Short trip to Blythe and a nice visit

February 5 (Monday)
I got a nice walk done this morning around the LaPosa camping area. There are so many differnt types of rigs and folks of all types. Some staying in tents or the backs of their vehicles and on the other end of the spectrum there are those in the half-million dollar motor homes with more solar than my rig is worth! By choice or maybe necessity we were all sharing the desert.

After a bite to eat we packed up and headed over to Blythe, California. It is only about 20 miles from Quartzite just west of the Colorado River, which forms the border between Arizona and California.

Interstate 10 toward Blythe. That smoke is from burning fields.

It looks like Blythe may have been a very prosperous community at one time but now there are lots of closed up shops and malls. The older residential areas have seen better days. We had a look-see around town.

Very nice mural on the side of a building acros an empty parking lot.

Most small towns have a Elks Lodge.

Very pretty pink and yellow flowers.

One of many closed businesses.

We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed a bit further North on a secondary road. We came across a sign for the Mayflower Park so we checked it out. There is a campground and day use areas. The campground is mostly a grass field with ill-defined spots. A very tight fit for bigger rigs, but nice and shady and the sites were mostly full.

Smoke from the fields. Not sure why they were doing this. I didn't think farmers burned their fields these days.

The day use area was right along the Colorado River. Very nice views and a great spot to spend an afternoon. There was a gentleman relaxing by his van in the shade taking pictures of the hummingbirds with a camera and lens that must have been two feet long. I chatted to him briefly and left him to continue his photography.

Upstream of the Colorado River.....

.......and downstream

Camping sites in the trees.

Mayflower Regional Park

Boat launch

They are trying to save many of the trees in the park. This one is dead. I think the fine branches interwoven with the tree is called Desert Mistletoe and this parasite may eventually kills it's host.....and itself. Kinda dumb don't you think?

Severe pruning may save this one.

Hummingbird at rest. We think this is a Costa's Hummingbird.

A mutated Sanguaro Cactus on the road from the Prk.

I believe they call this a Crested Saguaro. Fairly rare.

We decided to head back to Quartzite. We took the exit on to Dome Rock Road. We bounced through the washes and looked at the boondockers. We came across a huge gathering of Casita and Escape trailers. They must have been having a convention of sorts. I have never seen so many of the little fiberglass trailers in one place. These are great little rigs for one and maybe two people. they are light weight and waterproof. A bit small for us but many folks love them.

There were dozens of these little guys camped out at Dome Rock camping area. Many had solar panels like this one had.

We continued down the road and eventually ran into George and Suzie (Our Awesome Travels) at their camping site. It was after 3PM and we had let them know we might be out so they weren't surprised to see us. They are leaving in the morning and we didn't want to mess up their packing routine, but the gracious hosts they are we were invited to sit a spell. These folks have been full time for ten years and travelled extensively around the US. They had lots of travel tips and location information for us. We certainly appreciated their advice. It was now nearly 5 PM and we didn't want to take more of their time so with hugs and handshakes we were off. Safe travels you guys and we sure hope to meet up with you again soon!

A thorn between two roses! (Cheryl, George and Suzie)

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