Solitude? I Got it!
No photos today, folks. I could just barely post this text. The trip down to Parker, AZ from Wendover, UT took just two days of driving and three days for the trip itself, due to a high wind advisory on the way down. Hauling the Defiant isn’t that much fun in high winds, and I managed to skate past Nevada’s 18-hour limit in their roadside rest stops by staying in the relatively delightful Pahranagat Lake Rest Stop (GPS:37.232690, -115.090228), which is situated with the raised roadway on one side and tall hills on the other, so the threatened 45 MPH gusts literally went overhead. So I stayed there with one other camper for two nights instead of one. Such a rebel!
The Parker, Arizona campsite in the boonies about 8 miles NE of town is fab in many respects. It’s pretty, and some of the low mountains on the Shea Road access are beauties. With plenty of wide-open area at points, you just drive in and plant your rig. It seems to be near some off-road trails used by ATVs and some pretty stout-sounding Baja-style off-road pickups. Every now and them, I can hear the faint musical call of a highly modified V8 under stress, so I’ll have to check that out. But overall it’s quite quiet, and the only sound to be heard is the generator of some campers a quarter of a mile away.
At the location I picked, a mountain seems to make for an early sunset, shading my solar panels, but that’s of little concern since I cranked the trailer to catch more of the morning sun earlier. The cool weather front predicted never really materialized, so it will be toasty here for another business week while the pickup is being worked on in town.
The only bad news is the miserable cellular signal. This is great for folks who feel the effects of radio towers and such, and who need a relatively “clean” area to camp in. But for me, it means that, even with an amplified antenna, getting a cellular data connection here ranges by the moment between nonexistent and half the speed of a laundromat’s free WiFi. Without the amplifier, my phone’s reading is a flat No Signal. I’m not into biking miles into town just to hunt up free Wifi and post, so brilliantly fascinating reading with fabulously glorious and illustrative pictures will have to wait until the Mighty Furd is back on its feet and I’ve relocated to Quartzsite. Actually, that kind of writing might take awhile longer than that, so don’t get your hopes up. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get some work done!
Strolling Amok 
Your posts are great even without photos. Hope you camp near me in Quartzsite. That spot across the wash from the big tree is free if you want it. A couple of the neighbors are not returning this year due to health issues. Well, one is returning, but will be in a hotel in town as he needs full time oxygen now. It’s sad, I was looking forward to having the old neighbors back again. Top of my big tree was blown along with many others in the area and washes have been deeply gouged. See you soon. Let me know where you land.
Be careful what you wish for! I expect to be down in a couple of days (Friday) and tour, looking for November’s camping spot. I’ve been favoring the west side of the highway in the past, due to easier access to some points in town, but will swing on by just in case something else strikes my fancy. The e-bike makes site choice a bit more flexible. On the other hand, I also need to get the rig into a repair facility in town ASAP, so that plan for setting up camp may be pretty shaky.
Try west of the river, much better signal and plenty of room out there.
Thank you, Colvin. I noticed a few roadside pull-offs on the way down, but no obvious boondocking campsites. It’s moot at this point though, since I’ll only be here a couple of days more. Not worth hefting the solar panels in and out for. They feel heavier than they used to!