MX Trip entry #5 Mesquite to Yuma Esler's Follies

We pulled out of Mesquite around 10 AM, AZ time ( NV time was 9 AM ) and since we are heading for AZ the NV time is irrelevant.  
The GPS said it was a 5 hour drive which would mean a causal 6 1/2 hours for us as we do not drive at " Indy " speed. After asking the GPS about speed and hours to reach a destination I also say,  "Good Luck " with that info.
To start with we had a strong cross wind so 60 MPH is our max and since it is all up hill from Mesquite to Las Vegas it is hard to maintain 60 MPH.  We also got stuck behind a few truck on the long steep hills. Also once you hit north Vegas you have to chose  the correct lane to catch 515 and since there are 8 lane to chose from it becomes a gamble. My navigator got me into the lane for Phoenix since the other choice was Los Angelo's and we knew that was wrong. 
Finally we got thru Vegas onto 95 south and with 4 lanes and  very light traffic I laid back and prepared for a 4  hour cruise. However this was short lived as we seen the dreaded sign that said " Road work ahead for 30 miles" speed limit 45 MPH. We had to drive on the left lane with the left wheels on the area between the rumple strip and the edge of the shoulder which had slight drop off. So much for my casual cruise.
Instead of going to Laughlin and into AZ I decided ( not Carroll )to stay on  California 95. What a mistake that was : the speed limit is 55, there are trucks , there was a train and there was 2 Agriculture check points and there dips in the road then you can imagine, plus the curves would break a snakes back which all adds to a slow trip. 

Finally ( We ) decided that we had enough of the CA roads so we took a left turn and got into AZ at Parker. 
Now Parker normally has cheap gas so we intended to fuel up, however the first 3 gas stations were 2.85 so I intend to try Quartsite which is only 44 miles away as I already had 1/2 a tank. 

Then Carroll spotted a gas station for 2.35 ( what a bargain ) but I was in the wrong lane so after several right /left turn I managed to get turned around. Of course the gas station was full with people filling up on the cheap fuel. When I pulled in I barely got off the street with the car and MH. In fact we did encounter a few horn hoking so I move up another foot but that was all the room I had. In fact I blocked the Tanker truck  who had just dump his load of fuel. 
The guy in front of me was fueling up but was B.S.ing with a guy on a Motor Cycle so I ask what the holdup was as I was blocking the fuel truck. Here is what happened. 

Apparently there was very low pressure at the pumps , in fact it took 36 minutes for  the guy in front of me to fill his tank and because there was no pressure coming from the pumps the only way the pump would shut off is from the back pressure once the tank was full. If you pull the nozzle from your vehicle and hung it up it would continue to pump fuel. I was told that two guys tried it and the pump spewed fuel all over the lot so the had re-insert the nozzle back into their tank until it was full.  I would have thought that the station would have just shutoff the power to the pumps but those people at the pump just stay there waiting until their tanks filled up and the back pressure shut off the pump. I never heard of such problem in life. 

 Finally the guy in from of me moved and between me and the tanker we both manage to squeeze by each other. There goes another 1/2 hour out of my life I won't get back. Besides we  where trying to reach Yuma before dark but that idea was shot to hell. 

Just as we were about to depart Parker, Carroll spotted another station with fuel for 2.56 and of course I was thinking; will I or won't I. Since I noticed an empty pump I did a quick turn and pulled in for the cheapest fuel I have seen since we left home.

Next stop was Quartzite where we stopped for Propane at 2.30 a gallon which once again was the cheapest we have seen in the US.

We arrived in Yuma around 5;30 and of course the office was closed. However they have a couple of sites for late arrivals so we took a spot. Luckily our friends had just arrived home from golfing so they help us to park as it was getting dark and some assistance was required. After we parked our friends invited us to go out for supper which was an excellent idea. 
  
Finally we landed and we can now settle in for a week before heading to MX.

I always say "  If you are going thru Hell , keep going"