Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: The Expired Food Grocery Store

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Where old food goes when it leaves your supermarket.

This is one of the oddities of Quartzsite, AZ: a grocery store inside a tent that is filled with (mostly) food past its “best by” date.

Discount Grocery
The entrance to the Discount Grocery shop in Quartzsite just before Christmas.

This was very close to where I was camped for most of January so I went there a few times a week. It has mostly canned and packaged foods from the middle aisles of supermarkets.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I have always treated those “best by” dates as some sort of food expiration date. Recently, however, I’ve been educated about just how random those dates can be. And while I still prefer buying food that has that date way into the future, I’ve occasionally purchased (and eaten) food with old dates. This is where I’ve gotten it.

You can’t argue the prices. One year, I bought (and made) box after box of $1 coffee cake mix that was kicked out of the supermarket two or three months before. And those old crackers don’t taste bad with a smear of fresh cashew butter or brie on them. And does candy really expire?

Cheap Chocolate Chocolate Expiration Date
How could I resist Ghirardelli chocolate for just a buck? Hell, it was less than 2 months past its “best before” date. (It was fine.)

But what always surprised me was how some of the items weren’t past their “best by” dates at all. Like large cans of menudo (which I actually like) and canned peaches. And how about the 17-oz (500ml) bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil from Spain that won’t “expire” until August 2020? For $2? I thought it might be rancid, but it wasn’t. I’m still using it.

Anyway, you can find the Discount Grocery on the south side of Kuehn Street at Tyson Wells during the winter. I recommend it.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Our River Campsite

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An aerial view of our campsite at the Colorado River backwaters.

I launched the drone early Thursday morning to capture some aerial views of our campsite. In hindsight, I realize I did it too early — the shadows were still long. But the wind had been blowing too hard to fly safely during the previous days and I didn’t know if it would kick up again. So I launched, grabbed a few photos, and landed. Here are two of them.

River Campsite
Here’s a view from the east and slightly south.

Janet and I are camped on the left. Steve, Karen, Jeff, and Theresa are camped on the right. There’s an access road between our two campsites because there’s a boat ramp there. The water has been too low to launch a boat of any real size so it’s only been used twice — both times by wildlife researchers — since we’ve been here. (I launched my little jet boat here two years ago.)

The body of water we’re on is one of the backwater channels that exist alongside the Colorado River in some places. I don’t know the story behind these areas. Were they cut to drain wetlands? Did they form naturally? Whatever the story, this particular backwater runs about two miles north of our position with various side channels. The only opening to the river is just west of us, although with the water so low, it’s impassible by even my kayak. You can see the Colorado River in the far left of this shot; everything in the top of this frame is in California. (We’re in Arizona.)

Top Down View
Here’s a look straight down at our setup.

If you think there are a lot of vehicles here for just six people, you’re right. On the left, you can see Janet’s trailer (“Joey”) sitting by itself. Below that in the frame is a lineup of my vehicles: my truck camper (“T2”) parked on its legs, my cargo trailer/workshop (“Lily Rose”), and my pickup truck. On the right, you can see Janet’s truck (“Blue’) and her workshop trailer (“the Vega”) parked at the top of the frame, closest to our camp. Below that in the frame is Jeff and Theresa’s truck and fifth wheel trailer. In the top right of the frame is Steve and Karen’s bumper pull trailer. In looking at this, I realize that Steve and Karen’s van is missing from this shot; one of them must have been out with it. If I’d taken the shot the day before, you would have seen their 10×10 work tent set up between the Vega and their trailer.

The campsite is fewer than 3 miles from the freeway, which I’m thrilled about. We usually camp at least 7 miles away and the gravel road we drive to get back and forth into town is a jarring ride that beats the crap out of my truck’s tires and shocks. This site is off that main gravel road, although it’s close to the levee access road. Fortunately, we’re sunk down off of the levee road to nearly the high water mark, surrounded by bushes and long stands of bamboo. We have plenty of privacy and the vegetation prevents dust from getting down into our site.

