Brief return to Quartzsite for heat(er)

February 27 (Tuesday)
We reluctantly left Lost Dutchman State Park today. We waited until the last possible moment before the Rangers gave us the boot. We stopped at the dump station to empty tanks and take on some more fresh water. We got out just before the noon deadline.

Apache Junction

Entering the 202

They sure decorate the freeways down here.

Lots of flowers

Downtown Phoenix

Relatively light traffic for a big city

A bit congested where the 202 meets the I10.

The 303 and I10. See the decorated uprights?

Midday seems to be a pretty good time to make your way through the Phoenix are traffic. We got onto the 202 and headed toward the I10 that would take us west toward Quartzsite.

Unique form of camping.

But I bet it's paid for!

These folks were form Michigan. We missed the tow vehicle but it was an old panel van from the 40's or 50's.

We stopped for lunch at a rest stop then headed to our final stop on Dome Rock Road. We found a spot suitable for the night and managed to get the trailer set up just as a sprinkle of rain fell. It didn't last long and was followed by a nice rainbow. The sun shone for a bit but the wind was very chilly. We hunkered down for a cold night. We used the last one pound bottle of propane for the Buddy heater. Tomorrow we get a new blue flame heater installed!

Our site at Dome Rock Tuesday night.

A rainbow after a brief shower.

Sun starting to shine on the mountains to the southwest.

Sunset Tuesday night.

Clearing skies!

February 28 (Wednesday)
The sun shone and the wind died down so we had a very nice start to the day. Cold, but nice.

We had a noon appointment at RV Lifestyles but we were there well before 11 AM in hopes they might squeeze us in sooner. No such luck. In fact their forklift was being repaired so we couldn't just drop the trailer and leave. So we waited until nearly 1230 before we could back the trailer into the bay and unhook.

We had some errands to do. First was the Miner's Depot to talk to the owner of the shop about my metal detector. He went over some operational items with me and gave me a free carrying case. He was out of them when I bought the detector.

Next stop was RV Pitstop to fill a propane cylinder, then time for lunch. We ended up way back at the other end of town at the X3 Family restaurant. It was busy but we got seated right away and enjoyed a nice lunch.

I needed fuel for the truck so back down Main street to the Chevron. We forgot to drop off the mail at the post office on the way so that will have to wait until Bullhead City. We stopped off at Tyson Wells market and found the discount food tent we liked. We bought some unhealthy candy and headed back to Dome Rock BLM to scout out another spot for tonight. We found a good spot and headed back to RV Lifestyles.

They had not yet finished the trailer so had a good look around the store. Nothing tempted me, thankfully. Finally nearly 4:30 we we had the heater installed, the demo done, the bill paid and we were off to Dome Rock.

There is propane plumbing below the furnace and hot water tank. Below the electrical connection (to the right of the furnace) is space to drill into the floor.

The tech added anothe tee and sent the heater supply line up through the floor.

Supply line up from the outside and then over to the outlet port. The furnace is the big grey metal box. The electrical input line ibesdie the new propane hose.

Through the cupboards. A valve and quick-connect coupler port. I'll get a cover to keep dirt out of the coupler.

I have twelve feet of rubber hose so I can place the heater at point of need.
(Bill/George - I have a built in handle!)
I'll add a hook to hang the hose.

10,000 btu's of heat! It's bigger than the Buddy heater, but there is a place to store it at the end of the island.

Hard to see the flame, but it's nice and toasty warm!
Just be sure to leave a window open when the fire is on.

The spot we scouted was still open so a quick setup and time to play with the metal detector. I found a few pieces of trash and then my big discovery for the day was a copper keepsake for a National Park in Arkansas (sorry, no picture). No real value, but it's the thrill of the hunt that is the fun of this hobby.

So here I sit in the basking warmth of our new blue flame heater. Tomorrow we head to Bullhead City. This was a quick side trip to Quartzsite, but sure nice to see my Sonoran Lady one more time. I missed her.

Moonrise

Sunset glow

Long-legged photographer

Our site tonight at Dome Rock

....and that was Our View From Here!

