Luckily I picked up some reflections on the shiny vehicles parked there. But took about 20 minutes in the dark and I got my night eyes.
When I got up this am I cleaned up and I was on my way to Pilot for gas and McDonalds right next door.
Yesterday while at the baseball game I had made contact with Susan, who was a childhood friend, to stop and see her in Lake Havasu City today.
She had friended me after all these years on Facebook a short time ago and since I was traveling AZ I wanted to see her.
In the picture above is what Quartzsite looks like when they have the winter gathering for the gem show and camping groups, in January. There are swap meets, flea markets, group gatherings. The Vandweller group gathers here at this time. Now Quartzite looks like a ghost town back to its normal winter gathers.
My next stop was Parker, AZ. It's a small town on the Colorado River but big enough to have a Walmart. My stop for supplies.
As I turn north I follow the Colorado River and there are small areas built up along the river on both sides (CA & AZ)
The Parker Dam holds back the Colorado River and there are State Parks and private places to camp.
I think the basket is just an advertisement of what is to come.
I give Susan a call that I am in town
looking for this new Disc Golf course in a park in the south side of town.
What I found is just markets where the baskets and tee location will eventually go. A future location to play.
After I stopped at Ace Hardware for some butane for my cooking stove before checking out another Disc Golf course on the island over the London Bridge. It is a very basic course and I can see why the locals want the other new course as the land is hilly and will provide for much more chalange.
I waited here to meet Susan. Her and her husband have an air conditioning servicing company they run together, so I was getting to see her during her workday.
When she pulled into the park she gave me a large smile and wave. She had told me she really wanted to see me as it reminded her of home (Massachusetts) although she loves Havasu and wouldn't want to move back to the cold. I was a connection to her past.
We haven't seen each other for years and after a few minutes I didn't think she had changed that much, but she thought of herself as shy until she was in her 30's.
Since we were all children of parents that camped together there was a lot of hanging around time together and a lot of barriers do break down, and kids are good at that. The organization was the Squawmocook Chapter of the New England Family Campers Association. We camped all over New England and a lot of time locally.
The time we all spent together is the kind of time that kids spend during their formative years that none of us ever forget.
Much water has passed down the Colorado River since then. Susan finds herself alone with her past life, as her mother and father having lived out their lives and her brother dying in a motorcycle accident has left her without close family.
(Web photo)
She has two sons that are a significant focus on her life, as it is for all parents feel at some time once they leave home.
Although Susan's life has had its ups and downs, another thing we find at this age is our quality of life is more important than stuff. She too is a cancer survivor, and something we share. We both have coincidences in our life that have no logic to support.
Over the years my mom has kept in contact with Suan as our parents were good friends. So I was aware of some of what has happened from my mother.
Susan's phone kept ringing while we were together and I kept offering to allow her time to address as they were work related. She is the virtual work office. She only accepted calls from her husband and she left the rest go to voicemail. I felt she just didn't want to squander our time, which made me feel special. I told her that I was the one that was retired and I had the time. My offers were politely negated by continuing conversation.
It was getting time for her to get back to work, but before she did she told me how happy she was to live here and had met her current husband. Like me she likes the warmth and mot the cold.
With a solid hug and her wishes to those back home, especially my mother, we parted.
What is interesting was that I spent a few days here twice last year during my 2014 Travels and being that close we didn't know to make contact. We will stay in touch through Facebook.
After we separated I went back to the island (left of London Bridge above) to play disc golf.
Although I was here last year twice I didn't play this disc golf course. It is very basic with only a couple challenges with a couple trees. It's a quasi 18 hole course with 9 baskets and smdifferent tees for each basket to make 18. I only il played 9 holes.
After my game of disc golf it was time to decide where to land tonight. I have ICE vendor floor show tickets for tomorrow in Las Vegas that I had thought about going to. Well it appears that it will fit.
I checked hotel prices in Lss Vegas and they were $60 a night with a $22 resort fee. That's a no go. I checked Laughlin and the offer I got the other day from the Colorado Belle and it was $22.99 and no resort fee only tax to bring it to $28.00
So for less than $30 I got a room and passed on staying on BLM land.
My plan is to work my way to Salt Lake City Utah for Saturday to meet up with CA son.
For dinner I chose the $13.99 buffet next door at the Edgewater. My one meal out this week.
It was cloudy today with a few sprinkles. Elsewhere in AZ they had more steady showers that I left in time to miss. There are showers north near Las Vegas as you can see in the picture. They are moving east so it should be good driving weather to Utah.
Brent
macaloney@hotmail.com
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