This campsite is completely off-the-grid. There are no hookups or other facilities so you have to bring in everything you need: power, water, propane, and toilet. My rig has 2 12-volt RV batteries and a total of 360 watts of solar power to keep them charged. It holds 30 gallons of fresh water, but I also have 2 7-gallon jugs to fetch more. I have 2 5-gallon propane tanks that provide heat and hot water and keep my refrigerator running. Over the years, I’ve learned how to minimize toilet usage so the 30-gallon waste tank lasts two weeks without stinking. We do have cell phone service, but it’s weak — usually 1 or 2 out of 4 bars on my phone. If I hold my phone just right, I can get on the Internet.

For the most part, my companions are fine to camp with, although the newcomers, who don’t have solar panels on their rig, tend to run their loud generator a bit too often and long for my taste. (If you’re going to camp off the grid for any length of time, you need solar panels to keep your batteries charged. Running a generator for hours on end is simply inconsiderate to the people around you who don’t come out here to listen to your cheap generator because you don’t know how to conserve power.) We occasionally get together as a group for dinner or a campfire, but more often, Janet and I do our thing independently of the others. She and I are both getting work done here — she’s an artist and I’m making jewelry — but also finding time to fish, go out in our little boats, or go into town to shop or take care of errands like fetching water or propane.

We’ll be here for about two weeks — which is the limit for BLM land. Steve and Karen will pull out Saturday and Janet will do some traveling without her rig for the holidays. She’ll get back for a few days and then we’ll pack up and move out to our next destination at the first two Tyson Wells shows in Quartzsite about 25 miles away.

This is my fifth (I believe) December camping out in this area with my friends. I first did it with my big fifth wheel (“the Mobile Mansion”) and then, when I sold that, continued doing it with the two truck campers I owned (“the Turtleback” and “T2”). I have to say that despite the few shortcomings in comfort, I really do love coming here and I look forward to it every year.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Fishing from Camp

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My friends have success fishing right from our campsite.

It started yesterday afternoon. Janet and I were down on the shoreline talking about how high the water had risen. (Water level here is determined by releases from the Parker and Palo Verde Dams 50+ and 10+ miles upriver from here respectively.) In general, fishing is better when the water level is higher. Obviously, so is boating. Janet loves to fish and I love to paddle so the higher the water level was, the happier we were.

As we stood there looking out at the water, fish were jumping. Big fish. Lots of them.

“Maybe I should throw a line in,” Janet said.

It was about 3 PM and we were supposed to go fishing earlier in the day at another site up the backwater channel. But our companions needed to make a propane run and the weather had become overcast and chilly. No one — except maybe Janet — seemed interested in going anymore.

Janet's Orange Ear
Here’s Janet and her orange ear, after putting it on a stringer.

I was ready for a nap — or a least a few hours in my camper with Penny and a book. I went in. Janet took her fishing pole and worms out to the shrinking beach. I was stiff fussing around in my tiny kitchen area when she called out excitedly. I ran out in time to see her reeling in a fish. When I caught sight of it in the water, I thought it was small, but when she pulled it out, it turned out to be a decent sized orange ear — a very tasty edible fish. She’d gotten it on her first cast out.

Of course, I like to fish, too, especially when I can do it in some level of comfort. So I carried my fishing pole and camp chair down to the shore, put one of Janet’s worms on my hook, and cast out.

The jumping fish seemed to taunt us. It reminded me of a meteor shower where you feel lucky to see one or two meteors per minute. We were seeing one of two jumping fish per minute.

The two of us fished for at least a half hour but no more luck. I gave up first. I’d been steadily getting colder and was now really interested in that nap I’d been thinking about. I tossed my soggy worm into the water and took my chair and pole pack up to my camper. A few minutes later, I was stretched out on my bed with Penny and my iPad, reading.

Meanwhile, word had spread in our little camp. There are six of us here with six trailers/campers and four trucks. One of the other campers, Jeff from Canada, had cast out a line and set the pole on shore propped up on a forked stick. He put a small bell on the pole.

Jeff's Channel Catfish
Jeff (with the pole) and Steve admire the channel catfish Jeff brought in. I love this photo mostly because of the late afternoon light.

We were all gathered around the campfire just before dinner when Penny took interest in something on the shore. Although I didn’t hear the bell, Jeff did. He jumped up and ran to his pole. A minute later, he was reeling in a pretty big channel catfish.

