I have no real adventures to report. Today we’re hiding inside the van from yet another wind storm. I’ve put away everything that could blow away, including my external solar panel which started to move. I even put the bike in the trailer to keep it out of the elements, or from anything that might get blown into it.
The weekend was good. I set aside my WikiMotive editing to do some writing and work on other projects. It wasn’t all work and no play, though. I went to the Adventure Van Man gathering just down the road a couple of times this weekend. It was good to hang out with Brian, get to know Kelly, and nerd out on motorcycles with both of them. I also saw a few other old friends, like Rich and Christina, and made a few new ones as well. Brian’s gatherings remind me of what I imagine the old Rubber Tramp Rendezvous used to be, just a bunch of people camping together in the desert. I chose not to move my entire camp down there for just a couple of days, since it was just a few miles down the road from where I’m already set up.
Quartzsite is still busy but has quieted down enough that I don’t expect to get nearly killed in traffic every time I go into town. I can actually make the turn down Kuehn Street again and find motorcycle parking at Tyson Wells, which I couldn’t for a few weeks. This opens up fine dining options from what I call the Used Food Store. Food is so expensive these days that I appreciate the discount grocery outlets more than ever. I also had to replace my coffee filter holder thing, which somehow got a hole melted into the plastic. I found a ceramic one at one of the tents, so I won’t have to give up my morning coffee.
Temperatures have warmed up a bit. I didn’t even need my heater last night, though I ran it for a short while this morning. Daytime temperatures are hitting 70 now, which is quite comfortable, but it’s making me wish my Maxxair fan’s automatic mode still worked. My second Maxxair should be arriving anytime now, so I’ll have a bit of a project installing it as weather permits, which it should after today’s wind goes away. I’ll just have to run around town and figure out who has the self-leveling Dicor sealant to make sure my new fan is as weathertight as the old one.
I’ve started to plan my route out of here. I want to make it to the Tampa, Florida area no later than March 16, when the Forgotten Angels biker campout begins. I figure it’ll take me about a week to get from Quartzsite to San Antonio, Texas, which is the halfway mark. I know a few people there, and I’m also hoping to meet up with Birgit and Tom there to convoy the rest of the way to Florida together. They’ve been spending a lot of time out of cell coverage, though, which has made it tricky to communicate, determine their timing, and figure out exactly when I need to head east out of Quartzsite. We’ll see how that goes.
Smokey Da Van 