Quartzite Visit

Sunday - We packed up and headed west through Phoenix for our first visit to Quartzite.  We met W&J at the rest stop near Tonopah, AZ and then followed them to find a camping spot near the town.  Quartzite is known as the "RV Boondocking Mecca" during the winter months.  The town is surrounded by land owned by the BLM, Bureau of Land Management, on which RV's are allowed to camp free for two weeks at a time, then they must move to another spot for another two weeks, etc.  There are no hookups = no electricity, no water and no sewer hookups on the BLM land.  The RV'ers pay to fill up with water and dump their tanks at nearby parks.  In January, Quartzite is the host to a Sports, Vacation and RV show, billed as "the world's largest gathering of RV's".  Vendors of anything related to or needed by RV'ers set up booths to sell their products and educate the customers about what they need.  Flea markets are also set up in the area and then in February there have a Gem and Rock show.  Some RV'ers stay for months in the area during the winter, enjoying the group gatherings, free camping and/or solitude of the desert.
Since we were staying closer this year, we decided to experience Quartzite.  As we drove on the interstate to reach our exit, we saw hundreds of RVs parked in the desert as we got closer to town.  W&J had been there the year before, so they led us to a camping spot and we set up our two rigs next to each other.  Just like the pictures we had seen on many blogs, we parked among many other RVs camping.  Nearby, we saw a group of RVs circled like a wagon train of the old west, a group of friends joining together for the event and a nightly campfire.
After setting up, we took our car and went and visited Bill and Darla, our friends from working at RVillage and the Sugar Beet Harvest.  They were staying in a small RV park near town.  It was great to see them and catch up on the months we had been apart.  Back to our rig, we enjoyed supper with W&J and the beautiful sunset.

Following W&J to Quartzite

Our parking site

Sunset at Quartzite

The sunset reflected on our motorhome

Monday - I made breakfast for all of us and then we headed to town to see all the treasures of the Quartzite event.  We walked through about half of the big tent, which quickly wore us out.  We went back to our rigs for lunch and a nap.  Later we went back and went through some of the smaller vendor tents. Back home again for supper and an evening of enjoying the stars.

Campers in the desert - flags for friends to see

Sunset shining on the mountains

Tuesday - Up earlier, we had breakfast and headed in to town to see the exhibits.  We walked through some of the motorhomes for sale there.  We stopped and enjoyed some ice cream.  Then we went in to finish seeing the booths in the big tent.  I bought a floor swiffer, it has several microfiber pads that can be used for dry or wet mopping.  Back home for lunch, then Gary and I went to visit our friends, Leslie and Chris, who we had worked with in Oregon at the Wildwood Rec Area.  They were working in the Boulder City area this winter again, so had come down for a week at Quartzite.  We found their site west of Quartzite, they were parked in a more remote area there.  We had a great visit and caught up on our time apart since we left Oregon in August.  Back to our motorhome, we had supper and enjoyed the evening with W&J.

Wednesday - breakfast and then secured everything in the motorhome for our return to Mesa.  W&J pulled out early, they had 5+ hours drive to the "Junction".  We had about two and a half hours.  A little more traffic on a Wednesday through Phoenix, but arrived safely and set ourselves up again for our stay and work in the park.  We returned in time for our block Happy Hour party, Don and Dana hosted that week.

Thursday - back to work.  Shuffleboard court, then set up for the rooms.  Leanne called and asked us if we would man the hotdog cart.  The cart comes from the Val Vista Park.  A couple from there usually run the cart, but they were short handed with their workampers because of illnesses.  The couple that usually mans the cart delivered it to us and instructed us on to run it.  It was a cooler, windy day, so we had to keep the condiments, plates, napkins, etc. from blowing away.  We had a good time running the cart, got to visit with residents from the park we had not met before.  We were on the cart from 11:00 until 1:00.  Then they came and picked up the cart again.  Later that afternoon we set up the card rooms again.

Hotdog king!

Friday - Regular routine.  On our times off, we packed up our clothes and other supplies so that we could go to the "Junction" on Saturday after we were done.

Saturday - we helped take down the bingo/pancake breakfast tables and chairs and then set up for the evening dance.  We were done at 10:30, we went back to the motorhome and loaded our things in the car to go.  We were to meet the seller of our Casa at 3:00 at the Junction.  We stopped at Home Depot and picked up supplies to begin our remodeling of the house.  It takes an hour and a half to drive from our park in Mesa to the Junction. Since we arrived about an hour before we were to meet the seller, we went to Saddlebrooke to three estate sales that Dan and Jan had told us about.  At the second sale, we bought a queen bed frame and at the third sale, we bought a shop vac.  Back at the Junction, we did our walk through and closed on the sale of our Casa.  After the seller left, we looked through the entire house and the yard and took many pictures - our "before" remodeling shots.  If only the seller had not had painting done after he bought it - the rooms are all colored in bright yellow and split pea green.  Our living room has both colors!  We had supper with W& J and then went to stay with Dan that evening and for our four days in the area.

