Quartzsite - Jan. 2010

January 13, 2010 - January 29, 2010

We next went to Quartzsite to join up with several RV groups we belong to. Each winter Quartzsite is the gathering place for thousands of RVers who come for the swap meets and the Big Tent RV and Travel Show among others. The rock and gem shows bring rock hounds, artists, and vendors from world-wide. The blue lapis lazuli and other gem stones from Afghanistan caught our eye as well as rabbits, turtles and fish made from stacked polished quartzite.



We first joined up with the Boomers, a self-claimed “casual social group whose members exhibit a youthful mindset”. About 90 plus rigs came and went during the two weeks that this Boom-a-Rang took place. Gretchen, the Rang hostess, did a yeoman’s job welcoming every new arriver and announcing all the activities at each Happy Hour. Several mornings she and her husband made pancakes for everyone. Donations collected for their efforts added to a grand sum donated to CARE, an ESCAPEE club charity. For a casual group, there was a plethora of events and activities scheduled which took place despite some bad weather. One fierce wind and rain storm had people joking about replacing the morning walk with rowing on the new creeks flowing through the campsite. In town saguaros and vendor tents were blown down.

We then moved to join the Boondockers and the Freethinkers who were camped in a more accessible area of free BLM camping surrounding Quartzsite. The Freethinkers held a wine and gourmet soup dinner followed by conversation by the campfire. Randy, a guest, recited a poem about Hi Jolly, one of Quartzsite’s famous residents. Hi Jolly or Haiji Ali came to the U.S. from Syria along with the first shipment of camels that the War Department was hoping would be useful in carrying supplies over the desert. After the camel experiment fizzled, Hi Jolly came to Quartzsite and became a prospector, miner and cattleman. Randy’s poem was a modern version of Hi Jolly’s spirit roaming the desert. Hi Jolly remarks about finding strange humans who live in mechanical homes on the desert floor.

A favorite attraction in the area is the Nellie B. Saloon or the Desert Bar. It is located about 7 dirt-road miles from Highway 95 north of Parker on the remains of an old mining site. Its owner has built a saloon, a small cathedral, stages for bands, and 6 stall restrooms with flush toilets all powered by solar energy. Only opened weekends, it was jammed despite its remote setting surrounded by BLM land. It was on such rides to out-of-the- way places, that one can appreciate the fantastical shaped silhouettes of the surrounding Arizona mountains.