Quartzsite Gatherings, Winter 2018-19

Just a quick overview of the major vandweller gatherings this winter.  What, where, when and how.  Not all inclusive by any means, just links to where you can find more information.  (bits and pieces borrowed from Bob and Suanne.)

Women’s Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (WRTR):  Jan 4-8, 2019 

What: WRTR is part of Bob Well's CheapRVLiving organization.  An extension of the WRTR, this Facebook group of women collectively share wisdom, skills and practical knowledge about the nomadic lifestyle. It is a safe and inclusive space for women of all backgrounds and circumstances to participate in mentoring, networking, sharing information and developing skills. The goal of the group is to create a virtual classroom and networking avenue in which all are encouraged to be both teacher and student, mentor and mentee. This group is open to women who have attended a Women's RTR, or plan to attend in the future -- http://www.cheaprvliving.com/womensrtr/

Where:  Bouse AZ
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10217858649037847&set=gm.303689560259475&type=3&theater

Description of each area:

1) Limited Mobility: If you are handicapped, disabled, or have a limited mobility, go here. If a man is a woman-participant's caregiver, then camp here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/295188741109557/

2) Allies: Where women who share their rig with a male will hang out and camp. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/295326797762418/

Camps 3-13 are intended to be for women only.

3) Smoke- and Fragrance-Free: For women who are chemically sensitive. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/295992521029179/

4) Healthy Living Activities: For the woman making healthy lifestyle choices, regardless of were she is in her journey. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/296507987644299/

5) Art: For any type of artistic activities, except audio art. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/296919827603115/

6) Rainbow: For LGBTQ and friends, a supportive place. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/297301050898326/

7) Tenders: For women who sleep in their tents, especially geared for newbies to support one another. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/297669084194856/

8) Quiet: The most popular camp selection in the poll. Women may camp at more of a distance from one another. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/298109444150820/

9) Pet Owners: Join this camp for camaraderie with other animal lovers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/298524470775984/

10) Little Noise: For shorter-duration quieter sounds, less than an hour, less than 60db, including music a very quiet generators. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/298893624072402/

11) Generators: For women who want to run their loud (more than 60db) or long-running (more than 1 hour) generators or engines. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/299524434009321/

12) Music: This camp will be for folks who play and listen to music for longer lengths of time. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/299742170654214/

13) Nature: For women who enjoy the company of others who also love exploring and learning about nature. https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/permalink/300060407289057/

When:  January 4-8, 2019

How:  For details go to Facebook WRTR – currently 1,498 members.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensrtr/?ref=bookmarks

=====================================================

Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR):  Jan 9-20, 2019
https://www.cheaprvliving.com/rtr/  (almost anything you need to learn about this lifestyle can be found on his site.)

What:  Bob Wells started the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (commonly called the RTR) in January 2010. There were 45 of us that first year and we all had a great time. It was so great that we’ve been holding it annually ever since and it has grown larger every year. 

There will be many very experienced vandwellers at the RTR and an even larger number of newcomers. That creates a perfect opportunity for learning, so we put on seminars most days covering basic subjects of interest to vandwellers.

Schedule is a work in progress… not finalized.

Where:  Quartzsite, AZ

33.649045, -114.145593

Video on location:  Bob’s Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osAVB9svWl0

RVTV Video (with internet upload and download speeds:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaK0Gm5Q4Wc&t=6s

When:  Jan 9-20, 2019

How:  Getting a Special Use Permit makes that person responsible for what goes during the event–at the RTR, that someone is Bob Wells! If you do something wrong, first BLM will talk to you, but then they will come talk to Bob and issue him a warning. If he can’t control the group, BLM won’t allow us to gather! IT IS BOB’s CAMP, AND HE DOES  EXPECT YOU FOLLOW THE RULES. If you insist on breaking the rules, the Ranger will be glad to enforce BLM rules.

Main  CheapRVLiving.com web site:  https://www.cheaprvliving.com/  (tons of resources and how to do info.)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tiny Care Living Resources:

Suanne Carlson’s Prius:  https://suanneonline.blogspot.com/p/why-prius-rv.html

David Swanson:  Luxury Living in a Prius:  https://priusdwelling.wordpress.com/

================================================

Swankie Wheels Blog:  http://swankiewheels.blogspot.com/

Swankie Wheels Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/swankiewhls/

Grateful for Help Received (3/24/2018)

March 1, I found myself pretty far away from everyone I knew.  I had budgeted just enough money for gas to reach the next location where I hoped to stay put and work on the van.  Suddenly, I realized… I was BROKE.  How can one not know that is about to happen???  Well, for me, it was stupidity.  I had failed to make note of the re-occurring Amazon Prime annual fee of about $100…. and had not cancelled it.  Now, taking into consideration the automatic Electronic Fund Transfers already set up for the rest of the month, I was left with only $40… and had no way of getting to the next destination.

