The crop duster parked nearby worked all night from 8PM to 5AM. He has an absurdly loud and annoying engine, and needs to re-load about every hour. He's used to flying low, so twice an hour all night long he went over our heads at a stupid elevation. It took me a while after parking here quite a few times to find out it was a crop duster. It never occurred to me that one would do this at night. Now, Yuma isn't a very dark place, with many...

Quartzsite was getting boring and there was a window of good weather so I picked up and went back to Yuma for a bit. I'll have some clouds and maybe a drop or two of rain. The clouds and the long nights cramp my style a bit when it comes to keeping my batteries charged, so I tilted my panels; it makes a big difference when conditions are poor. Except for these few weeks around the winter solstice it's normally not worth the trouble. As usual I'm...

I normally shop at Albertson's in Blythe, but last week a new Smart and Final store opened across the street. For Blythe, this is a really nice supermarket, quite impressive. And I found satsumas there. I spend my winters chasing these things down, and success is not to be expected every year. So I'm happy. People at Q this year will like the S&F.

Overnight it went from the 70's during the day to the 60's, and looks like it will stay that way for a little while. Most days it's sunny, though. I have managed to get parts and fix a few minor things here in Q, which is easy to do when there are so few people around. One of the larger transient vendor markets opened this weekend, and the rock vendors are starting to arrive. In a few days I'll go back to Yuma, mainly to change out the scenery,...

Seattle is undertaking an effort to license and inspect medical marijuana "stores", with an eye towards regulating their businesses when the State does not. Most of the existing establishments won't survive. Tacoma came up with a simpler plan to get control of their 56 MMJ places: Show a state license or close down. Washington does not issue state licenses to MMJ "dispensaries", so it's impossible for these places to comply. And just the other...

Steve and Sandy are passing through on their way to the Phoenix area, so I moved up to the Hi Jolly area at Quartzsite where they stopped. They're on their way tomorrow, but I'll meet them again in a month or so. Things are still quiet around here, but the population increases every day. I'll be here for a few days then move back to Yuma.

It has been raining here lately. Not much, just enough drops to turn the dust to mud on my windows. Maybe something like a Seattle drizzle. But it was cloudy enough that I went pretty low on batteries and am fighting now to get them charged up again. No biggie, it just reminds me I have to mind my ways with electrical use for the next 6 weeks. I found a tamale factory in Blythe. Discount Solar had some connectors I've been looking for for 6...

Some rain might be seen here in the next couple of days, something I watch carefully while in the desert. I'm on a good high spot with good roads, but am unfortunately on the wrong side of a big wash. I'll have to wait for the wash to dry before moving. If it rains. Just in case I get trapped, I went to Blythe to buy eggs and produce to keep me for a while. Quartzsite groceries aren't known for their quality. I was happy to see the first of the...

I think I grew weary of the trains, so packed up and went to Quartzsite for some quiet. La Posa South is pretty sparsely occupied, which is normal for this time of year. The bulk of the stores and shops will be opening this week, and access to them is real easy. I like Q before the crowds come. When I leave it will be back to Yuma, I think. At any rate I want to be there when the Somerton Tamale Festival happens on the 20th.

No one was around when I entered US Customs this morning; without the inevitable lines I was a tad confused about what to do. I cautiously opened a door and there were two agents sitting there doing nothing. I picked one, he swiped my passport and I was out of there. Never seen that before. I went over to get a new door window for my RV. My last one fell apart when the UV ate away the "lead". I'll post a pic when I get it installed. Watching the...

I was surprised that the mayor announced his solution to the MMJ issue in Seattle this afternoon, after I posted my ideas on the subject. His approach seems quite lame to me, especially considering he announced his intention last week, held a hearing on Thursday, and released his solution today. But it's not about actual implementation, just a message to the legislature to do the job right. No one is going to be happy with what he proposes. They...

As a review, while Washington passed Initiative 502 to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana operations, the state failed to enact any rules on the medical (also legal) marijuana enterprises. So there are no controls of any kind on the MMJ operations in the state. I assert that these operations are actually what is referred to as "the black market": some of the "medicine" goes out the front door to card-holders, but an awful lot goes out the...