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.