NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Here recently I seem to spend a lot of time at Quail Run RV Park when it’s spacious like this and snow-bird season has not started. As a result, this park has become my go-to emergency place when I have had problems with my motorhome, Jeep, or when I got tired of refiling, hauling, and re-hooking my three propane tanks to prevent my motorhome tanks from freezing during unexpected cold spares while boondocking in nearby free desert campgrounds. Anyways, I arrived here on October 9^th, after having a tire blowout on my jeep which caused unidentified damage under the hood. I dropped my jeep at a nearby service center and came to Quail Run RV Park to wait until my jeep was repaired and I could resume my journey down south.

More often than not, I live in deserts and forests; so dusting furniture, wiping down walls, doors, cleaning windows and floors are a way of life. Therefore, today was a sunny pleasant day. The temperature was 82 and there were no wind issues. Suddenly, my motorhome jerked forward like it had be hit from the rear. “What the hell,” I said as I dashed out the side door of my motorhome to the rear. Upon arrival I was shocked to discover what had happened.

A Cactus Tree, taller than my motorhome seemed to have exploded from the inside striking the driver side corner of my motorhome as it fell to the ground, damaging the water faucet and my water purification system. As well as spraying water everywhere. I returned to my motorhome to report this incident to the office manager, who immediately dispatched two groundskeepers to my area.

What a stinky mess. There is no wind, why did this cactus tree fall? I asked the ground keepers.

No wind. But it’s been in the 90^s and up to the 100’s here in Arizona. So, the heat has been boiling the insides of these cactus. We have lost plenty cactus trees here and in the deserts. “I am sad to see them dissolve and die like this,” Fred replied.

Well, we’ll pay to power-wash your motorhome and replace your water purification system. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you, Gerald said. As a result, prior to the power wash and because I was in an assigned space at Quail Run R.V. Park which was not scheduled to terminate until November 7^th, in hopes my jeep would be repaired and returned by or before the above termination date. My jeep had been at the repair shop since October 9^th and still not repaired. Therefore, I was forced to deal with an awful dead cactus tree smell; birds pecking on the roof of my motorhome, and fungus gnats (like fruit flies) inside my motorhome.

I admit, I don’t know much about cactus trees other then they are slow growing plants; it takes 50 to 75 years before it grows its first arm, and that these trees seem to have a defiant ability to survive fierce winds, heavy rainstorms, and they have long protective Cactus Spines that really hurts if humans or animals brush up against these trees. Further, because I am a full-time motorhome driver, I see Cactus Trees as I journey through Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and Utah on a regular basis.

Hi Jolly Campground

On November 7^th, I moved to Hi Jolly, a 14-day free-stay campground, to continue to wait for my jeep to be repaired. Finally, on November 17^th, my jeep was repaired. It was re-hooked for tow on the back of my motorhome. As a result, I left Quartzsite AZ at 11:30am with hopes of not seeing this city for a while.

It took six-days of driving through heavy-rain storms, high winds, and skirting tornados before I reached my Brunswick, Georgia destination on November 22^nd, the day before Thanksgiving. This was an awful trip, and I hope to never have another trip like this anytime soon.