Bright yellow walls

Isn't this a lovely green?

Week Two at Good Life

Sunday - we went to Mass this week at All Saints Church.  We are trying to find a church home with good music.  This was a larger church than the week before and had a cantor and pianist that morning.  We picked up groceries on the way home and had a quiet day at home.

Monday - Gary worked outside on projects and I took down our Christmas decorations and cleaned.  The air was still cooler, but warmed up in the afternoons, before cooling quickly again at night.  The park was having a "Prom Night" dinner and dance.  We did not go, but got to see our neighbors and friends all dressed up in long gowns and tuxs for the event.  As we rode our bikes around that evening, we saw other couples dressed up and one even sitting on the back of a convertible to take them to the dance.

Tuesday - we worked on the computer doing financials and catching up the blog for December.  We ran a few errands and enjoyed the day.

Wednesday - we had breakfast and then drove south of Mesa, Gilbert and Queen Creek to Coolidge, AZ.  Gary had researched and found that we needed to go to the BIA office there to get set up our electricity billing for the Casa.  It was our first drive through Gilbert and the areas south of Mesa.  As we left the urban area to reach Coolidge, we drove into heavy fog.  In the desert??  They have irrigated fields there and the moisture and cool air combination created the fog.  It was pretty thick for a while, let up gradually as we reached Coolidge.  On the drive back, the fog had cleared.  We stopped and shopped at the Sam's Club in Gilbert before going home.  At 4:00 we went across the street to our 26th Street block's Happy Hour gathering.  Every week someone on the block hosts the Happy Hour gathering from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, providing munchies for those attending.  Everyone brings their own chairs and beverage.  Ken and Vi hosted this week.  It was a great time to get to know everyone on our block, Vi had us all tell our names and where we were from.  Most everyone else was from Canada, but a there was a couple from Wisconsin and a couple renting from Michigan.  One lady, Florence, is 90+ and has been coming to the park for 32 years, living here year round for the last eight years.  Everyone goes home after 5:00.  Some of the group, the Canadians, play cards at the clubhouse later that night.  We had a little supper and then went up to the ballroom to watch the Wednesday night movie.  This week it was "Million Dollar Arm".  It was a good movie, about recruiting and training two young men from India to be baseball pitchers in America.

Thursday - back to work.  Pretty much the same schedule again, shuffleboard courts and room setups.  We have split shifts because of the change in activities during the day, so we went home for a couple hours then back in at noon to change room set ups for the afternoon card games.  We set out chairs and clean up tables on Thursdays at the Sports Complex patio, where they have the park happy hour from 3:00-5:00 PM.  Afterward, we or one of the other workamper couples have to clean up the area and put the chairs away. This week, the ball team was having a "Pork Chop Dinner" as a fundraiser for their group, so we set up the social hall room for that event.  Back home, we started working on packing up the motorhome to be mobile again.  We will be going to Quartzite, AZ with W&J, leaving on Sunday.

Friday - After the regular morning routine, we took down the dinner setup in the social hall and set up for the "Quilt til You Wilt".  Once a month, the quilters group takes over the entire room and works on their quilts together all day.  They bring food to share and the park provides the coffee, lemonade, pop and water for them.  Later that day, we did the Bingo setup and the patio setup for the Karaoke for happy hour.  That night, we decided to leave the compound and drove to a restaurant in Gilbert for a burger and a beer.

Saturday - Mary and Marty have been assigned the shuffleboard courts for Saturdays now.  This Saturday, the park sales office was having their big open house, so we helped Leanne haul coffee, lemonade, plates, napkins, and cups to the sales models.  On the same Saturday each month of the sales open house, they allow the residents to have patio sales - miniature rummage sales at their own lots.  It made for an active morning, there were many people moving around to check out the sales.  The Bingo/Pancake Breakfast setup can not be taken down until 9:30 each week, so our group set the other rooms first and then does that big job.
Back home, we finished organizing the motorhome and I made a grocery run for our trip.  We went to Mass at 4:30 and then had supper and visited the pool.

First Week in Mesa

Sorry for the delay with the blog.  As you will read, we have been busy in our first months of 2015!

