ 7-8000 ft, there is a blizzard warning, with gusts to 80 mph. Hope they keep it in the mountains.)

Wednesday/Thursday AM from Quartzsite:

o HERE is the latest list of 51 names, and 41 arrivals. From the messages received of late it appears some are waiting until today's storms do their thing and will be here tomorrow - Friday. We're glad they have not tried to brave this storm of the latest series and look forward to their arrivals. The days of our rally were designed to coincide with the Big Show, but most every year we stay on and continue enjoying the desert. And as far as shows, the Big Tent will have another show next week and the rest of Quartzsite will be filled with Vendors for several more months.

o The 2 mile walkers continue to amaze me!! I mentioned in an earlier post that a 15 minute walking mile is needed for good cardiovascular exercise. That fell by the way side on the first day by many of the RVForum walking folk. And this AM during a short break in the rain the walkers were out there as usual. Good for them.

o Bruce Osborne (from Denver) showed up yesterday!! Was wondering if we would see him again this year. He is not hard to find in our group as he stands 6' 8" (Note the Group(2) pic below). I asked why he hadn't signed up and his response was that he wasn't sure until the last minute.

o After last nights chilly Happy Hour -- a  group of us went to the Grub Stake for dinner. All you could eat pop corn shrimp was the special of the day!! Great evening. 

Below are some more images - mostly taken at Happy Hour. Helaine and Wally treated the group to "Huge" marshmellows to cook over the campground fire. Was hoping to get a shot of Jack Gibbs having having an accident with his beard -- but, he was too skilled for that to happen!! The images once again show that a little rain does not slow this group down.  8)

Yesterday AM (Wednesday) I drove into town to pick up a package. When I found that The Quiet Times mail place didn't open until 10:00AM, I decided to have breakfast at the Taco Meo <sp> then off to take a few pics at the show. Here are a few of those images. Some are under the Big Show tent, and others were taken at the Tyson Wells show.

The boy and girl bikes were taken in the wash parking behind the Big Tent.

The image titled, Dollar Burgers, is a vendor stand just to the East of the Tyson Wells RV park office on West Kuehn Street. I found this lady and her burgers 3 years ago and now "never" come to Quartzsite w/o having one of her cheeseburger, Fries, drink combos. After 4:00PM she sells burgers for one dollar, and the line is almost down to I95. 

And finally, THIS image and the one beside it were taken during my return drive down the Old Yuma road. Would image these two washes are filled to the brim today.

Thursday PM, wind is in the 30-40 mph range and the internet dish is unfazed.

Having been caught in LA during a santa anna blow, I am no longer worried about my rig blowing over. I had to jink around tipped semis and saw a billboard fly, but was only buffeted. I will never again allow myself to be is such a situation again. Fear of being struck by flying debree was very real.

40 ft deisel pushers have a low center of gravity, while empty semis have high ones.

Looking at the weather radar at 5:06 it looks like the worst parts of the storm are just north and south of you.

Hope it stays that way.

ken

Diane and I went to happy hour today waited half an hour than left.  was happy hour moved and we missed the new location.  Sorry, will try to get new location during coffee hour tomorrow.

On the 5 PM news they were saying that there are tornado warnings and 70 mph straight winds in the Quartzsite area.  you folks be careful and be prepared to take evasive action!

The winds got so intense between 4-5ish that Tim and several others put the satellite dishes down, he even pulled in our slide.  We had a staff meeting at Tom Jones's coach and were wondering if we should put on the seat belts,  It was really blowing out here. 

We are such an optimistic group, no one has left yet, we hoping for sunny weather in the next few days.

Marsha~

Winds blew a TON between 3 and 6 then died off a tiny bit. Guess Jack and Diane are the only ones who even attempted Happy Hour - they win the optimist award !! Mike put down the dish and pulled in the slide and I heard someone lost their slide topper. Terry B said we had 61 mph gusts !! Just to make ourselves feel better, back home in the southwest corner of Colorado, they are under a Flash Flood Warning, Blizzard Warning, and Winter Storm Warning. Doesn't really make me feel better

Mike took Gordon out during the worst of it and thought he'd run away - he was hiding under the motorhome !! Our big brave labrador.

8:10 pm and the wind is picking back up but is supposd to die off around midnight. I so hate wind.

Wendy
Quartzsite

jack r said:

Diane and I went to happy hour today waited half an hour than left.  was happy hour moved and we missed the new location.  Sorry, will try to get new location during coffee hour tomorrow.

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What in the heck were you two doing out in the wind at that time?  Happy hour was  rained and winded out...We are on a wait and see for any social events outside.  Sigh..  The Desert needs the rain but the Forum wants a party.  maybe tomorrow.
Betty

Lowell said:

On the 5 PM news they were saying that there are tornado warnings and 70 mph straight winds in the Quartzsite area.  you folks be careful and be prepared to take evasive action!

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Terry's  weather machine registered winds in our Quartzsite location with wind gusts of 61 mph.  Oh yes and it was raining. He pulled in the slide and then put it out and  then  handled the  awning that wrapped up on itself .  Neighbor  Jerryy F helped him hold the ladder  steady. We  love the rain. 

What a rally!

Betty

I have high hopes for clearing weather for you all on Saturday.  It never rains on an RV Forum potluck.  Repeat after me .... it NEVER rains on an RV Forum potluck ... it NEVER rains on an RV Forum potluck ....

You're all brave boondockers ... hang in there!  Send more pictures! 

Margi

Wally and I made a quick trip into Q after the storm blew through.  Rice Ranch had extensive flooding - apparently it's the main drainage for the east side of the valley.  The road acted like a dam and backed up water throughout the vendor area around the Gambler and was rapidly flowing across the road 6'-12" deep in a couple of places.  The road was also blocked by flooding south of the east interchange, so we wound up turning around and driving back through Rice Ranch.

The Big Tent appeared to survive the wind, but there was damage to several vendor's tents at Tyson Wells, including one that completely lost it's roof.

The town to the north of the freeway fared pretty well, except for the two RV parks between Main St. and the freeway.  Both had standing water, in one case it looked to be about halfway up the tires of the RVs.

I wonder how many of the flooded vendors will try to re-open, and how many will just pack it in.

The high wind gusts sure rocked our coach today. I was a little concerned about the possibility of flipping over, but the forum staff came to the rescue. The added ballast kept us firmly rooted to the ground through the worst of it.

I thought it would be appropriate to record the occasion with a group photo, but hadn't yet figured out where the time delay button is on my new camera. Photographer Marsha came to the rescue.

Notice the use of flash bounced off the ceiling, resulting in a "warmer" light, something I've been experimenting with since I bought my new external flash.