We stopped in Quartszite again. Q, as we call it, is located at the junction of US 95 and I 10 also AZ 95 goes out of Q to the north to Parker and Lake Havasu, to the south is Yuma. Q has a collection of RV service companies and swap meets AKA Flee Markets. Lots of vendors selling almost anything except the thing you are looking for much of the time.
We came here because this is the best place to get photo voltaic solar installed (photo voltaic is direct to electricity, thermal makes hot something, usually water). We had shopped a bit on our way through to LA and knew we were going to Solar Bill to get what we needed. We pulled the coach into his shop as planned and immediately began discussing what would actually fit and what we really wanted as opposed to the package we had agreed to a week previous. Hmm, shop? think an old corrugated shed with a couple of shipping containers for inventory. Most of the work area is open air and the major concession to keeping things neat and clean is a selection of carpeting tacked down on the ground to keep the sand dust down. On the other hand the sun shines most days and rain is seldom an issue. For the RVers reading this we installed two 210 W panels on the roof an MPPT controller from Blue Sky and just because I am a gadget guy the remote is the IPN Pro which gives me more information about the state of my batteries and the charging system than I know what to do with. Of course to get that information required significant extra wiring and then a fair amount of learning curve for me to start getting the information and then figure out what it means. This took a couple of calls back to Bill of Solar bill and eventually to the manufacturer for some serious tech questions. Four days later it is working fine and I have useful information about the state of the batteries.
After that work, we took the Jeep and drove to Parker AZ, about 90 miles north. With a little research we found Lily’s Mexican and had a delightful meal, typical Mexican but very well prepared and nicely served. If you find a way to pass though Parker, it is worth the stop. We decided to travel up the west side of the Colorado River, that must be back in California, to Parker Dam and we were shocked at how BLM has developed the river bank for 16 miles with campground after day use area after campground. Many dirt tracks lead off to the west and I was tempted, not having a map, or usable GPS or any self rescue equipment it seemed foolish so we didn’t. A stop at Rock House Visitor center brought us in contact with a garrulous volunteer ranger who told us more than we could absorb about the area. We retained two things a road past the dam up to Havasu Palms and The Desert Bar. We took the road up past the Dam and when we saw several vehicles stopped at a dirt road entrance, I stopped and asked a young father with his wife and kids if it was appropriate to take a Jeep up that road. He assured me it was and that he had been doing it for 40 years (I guess he counted time in the womb). He gave us directions for an interesting loop with a steep climb and a rocky wash and stuff. The first turn was 4 miles up the dirt side road to Havasu Palms. At two miles we saw a turn that met his description but there were two more miles to go. From 3.5 to 6 miles in we saw no usable turn. We decided the better part of valor was to stick to the “main” road and tour Havasu Palms before returning to the dam. The place was interesting, it is a cluster of manufactured homes on cliffs above the river, the views are gorgeous. It is 7 miles up a barely improved dirt road (Dan, Malena, better than Hungrytown Hollow, but 7 miles) and then miles of paved back road to get to the Dam and over into AZ where it is another 10 miles to any kind of shopping, like for food.
As we retraced to the south on AZ 95 headed back into Parker, we watched for Cienega Springs road to the Desert Bar. It is only open noon to 6 Saturday and Sunday. It was 3:30 Saturday as we turned up the road. This road was interesting. We saw lots of vehicles headed out. There were plenty still there when we arrived. The band was playing music from the fifties and sixties and we had a chance to dance to three long numbers before they stopped playing at 5. Back down the five miles to 95 and back to the coach for dinner.
After a number of stops on Monday we finally got to Senator Wash, but decided to set up camp in the Gavel Pit above the lake as the the lake is dry. They may fill it while we are here, but this is our decision. Something different.