The Sandcastle

Most RVs come with window coverings know as day/night shades. They do a fairly good job of doing what they are supposed to do.

When they are fully opened they look like this:

When the day part of the shade is down it allows you to look out while making it harder for casual passersby to look in.

And when the night shade is down it is supposed to provide full privacy.

But they cannot be just thrown in the laundry when they get dirty. And they have a tendency to break their strings so they can no longer be adjusted up or down.

So, as those of you who have been following my blog a long time know, I prefer curtains.

Thus, when I bought this new rig I brought with me sheers I really like from the house we sold back in 2008. I am now in the process of cutting them into pieces to make curtains for my much shorter windows. I no longer own a sewing machine so the process is not going quickly. But, here’s what the partially made curtains look like in the daytime in that same window.

And here’s a closeup showing the color and pattern in the window over my desk. That bit in the sun along the left side is the color–light tan; not blue.

And here’s what the first window looks like with the night shades in that Sportsmobile made for me.

Yes, that picture was taken at the same time of day from the same location. Really does block the exterior light, doesn’t it?

The wrinkles at the bottom of it are cause by trying to force it into that space with the day/night shade still installed.  When that curtain is ready to hang, I will remove the day/night shade and the new night shade will fit much better.

I do lose the self-storing capability of the day night shades by making this transition. But the curtains will stay in place all the time and the new night shades have their own storage compartment above my vehicle’s cab area. And I like them a whole lot more. Including the ability to throw them in the laundry when they get dirty.

TTYL,

Linda

The desert around Quartzsite, Arizona, is big. There is lots of room for lots of RVs to park there. And there are lots of groups that meet there. Some are big groups and some are small groups. And each group has its own way of parking.

I showed you pictures of the Escapee Class gathering where we parked every which way  in a general vicinity. And I showed you pictures of the View/Navion group pretty much lined up in two rows.

But some groups like to circle the wagons.

If you are a small group you can do it this way:

 

Parking nose to tail lets everyone have their door facing the center gathering spot.

But if you have a lot of rigs that makes your circle too big. So some groups park this way:

 

Side by side with everyone’s nose facing the center.

But for some of us that makes our side windows much too close to our neighbor’s side windows. It can be hard not to look inside and see what your neighbor is doing.

So our class group just parks any which way as long as we are not too close to one another. Which has the side advantage of letting each of us aim our solar panels or TV receiver the best direction for us.

Isn’t it great that there are so many right ways to camp?

TTYL,

Linda

I don’t steal from other people’s blogs. (Well, an occasional photo from RVers I know won’t mind.) But I do occasionally post a link to one I enjoyed so much I felt an overwhelming need to pass it on. This is one:

http://manateefritters.com/2013/02/07/keys-weather-alert/

Go read it. It’s short. You won’t be sorry.

TTYL,

Linda

Several of you have asked for information about this, my home park. I hope this is what you are looking for.

The park is right on the Colorado River and this is the view of it through my windshield in my current parking spot. Yes, those are puddles in the road; we’ve had rain this year. But that spot across the road is not a campsite so my view is never blocked by someone’s RV.

 

I got that view by agreeing that I would move after two weeks even if I only moved within the park and by asking to be parked close to a bathroom this time. Here’s the bathroom from my slider door.

 

Of course, that turned out to be the men’s side. On the way to the women’s side I pass this outdoor laundry area.

Looking back from the bathroom toward my rig we see my site.

 

I have roads on three sides of me so my only close neighbors are on the driver’s side of the rig. Which is, of course, where my desk faces. 🙂

Looking down the road between the bathroom and  me you can almost see the wall at the far end of this road.

 

Behind that wall is one of three hot tubs, one of two pools, and the bar where I go to eat when I don’t feel like cooking.

  

That thing that looks like a big torch is a space heater bar staff lights when customers come and it’s too cold to sit outside otherwise. They also have side curtains to block winds. And ceiling fans and huge portable fans I guess are for summer.

Yes, I ride my Scoot down there and back.

Next to all that is the store. One side is souvenirs and the other side is groceries with one corner full of hardware and fishing gear.

 

I actually bought washers there for installing my license plate when my screws heads weren’t big enough to hold the front plate on.

This park also has a clubhouse with activities plus a kid’s club, a playground, ping pong tables, pickle ball courts, mini golf, and a par 3 course so it has pretty much anything you might want for a good home away from home. And it’s less than seven miles to Parker, Arizona, which has everything else you might need including a Walmart Supercenter.

 

If you have other questions, perhaps their website can answer them for you. http://www.coloradoriveradventures.com/emerald-cove-rv-resort.php

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this view through my passenger window. It is a washed out photo; it was actually much more colorful than that.

TTYL,

Linda

 

When I was preparing to leave La Posa South to move to Plamosa Road I got in line to do the dump and fill routine.

While I was sitting in the dump lane a woman came walking up beside my rig so I rolled my window down but she went on by and talked to the people ahead of me in line. I figured they were friends but decided later she stopped to talk to them because they had Canadian license plates.

When my turn came to dump I pulled in and did a little inside prep including getting my container of dump gear from its storage compartment. When I got outside I saw there was a small rig pulled right up behind me instead of waiting back a bit as most do to see which of the two spots would empty first. And the lady who had walked by my rig was standing by my dump as if waiting for me.

So in a teasing voice I asked if she had come to help me. She turned away without speaking.

Then a man appeared offering to help me in a heavily accented voice. I said I didn’t need help but he could do so if he really wanted to. So he tried to help. But he didn’t know my system so he finally had to move aside and let me do it.

When I was done dumping I moved up to wait for the fresh water fill. Soon that same rig came up behind me again with the not so helpful man driving it. That same woman got out of the passenger side and started yelling to the people who had been ahead of me. She was speaking French. Her body language said she was asking if she could go around us to get water from spigots further forward. Getting a negative answer, she turned and made vicious looking movements towards her husband to indicate he should not move an inch. I’m quite sure he was used to obeying her.

When their turn came to fill she didn’t help but she did supervise.

Apparently she was in a big hurry. But all she did was keep interrupting people who were otherwise doing what needed to be done.

So, if you are ever in a line and you see this Itasca Cambria with Canadian plates:

Or this woman:

Ignore her. Everything will go smoother if you do.

TTYL,

Linda