FRIENDS THAT LIFT YOU UP-----SOMETIMES LITERALLY

SHE WAS IN THE AREA---SHE SAID----(a few hundred miles is next door for her) and might drop in to say hello----meet her at Blythe, Ca. airport----and Oh yes---think of someplace you'd like to see from the air. We hope to persuade her to stay the night and tour Quartzsite on the ground.  (We succeeded.)

Here's a town I'd love to see from the air---Quartzsite, Az---a nothing of a place--seen from interstate ten.

Not much more --seen from the exit ramp---looking North.

Or glancing South

So with a companion ( Laurie---Middle) I hurry to the Blythe Airport just as Joyce--my nation spanning aviatrix friend---glides in from the skies in her airplane--named Path. (remember her from Montana adventure? http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com/2010/08/friends-in-high-places.html We told her we wanted to see Quartzsite.

First timers---Laurie-- get the front seat---those are the rules.

The Mighty? Colorado river.

We direct her to our Campsite--5 miles outside town--Our friend Kathy( kathylundborg.wordpress.com) --fellow blogger and adventurer--- from Montana--- waves from the ground--that's my rig on the left. Note the 4 chairs lined up--facing west--we like to watch sunset together.

A closer view of Kathy and her little dog Josie. Check out her blog: http://kathylundborg.wordpress.com/

And on to Quartzsite---You may remember that I have waxed poetically about this wierd and wonderful town---its population swelling from a few hundred permanent residents to about a hundred thousand when campers and vendors converge in Jan and Feb:

"Something grand and dear is happening here

the world could not have expected:

The mobile domicile---and a new lifestyle

In Quartzsite are being perfected.

                                                The sprouting seed of a brand new breed---

Living simple and light and lean;

Living happy and free, like wild Cherokee

In cozy little living machines.

                                                  A life that is bold, with oneself in control;

And with clusters of friends in affection;

reinventing the tribe---helping revive

our long lost natural connection.

Choosing sunlights' glow over ice and snow;

Acceptance over sorrow;

Adventurous games over riches and fame;

And today---over iffy tomorrow!"

That's just one fourth of Quartzsite's  vendors in an area named Tyson Wells. Note the huge blank area on the left:  Just last week a giant circus-type tent covered it with about 200 or so venders of RV-related products--and lots of other stuff.  Here's a better look at it: http://lifeontheopenroad.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-02-10T10:49:00-08:00&max-results=1&reverse-paginate=true

Here's my only photo of it's interior..

But I digress---flying south three miles---can you see those hundreds of rigs scattered across the desert.  This area is called La Posa South.  An equally large assembly of rigs could be found in La Posa North and also in 3 other BLM areas (Bureau of Land Management---a big name out west) These are pay areas ($180 for 7 months) with services of water, dump and trash. An equal number of campers prefer the free boondocking  in outlying areas---using rv pit stop stations for necessary services.

Flying south--that's hwy 95 ---stretching 80 miles to Yuma, Az.  Laurie has a yen to see the KOFA mountains up close.

And we do

Amazingly close!

Enroute home--Our pilot--is intrigued by this old and snakelike road winding  across an obscure pass--decided to follow it--to wherever it was going.

Turns out it leads back to Blythe.

We learned later that this airfield was a major WWII air station for bomber training.

Wanna know more about our pilot's adventures? http://www.agrannysplaceisinthecockpit.blogspot.com/

This map shows the states she's landed in---(doesn't count unless you land--she said.)

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES: This day's adventure is a great metaphor for one of my fundamental convictions:  FRIENDS CAN LIFT YOU UP----emotionally---intellectually--in character development--and goal furtherance.

I am currently inviting a number of friends to join me in a summer adventure----in which our travels

are enriched by adding precisely this layer of INTENT.  Laurie has written a beautiful essay showing how this can be done. (will share it with you sometime)