logistics: Quartzsite to Lake Havasu City

I didn’t have to leave until the 8th, but I had two packages in the Amazon Locker in Havasu and I knew the lockers were full.    I gathered up the campsite (60 seconds) and headed south.  Havasu is north on 95 but I had some stuff to do. 

trash

I had two plastic grocery bags of trash for the 13 days.  Normally it would be less (more burning) but I knew the county transfer station was right down the road.  This time of year it’s 7:30a-230p Sun-Wed.  Basically a intermode  dumpster down in a ramped area where you can toss stuff in.  

Most people drive in, back up, and toss their stuff but with a tiny amount it’s easier to park outside the fence and walk in.   

discount grocery

I continued on past I-10 down to the flea market area. There is a grocery outlet there that has all kinds of stuff:  out of date, torn labels, weird flavors.   

Example: 

  • over a pound of “organic protein bars” for $2.  I don’t care about the organic part, but I like to keep  a couple emergency bars in my day pack.    

  • dented box Premium saltines for $1

  • 2# of canned sweet potatoes for $1.50

  • 2# jar of mystery pickles (whole pickles, no label) for $1.50.  Pretty sure they are dills. 

  • can of turkey spam $2

I filled two reusable bags that they were uncomfortable to carry;  $30 plus free celery w/purchase on the way out. This haul isn’t a 14d supply, but it plus my existing stash will get me through the next 14d here. 

water

Headed back north and stopped at the famous RV Pit Stop.  Filled the camper’s fresh tank with filtered well water from the potable hose for $2.    I estimate I took on 20gal, so $0.10/gal.  Yes, please!  I’ll take that deal every day, especially since I don’t have to carry anything.  Hook it up and let it rip. 

Amazon locker

I got to Havasu and pulled my packages out of the locker using the 6-digit code Amazon provided. It was at a Circle K. Unpackaged as much as I could and left the wrapping there in the trash. In this pickup:

  • HQST 20A PWM controller for experiments, backup, and maybe for the portables that are still underway to Home Depot.
  • 20A DC-DC buck converter for experiments and possible use with the portables, depending on the outcome of the experiments
  • Transcend USB microSD adapter. One of the few I’ve found that works well with big cards (> 128GB), on all OSes I’ve thrown at it. I’m going to use it to hold a microSD in the Pi DVR project box.

laundry

Stopped a the Kiowa Coin-Op Laundromat because no proprietary card was required, and because the wifi was reported to be peppy.

It took a while to get online because of ambiguous password pronunciation and an apparent belief that access points don’t care about upper/lower case (they do). The pass is washndry, by the way, all lowercase.

The wifi was peppy, so I updated all devices and pulled down podcasts and other media that were waiting patiently for me.

I was the only one wearing a mask, so I was immediately identifable as an outsider.

Craggy Wash BLM

About 3pm I got to the pull-off leading to Craggy Wash. Never been here before. Much nicer to look at than Quartzsite, but being situated in the hills reduces hours of solar availabilty. Lots of folks camped just inside the entrance. I went maybe a half-mile past that looking for a place with maximal solar.

The graded road (two-track path) is fine, although there is deepish gravel in places and it’s best to keep some momentum. There is deep gravel on the side of the road in places that I bet has swallowed many an axle.

I found a small elevated clearing and the Promaster scrambled up the approach. There was a bit of traction control engagement but nothing dramatic.

http://img.mousetrap.net/2020/IMG_20201207_152556.jpg

nobody else up here because they have more sense than me

http://img.mousetrap.net/2020/IMG_20201207_152601.jpg

view out the back door

http://img.mousetrap.net/2020/IMG_20201207_154618.jpg

Looking back at the way I came. There are at at least two RVs at ground level in this shot.

tent

I carry a small dome tent but rarely set it up. I keep it mainly for sites that are “tent only”; set up the tent then sleep in the camper. :-)

Sometimes (like now) I use it to hold a spot and/or hold extra gear I want out of the van for a bit. I like this spot for the solar availability and good Verzon and want to keep it during the stay. I’ll need to make a run to town in a few days to pick up portable panels and related shtuff.

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