Also, my shoulder pain was increasing to the point it was causing my Blood Pressure to be elevated and I needed to buy a blood pressure monitor to keep an eye on it.  In addition, I had infections in both ears which began from allergies… and I had co-pays for meds to cure that problem, I did not feel I had the money for all that, so decided to sit in that drug store parking lot and try to figure it out.  The itching was about to drive me mad.

I felt stuck, desperate.  Was I going to have to sit in this parking lot and wait three weeks for my March 21 payday???  I felt like a trapped wild animal.  I decided to ask for help, not an easy thing for me to do, as stubbornly independent as I am.  So, I sent out a plea, asking only for $5 or $10, to the contacts in my Google email, trying carefully to eliminate people I didn’t know, or who I knew were not in a position to help, or businesses, etc.  I didn’t do a perfect job of that I guess.  LOL

The response was immediate and gratifying.  Also a bit scary.  Two people whose email addresses sounded familiar, came back at me with a lot of hate, calling me names and telling me to grow up.  One said, it was the second time in seven years I had begged him for money.  I forgot what the other said, but he was also hateful.  All the others renewed my faith in humanity and gave me hope.  One wrote me yesterday, saying she finally managed to get the service dog I helped her with financially.  Friends help friends.  That’s what we do.

First my regular budget update for the month.

Budget Update

Month / Pay Period	Fast Food	Meals Out	Gasoline	Groceries
Sep 20- Oct 17	51.87	34.92	432.27	164.72
Oct 18 Nov 14	76.04	53.89	144.70	175.81
Nov 15 – Dec 19	48.25	47.04	325.47	351.26
Dec 20 – Jan 17	28.02	36.35	182.40	262.24
Jan 18 - Feb 20	35.51	36.32	260.00	153.37
Feb 21 – Mar 20	48.89	14.23	233.10	131.06

These are not by any means my only budget items. My monthly Electronic Fund Transfers for bills come to: $295.00 monthly.  I can’t change much of those right now.  I tried to cancel my gym membership, but Planet Fitness said I could not, unless I paid for the remainder of the contract.  This is not what they told me when I joined and I am planning to try and fight this as there are no gyms near where I boondock.

So, here is an accounting of my expenses since 3/1 when my plea went out.

Supplies - $100.00
Groceries/meals out – $105.00
Solar supplies – $13.75
Gasoline – $141.21
P.O. Box/postage – $43.00
Kayak Chute Supplies – $100.00

None of that would have been possible without the help I received. Thank you again.

Major changes to my rig:

Kayak Chute:  For nine years I have loaded my kayak on top of my van.  It was difficult at best.  With pending shoulder surgery and a very long recovery, I had to find a better way to manage the 53-pound bulky boat.  Building a box on the floor of my trailer in order to slide the kayak into the trailer without any overhead lifting is the only solution I could come up with.  Lifting the kayak overhead may not be possible after the surgery, so I want to prepare for that possibility so I can continue to be independent and keep kayaking.  This week I accomplished that due to financial assistance I received.

Once it was all helter-skelter in there, and whatever I needed was always under something else.  Now things are compartmentalized, and the kayak slides easily in and out with only a couple inches of lifting, which I can do with one arm.

No more of this:

Still to do – Peeling van paint:  Finish fixing peeling paint on the van.  Hard to do with shoulder situation so I bought an oscillating sander to assist.  My last major adaptation.  I like to keep the van looking neat and clean.  These Chevy vans were really bad about paint peeling off.  I keep postponing this as it hurts a lot to do it.

New thought: I now carry 3 six gallon jugs of water… when I make camp.  That is 48 pounds per jug.  Most the places I buy water sell five gallons for $1.00, so I began just getting the five gallons instead of six. But even the 40 pounds is getting too hard to lift.  I need to find a way to have a water supply on hand that does not involve me lifting those jugs.  I just might not be able to do it after surgery.  I am looking for affordable solutions now.  A friend is going to share plans for her system.

Van work needed:  I still need to replace the power steering fluid pump on the van and have the name of a trusted mechanic I will check with this week.  I have the pump donated by a supporter.  Big O tires also said I need a lot of front end work to keep my van from eating my front tires.  I had to buy two cheap new ones a couple months ago to feel safe and get by.  The estimate from Big O tires was over $2,000, for things like Pitman arm, etc. Same Big O gave a friend of mine the same estimate on his van… he said his van was not even worth that.  I am going to see what this local mechanic thinks, as I think my van is worth that to me… it is my home, the only one I really ever want to have.  If you wish to help with van work, you can use the donation button on the right.

