Walkabout With Wheels Blog: January 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Taco Mio is the Quartzsite Golf Course's Nineteenth Hole

Taco Mio serves as the
Quartzsite Golf Course
19th Hole.

Taco Mio's parking lot is full. I doubt if our group of ten can sit together.

Taco Mio has a room that

is currently unused.

Booths surround tables tat can
accommodate groups of ten
& more...

Tuff Red & Killer share today's

scores & the winners of

several categories.

A staff member snaps a

pic of our group.

Let the laughter begin.....

Golf in the Desert at the Quartzsite Golf Course

Kathy found information on desert

golfing on the RV Travel Blog &

organized a golf outing at the
Quartzsite Golf Course.

Eric has everything he

needs in the bag slung

over his Nine Iron.

Dave, Nan, Dick, Dee Dee,
Gaila, Tony & Kathy pull
out their gear.

Where's George?

Kathy encourages us to pick tough names. Tony is Desert Rat. Dee Dee is Diamond Back. Dick is Dirty Dick. Gaila is Godzilla. George is Ferocious Fin. Nancy is Van Gogh. Eric is Yukon Eric. I am Last Place. Kathy is Killer and Dave is Tuff Red.

First the rules... We don't count whiffs. The group is comfortable with do overs, if a golfer isn't connecting well with the ball. Each situation will be judged separately. Hitting onto the green is as good as sinking the ball in the hole.

Let the fun begin! The flags on the front nine are white and the flags on the back nine are red. As a group of ten, we are not expecting to get anywhere near the back nine during our time at the Quartzsite Golf Course.

Kathy, AKA Killer, addresses
the ball. "Hello, ball...."

Nancy, AKA Van Gogh, watches

Dave Tuff Red, tee off.

Van Gogh takes a practice swing
while George, AKA Ferocious
Fin, looks on.

Ferocious Fin sends his

ball sailing towards

the green.

Tony, AKA Desert Rat, gives
Dee Dee, AKA Diamond Back,
a private lesson.

Desert Rat stands back &

watches Diamond Back

loft her ball.

Desert Rat is a power
hitter.

Watch that ball fly!

Gaila, AKA Godzilla, puts

her all into her tee off while

Dick, AKA Dirty Dick

looks on.

Godzilla watches Dirty Dick's
perfect form at the tee.

Closing in on the green...

Godzilla, Eric, AKA Yukon

Eric & Dirty Dick wait their

turn as Killer hits her ball.

Van Gogh putts onto the

green while Yukon Eric,

Dirty Dick & Desert Rat

look on.

Dirty Dick & Desert Rat

watch Yukon Eric putt

onto the green.

The Guys pose for a tee shot:

Desert Rat, Tuff Red, Furious Fin,
Dirty Dick & Yukon Eric show off
various golf poses.

The Lady Golfers pose with style...

Diamond Back, Killer, Van Gogh,

Godzilla & Last Place show the

Guys what posing is all about...

The Ladies yell, Fore."

The Guys get out of the

way & play resumes.

Our group of ten managed three holes in an hour and a half. It's time for a snack and drinks at Taco Mio in Quartzsite.

Tuff Red & Killer tally the

scores & announce the

winners in several

categories...

Desert Rat won Best Score with nine strokes. Diamond Back won in the Straightest Strokes Category. Killer won Best Organizer. Tuff Red won Best at Chopping Up Tees. Dead Last won Best Golf Attire. Ha! Ha! Ha!

It's now time to sit around and lie to each other about our golf shots, strategies and upcoming tournaments.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

The Chili Cook Off at Boomerville, East of Quartzsite

The Chili Cook Off judging is about to start.

Boomer Chili Chefs are
bringing samples of their
best Chilies to be judged.

There are 20 entries at this

Chili Cook Off.

The judges start sampling
each Chili.

The categories are: Best in Appearance and Best Hot Damn Chili. Judges linger over individual samples and write down their judgement on each of the 20 Chilies.

I investigate the smokey

grill nearby....

Sourdough Bread is slathered

in butter & placed on the grill.

The toasty Sourdough slices

are cut into pieces & offered

around.

Fellow Boomers add sides for our Chili centered repast. Everyone enjoyed an amazing assortment of Chilies and thanked the chefs.

And... the... Winners... Are...

Casey announces the winners.
Best in Appearance Tie:
Connie Farquhar & Lynn
Pearlmutter

Best Hot Dam Chili Tie:
Steve Buffy & Terry Webb

Photo by Diana Meyer Ruelens

Another wildly successful event sponsored by Boomers at Boomerville in Quartzsite. Applause! Applause!

Taking Care of Business at Main Street Laundromat in Quartzsite, Arizona

Everybody does it and nobody talks about it... Doing the laundry.

I went to Main Street
to use the Laundromat.

After 16 days in the desert,

I've got several loads of

laundry in need of a wash

& a spin dry.

The Main Street Laundromat
has a dog kennel for customers
to use.

I think this is a very thoughtful service to offer.

Fortunately, two large capacity

washers open up next to each

other & I cram everything I

brought into them.

The Main Street Laundromat

is a community gathering

place with ads for local

services prominently

posted.

My wet laundry fit in one dryer, after hanging shirts and pants on hangers to air dry. What was left went into a dryer that costs 25 cents for 6 minutes. Four quarters were pumped into the dryer. Twenty-four minutes later, I crammed dry laundry into my laundry bags, My car was full of fresh smelling clothing, towels and sheets for the drive back to the motorhome, parked off of Plomosa Road.

The CARE Auction at Boomerville, East of Quartzsite, Arizona

The CARE Center at Rainbow's End RV Park in Livingston Texas is a unique health care setting that assists full time Escapee members and spouses following illness, injury, surgery or during a progressive long term health situation. There are 30 plus RV slots available for members to live in their own homes while receiving needed services.

Health assistance costs are kept in check by donations from Escapee members. Today, The Boomers are holding a CARE Auction to raise funds for this worthwhile cause.

Ellen, aka Vanna White,

brings auction items

to the auctioneer.

"Vanna" displays a custom
made clothes dryer that
hangs from an RV ladder.

A 2015 Albuquerque Balloon

Fiesta Program, 2016 Balloon

Fiesta Calendar & Nylon Bag

There are at least 50 items to auction off. "Vanna" has help displaying items for bid.

A stylish dog shaped

fan

A new Rhino Flex RV

Sewer Kit

The CARE Auction went on for several hours. Knit Hats, Jewelry, Baskets of Consumables, Furniture, Appliances, Kitchenware and all kinds of useful items were sold.

Eric won the bid on this basket:
Red Wine, Pretzels, Vodka,
Vermouth, Olives, Wine Glasses,
Martini Glasses. Beer Cozies
& Coasters.

There was a lot of laughter as items were described and the bidding went higher and higher. The total raised at this CARE Auction is...... drum roll please...... $5,180.00.

Friday, January 29, 2016

Friends Join Eric & Me at Our Campsite, North of Quartzsite, Arizona

Jo-Ann & Chris drove to
Plomosa Road to boondock
with Eric & me for three
days.

They registered to camp for free with a Bureau of Land Management representative, unhitched their car and followed directions Eric gave them to our campsite.

Jo-Ann drives into our large,

open site.

Here comes Chris...

He took his time driving on the dirt road to where Eric and I are camped. There are a few dips to negotiate along the way...

Jo-Ann & Chris survey

the campsite.

They approve.

Jo-Ann and Chris are fearless! They bought their Winnebago Sightseer motorhome in mid December and are boondocking five weeks later. While learning about their motorhome, Jo-Ann and Chris will be managing their water and electric capacities as they camp without hookups.