The first official day of the meetup was pretty much a washout. It rained heavily the night before, leaving the ground quite soft and mushy. If I’d tried to leave, I would’ve gotten stuck instead. Friday gave us occasional reprieves, just enough to get us outside and then hit us with another burst of rain and strong winds. I recorded a gust of 34 mph and steady speeds in the 20s, which was enough to keep us inside most of the day. It did lead to some pretty clouds and a few rainbows, though.
Saturday was much better. Temperatures were still cool, but it was comfortable in the sun, and the rain and wind went away. I spent most of the day in camp, hanging with the crew from Amanda’s meetup and making new friends along the way, including a couple of fellow writers. I even let Lister take me for a walk.
The ground dried up throughout the day, to the point where I can now drive out if I needed to. I could certainly unload the bike and explore a bit, but I’m here to hang out with people, not go off exploring on my own, so the bike remains strapped down in the trailer.
Kara played a joke on Amanda by dressing up just like her. It was pretty funny. I think you had to be here to get the full effect, but Amanda’s reaction in the first picture pretty much sums it up.
As the sun went down we went to the main hangout area — our first visit since the meetup began. We were treated to Brea Burns playing a solo show for us, followed by a Mardi Gras party and a delicious hurricane punch that went down a bit too easily. It was a good time.
The meetup is still going on, but I’m already planning my travel for the week, because there’s even more rain coming in midweek, again. (Did I mention how unusual rain is during the winter?) I made a mistake about the Pima Air and Space Museum. It’s actually an hour south of where we are, on the other side of Tucson, and not on the way back to I-10 from here. So I won’t be making the side trip to visit again just now after all.
I think I’m going to join Amanda and some of our core group and move to her previous campsite tomorrow. I need to do laundry soon, so I’ll detach the trailer and head into town with just the van to take care of that before it rains. The ground shouldn’t get as soft where we’re going, but I’ll plan to wait out the rain, and for the ground to dry out, before leaving again late in the week.
Stacey and Kim have already moved on to a new campsite in Gilda Bend right off I-8, and right on my way back toward Quartzsite. I’ll probably crash their party over the weekend instead of making the drive to Quartzsite in a single day. I’m not on any kind of schedule, and not in a hurry to get back.
Smokey Da Van 