I have thoughts of setting up a Patreon account to raise funds for the van work needed.  In the nine years I have had the van (and 100,000 + miles), I have only replaced the water pump, and tires.  I have driven places and gotten into situations I should probably not have gotten into… but I need to keep this machine working… and make it last me the rest of my life???  I would be selling notecards, reprints of my art work, maybe some original art and possibly some vandwelling mentoring sessions… where newbies could come camp with me for a week.  Any thoughts?

Another new thought?  Most likely the first few months after shoulder surgery, I will have to sleep in a recliner.  I really don’t want to spend that time inside a nursing home or someone’s sticks and bricks house any longer than necessary, so I have begun thinking about getting a recliner inside my van.  My bed is easily removed… and if a recliner will fit (it will have to be a power recliner or one with a left handed leaver)… I will find/get one… some way.

I CAN and I WILL do this.  (And I have not given up my Arizona Trail hike dream… but all the rest of this has kind of put it on the back burner.)

Thanks go out to all the generous supporters and I pray the trolls get a life and find some happiness out there.  (Don’t worry, Trolls, you have been removed from my Google Contacts.)  I am humbled by the support I have received and will pay it forward.

Maybe I should buy land here… southeast Arizona????
(and call it home)
========================

Who Am I???? Where do I belong???

First, my apologies for not posting in a couple months.  It has been a confusing and overwhelming time for me with family medical issues, car mishaps, and emotional entanglements.  I feel ungrounded and lost.

This morning was the first Orientation Meeting for the Rock Club.  I was asked to attend and help with new members and in the Lapidary Orientation.  So, showed up as I said I would, only to find the other volunteers knew nothing about me.  They shoved a bunch of instructions at me, the guy leading the Orientation appointment me  THE “Shop Foreman”… and so I tried to do as I was asked only to find the other “instructors” looking over my shoulder at everything I was telling others… and correcting me.  I found it confusing and so after an hour or so… I felt the urge to flee and so I fled.  They really did not need my help, and I guess the way I learned things is different from the way they are teaching things now, so I will require some re-training before I allow myself to be put in that role again (I AM NOT a “Lapidary Instructor”… I need far more training than I have had for that role), if I do ever allow that, again.

I fled to my secret place in the desert where they are NO people.  It seems to be the only environment where I can think clearly.  I took a walk, I found the above crystal, my head cleared and I could breath easier.  I decided if I am going to be a Quartzsite Roadrunner Gem and Mineral Club volunteer, for now… this year anyway, it will have to be in behind-the-scenes roles… like editing the Newsletter.  I have agreed to edit the first newsletter of the year… ONLY.  Have 1.5 hrs. into that and will finish it in 1.5 hrs. or less tomorrow.  Could have finished it in 2 hrs. total, if all the “news” had been turned in.

So, I still find myself asking Who Am I?  Where do I belong?  I never seem to fit anywhere.  I look back on my blog post from a year ago… and can’t see that I have made any progress.

November 8, 2013 I wrote: 

I come to Quartzsite each winter to learn about making jewelry, it is only a coincidence that Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR) began happening here too. But, right now I need to be close enough to walk to town in a reasonable amount of time and I get tired of hiding from Clyde (BLM employee/ranger) and trying to be legal. I need to be able to unpack, set up camp and relax and have a home to come back to after a hard day of sawing rocks and cutting stones, and polishing stuff and making jewelry, etc. and so forth. RTR is only two weeks out of the whole winter. And as much fun as the RTR is, I do have a life outside RTR. Rocks come first and I get to do that ALL winter long.

Now, I find I am not as interested in rocks as I was then.  I have downsized the number I am keeping, and hope to downsize even more this year, IF I don’t get rid of them all.  At least… Clyde is not returning this year, and I have paid for the LTVA permit so I am legal so long as I stay within 500 ft. of a Vault Toilet.  I don’t like my camp as well this year… as I could not return to the same location due to storm damage.  This was last year’s camp:

Where my van is parked above, lies the top 3rd of this tree. So the top of the tree is no longer there to shade the carpet area. I can’t park there, I can’t pull the trailer through there, and so I have set up camp across the wash from this spot in a far less desirable location.  I am not happy.  The wind has been blowing for a week and I can’t leave my side walls down.  I feel unsettled.

This time last year I had finished kayaking Alaska, and was looking forward to kayaking Hawaii in May 2014.  I did that and was jubilant beyond words.  I was hopeful and looking toward the future.  I was pleased with the progress I made in becoming the best I could be. Below, how much can you change after six years on the road??

