Thursday, February 22, 2018

Unexpected Turn of Events

 
When we decided that Ben would retire and we would travel in our Trailer we had visions of seeing great sights and smooth travels. We expected just to hook up and go. Never did we envision the set backs that came so early. Like 20 miles out of California!
 
  We arrived in Quartzite, AZ in the afternoon of Feb 11. We had originally planned to stay here 2 nights and "Boondock", meaning camping with no hook ups. We ended up having to stay longer since its free to just park out here.  One good thing about being here is our good friend Lydia is parked here with her rig.  

  So let's talk about our unexpected turn of events first. For some reason we had it in our minds that Ben's first check would come Feb 1st or close to that date. That was the first thing  against us. It in fact doesn't come til Mar 5th  ughhhh  So then the second hit was our fridge won't work off the gas but we've been using a cooler for food.  Then here's the really big hit we took... Ben's truck broke down. We thought at first it was a cheap fix but of course it wasn't going to be that easy. It ended up being a lot  of $$$$ to fix. When it first broke down I will admit this just about broke me down and I was on the verge of giving up our travel plans. It was like the odds were against us and maybe we weren't meant to travel.  Hearing stories from Lydia and her friends about their issues while traveling it made me feel so not alone. I also gave my issues to the Lord so when the hit came about the major issue I was at peace. Now lets just hope this fix is the last one for a long while. I appreciate those Friends and family who took the brunt of my venting. I'm glad we at least have cell service here.   

  Let me tell you about Quartzside. It is a small little town and has a lot of RVers. The popular time to be here is Jan - Mar. Many of the "snowbirds" gather here to be in warmer weather. There is also a huge RV show in January which brings this sleepy town of 2000 people to about 100,000 RVers.  We arrived at the end of the show so we missed all those people.

  Nestled behind our camp are some hills with many trails for hikers and ATVers. We have taken a few hikes and have come across mines and mining claims. I can not get over the abundance of Quartz just laying on the ground. I have started a  rock collection and I catch myself looking for more!



One of the days while we were hanging out around camp, Leroy, also camped next to us, took us out to go metal detecting for gold nuggets. Sadly we didnt find any gold, however we did find lots of lead! We had such a fun time we may need to get our own metal detector! 

We've actually enjoyed being out in the desert despite being stranded. We were blessed to have found Lydia and her friends. They have been so much help and have allowed us to borrow their vehicles to get into town and such. Blessings from God! We have one more week here then on to Congress AZ. Please keep us in your prayers! Here are a few more pictures from our stay here. 




Stay tuned for more adventures and hopefully no more set backs! 

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Chillin by the Lake

The day finally arrived where we packed up our trailer and moved away from Laguna Seca and from Monterey County.  The amount traveled wasn't too far but far enough to enjoy the scenery elsewhere.

We have set up camp at Lopez Lake. This lake is located in Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo county. We have stayed here once before and we loved it. Our home this week is nestled amongst trees and we have a view of the lake (and a playground). We have been enjoying the views and sounds of nature. The birds sing to us and we are graced with the presence of many deer. We had a fox and a skunk cross through our campsite and we encountered a great blue heron on our walk. Down by the lake we came across bear tracks. We have yet to see one and we were advised that the bears have been seen in our camp area.   



Being here has been very relaxing. I (Michelle) don't feel guilty just sitting around reading a book or just enjoying the view.  The only hard part about being here for a week is there is absolutely no service of any kind. We've been driving into town to check all our stuff.  Also being disconnected can be a good thing (for a day haha). Aside from the no service we have just enjoyed each others company around a mesmerizing campfire. 
 


When we arrived we had the campsite  to ourselves. Friday night more campers came in and that weekend it was pretty busy with families enjoying the outdoors.  Saturday we spent the day with our good friends out at the dunes. The rest of the week was pretty quiet at camp. By Wednesday night we had the camp grounds to ourself again. 

If you ever get a chance you should stay at Lopez Lake. In the summer time they have a water slide park and they have an adventure park with a zip line.  Sometimes its just nice to sit by the lake and enjoy the beauty! 


Time to pack up and head to our next destination!