Cate Mueller

Camping season in Quartzsite ends April 15th. The BLM closes their lands and it is time for RVers to move along. I had no idea where to go next so I pointed my rig north and followed all the red, white and blue license plates to Idaho. I learned there are primitive forest and desert areas that allow dry camping, …

During my RV travels I landed at a small resort town near a big lake. An odd town, home-town hick-ish but with big-city chain retail stores. Everybody wore swim suits — everywhere. I visited an electronics store seeking batteries for my radio. Scantily-clad, tattooed people stood around chatting. I wandered every aisle and came up empty. I went to the …

Music means a lot to me. Maybe too much — I have to have it at all times! If a song catches my ear I will remember forever where and when I first heard it. When I landed in Quartzsite as a boondocking RVer — no electricity; no television — I bought a little radio that pulled in two FM …

My recent mortgage column generated a lot of interest (heh, heh). Thanks to everyone who sympathized and gave advice. I am pleased to report LoanCare was very gracious and professional in accepting one final check from me. If I was math-clever I would figure how much interest I saved by paying off the loan in half the allotted time. Now, …

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 …

I spent the last five years sitting on my hands, doing nothing to incur expenses so I could throw every dime at my mortgage. I cannot stand paying interest plus a monthly service fee; entering into a ten-year mortgage freaked me out. I want out from under it ASAP! Finally, my statement shows I have a little more than $2,000 …

Thanksgiving 2003 found me dry camping in the desert near Quartzsite in my travel trailer home. I woke to a clear blue sky with air so clean I could see forever. The solar corona appeared thrice its normal size and hurtled hot, white fire. A brisk breeze blew from the north so my back baked and my face froze, a …

A Little History: From Poaching to Patton Here is a little treat in honor of Veteran’s Day for my fellow history buffs. In 1837 Benjamin Davis Wilson left his home in Tennessee and headed west to try his luck as a fur trapper. He teamed up with the Workman Party and they attended a fur traders rendezvous in New Mexico …

Almuerzo at Amapola Café Keith won an Amapola Café gift certificate for me on a You-Call-It-Friday quiz on KLPZ. I spent the next few weeks drooling in anticipation and looking for an excuse to drive the 35 miles to Parker. I looked online for Amapola’s website hoping to find a menu, but alas! Nada. The last time I went to …

Remembering 9/11 The September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center is the “Kennedy assassination” moment of my generation. Let us take a moment and remember it together. Where were you? What did you do that day? Looking back over the past 10 years, have the events of 9/11 changed your life? Log in and share, or e-mail me …