Now this is the "Oasis" I have always dreamed of! Yesterday our neighbors here asked if we wanted to follow them to the Desert Bar. They had never been there but heard it was a very interesting place and wanted to check it out. The road that leads to the bar is about 4-5 mile north of Parker Az and once you turn off hwy 95 you have a 5 mile long drive along a bumpy dirt road out into the desert. Not knowing what we were going to find when we got there we were shocked. There must have been a few hundred vehicles there, with people everywhere. The bar is only opened from Noon - 6:00 pm and Saturday and Sundays only. The bar is opened from Oct to April and closed the rest of the year. One thing that interesting is they are off the grid, so all of the power for the 2 bars and kitchens is solar. Go to www.thedesertbar.com and look at their website. The people in the picture are our neighbors Steve and Sandy and their friend Patty. Had a few cold beers but didn't eat. The other ate and said the food was ok. Weather here has improved a lot, in the 70's and around 40 at night. Quartzsite is now offically packed with people and rv's. Almost impossible to eat out unless you eat early, like 4 pm. Yesterday was a sad day for Jackie and I as we got a call from our very good friend whom I have know for over 20 years that his wife Bev Edwards passed away at the young age of 70. We have traveled together, I have stayed at their home many times and talk on the phone almost every week. She will be missed
This small town will have up to 100,000 people here during January and February and all will need propane sometime during their stay. The RV Pit Stop is the most popular and cheapest. They have 4 fill stations 2 on each side of the round tanks. They can have lines out onto the street if you hit it at the wrong time. But usually you can pull in and out without much of a wait. I had 2 bottles and when we pulled in since they were slow one worker took a bottle while the other was filled. We were in and out in less than 5 minutes. Our trailer has 2 tanks each holding 7 gallons or 30 pounds. Usually we go thru a bottle per month and spend on propane around $22 per month on propane but this season here the nights and mornings have been cold so we are using almost 2 per month. The weather has been a little cooler this year but most days you can still be comfortable in shorts and light shirt. We have some friends here from Nevada where we use to live. Jack and Susan came down in their travel trailer and will be spending a week in the rv park we are staying. They were amazed at what goes on in the town as far as the flea market and gem shows. It is hard to explain to people what it is like here. Yesterday we had high winds. So all of the outside stuff had to be picked up and we cancelled our plans to BBQ. We are into our 3rd month here, we were wondering if we would be able to stay the 4 months we planned and so far we have enjoyed our stay. A couple reasons it has been ok to stay this long is that we have had a chance to meet and get to know some folks staying here. The other was we had moved and did a lot the past year and needed a break. As much as we enjoyed the trip across country, and we will do it again, we got a little road weary. We are looking forward to the remaining time here and possible visits from Jackie's brother and sister-in-law and her cousin Brenda. Also another couple from Nevada may be coming down sometime during the season. We are testing out several of the restaurants that we had not ate at so when they arrive we will know rather or not to go there for dinner. The things I do for friends and family.
