The desert, I believe he is on the right side of the map close to the border, ( I'm afraid I can not be more specific as I did the quest awhile ago), not sure if time of day is a factor, but I'm pretty sure I did it morning or afternoon.
i believe what u r missing are the side quests:3 years ago(+1)
Lmao dude all of those are from a single quest following one after the other. Basically after you have talked a lot with Melissa (asking for quests in the kitchen), she will talk to you about heading to the mountains. There's when Jingle bells is done, the rest of the quests will follow up in those mountains.