After kayaking Hawaii, my plan was to begin training for the AZ Trail Hike in spring of 2015. But I got derailed by getting into an unwise emotional relationship, and by family medical situations which I felt required my presence.  I was wrong on both counts, but those events costs me financially more than I could afford …and resulted in me having to delay my Arizona National Scenic Trail Hike one year.  I can not now afford to outfit myself for the hike or to properly plan it out and get fit. Now I find myself depressed… and fighting that with all I have to fight with, and the continually nagging question, “Who am I?”

I thought reaching out to help others would make me feel better, but I only get a momentary high from that, then I find myself wanting to be alone again… totally alone.  I don’t know how to fight this.  I have joined the Rock Club and offered to help in ways I felt I could best contribute.  I have reached out to another vandweller who is just launching into this lifestyle, but find myself doing an approach/ avoidance thing with that arrangement, even though I really like this person.  I have joined the Metal Detecting Club and will get out and be as active as I can with them.  But I approach something I think I want to do, and then get this urge to turn and flee as fast as I can the other direction.  What is wrong with me?  Where do I belong?

Son and Granddaughter, both on IV Antibiotics most of the summer and fall.  What the heck???

I suppose this is not new to some of my readers and may be normal human behavior after emotionally charged life events?  I.E., I have a granddaughter scheduled for open heart surgery very soon and her father, my son, having his third hip replacement surgery on the same hip in two years… about the same time.  I went to be with them this summer and help where and how I could, but did not get the feeling that I was appreciated, needed, or even wanted… so I left.  I can not afford a return trip for their surgeries, regardless of the outcomes, I can only hope and pray that the outcomes will be positive for them.

And then there is the botched Mexican dental work which has cost me over $1,000 and I have nothing to show for it but a tooth in a box.  I am trying to get the promised refund, but so far that amounts to zero.  The Mexican implant is going to have to be pulled out and all the work done over again.  Do not go to that dentist. (Dr. Sabas Magana Ambriz in Los Algodones, B.C. Mexico)  Also I was under the false impression that my Delta Dental Ins. would pay for out of pocket expenses I paid to a Mexican Dentist but that will only happen if you have a Mexican address on file with the Ins. company.  So, my claim was denied.

I am just out $1,000, plus the expenses of getting to Washington state and then back south again, a trip I was not going to take this year, and have nothing to show for it but depression.  I MUST find a way to fight my way out of this depression.  Hopefully I will also find a way to write an up-beat blog post soon, about desert rocks and metal detecting…. and hopefully, the wind will stop blowing.  Without wind, I love the desert.

If you run into Swankie out there, send her my way. She needs to help me find myself.  But I do still know how to find the sunsets.

Seasonal Employment Opportunities (Employers @ the Big Tent Show in Quartzsite, AZ 2014)

Someone asked me which seasonal workkamper type employers were present at the Big Tent Show.  Here is a list.

Hoodoo – Crescent Lake Resort, Crescent Lake, Oregon

Contact: Jen@ Hoodoo.com or 541-338-7869

OR and WA jobs Mark@hoodoo.com or 541-338-7869

--------------------------------------------

California Land Management (CLM)

CLM Services Corporation
675 Gilman Street
Palo Alto, CA  94301

clm@clm-services.com
www.clm-services.com

---------------------------------------------

Thousand Trails Management Service

PO Box 6123
Federal Way
WA
98063

(253) 946-5264
Bud.Kahn@1000trails.com

http://www.ttmsi.com/Become_a_Campground_.html  (to apply for camphost job)

-----------------------------------------

America Land and Leisure

What's left after Quartzite?

January 29, 2014/ Jo Leach

We had a great time in Quartzite last week!  We met lots of nice people and filled 27 jobs.

Thanks to everyone who helped in the booth.  We couldn't have done it without you!

We know a lot of our east coast workampers don't make the trek to Quartzite.

Although most of our jobs are in the western states, we also have great jobs in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Florida and Michigan.

So see what's left here:  Current Job Openings

If you're interested in working for American Land & Leisure, please contact Gary at 1-800-342-2267

http://www.americanll.com/job-description/

A Month to be Thankful For

Thanksgiving Day, 2013

I woke to the most beautiful sunrise which I viewed from the warmth and comfort of my own bed, with my head on my own pillow… with a 180 degree view of the incredible desert, all natural (no other campers in view). ...I am thankful for that view, for my bed, for being able to leave the passenger side rear door open at night to watch the stars from my bed and let the sun shine or my forehead first thing in the morning.

