Archive for January, 2012
Your guide to the BWRC Parker 425
Jan 31st
Beginning Wednesday and continuing through Saturday, fans will be treated to a variety of events relating to the Best in the Desert BlueWater Resort & Casino Parker 425. Here’s your guide to the week’s events! Click an image for information.
Vehicle accident near Quartzsite
Jan 30th
2:09pm– A vehicle accident is blocking the southbound lane of Highway 95 at milepost 111 near Quartzsite.
Warning: off-road fever alert
Jan 30th
Off-road fever is a debilitating disease that is known to afflict many residents and visitors of the Parker area at this time of year. There’s no known cure, though doctors say it is possible to manage the symptoms this weekend.
What symptoms afflict the patient suffering from off-road fever?
Patients will experience a draw toward areas of open desert; in this respect the sickness manifests in the opposite manner to agoraphobia. Often, patients will be found spending days and nights in the desert near other sufferers of the condition, even being known to sleep there, and often having left perfectly good homes and warm beds in order to do so.
This behavior is supported by a sequence of decisions which allow the symptoms to continue, such as building fires, purchasing beverages and food, and buying frozen water to act as makeshift refrigerators. All of this enables the patient’s primary symptom.
Those afflicted with the most extreme cases of off-road fever have it even worse. Those with ‘aggravated off-road fever’ experience a need to move at high speeds through aforementioned desert areas, and will go to great lengths to indulge this feeling. The primary manner with which this speed is attained is to sit inside of vehicles which are capable of attaining it. However, such vehicles are not easy to come by, so an entire ecosystem has built up to support the patients’ behavior, including high-performance engines, special tires and suspension systems.
In the past quarter-century, off-road fever has become more extreme. Large numbers of patients gather together and manifest their symptoms collectively, bringing all sorts of equipment and transportation, including their ‘race’ vehicles and sometimes helicopters, with them. These events are recorded and played back by the patients later, when possible, all aimed at scratching the itch.
This weekend, one such manifestation is set to occur in Parker, Arizona. Residents and visitors should be aware that off-road fever is contagious. Persons not yet affected are at high risk of becoming afflicted. Look out for these early signs of infection:
- Interest in getting off asphalt or other hard surfaces.
- Enjoyment of the odor of gasoline or engine exhaust.
- Expressions of a desire to go to a ‘driver’s meeting’.
- Expressions of a desire to see ‘Contingency’ or ‘Tech.’
- Outfitting one’s road vehicle with all-terrain tires.
- Experiencing pleasure from airborne dust.
Off-road fever appears to be incurable, and many who have caught it have never found relief. So, patients and their caregivers are urged to manage the symptoms safely this weekend. Don’t indulge them too much.
The health of the southwestern U.S. is at stake.
On this weekend…
Jan 27th
Montana Days at the American Legion, Big River, this evening, from 1pm.
Game Day, Parker Community / Senior Center, Parker, this evening, from 3pm.
Winter Visitor Appreciation Day, VFW 7061, Parker, Saturday, 5pm.
Arizona Counties and their Most Colorful Characters by Lyle Browning, La Paz County Board of Supervisors Boardroom, Sunday, 2:30pm.
Attack of the Camaros
Jan 27th
“If they turn into Transformers, I’m going to lose it.” – Hollie, Parker
Internet outage statewide
Jan 27th
2:00pm– A Suddenlink representative says this afternoon’s internet outage is statewide and caused by the disconnection of some fiber-optic circuits which supply Suddenlink with their connection.
The representative said he was expecting the situation to be resolved ‘soon’ and speculated that connectivity may be restored by 2:40pm.
2:21pm– Cellular data is slow due to increased demand as residents turn to their smartphones for a connection.
2:32pm– Internet service via Suddenlink has been restored. Don’t forget to reconnect to your wifi hotspots!
