Still boondocking at the Blue Water Casino

Be sure to also read my previous post for all the details about boondocking in Parker Arizona at the Blue Water Casino if you were led to this post by the title.  This is my second day here and the other post covers the particulars.

I should be writing my novella but I'm procrastinating because I need a nap and I'm too lazy to climb into my cab over bunk right now.

Blue Water Casino Boondocking Pros and Cons

• PRO:  It's free.  They're friendly.  They don't mind us here.  There's no time limit (at least that's what they told us this time).  It's well-lit.  Seems safe
• CON:  Noise.  It was noisy last night.  No rules on when generators can run and traffic in the casino parking lot kept happening into the wee hours.  Some exhaust smell wafted through my windows.  When I woke up this morning speakers were playing music through the parking lot for a while.  I'm not sure why, but it was only for a short amount of time.
• PRO:  When you sign up for the player's card in the casino you get a 2 for 1 coupon for the buffet making a $24 meal only $12 for two people.  Since we both signed up for cards we got two coupons and just used the second one today.
• CON:  Sometimes the buffet is lousy.  You're only eligible for the lunch buffet, not dinner.  The first time we used the coupon it was a nice brunch set-up.  Today it was Mexican themed and the tamales were uneatable.  The salad bar is always great, but I had a hard time finding any appetizing hot food.  Try to save your coupon for one of the better themed days.  Mexican food day gets a thumbs down from me.
• PRO:  There's a little movie theater connected to the casino.  It's April 13, 2016 and they're playing Batman vs. Superman and Action Harvey (or whatever it's called, it's that action movie were you see everything through the eyes of the main character).  I really wanted to see B vs S when it first came out, but the bad reviews have swayed me.  It's too bad...I really love Wonder Woman.
• CON:  No level spots in the RV area.  This may not always be true.  There's some kind of car race going on so another more level looking dirt lot is closed off.  If this is open to RVs usually then there's better spots to be had.  While we're here we're dealing with a front to back slope that is screwing with our tank sensors.  
• PRO:  You're right next to a Walmart Super Center and a Safeway Supermarket.  We stocked up our lil fridge.  
• CON:  Once again, this might be due to the car race, but it's crowded up here.  We're not quite 'rv park crowded' but it's pretty close.  With the window and screen door we can just about smell the farts of those around us.
• PRO:  There's a casino to gamble at.
• CON:  There's a casino to gamble at.

 We had a big meal at the casino and spent an hour or two shopping.  We're in for the rest of the day...or at least until my mom decides she can't resist the allure of the slot machines.

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.