Antiques and more in Quartzsite

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I was in Quartzsite, Arizona in January of this year. My little family and I stayed in one of the mobile home/trailers that the Quartzsite Yacht Club Motel rents out. Hmmm... nothing much to recommend. Renting a trailer is not any cheaper than staying at a regular hotel, nor anymore pleasant. To do it would be just for the experience of sleeping in a converted mobile home, ah... and of course for the opportunity to just walk to your bed after partying at the Yacht Club Bar at night. Lots of country music dancing at the Yacht Club! lots of beer and cheap drinks and really good tasting fried finger foods! The bar is a must do.

Hadji Ali was a Greek man born in Syria who came to the US in 1857 as a camel herder for the US Army when the Army was working in the short-lived Camel Corps. Attempting to pronounce his name the people in Arizona began calling him "Hi Jolly" (say Hadji Ali fast enough and you'll see that it works). Anyhow, after the Camel Corps did not work out, Hi Jolly stayed in Arizona, becoming a significant resident of the area. The cemetery in Quartzsite is named after him, and there is a monument in his honor and several plaques. It has become part of the National Register of Historic Places. Inside the Yacht Club there are even pictures of him.

As morbid as it may sound, walking through the cemetery is quite interesting. People have been there for a long, long, time, and each grave is decorated in a different way. I took pictures of the dancers (dear to my heart) and of some of the most interesting decorations.

Quartzsite is the place to shop for antiques... and really for anything else. I bought a very nice necklace for $3. Everybody says something good about it every time I wear it. There is super old stuff for sale there, but there is also a bunch of stores that could compete with a day of shopping in Chinatown.

Quartzsite is right off the 10 freeway, so the next time you find yourself on your way into Arizona, fill out, gas is cheaper! and stop by Quartzsite for a bit.

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