Had a wonderful cruise and got back Thursday. After a quick visit to the grocery store, I picked up my motorhome rental from Cruise America in Carson, CA which is near the cruise terminal. Driving through L.A. traffic even on freeways in the middle of the day was no fun but I made it to Blythe, CA for the night to see some old friends who always winter at Mayflower County Park. We had a very good time catching up and I left in overcast and very windy weather in the afternoon.
After a quick stop just across the state line at the Flying J for cheaper gas and Wendy’s food, I headed further East into Quartzsite. Warning: do NOT try to get off at the first exit during January. The traffic is horrible! Having been here before, I went on to the second exit where you can make a left turn easier, go over the bridge, take a left on main street at the light, then left again on Highway 95 South to get to the La Posa BLM campgrounds. You avoid a lot of traffic and headaches with that route.
I pulled into La Posa South and registered. The cost was $40 for 2 weeks. They only take exact cash or checks so be aware and ready. I found my family already encircled with an easy drive in spot saved for me to complete the circle. It was windy, cold, and raining so we hung out in one trailer to eat together, listen to music, and play games.
Today, the Big Tent opened. We chose not to compete with the opening crowds today and instead went through Tyson Wells. I believe the traffic on Kuehn is even worse this year and parking is always an adventure but we did succeed to find a couple spots for the trucks. As usual, so much to see but not enough endurance. We made it all the way through but boy do our feet hurt. For those who were asking, yes, there is a place to rent mobility scooters at Tyson Wells and the rate is very reasonable. Randy’s Mobility Rentals is at booth B15-17 next to the 95 highway on the north side of Kuehn. Scooters rent for $10/hr with a $50 daily maximum. No reservation needed but their phone is 407-492-2321.
The tool tent up front is half the usual size due to the death of one of the partners. The kitchen items tent up front is there and as big as usual. I didn’t find everything I wanted in the large miscellaneous household goods and tool tents this year but I still managed to fill up my backpack with purchases. Lunch will cost you at least $8 for just a sandwich and more for anything else. They were out of tri-tip when I got there so I had chicken teriyaki with rice instead. It was good, not great, but good. There was also hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, tacos, taco salad, cinnamon rolls, giant onion rings, fries, coleslaw, beans, corn on the cob, etc. There is plenty of Ice cream around for your afternoon snack.
I got teased about buying more water filters there. Last year I bought an entire water filtration system and drove the TSA guards nuts when I put them through the Xray machine at the airport. You better believe they opened my bag to inspect. LOL.
Before heading back to camp, we walked over to the Progressive Insurance trailer on the North side outside the Big Tent. They don’t have the golf game this year but you can still spin the wheel for a prize. I got a very nice metal water flask. My family members got a Flo doll and a T-shirt. All of us got very nice and sturdy bags for holding our Big Tent purchases too. They always give away the coolest stuff so be sure to stop in there each day for another spin. You can also have your picture taken with Flo. Woohoo!
That’s it for today. Off to the Big Tent tomorrow.
