Parking in Parker

Here's my day today:

In the fridge was less than a pound of steak which I needed to turn into four meals (lunch and dinner for mom and me).  So I made beef fried rice.  This gets us through another day without grocery shopping, because as I mentioned in in the last post, the grocery shopping options are limited in Quartzsite.

Not so 35 miles away in Parker, and our permit runs out on April 15th anyway.  (We got 12 days use for $40 so I figure we got our money's worth).  We're fixing to get ready to leave. 

We went to the Quartzsite LTVA dump station for our final time. Dumped.  Got rid of our trash. Took on water.

Next...there is a laundromat in Quartzsite that also sells showers for $7 a shower.  This is much more expensive than the $2 token showers we were enjoying in Yuma, but far cheaper than the $12 truck stop showers.  We showered here once before and it was time to shower again.  Since we knew we were coming back we let the laundry pile up again instead of trying to keep up with it with our portable washer.

So we showered and then I hunted down some propane while my mom started the laundry.  Six gallons of propane got us from 'low' to 'full'.  That's $12 from the camping fund.  @-@  This will keep our fridge running and stove cooking for another two weeks or so.

Propane bought, clothes clean, bodies showered, tanks dumped, water filled--we're all ready to go.

Then the guy who owns the laundromat points out that I have a low tire.  -_-  This is the same tire I had to go back to the RV place to have filled previously. 

UGH.  I get so angry at this.  It's a brand new RV and it came to us with this tire problem.  I thought it was just low air, and that angered me because I don't have the tool to get to the backwards nozzle of my dually-type outer wheel.  The nice man at the laundromat directs us to a tire place and says they will air me up for free.

We go to this tire place and it's clear that the tire isn't low, it's a flat.  And he'll fill it up if I don't want to pay the $35/hour to deal with it. 

What?  Deal with it!  I don't want a flat. 

The guy turns out to be really nice and he shows me how to get the hubcap off and put it back on so I can put air in the tires with my compressor without having to buy a special tool.

There's a nail in the tire.  x_x 

But it's fine.  It is quickly patched, inflated and put back on.  He goes around and checks all the other tires for good measure.  It was only $35 as he said, but I tip him $10.  I'm so happy to have an end to this recurrent tire problem, and the knowledge on how to fill my tires going forward.

BOOM!  We're out of there!  My opinion of Quartzsite got a lot better after the laundromat/shower and tire place.  There's two good places there that I will patronize if I come back.

We take a quick drive north to Parker Arizona.  I've decided we're going to spend our tank time (the time it takes to fill our black and grey tanks and empty our water tank) in the parking lot of a casino. 

This is the Blue Water Casino in Parker Arizona.  If you're thinking of boondocking here, go right ahead.  They have a dirt patch (kind of sloped, but not too bad) in the high back of the lot where RVs can boondock.  Sometimes they want you to check in with security.  Today we tried and they said no problem.  As long as we're on the dirt we're fine.

"How long can we stay?"

"As long as you want."

Well that's nice!  We'll do that. 

Well, actually we will probably leave  Friday or Saturday.  We're in the mid to high eighties here for the next few days, but will shortly be in the nineties.  In the desert we can deal with high eighties with just some fans going.  When it gets into the 90s our elderly cat starts getting the vapors...so we'll continue north after we've spent out this tank time.

Let's face facts here, a casino boondock is not free.  x_x  We've already dined out and gambled, though my mom's winnings had us breaking even.   My mom can not resist slot machines, but she can usually keep to $40-$60 an outing.  I think she'll be wandering down there a lot while we're here. 

This will give me time to do some writing.  Maybe I can get my next novella done before we leave?  We'll give it a try.