January 1 – day 72 to January 31 – day 102
Well it’s January 2019. Seems like time is flying. January 1 — day 72 since the start of the journey in October 2018. 72 days and still exciting thinking about each month of things to do and places to go.
January travel will be in the south western section of Arizona. Start with leaving Eloy/Casa Grande. Quartzsite [pick out BLM HI JOLLY camp boondocking site for show and check out area] to Yuma [annual gunfighters show] to Quartzsite [meetup with Eric] to Parker/Parker Strip [actual campground! lol] to Lake Havasu [London Bridge] to Quartzsite [RTR Rubber Tramp Rendezvous and the big RV show] back to Yuma for warmer weather break and head back to Phoenix area for south central Arizona adventure!
Hi Jolly BLM dry camp, Quartzsite, AZ
Find a spot in the designated camping area and setup camp. It is actually a huge chunk of desert that will get filled up before the RV show starts.
Dumping, water and propane can be purchased about a mile south on Route 95 toward the town of Quartzsite on the east side of the road… it’s called Pit Stop.About Hi Jolly…
Hi Jolly or Hadji Ali was an Ottoman subject of Syrian and Greek parentage, and in 1856 became one of the first camel drivers ever hired by the US Army to lead the camel driver experiment in the Southwest. Hi Jolly became a living legend until his death in Arizona. Once, insulted because he had not been invited to a German picnic in Los Angeles, he broke up the gathering by driving into it on a yellow cart pulled by two of his pet camels. Ali was one of several men hired by the United States Army to introduce camels as beasts of burden to transport cargo across the “Great American Desert.” Eight of the men – including Ali – were of Greek origin. Ali was the lead camel driver during the US Army’s experiment with the U.S. Camel Corps in using camels in the dry deserts of the Southwest. After successfully traveling round trip from Texas to California, the experiment failed, partly due to the problem that the Army’s burros, horses, and mules feared the large animals, often panicking, and the tensions of the American Civil War led to Congress not approving more funds for the Corps. In 1864, the camels were finally auctioned off in Benicia, California, and Camp Verde, Texas. Ali was discharged from the Quartermaster Department of the U.S. Army at Camp McDowell in 1870.
He next ran a freight service between the Colorado River and the mining establishments further east, using the few camels he had purchased. His business was unsuccessful, however, and he released his camels into the desert near Gila Bend. He became an American citizen in 1880, and he used his birth name of Philip Tedro (sometimes spelled Teadrow) when he married Gertrudis Serna in Tucson, Arizona. In his final years, Ali moved to Quartzsite, Arizona, where he mined and occasionally scouted for the US government. He died in 1902 and was buried in the Quartzsite Cemetery.
The RebelRays from the riverside forum. They are both super wonderful people. I hope you would also get a chance to meet up with them too.
The ~70 mile drive to Yuma…
Senic drive, The STONE CABIN, Army proving grounds, Suni Sands RV Resort.
You definitely didn’t want to take the 3:10 to Yuma!
The RTR area visit. Very interesting… “Rubber Tramp Rendezvous” was a gathering of full time RVer’s. You can learn a lot in a gathering like this.
The Colorado River at the La Paz County Park campground.
London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It was built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. It was dismantled in 1967 and relocated to Arizona. The Arizona bridge is a reinforced concrete structure clad in the original masonry of the 1830s bridge, which was purchased by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London. McCulloch had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge numbered and transported to America to construct the present bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu. The bridge was completed in 1971, and links an island in the Colorado River with the main part of Lake Havasu City.
Campfires and music in the desert. Simply marvelous!
The stories and the Indian flute playing in the AZ desert was just incredible. Listening to you play, watching the sunset, waiting for the lunar eclipse… is something none of us will ever forget.
Thank you so much for the show Eric!
The big tent event. RV show.
Yip… Suni Sands again. Time to warm up from the cold desert. Swim and relax.
The ghost town in the desert. Historic Castle Dome City.
LOL… the 310 to Yuma… Make a run for it!!!
Heading out of Yuma on Hwy 8. But…
Don’t know if I’ll ever get back to quartzsite… Great memories of friends and fun also the dusty desert…
Ooops, almost missed a fuel receipt. Campgrounds are still the largest expense. The more boondocking, the lower the overall expenses. Fuel costs are kept lower by spending a few days here and there just enjoying boondocking in the wilds. Watch sunrises and sunsets, listen to music, read a book. Maintenance, blog updates, cooking, cleaning, wash all keeps you busy more than you think. When you get a chance to just relax in the desert and enjoy the solitude with no TV, internet, phones, etc… you really can relax and enjoy.
Now onto February.
What can be in store for February…
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