Quartzsite to Casa Grande

I know some of you thought we would never leave Quartzsite but, on Tuesday we finally left. After 15 days in Quartzsite, we had planned to move on down towards Casa Grande on Tuesday morning, Feb. 5th. However, the wind woke me at 6:00 this morning, blowing from the rear of the trailer and flapping the slide awnings! I laid there thinking, “I don’t recall hearing the wind blow so hard at this hour before!” Not a good sign! I thought, “well, as long as the gusts don’t get as harsh as yesterday we’ll be OK to pack up. It would be a tail wind down there and help our mileage! :-)

However, Grant slept in until 7:45 so there was no chance for an early start, especially after he fired up the generator, (to make coffee and run the router for the computers) and started surfing the net! By 9:30 we were ready to face the task of packing up!

By 11:30 we had everything stowed, including the new satellite dish, and said our “Good Byes” to the remaining MOC group. They couldn’t believe we had planned to come for only a couple of days and stayed 15 nights! That was, of course, before we had the generator, which made life a little easier out in the boon docks! And the best thing: the wind had died down to just a breeze.

Traveling down I-10 is quite unique in this part of Arizona. Yes, there are lots of trucks, but just as many big RV’s, too. The scenery is wonderful, with long mesas of desert punctuated with sharp rising mountains! You can literally see 60 miles away or more. After all of the rain they’ve had this past week, the desert was definitely turning green. A beautiful contrast of the dark red rocks and green landscaping. Unfortunately, there are no turnouts to pull over and take pictures!

You glide up one rise, crest over the top and look down another huge vista of desert. The higher areas have more saguaro cactus than the lower elevations, all with comical poses. The lower elevations had more bare landscaping, small creosote bushes, no cactus, with signs warning “Blowing Dust Area”.

As we came over the last ridge and looked down on Casa Grande, we could see a very spread out metropolis. so different from all of the previous valleys. Checking the GPS, it found us Buena Tierra RV Park right near where I-10 and I-8 merge, as well as a railroad running through. Oh joy! It’s a nice park, perfect for a couple of days, but I wouldn’t stay here more than that! Especially after our space in Quartzsite had an unobstructed view of the wonderful open desert, there wasn’t anybody near us for miles! The closest Montana was 40 feet in front of us, but there are no windows in the very front of our trailer! J I will miss the quiet and peaceful ambience. Here the trucks run 24-7, though fortunately, the train isn’t as active!

This park will do, at least we have full hook ups: electricity on demand, water without worrying how much to use and the spaces are nice and big. We opted for a pull through so Grant wouldn’t have to worry about backing in! After lifting the generators back into the truck this morning at Q, it had done a number on his back. Plus the drive of 4 ½ hours made it more tense, it was fine with me to pay the extra fee for a Pull Through.

Today we have to get the laundry done, after more than a week piling up in the hamper and get groceries to restock the fridge and pantry.