The Last of Quartzsite (02-05-14)

There’s a billboard in town that says if you haven’t been to Silly Al’s Pizza, you haven’t been to Quartzsite.  I really have to agree, because Silly Al’s has some of the best pizza I have ever had.  Therefore, we ate there- not once, but twice- and I had to talk myself out of going a third time.  That’s impressive for me, since I only eat pizza a few times a year.







Once we left the La Posa South camping area, we went to the other side of town, in the desert off of Plomosa Rd., where we stayed for about a week, hanging out with Julie and Mike.

In between the beautiful nightly sunsets, we found time to do……well, honestly, not much.  We had several campfires and some great meals together.

We managed to make some trips back into town in between the campfires and desert walks.  While there we picked up a few groceries and ate lunch listening to some live music.








Finally though, having been to Silly Al’s twice, it was time to leave Quartzsite behind.  Doing that is more work than you would think, because the desert dust and dirt gets into everything. Once we had better electricity in Parker, I ran the vacuum for what seemed like hours. While I did that, Paul washed the outside of the rig.  Oh wait, no he didn’t.  He paid someone else to wash the rig.


Naturally, Mike followed suit. Here’s Mike’s rig getting washed.  See Paul and Mike on the right side of the picture? 







Here’s a close up:

I can’t blame them- it’s so cheap to get the trailer washed here that it would be tough to find a reason to do it yourself.

Several of our friends from Quartzsite are also here in Parker for the week, and a few of us will head up to Lake Havasu next week for the Fireworks competition.  In the meantime, we are hoping to put the boat in the water, since we are 100 feet from the Colorado River.

Meandering around Arizona (02-20-12)

Well, Sedona was disappointing, but only because the weather was so cold we didn't really see it. Pretty much every morning there was fresh snow on the nearby hills. We spent one day driving over the mountain to visit my aunt and cousin, and passed two snow plows headed in the other direction. There were some icy spots but not too bad at that point. However, by the time our visit was over, we could see the precipitation that had already started again in the higher elevations, so we took the slightly longer way home and avoided it.

We gave up on waiting for the weather to warm up and left earlier than planned. We had plans to meet Elaine and Robert in Quartzsite on Saturday, which gave us two days to kill, so we went to an Escapees park near Wickenburg AZ. It was somewhat warmer there, due to the lower elevation, and we were able to explore the town of Wickenburg.



 We happen to hit it right for their Gold Rush Days, which is like a local county fair. There was a classic car rally, numerous craft booths and carnival rides. The local ice cream parlor had live music, so we listened as we ate. Wickenburg is pretty historic but the admission fee to the local museum was too steep so we took the cheap way out and wandered around looking for the strategically placed mannequins. Each one "tells their story" via an audio box that you push a button to activate.
Saturday we landed in the desert at Quartzsite and waited for our friends to arrive. They found us with no problem, and in no time we were sitting around, catching up on the latest news. It doesn't take too long to set up in the desert, with the wide open spaces you just stop where you want to be, and there is nothing to hook up. We just have to disconnect the truck, which doesn't"t take too long.

Paul has wanted to check out a place called Palm Canyon, that sounded intriguing to him, so the next day we all packed a lunch and took off. These palm trees are in the crevices of the rock and the sun only hits them for a short time during the day. Luckily we happened to be there when it did. In the end, it was a short hike into an interesting canyon, and a pleasant way to kill a day. We also walked around downtown Quartzsite a bit, investigating the venders that are still here. 

After that excitement, we spent the next day relaxing, doing nothing but talking. Elaine and Robert have never been to Quartzsite and wanted to see what it is all about, and actually, sitting around in the middle of the desert socializing all day is a pretty good idea of what people come here for.  Of course there are the vendors and the RV show, but mostly I think people come here for the friends and the camaraderie.  Naturally, we did go to Silly Al’s for pizza, but then we came straight back and got a campfire going.

Paul and I were originally going to head to Joshua Tree National Park with Elaine and Robert, but we made a last minute change.  We are in Desert Hot Springs for a week so I can get some physical therapy.  In the meantime we are getting our mail forwarded so we can get our tax information sent off.

Quartzsite, AZ (01-18-12)

Quartzsite is a town in Arizona….technically.  But  if you ask an RVer what Quartzsite is, you’ll probably get a different answer.  It’s more than a town, its an experience, or a feeling, if you will.  The small town of Quartzsite is invaded during the month of January by hundreds of thousands of RVers.  We all stake a small claim in the desert, and call it home, for a few days or a few weeks.  In our case, it’s our desert home for 10 days.  We are sitting here, in the middle of nowhere, with just the water we have in our tank,  and  our generators, for the next 10 days. Ok, well not exactly.  We are surrounded by our friends- about 25 of them. 

Most of us are Escapees, or full time RVers.  Some we have met before, some we are meeting for the first time.  But we all have something in common.  We are calling this little piece of desert “home” for the next few days.

.  There is a communal  campfire every day/evening.  The people surrounding it vary, but it’s there for whoever wants to sit by it.  Usually Paul and I are out there, since we love campfires, but tonight I decided I HAD to write my blog. I can hear the laughter from inside the trailer and I know everyone is having a great time.

    

The sky is so beautiful, day or night, I can’t resist taking pictures every chance I get. 

 With so many people, there is an incredible  variety of things  to do every day. We start the day with a walk at 9:30 am. for anyone who is interested. Usually I am.  An hour later, we have walked 3 miles, and gotten some cardio in (and some chatting).

Paul and Steve borrowed two ATVs and went for a ride this afternoon. I elected to be safe and not risk further injury to my wrist.

Yesterday Paul and I walked 3 miles and found a geocache.  We got back in time for the potluck supper that our group was having.

Monday we went to “Silly Al’s Pizza” for dinner.  We waited outside for an hour and a half for our table for 19 to be ready, but we were  having so much fun talking, we barely noticed the time (except we could smell the excellent pizza, so we were starving).

Well, the computer battery is dying, so  I guess I’ll have to post more some other time. ..