Rachel visits Camp Swankie

I am thankful too for the moonrise I got to witness at about 3am… out that same door. I saw a bright light on the horizon… and took my binoculars to see what it was… and it was not a star. It was a crescent moon just peaking up over the horizon of mountains… and there were rays of light like sun rays though the clouds, but the rays were coming from around the moon. I tried to memorize how it looked so I might be able to sketch it. I could see the dark side of the moon in shadow… and watched it lift off from the horizon. Amazing. I am thankful for the moon, and my bed and my pillow and my binoculars, and the sky and stars and moon and then this morning a sun so bright and clear I could not even glance at it for a split second. I have never seen the sky so clear and bright.

I am also thankful for the amazing sunset I witnessed last night. My photos do not do it justice. I didn’t know which way to look or what to photograph… 360 degrees of awesomeness. I wish my camera was better. It’s beyond my verbal abilities to describe that sunset. And I was thankful for the fresh clean air last night and the moderate temperatures which gave me a really good night sleep.

		Vandwellers VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

And today, it is warm and the sky is clear and blue… and I will be spending the day with some vandwellers in the desert East of Quartzsite, enjoying a good meal and good fellowship. I am thankful for vandwellers (wherever they are), and the desert and Quartzsite (… oh, and rocks tee hee). And I am thankful it won’t be cold at dinner today like it was last year.

Jerry and a couple of his dogs I sketched.

And far away in California, I am thankful for the old clients and dear friends I can’t be with this holiday, but I am there with them in spirit. I wish I could be in Monterey kayaking the Bay or even better in Morro Bay, kayaking there. I wish I could spend this day with all the people I miss and love.

And lastly, I am thankful for my family, Richard, Rhonda, Tori, Chris, Jenelle, Zoey and Will Bailey and all the other Baileys who are my in-laws. I hope you all have a great day this day, and know that I love and miss you all. I am especially thankful for being the Mom of two such great young men as Chris and Richard Bailey.

And I am thankful they have given me three beautiful grandchildren… and I’d be even more thankful if I could be the Grandma to them that my dear Grandma Smith was to me.

My angelic grandmother with my sons in 1968.

That would truly be heaven on earth and the only thing that could possibly make today any better than it is already.

Left: Granddaughter Tori, and
Right: Jenelle, Chris, and grandkids Will and Zoey.

Happy Thanksgiving to each and everyone one of you… even if you don’t celebrate this holiday.

Just before a three day rain hit, the ranger at the Long Term Visitor Area where I had sat up camp, came by and said I had to move closer to a vault toilet since I didn’t have a 10 gallon holding tank.  So I moved within a few feet of one… before the rains began then I just kept loaded up to wait out the weather.

In a different Long Term Visitor Area, I found a great site with a huge tree, and a 180 degree view eastward of the wide open desert.  That night as I was getting comfortable for my first night, a test run to see if I like the spot, a large bird landed in my very large tree.  I could not make out what it was, but am sure it was a bird of prey.

The sunset was very nice and I felt comfortable in this location, so next day, I began setting up camp again.  I pray I am not asked to move again.  I am about .03 hundredths of a mile too far from the vault toilet, but I use my portable anyway, so it should not be irrelevant.  I like this location, I’m on the edge of the area where people camp.

Out out comes the rug, and the rocks… and I begin getting organized for working with rocks, the reason I am in Quartzsite.

This will become a bolo tie for a friend.

Here are some other rocks I have trimmed down to begin grinding and polishing.

And of course, out comes the solar oven at every opportunity.

There just doesn’t seem to be an end to the beautiful sunrises and sunsets out here.

One week, I got to help Rachel Smith with her van… making dark curtains to replace the light daisy pattern curtains.  LaVonne Ellis came to visit while we worked.  Doug Begley came by a couple times to visit as well.  Here I sit in the middle of the desert and it’s like Grand Central Station.

And I am grateful for being able to make Rachel’s van warmer and more comfortable.  Before she left we visited the Indian Petroglyphs and she sang Annie’s Song for me again, while we watched the sunrise.  Below the crest of the hill were grinding holes the Indians used for nuts and grain.  Also there was a rock shelter behind the trees where Indians may have taken shelter from the intense desert heat and strong winds. I want to learn more about these people.

But the very best part of living in a van, is being able to watch sunsets and sunrises from my own very comfortable bed, looking out the back door of my van.

It just doesn’t get any better (or more beautiful than this) until tomorrow.

I invite you all to follow along on this website or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/swankie.wheels).  I will be going to Hawaii in May 2014 to complete my 50-state kayaking adventure. You are invited to come along.  Contact me for details.