Still in Quartzsite, Arizona

I'm sorry it has been so long since I last posted to this blog, but it seems like there is always so much to do here in Quartzsite.  It has been pretty chilly much of the time since we arrived here, so I thought this cartoon suited to be here.  We had a wonderful and productive time in Palm Desert, getting the oil changed on all the vehicles and a new battery for the RV.   

 
These are a couple of colorful RVs we saw in Palm Desert while we were there.  

Our drive out to Quartzsite was uneventful, which is just how we like it!  We have a nice site and got set up without any problems.  We noticed that many campers here have a tall free-standing antenna that gives them several channels of TV viewing, so we asked them about it.  We ended up buying one which stands 22 feet tall (the pole is in 5 foot segments so we can take it down for storage and travel).  With it, we get about 10 channels on the TV in the bedroom, including the local news and weather!  The front TV has our satellite programming from California.  The next question will be will it work when we get set up in New Mexico????

 Sadly, the morning after we arrived here, I was informed that my beloved sister Donna had passed away in her sleep the day before.

This is the last picture I have of her.  It was taken a couple weeks before she died.  We took Donna and George out to lunch at a cute little place in Beaumont to celebrate their 56 wedding anniversary.  In this day and age, a marriage lasting that long is quite an amazing accomplishment.  There aren't many who can commit to each other, and honor each other like that.  I loved her dearly and will miss her terribly, but I am happy that she is in Heaven with our Lord Jesus, and with mom and dad.  In her last months she had been having hallucinations and delusions that were very upsetting to her.  George was kind and patient with her, and he took wonderful care of her.  I am very thankful that she had him all these years.  Rest in Peace Donna.

 Since being here we have visited all of the vendors on Main Street,and those in the Tyson Wells Marketplace and during the RV Show week, we shopped in the Big Tent.  Naturally I got myself some more owls!  I got some owl jewelry and a very beautiful owl spinner.  
On Main Street we saw these:

 
The bear is a local attraction in a store that sells silver and turquoise jewelry.  And the world's largest belt buckle is in front of the same store.  
In Tyson Wells we saw this little camper:
 It stood beside its owners space where he was selling his wares.  And of course Jim had to stop to visit his little buddy again this year.

This jewelry seller wanted to make sure nobody got any ideas about stealing his merchandise.
In all we did have a nice time shopping and chatting with vendors.

Much to my amazement and total delight, our dear friends Diane & Jim Hubert decided to drive out here to spend a day with us.  They brought their adorable little Chihuahuas, Lucy and Daisy with them, and our furry kids were happy to see their little friends.  We were having such a great time together after one day and night that I persuaded them to stay a second night with us.  It was a fantastic visit and we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.  They made it back to Silent Valley safely on Saturday, despite the rainstorm with terrible winds.  Praise God for their safe travels.  Their visit was the highlight of our month here!

This week we are "taking care of business" and getting ready to begin our travels east.  We had hoped to spend a couple days at the Tempe Elks lodge, but they are pretty full, so we might have to dry camp at the Elks in Chandler before we move on to Marana to stay at a campsite there for five days.  After that we will spend three nights in a campground in Bowie, then on to Arrey.  

We had expected, in a few more years, to be retiring to a permanent site in the RV Park in Arrey, but now it looks like that will not be our future after all.  Last night the owner of that park was chatting with me by text messages.  She said that she is filling up with people who want to make the park their permanent home.  Her park is almost full and still has people on a waiting list for a permanent site.  She said there are several other parks in the area that can accommodate us when we are ready to stop traveling.  So I guess we will spend our time in Arrey looking for a new retirement home.  I was pretty upset about it last night, but then I remembered that the Lord is and always will be in charge.  All things happen for a reason, and we must trust that everything will be as it should be.  Praise God we will find out where He wants us to be.

That's all for today, so I will close now and wish you all the very best God has in store for you.  Remember that you are where you are supposed to be and all things work according to His great plan for us.