Quartzsite

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February 18th 2018

Published: February 20th 2018

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Mike and Mimi

Quartzites Most Popular Site

Funny the most popular Instagram location is a cemetery, but here we are.

Quartzsite Arizona is one of those odd bucket list items for many RV'rs...us included. Whole winter dry camping in the desert has a unique appeal for some folks, however for us 4 days is good. Trust me 4 days was plenty. We spent our days hiking in the desert, enjoying the stars in the moonless dark nights, and of course visiting the vendors. It's incredible how much of the Milky Way can be seen in skies without moonlight or light pollution. Other than the ever-present wind and dust, there isn't much in Quartzsite to be truthful. Its normal 3500 person population explodes in the winter (especially in January). The town gets about a million visitors annually for the big-tent city that sets up with hundreds of vendors during the winter months. Thankfully we arrived after the January rush, because the town becomes a big traffic jam during the big RV show and various vendor side shows. During our stay, there were still thousands of RVs scattered throughout the Bureau of Land Management lands. The fee in the managed areas is $40 for 14 days or $180 for six months and they provide pit toilets, fresh water, and dump stations for getting

The Gorgeous Sunsets

Typical of every evening.

rid of the waste water, all very essential if living in an RV.

The town itself has an interesting story, starting with its name. It got its start as a stage coach stopover to take advantage of the Tyson Wells water supply and the privately run fort built for protection against Indians. Tyson Wells had a Post Office until the Stagecoach line ceased operations and Tyson Wells became a ghost town. Over time, the town grew and needed a Post Office, however postal rules prevented opening a new office with an old name. The town folks decided quartzite (not quartz) is found locally so they had a name, but the Postal Service misspelled the name as Quartzsite and the rest is history. The most interesting history is the story of Hadji Ali who came to the US when the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis directed the US Cavalry to experiment with camels. American's shortened his name to Hi Jolly to make it more appropriate for a camel driver and easier to remember. The experiment lasted until the 1860s and Ali was eventually discharged from the US Army in 1870. The camels were released into the desert where they survived

Surrounding Saguaro Cactus

Saguaro are so slow growing that a decade old plant might only be a couple inches tall. The Saguaro here is easily 35-40 feet tall.

for serval years, but eventually disappeared. He was hired again by the US Army and worked pack mules during the Geronimo Campaign. His tomb/monument is a major tourist attraction in Quartzsite today. So much for Quartzsite, now we're packing up to move on to the 29 Palms Spotlight Casino's parking lot to camp overnight and enjoy the evening.

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