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Published: January 27th 2011
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Reader's Oasis Bookstore
No naked man in this photo, just George. This was our first time at Quartzsite. It’s one of those things we’ve talked about for years, but it wasn’t the right time. There are so many places and things to do as snow birds, it takes years to explore the highlights of the various areas where snow birds migrate to during the winter. This is our winter for visiting the areas further west, so it was time to finally experience Quartzsite.
We arrived here before the BIG crowds and spent a couple days getting familiar with the town. Then we left for 10 days and came back to a much busier town and surrounding area. We camped on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 14 day land along Plomosa Road. The cost is great as it’s free. It’s an adventure to camp without hookups for water, electric, trash pick up or even TV signal. We were in an area that had a phone and 3G signal, so we weren’t without some electronic comforts. We do have a generator and would run it about one hour at dinner time. That gave me extra dinner prep options with the microwave. We would also recharge our coach batteries, electronic devices and rechargeable batteries
during the time we were running the generator. We were conservative in the use of lights in the evening and found we fell into a different rhythm with going to sleep earlier. No TV, no computer games, reduced light and heat really encouraged going to bed early. The temperature in the desert drops quickly once the sun starts going down, so sitting around the campfire was chilly even with extra layers.
Quartzsite experiences:
Naked Man Bookstore aka Reader’s Oasis Bookstore
This is a fun place to visit. There is a wide collection of books inside and out. There is a table with free books outside. Inside there are both new and used books. Surprisingly there is a baby grand piano in the bookstore. Yes we did see Paul Winer, but it was a cold day and he had a winter parka on. I hear he actually wears a thong or some type of loin cloth. George did find a free book.
Post Office
This was an extremely busy place! General delivery mail pickup is available between 11 and 1 at a separate window from regular postal business. We were in line at about 10:30 and there were
BLM
We camped here earlier in January. It's near the main road and Plomosa road. When we came back after being gone for 10 days it was way too busy, but I didn't take a new picture. a couple dozen people ahead of us in line. We passed the time visiting with the people around us. It took us until about 11:30 to discover that the mail we were expecting had not arrived. Later we discovered that oddly enough both my mail and my friend’s mail was returned to sender. We checked and the address we had was correct, so it’s one of those postal mysteries.
The Big Tent
I had heard about The Big Tent, so it was something that we had to experience. Yes it is a BIG tent and inside are venders with items for the RVer. We cruised it late on Sunday, so the crowds weren’t too bad. We did buy a new Trailer Life Directory at a good price and were able to resist all the other salespeople.
Dancing at the Senior Center
We had a fun night listening to a band, people watching and dancing. Someone in the group we were camped with knew someone in the band, so we went for a fun evening out. Music was mostly country, but there was one polka and one CCR song.
Gem and Mineral Shows
There are various events going
BLM 2
We were camped relatively far from town and far from the main road, so we never got as congested as other areas. This photo was from our busier time and we were 3 miles further out than our first visit earlier in January. on at the same time at different locations. We briefly visited some of them as they were huge and it would have taken days to see them all. It was fascinating to see all the rocks and gems from around the world. Of course there were booths that did have jewelry. Between the rock people and the jewelry people I did have a stone in a bracelet identified. My uncle bought it for my mother when he was in basic training in Texas in the early 1940’s. Actually it was narrowed down to 2 items and each person was very confident that they were correct. I did find some smaller stones that complimented the bracelet and had them made into earrings.
Odds and Ends
Lots of our friends have been here in the past so this list is for a mental trip down memory lane. Hi Jolly, Sweet Darlene’s Restaurant and Bakery, Silly Al’s Pizzeria, Too Crazy Ladies, Dome Rock, the busy main intersection in town (it now has a stop light), RVs and campers for miles and miles and miles in the desert, dust, dust and more dust, odd vehicles on the ground and in the air, refuse
Enjoying some sun
This area used to be a shallow lake. The surface is rocks. Even Lizzie prefers being up off the rough hard surface. transfer station, campfires, and wonderful friendly people.
According to a person I was talking to in the post office line, the economy is picking up. The company she works for sells RVs and boats and they are having an awesome year. They are at various shows across the country. This in an industry of want not need, so it seems people with the resources are willing to once again indulge their wants.
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Iris Young
non-member comment
Florida
Great to read your blog. We drove through Quartzite once and Del wouldn't stop. He was headed to Calif. for a rally, When I look at your map, I can't believe you haven't been to Florida. We are having a great winter, in the 70s & 80s. Have a good trip and drive safe. Iris & Del