SAY {WHAT}!; Fortuna-AZ

February 2nd, 2025: Tomorrow, we will pull stakes in Fortuna-AZ & set up in Quartzsite-AZ, again, for a couple weeks before aiming Betsy's nose towards Kingman-AZ; where we'll Park Independence for another couple weeks, before hitting the road for the PNW.

We probably won't be coming back to AZ - and Holland wants to do everything - and see everything, we can, before we leave AZ. When we get to Kingman, he's already making plans to pencil in several road trips, as well as quality time spent with Aunt Gaye.

Today, we went adventuring to see if we could find a Dam, that at one time had fed diverted Colorado River water from AZ to CA via mexico … into the Salton Sea. mexico eventually turned the tap off on their side, altogether. It interested Holland, and he thought it would be a nice historical tidbit for me to include in a Blog Post.

It was the first time I'd been out of the house in a few weeks - the dust has been so bad, I didn't want to risk lung inflammation that would hamper our anticipated move on Monday. But, today was a calm day, and I thought it might be a safe day to escape the 4 walls: so, while Holland tended to tidying things up outside (to make moving day tomorrow, easier), I quickly washed and blow-dried my hair, and put a little color on my face 👍

We drove around for 2 hours trying to find a vintage Dam from the beginning of the 1900's; we asked GPS for help - no help was forthcoming from that blond bimbo. She kept leading us to Old Town Yuma: we knew that wasn't right.

The Road Atlas was equally clueless 🤔

I asked my phone for information on a vintage Dam built in the Yuma-AZ/CA area … google directed us to the Laguna Dam, near the Imperial Dam: waaay off the direction being inquired about.

It was a bummer that we never did find what we went looking for, but it was a nice Sunday drive 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨, anyway - and we did drive to the Laguna Dam, just for fun; looping around the backside of the Yuma Proving Grounds, an back to where Independence sat in the Fortuna Foothills-AZ 😊

Along the route, we saw a border wall stretching along into the distance, and I asked Holland where we were (I knew we were no where near the border wall we are familiar with - it was in the opposite direction) … he said, "That's CA's border wall". He said it so calmly. I was speechless for a heartbeat, before asking in a heat, "Are you kidding me? CA has a freaking border wall?" He said, "Yes, that is CA's border wall." I saw red, "Those hypocrites! Of all the nerve!" I saw red because CA bitches nonstop about Trump's Border Wall in Yuma-AZ … and here I was seeing Calexico-CA's double barrier BORDER WALL near Winterhaven-AZ.

Holland said there is also a CA Border Wall in San Diego-CA.

No  wonder CA is on fire - it's a State resting sanctimoniously proud in their lies.

CA's Tortilla Border Wall! HYPOCRITES!!The Tortilla Wall is a 14-mile section of the border fence between San Diego and Tijuana. It was completed in the early 1990s, and runs about a mile and a half into the ocean.

Leaving the Calexico/Andrade-CA Wall view behind us, and passing through Winterhaven, I saw the old jalopy "museum" I had driven past last year. I pointed to it, and said, "There is the place I have been telling you about; when I passed by it last year I thought to myself, 'that is something that would interest Holland.'" He pulled over to get a closer look at it … but not wanting to risk a lung inflammation, we just did a drive by looksee:

Cloud Museum; #1398 York Rd, Winterhaven, CA

We didn't walk the grounds, though; too risky with the dust.

It's c.o.l.d., and possibly snowing a little in Kingman-AZ, so, after chowing down on left-over fried chicken when we got back home … I finished up the pair of foot warming slippers for my big man:

The Tall Men - Vocal by Jane Russell: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEVZAG5rl9k)

While posting the pattern to a Blogging Blog Hop, I saw that my crochet plant pot cover had been showcased on my Israeli friend's Page 😁

https://www.creativejewishmom.com/ –  Craft Schooling Sunday

MOD RUFFLED PLANT POT COVER; Fortuna-AZ:  (https://roadgypsiesvalandholland.blogspot.com/2025/01/mod-ruffled-plant-pot-cover-fortuna-az.html)

TAKING STOCK & GETTING THINGS DONE

December 30th: We spent the day sorting through stuff. Holland spent the afternoon outside making the truck ready, sorting/tidying the basement stuff, and straightening the backend storage; I sorted, rearranged, and tidied the in-house stuff. We'll be on the road, Monday morning.

Both of us have lived in RV's for extended periods of time, before (Holland, when he was going from job site to job site as a contractor - and me, when Bob was going from job to job as a logger, and later on, after the kids graduated); so this is nothing new to either of us.

Space is limited when traveling in an RV - an RV (home on wheels; constantly in motion) is NOT he same as a stationary "tiny house". While it is true that both have limited space … space in an RV is a bit trickier - things will not stay put unless you make sure they stay put. Also, there are pushouts to consider, and this poses an entirely different scenario when considering {space} modifications. Everything inside the home needs to be easy to transfer and store when the push outs are pulled in - and everything has to securely stay in place enroute, so nothing gets jammed under the slide outs, throwing a monkey wrench into the works.

That's what I was doing this morning: the back bunkroom has, until today, been the catch-all room resembling a bachelor's quarters … but since it will now become my hideaway room (aka: Babe Cave), it needed tidied ;-)

It took a couple hours to pull everything down - go through it, rearrange some of it - and put it back up there. Some stuff was ditched … some stuff was stored elsewhere. But, it's not a chaotic mess, anymore ;-)

Sorting through this mess & straightening it up …

Bought these bins a few days ago - they will work perfectly ;-)

Tidied up.

And the birthday gifts Holland gave me came in handy :-)

Cargo net clamped tight with my BD clamps …

When Holland came in for a break between his tasks - I nabbed him before he went back outside, and asked him to store the oscillating tower fan atop another bunkroom bunk (I would have had to climb that short bunk ladder, and wasn't comfortable with that): he just wrapped the cord around the base, grabbed it with one big hand … and set it secured in place, up there.

It cracks him up how enthusiastically thankful I am for his extra 11-inches in height over my my 5 ft. 3-inch height: "Thank YOU Yeshua, for my tall man!!!"

It makes a difference!

He laughed, wrapped me in a big bear hug (I like that: I can kiss and hug his generous loving heart ;-)), and went happily back outside to wrap things up out there.

It's not as messy as it appears to be, up there; bulky things are secure.

And I thank Elohim every day for my tall man :-)

Maren Morris - Tall Guys/Official Audio: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngeAMlj5ouU)

Afterwards, I hung my birthday LED Lantern, and took stock of my flip-flips stash. I hadn't realized I had so many … but, that's okay: this way, I have a pair to match with every outfit, and every State we'll be visiting before they wear out and need replacing ;-)

My bright BD LED lamp works real fine under the upper bunk; & a quick ct. of my current Dollar Store Thong Stash ;-)

Then, all our moving-day-tasks completed, Holland juiced up a tasty power drink to enjoy before Supper. It was delish :-)

Holland's tasty power juice - carrot, tangerine, pineapple, lemon, & ginger: YUM!