BLM announces annual land closures for Parker 425
Jan 26th
The little piece of red tape that needs cleared with the U.S. Government each year has been taken care of, with the Federal Bureau of Land Management announcing the land closures requested by Best in the Desert racing association for the big off-road race in Parker Saturday, February 4th.
The BLM press release states:
A temporary Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public land closure is scheduled for February 3-4, 2012, for the 41st annual running of the Parker 425 Desert Race.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lake Havasu Field Office has announced the temporary closure of selected public lands under its administration in La Paz County, Arizona.
The Parker 425 Desert Race closure is in effect from 2:00 p.m. (MST) on Friday, February 3, 2012, through 11:59 p.m. (MST) on Saturday, February 4, 2012.
The closure is being done to help ensure public safety and prevent unnecessary environmental degradation during the permitted running of the Parker 425 Desert Race.
Areas subject to this closure include all public land; including county maintained roads and highways located within two miles of the designated course.
“As in past years, we will have designated spectator areas so people can enjoy the race,” said BLM Lake Havasu Field Manager Kim Liebhauser. “Post and cable fencing and concrete barriers will be used to designate two spectator areas in Bouse, Arizona. The five-mile long spectator area along Shea Road outside of Parker is above the race course, protected with post and cable fencing along the bluff, and will not require a speed zone.”
Liebhauser added, “The Parker Race is an important tradition to the community and public. We’ve had a perfect spectator safety record for 40 years and we want to keep it that way.”
Events next week include Wednesday’s PAACE Parker Youth Off-Road Experience at Player’s 9th Street Youth Center, the Down & Dirty Off-Road Show broadcasting at BlueWater Resort & Casino, the Downtown Experience Thursday afternoon on Joshua Avenue, Contingency Row and Tech at BlueWater’s north parking lot Friday followed by drivers’ and pilots’ meetings, and the race itself on Saturday, broadcast live by KLPZ 1380am.
Quartzsite, Ten Years Ago
Jan 26th
Cate’s Column #19
I landed in Quartzsite January 10, 2002. At 41 and a brand new full time RVer, I had no idea what I was doing. Thwarted at my first — and last — attempt to camp in an RV park, I learned that “55+” meant “senior citizens only.” I followed other RVs heading south of Quartzsite and found a sign reading, “Bureau of Land Management — Long Term Visitor Area” without any dumb “55+” logo.
A smiling man wearing a brown vest greeted me warmly. “Howdy! Come on in here, young lady. Welcome to the LTVA.”
I mustered my courage. “C-can I s-stay here?”
“Sure you can! It’s fifty dollars a month or a hundred and twenty for a long term pass good through April 15.”
A month? What if I hate it? “Can I start with one night with full hookups?”
He threw back his head and howled. “You have no idea how often we get that request. No — this area is for boon docking. Dry camping. Is your rig self-contained? Got a generator? Go find a tree you like and park next to it.”
The LTVA pass fit right into my budget. I paid and headed out into the desert.
Within a week the desert disappeared as more and more RVs parked all around me. Hundred thousand dollar rigs turned into off-road vehicles as people jockeyed for camping space. Soon driving into Quartzsite became impossible and I walked everywhere.
One day I walked into a restaurant and waited patiently for a table. The dining room was crowded and every diner sported the same curly white hairstyle. Menus were stacked on the counter and I read one while waiting. A waiter appeared, pulled the menu from my hands, handed it to the poodle heads behind me and led them to a table.
What? Restaurants are “55+” too?
Fine! I walked over to Lamm’s Produce and bought some delicious avocados and a loaf of fresh wheat bread. My lunch was wonderful. I basked in the warm sunshine and decided I was pretty lucky. This “55+” attitude was going to save me a lot of money!
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Cate Mueller is a web designer, editor, reporter and photographer in Bouse, Arizona. To visit her website, click here.
Water main break upriver
Jan 26th
7:11am– According to La Paz County, a break in a water main will have water upriver (north of Parker) out for potentially the next 4 to 6 hours.
7:51am– Repair work continues.
Problem solved.