Monday - We went in to meet with our supervisor, thinking we were to get the workamper orientation presentation from the activities director.  She was not in, so Leanne had us finish filling out paperwork and told us she would send us the work schedule for our days that week by email.  "Report to work on Thursday morning" were our instructions, so we went home to do other things.  Just before noon, I went to the Functional Fitness class.  The park personal fitness trainer lead the class, it was a good one for toning and balance.  That afternoon we went to the pool.  The air temperature was still cooler, but with the heated pools and getting out of the wind, we were able to enjoy sitting in the sun.

This park has 1100 sites, about 80% of them are park models (small manufactured homes for seasonal living) owned privately or by the park.  The other 25% are RV/Fifth Wheel/Trailer sites.  They told us that over 75% of the snowbirds here are from Canada. The others are mostly from the upper Midwest, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and about 40 couples from South Dakota.  Because of all the people, the park has an incredible amount of classes and activities for everyone to participate in.  Exercise classes (and a well appointed fitness room), over 10 different card games, bunco, dominos, quilting, bands and choruses, groups for biking, hiking, pool, bocce ball, golf, horseshoes, pickle ball, ping pong, tennis, softball and shuffleboard, health classes, and dances one or two times a week.  You could be involved constantly about 12 hours a day if you wanted to.  And then there is all the socializing each afternoon, either at the clubhouse or in the neighborhoods. Each snowbird park in the area also has a huge Bingo night, some people go from park to park and play every night. So if you have ever wondered what snowbirds do all winter in Arizona, they do a lot! Probably more than they do at their homes the rest of the year.

Tuesday - We had breakfast and headed to Tucson and the Junction.  Wally and Jan (W&J - our friends at the Junction) had called the night before and told us the mobile home we really liked at the park was for sale - again!  We had looked at it last year and others in the park, just to know what they were like.  This was the particular lot and floorplan layout we liked the best, recognizing it needed some work and updating.  It was still for sale when we arrived in November, but was sold to a gentleman in December.
They called because he was selling it and at a price too good to dismiss, so we decided we should take another look.  He showed us around and we saw the improvement work he had done on it since he purchased it in December.
We had lunch and talked it over and agreed we really liked it and it would allow us to have a little more room in the winter months to live and have room for visitors to stay with us.  We made arrangements to buy it with the seller and headed back home to Mesa.  Our heads were spinning, thinking about the whole deal and what we would update to make it a home for us. A new challenge!
 

Our new desert Casa

Nice deck for sunset viewing

Our Catalina Mountains view

Wednesday - After a better night's sleep than the night before, we spent the day researching ideas for the new house (to be called our desert Casa), got things ready for our work days and enjoyed the pool again.

Thursday - Our first day of work at the park.  We began at 7:30 AM and were trained on how to properly clean the shuffleboard courts.  The leader of the shuffleboard group was there to train us.  Dust mop the lanes, sweep the walkways between the lanes, vacuum up the swept dirt piles, then damp mop each lane twice.  It's all about the sliding of the discs and they play competitively.
Next we removed chairs from the ballrooom floor, to allow the line dancing classes to be there.  Then there were several other rooms to set up for cards, EMS blood pressure checks, musician jam sessions, etc.  The table and chairs duties began.  The day went quickly and we slept well that night.

Friday - Shuffleboard cleaning again and then new room setups for the day.  It was a little cool at 7:30 in the morning, but we warmed up quickly pushing the brooms and mops around.  That afternoon we learned how to do what would be our big weekly setup; Friday night bingo. Tables are set across the entire ballroom to seat almost 500 players, using a marked pole to show how far from the stage the table ends should be, how far apart each table row should be and another mark for the aisle spaces.  Then six chairs to every table.  They do have setup diagrams for us to look at as we learn, so that helped.

On our Thursday, Friday and Saturday crew, there are two other couples and three other men (their wives work in the office).  Luckily, two of them had worked the year before and the months prior to us starting, so they knew how the events should be set up.  Mike and Regina are from St Joe, Missouri and this is their first workamping job.  Marty and Mary retired from Chicago and it is their first time at the park, they have been camp hosts at parks in the summer months.  All of them live at the other end of the park because they have dogs with them, the park is divided with the pet section and those without pets. This park has a very nice dog run that the pet owners really like.

Saturday - This was a shorter day for us.  We cleaned the shuffleboard courts again and then took down all the bingo tables and chairs, after the pancake breakfast was done using them.  Then we learned how to set up for the weekly Saturday night dance.  This was a smaller setup.  Our work day was done at 11:00.  We went home for lunch and then enjoyed the pool and hot tub again in the afternoon.  As we sat at the pool, we watched more campers coming in to the park.  The snowbirds were arriving and all around us we could hear people talking about the cold and snowy weather "back home".