Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Made it to Quartzsite, Arizona

 I was awake by 6:30 and packing to leave.  Not much to do, but there is always last minute stuff.  Yuma knew something was different and he was excited too.  

When I was ready to hook the Jeep to the White Lion I turned on the ignition and let things prepare to start.  Then the big test.  It fired up without a hitch and I knew I wouldn't turn it off till I reached Quartzsite.  But I was wrong!  

As I walked around the Jeep, I noticed a puddle under the radiator of the White Lion.  When I looked at the antifreeze overflow container, I noticed I missed a spot and it was leaking antifreeze.  I didn't have time to Epoxy the crack because it takes 24 hours to dry properly, so I pulled out my handy dandy Duct tape and sealed it real good.

Said my goodbyes to Kay and at 9 o'clock we were heading west towards Quartzsite.  I took the 202 Phoenix bypass and hooked onto I-10 on the west side of the city.  Missed most of the traffic which was great.

I was supposed to meet up with Deb and Riley outside of Tonopah, but there was a mix-up.  I pulled into the first rest area past Tonopah but they were 40 miles further down I-10 at the second one.  Deb decided to head on to Quartzite and find the camping location and I would meet them there.

Mountains at the rest area

The WL ran fine the whole way, but it still smokes.  Can't worry about it.  Just drive it till it stops I guess.  Hopefully, that doesn't happen.  I did have to stop several times when the the engine started running hot, so it could cool down. The normal running temperature is 190-210, so when it would climb above that, I would pull over and let it cool down.  Only had to do that four times.  There were several long hills to climb but not too bad.   I'll fix that leak ASAP and hopefully that problem will end.

I drove 172 miles and arrived at out camp around 12:45, not long after Deb and Riley arrived.  It is only 68 miles to Yuma so I won't be going far for several months.


Camp south of Quartzsite, Arizona
Deb picked out a place fairly far off hwy 95 so there is no traffic noise and it is flat and spacious with plenty of room for us.  Some more views of the area:



Yuma's ears blowing in the wind.
I am exhausted tonight.  Looking forward to two weeks of relaxation and some exploring.  Yuma and I ate some more of the rotisserie chicken and tore the rest of the meat off the bones, wrapped them and put them in the fridge for tomorrow.

It's getting towards 9 o'clock and Yuma and I are ready for bed.  Thanks for stopping by.


17 comments:

  1. Glad you boys made it to Quartzsite with only a small problem. Deb and Riley picked out a nice spot for you all to stay. Kay will probably miss having you and Yuma around. Hopefully the MH will run good and you'll see her again. Enjoy your first night on the road!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! Thank you. I was really tired for just driving, but figure it was stress.

      Delete
  2. Starting right up is a good sign!! When you open blogger, look on the left hand side (just above settings) where it says THEME. Click on that and you can change the look of your blog. Glad you made it to Q. Happy camping!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Nancy. So happy to be boondocking. I've been playing with themes but not lucky so far.

      Delete
  3. Glad we finally made it. We are pretty close to Yuma so it will be an easy run. That big diesel will hardly get warmed up in that little distance.
    The spot is nice and I think we will enjoy for a while. The proving grounds run behind us I think.

    Deb

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too. Took three expensive weeks to get here so I'd best enjoy it. One start after another is all I want.

      Delete
  4. Looks like it will be a great spot to hang out for awhile. Nice that Yuma is so close! I actually like the black background :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Shirley. I'm glad you like it because I can't figure out how to change it.

      Delete
  5. Enjoy that wide open site you have, it looks great! Hope the overheating issue is just a simple epoxy fix.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jeff. It worked perfectly on the crack I fixed so expect the same with this one.

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Yes she did. Right near Palm Canyon in the Kofa mountains. Beautiful here.

      Delete
  7. Welcome. Glad you gotta to this beautiful place. I'm north of Q but will be back south soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Doug, You mentioned it was necessary to pull over to let the White Lion cool down? Have you cleaned your radiator and inter-cooler? If not you should consider doing that or having someone clean them. Job can be a bit messy but will make a big difference in running temperature of engine. Cleaning must be done from inside engine compartment with water and cleaning fluid flowing towards back of coach and DO NOT use a high pressure cleaner because you will bend radiator fins! Good Luck.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Glad you made it to Quartzsite without too much trouble Doug. I know the area where you are and it is one of my favs. I love the Kofa Mountains. I get so homesick reading everybody's blogs from down there. that it's hard for me to read them and look at all the great pictures people have. I like your blog set up and the black background will highlight your photos.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks like a nice quiet spot for 2 weeks. Hopefully the Lion will continue to rise for a long time yet.
    Enjoy your stay!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This last spring I filled my empty windshield washer tank. It then ran out onto the shop floor, I guess the fluid was not the below 32* stuff, or they lied?
    What are the chances of finding a 34 yr. old replacement? I think I'll go your way with some of that expensive roof tape I have lying around.
    You better have some fun now!

    ReplyDelete