We’ve already had two fish dinners at camp — three, if you count the one I missed when I was in Phoenix over the weekend. While I’m not particularly fond of catfish, the orange ear and bass that are in here are very tasty. I’m sure we’ll fish some more to collect enough for another dinner. I hope I can contribute.

With some level of comfort, of course.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Paddling with Penny

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We take the boats out into the backwater.

Backwaters
Here’s a Google Maps image of the backwaters in the area. Keep in mind that not all of the channels actually go as far as they appear to on the map due to the growth of tall reeds and bamboo along the shore. We’re at the blue dot.

One of the things I like most about our campsite this year is that it’s right on one of the longest backwater channels off the Colorado River. Last year I’d camped near this site, which has its own boat ramp, and had launched my inflatable Hobie pedal/paddle kayak into it, so I was already familiar with the waterway. I knew that I could go at least two miles north with very little current in either direction. It was perfect for a casual afternoon out in the kayak.

My friend Janet, who is sharing the same site, also brought her fishing boat along. It’s an inflatable one-seat affair — I’ll have to get a picture for a future post — designed for fishing. We both inflated our boats Tuesday afternoon and launched them, despite the chill in the air and a pretty stiff wind from the north.

Penny came along, of course, I prepped the boat by securing her fleece blanket on the bow so she’d have some traction when she stood or sat there. I also put her life jacket on so I wouldn’t have to worry about her trying to swim if she fell in. Because the water had virtually no current, I didn’t bother tethering her to the boat. She’s only fallen in once and that was a long time ago in my old kayak. I didn’t expect her to fall in today, but if she did, I knew she wouldn’t get swept away.

We headed out around 2 PM, with me pedaling and Janet rowing against the breeze. Penny soon settled down on the bow, which is when I got this photo.

Tiny dog on bow of kayak
Penny the Tiny Dog settled down on the bow and remained in place for most of the trip.

We were out a lot longer than I think we expected to be. Janet’s boat goes fastest when she rows backwards, but that’s not always enjoyable so she kept switching. Also, her boat seemed to have a bit more trouble battling the wind than mine did. My boat, on the other hand, rode very well yesterday, with its speed wholly dependent on how fast I pedaled. It didn’t take much to get it moving at a decent clip. But I was cold when moving into the wind and I suspect I’ll suffer for that later this week.

We got nearly to the end — Janet wanted to see a fishing spot she calls “the walk in” from the water — and then turned around and headed back. Although we were looking forward to the wind at our backs, the wind didn’t cooperate. Instead, it died down. We didn’t get back until nearly 5 PM.

More pictures to come; we’ll be here for the next two weeks and I’m sure we’ll do a lot more boating.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Fire Roasted Yams

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My absolute favorite camping food.

One of the things I like best about camping with friends along the Colorado River is the evening campfires. It’s not just sitting around a warm fire with friends on a cool desert evening — it’s the fact that I can roast up some yams or sweet potatoes to snack on the next day.

The trick is to get the fire going early enough in the evening so that we have plenty of hot coals to roast the potatoes on. Then I scrub each potato and wrap it in aluminum foil. I use enough foil so that the potato has at least two layers around it on all sides. Then I lay the potatoes on the coals and turn them occasionally as we sit around the fire chatting about this or that. The hotter the coals are, the more often I turn them and the quicker they get cooked.

Fire Roasted Yam
OMG. How’s this for a fire-roasted yam?

The other night, we burned the bundle of fruitwood I’d brought from home. (Long story there.) It’s a hard wood and very slow burning, but it did make good coals. Trouble is, it took so long to burn down that we were ready to call it a night before the potatoes I’d thrown on — four regular potatoes from my garden and two yams from the supermarket — were done. So I moved the regular potatoes over to the side of the fire pit and left the yams right on top of the fading coals. Then I went to bed.

In the morning, the fire pit was cold (as we expected). I pulled out one of the yams and my fingers immediately smushed it. Uh-oh, I thought. I ruined this one. But when I unwrapped it, I found the potato skin only mildly scorched. I broke the potato open and was thrilled to see a uniformly soft orange center.

I ate it with a spoon.

The regular potatoes came out okay, too, but they’re not nearly as tasty cold as the yams are. I’ll peel the scorched skins off, chop up the flesh, and add it to my breakfast scrambles.