Superstitions hiking and a drive to the Flats

February 25 (Sunday)
Brian and Deb drove out to Lost Dutchman this morning. We wanted to walk/hike through the 'lowlands' of the Superstition Mountains. After all, why come here if  you don't experience them up close.

Flat Iron peak is that huge angular rock just left of center. 4861 feet altitude. I walked part way up to this point on Saturday. I might have been 1/4 the way up.

We 'could' have gone all the way to the top of Flat Iron (ha!) but common sense prevailed and we hiked to our ability level. Flat Iron is at 4861 feet and is rated 'difficult'. The campground is at roughly 2100 feet so you are facing a 2500 foot vertical climb. In fact Sunday night we saw the Air Rescue chopper head up there and returned to the campground. Likely with someone who hiked a bit beyond their skill level, or perhaps was injured. It happens all the time apparently and we didn't want to find out if they charged for the trip!

Someone not having a good end to their hiking day.

We spent an enjoyable couple of hours and about three and a half miles hiking the lower portions. Still a pretty good workout for us old folks.

That's our trailer, bottom center.

Apache Junction and Mesa in the distance.

Brian and Deb

Brian and I

This is called Green Rock. It is covered with green lichen on the other side. This was where the trail led back down.

The Praying Hands. The ones on te left are hard to distinguish from this angle.

Brian and Deb (lower left) and the Green Rock. It's pretty big!

A view from near the bottom.

Lots of horses use these trails. You can go on trail rides that start around $35/hour. That would be fun!

After a drink and a bite to eat we headed up the road toward Tortilla Flats. This is a twisty road with speed limits rarely exceeding 35 MPH.

Green lichen on the rocks.

From a distance you would believe the rocks were green.

Rugged country on the way to Tortilla Flats.

I can't imagine the stagecoach ride this must have been before today's road was built.

We stopped at the Canyon Lake overlook. There is a cruise boat you can take to tour the lake, but you would want to pick a nice warm day which it was not.

The cruise boat Dolly steamboat.

Canyon Lake was formed by the building of the Mormon Flat Dam in 1925. The lake is about ten miles long.

Tortilla Flats has been around since the 1800's and was a stage coach stop and miner 're-fueling' stopover. As we have seen in this area, lots of touristy stuff and of course the gunfight!

Impressive chunk of stone!

See the hole formed by two rocks.

The hangin' tree.

Dead

Doesn't look too dead now!!

Old schoolhouse/museum

The Mexican and the Sheriff are about to dual.

Mexican fires but then his gun jams.

Everybody goes down shooting.

Main street, if you call five buildings a street, is full of stuff to spend money on.

Busy street

Didn't pay his bar tab!

Sunday afternoon traffic

Lots of character

Live band. They were pretty good!

We stopped for a beer and some early supper before heading back to Lost Dutchman. The atmosphere is the draw here. Food is just ok.

Unique barstools. These are shaped like a donkey's rear end.

Saddles for bar stools

Dollar bills plastered everywhere.

Snake skins and cattlehorns

A very enjoyable day. We won't see Brian and Deb again until July in Winnipeg so it was nice to spend time with them.

February 26 (Monday)
We had planned to head over toward Gold Canyon and further south but you know when the view outside your back door is so darn amazing why not just sit back and enjoy the view. So that's just what we did. We also need to get things in order for our move on Tuesday.

The original plan was to head towards Bullhead City on Tuesday stopping at Burro Creek for a couple of days. That changed when we decided to get a blue flame heater installed at RV Lifestyles in Quartzsite. I called and they had some heaters in stock and they could install it on Wednesday, so .....plans changed.

So Monday was enjoyed just watching the Superstition Mountains. One of the main hiking trails is called Siphon Draw. It is so appropriately named for the hundreds of daily hilers that seem to be drawn up and into the hills.

We were in site 125. On the far right. Unserviced sites but an awesome view.

Not far away is the Goldfield Ghost Town. They have a mine tour that they announce with two long steam whistle blasts. It is amazing to listen carefully to the whistle echo off the rock walls of the Supertitions. Supernatural is more accurate.

The Lost Dutchman Park is a definite must-see, and the Superstion Mountains are the main view.
.....and that was Our View From Here!