Glen Campbell wrote and Joe Cocker sang that the moon can be a harsh mistress. Well I’m here to tell you that the desert can follow suit…in spades.
This past Monday we had some wind in Quartzsite. This is not unusual, but normally it stays rather calm, below 10 mph or so. On Monday, it was 18 to 20 mph sustained with gusts to 25 or so. My Clam yurt, with its vertical high walls, provides abundant interior room but it has a reputation for being less than ideal in high wind.
Monday was such a day. I spent close to two hours “battening down the hatches” so to speak with the goal to keep from watching the tent breaking away and rolling across the desert floor. This brief video should give you a taste of how things were going prior to receiving the highest gusts:
Very sorry folks, but even using the free WiFi from a Pilot Flying J truck stop or from Micky Dee the 22 second video would not load. Suffice it to say I was physically holding things down at times. No fun at all.
Then the weather report for Wednesday says to look for 25 mph sustained winds and possible gusts that go OVER 40 mph! Whoa! Count me out; I opted to dismantle camp and ride it out in the truck. 😟😖😫
Wednesday did not get as bad as forecast but still windy enough that I feel we made the right decision.
Thursday morning we moved everything about 800 yards closer to the paved road so we could avoid crossing two washes with HUGE teeth-rattling ruts when driving to/from camp. So now we’re all set-up with some anchoring improvements picked up from neighbors and from a local guy at the hardware store in town.
“Bring it on Momma Nature”, we’re ready for the next one!!!
Travels with Abby 
Recent Comments