Interesting Things About Quartzsite, AZ

Welcome back to our exciting adventures!  We are so glad you are taking the time to catch up with us.  This week, Jerry decided he wanted to write the blog!  Yay Jerry!

Quartzsite “THE ROCK CAPITAL OF THE WORLD”

Susan and I are shocked at the number of vendors selling gems, rocks, crystals! This week is the annual Pow Wow where there are hundreds of vendors selling Rocks!

“GRANDDADDY OF ALL RV SHOWS”

The annual RV Show and vendors of all things related to RVing starts this weekend! We noticed with the current covid situation the number of vendors is half the amount as of past shows; but every time we drive into town, we see more RV’s camping in the desert! This is called Boondocking, dry camping, off grid. Curious why people would spend thousands on a beautiful RV and live in the desert? Kidding! This type of camping or glamping is desirable because you can be as close to someone as you like! With solar, generator and water management dry camping can be very peaceful and include modern conveniences.

Quartzsite has a population of 2500 hundred. It’s tiny compared to the thousands living in the 70 RV resorts and in the desert around town. The Locals tell us about the daily visitor surge of close to 100,000 per day!!! Most of the businesses open in October and close April. The heat can be intolerable! Most people leave as Quartzsite closes doors and rolls up the sidewalks.

When not looking at the rocks, what is there to do? Glad you asked! Riding off road vehicles, ATV’s, side by sides, dirt bikes… you name it… If it can roll through the desert on wheels, it is here, and most people have one or two toys. If you like to explore ghost towns there is plenty around to see. One of the more curious highlights is the Desert Bar, aka the Nellie E Saloon. This bar is ten miles east of Parker AZ, opened in 1983, operates on the weekends October to April. The bar has live entertainment and is powered by solar. The founder Ken Coughlin has stated he is considering selling the famous bar. We are planning to go there during our stay. Fun video coming your way.

Quartzsite’s current location started from 1863 to 1880 as a water hole and later a large stage station called Tyson’s Wells. Mining was the main industry during this period, lasting until the 1950’s, seeing large scale operations fail.

As you drive in the town of Quartzsite you will see signs with three Camels? This intrigued me to find out where the camels came from. It turns out in 1857 there was a Greek born in Syria by the name of Hadji Ali. Hadji Ali was charged with training camels for the U.S. Army’s Camel Corps. Turns out the camels were well suited to the desert of Quartzsite. The camels could live on the plants in the desert and required less water than mules and horses. No one could pronounce Hadji Ali, and they started calling him Hi Jolly. When the civil war broke out in 1861 the Camel Corp was disbanded. Hi Jolly sustained himself by mining, packing, scouting, delivering the “Jackass Mail” and selling water to travelers. There is a memorial plaque where Hi Jolly is buried in Quartzsite. There is even a camel riding business here in Quartzsite!

Black Rock RV resort is our current location, 15 minutes from Quartzsite. Thankfully, it’s far enough from I 10 that the constant roar of the interstate does not bother us! The sites are twice as large as what we normally stay at. We even have Amazon delivered here!!!! Very convenient! There are 400 sites, a warm pool, and many activities. Susan gets in a nice long walk daily. I am her massage therapist!

The weather is pleasant enough for us to work on our pledge to declutter items we have not used. The Salvation Army has benefited from our donations of clothing and assorted items!

We have electric bikes and will be riding then on the trails around the RV resort in the desert!

The desert has provided amazing sunsets along with strange sounds. Every night just after sunset we hear local coyotes howling and singing. The first night I heard this I thought there were animals fighting. Now it is a familiar sound. When the sky is clear at night there are a billion stars to gaze at!

I sing this to Susan every night.

I like the way your sparkling earrings lay,

against your skin so brown.

And I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight

With a billion stars all around

Eagles Peaceful Easy Feeling

Just one More…. Stay safe, enjoy every day!

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