First off, an Emma update.  We were very concerned about her condition as she did not seem to improve, so we made an appointment with a vet in Blythe, California (the closest vet clinic to us).  The animal hospital was very accommodating and the vet saw us within an hour of our call.  She felt that Emma was improving despite the continued diarrhea, and prescribed a different medication as well as some suggestions for home made food (see recipe below).  It would take about three days to take effect, so we are again in a holding pattern mode until we can make any further decisions.

Update 2; two days later, the medication is working too well and Emma is now constipated and very lethargic, so back to the vet.  Again, the clinic at Blythe was very accommodating and they saw us the same day even through they were very busy.  It’s the only clinic between Yuma and Parker, so they cover a very large area. The vet felt that Emma is responding well and that we can give her bowels two more days to adjust.  We added pumpkin to her diet and are again, waiting for her next move (pun intended).

We really appreciate your concerns and well wishes!

For those following our border tomato-smuggling adventures: since the vet clinic is in California and we are in Arizona, we have to go through the border checkpoint every time we go to Blythe, so again, we smuggled tomatoes across the border.  They may have been purchase in California though, but we are not sure.

So back to our road trip.

We are finally away from RV parks and into boondocking on BLM (Bureau of Land Management).  After a pleasant night at a quiet spot in Palm Canyon in KOFA National Wildlife Refuge north of Yuma, we continued down the road to hike into Palm Canyon.

We made it only part of the way, to the lookout,

but didn’t go into the canyon to see the palm trees because Emma was getting tired.  maybe another time. Still it was a lovely hike with great views of the valley.

We continued north and spent the next night at Crystal Hill – an area where rock collecting is allowed in limited quantities.

You can hike up the hill

and find quartz and crystals.  Very cool rocks around.

The approach to Crystal hill is on a petty shaky dirt road of about 7 miles, just so you know. The awesome sunset, skyscape and the seclusion were well worth it though.

We were asked how we find BLM sites, so here are some suggestions:

First, there is a lot of information on the BLM website

You can search in each state and find the information that you need. A good website,  Free Campsites, is really good and has a lot of information about free camping.  There are many apps that list free camping: FreeRoam, Campendium, and Boondocking, and RVParky are some apps that can be picked up at the app store for free, and there other ones that you an pay for as well.

There are many Facebook groups dedicated to boondcking and all you need to do is search boondocking and choose from the results.  RVillage has several boondocking groups as well and both platforms have lots of information.

You also meet people along the way. Ask them about their favourite spots!

To stay on BLM you may need a permit (usually free) and you can get it in any BLm office in the area.  because of the government shutdown, all BLM offices were closed, so we tried our luck at a tourist information center and they had some maps and info about BLM camping locations.

Some of the boondocking campgrounds have camp hosts that can issue permits and provide you with additional information, but in most places we stayed, we just parked at a location that is permitted and enjoyed the scenery and serenity.

On our first trip to Blythe, while waiting for the vet appointment, we went to see the Blythe Intaglios / geoglyphs.  really interesting large ground incisions.  There are a few of them in the desert and we are glad we had the opportunity to see a few of them.  Below are the Google Earth images

This is what they looked like from the ground.  We didn’t have time to drive to higher ground and see what they looked like from there.

We found an ancient tool on the ground.  Cool!  Can you spot it in the picture? We left it there for an archaeologist to find in the future.

We went to out vet appointment in Blythe, bought the ingredients needed for her home made food; basically chicken, rice, and potatoes, and drove east to Quratzsite.

Driving into Quartzsite feels like the circus came to town, not one circus, but many.  There are multiple tented areas offering everything under the earth for sale.  It feels as if the entire town exists to cater to RVers.  Are RVs the new gold rush of the west?  We wonder.

As it was getting late, we made camp in the first area we could find, Scadden Wash.  A bit too close to the highway, but fine for one night.  We settled down, made Emma’s food, and watched an incredible sunset before retiring.

The instant pot is, once again, proving to be a very valuable commodity in an RV.  We were able to make a big batch of food for her in half an hour.  It takes a lot longer to go to the pet store to get dog food.  Just saying.

Here is a recipe for a bland diet for your dog if you ever need one:

Ingredients for 3 quart pot (you can double it for a 6 quart):

• 1 lb chicken
• one potato
• 1 cup rice (rinsed)
• 2.5 cup of water

Directions:

Quarter the potato, layer the rice, potato, and chicken in the Instant Pot, add water and put on Stew mode and low pressure. Once the pressure is released pull the chicken and smash the potatoes.  mix everything together and divide into portions depending on your dog’s size.

Optional:

You can add a bit of plain canned pumpkin to each portion (a teaspoon for small dogs, a tablespoon or two for larger dogs).

We really need to regroup. We have almost no water, our black and grey tanks are full, and we should probably fill up our propane tank as well.  We need to find a place to get rid of our garbage, and we really need to do laundry.  We should look into getting most of these done as we wait for Emma to heal.

Having a routine in a small RV is important, but when things go wrong, we seem to quickly go into survival mode and strip life to the necessary essentials, prioritizing as we go. We did that with the weather issues we had, and we are doing this now with Emma’s illness. We are staying in the desert while waiting for her to heal and are applying a lot of the water conservation tips that we mention in this post. We have plans, but also the flexibility that allows us to change our plans as needed. Getting along and humoring each other is crucial.

We made it to the RTR (rubber Tramp Rendezvous) get-together, but were not able to participate yet because of Emma.  We parked as far away from people just in case there are embarrassing moments where we cannot pick up her poop because it is not solid, etc., or where no one will see us beg our dog to poop.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to socialize a little and go to some of the workshops before we leave.   The atmosphere here is awesome though and everyone is friendly.  We are sure we are going to have a good time. More about that and an Emma update in our next post.

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