What can I say about Quartzsite? During January and February this small town is the site of several large RV sales, Rock & Gem shows and Swap Meets. There are a few RV parks in Quartzsite but the majority of people seem to park on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management, where for $40 you can stay for 2 weeks. There are no hookups - no water, electricity or sewer - but you have access to their dump station and water station, and it's just a mile or two from most of the sale events, so we parked there. It was a convenient location and reasonably priced, but here's the thing we couldn't get used to - this place is in the middle of the desert and there is nothing else around. Nothing. This was the view from our RV:
The town of Quartzsite is very small, and these January and February events are the only things going on. One thing sort of reminded us of Skagway - the grocery stores. Although they don't reach the same (low) level as Fairway Market, they didn't have much of a fresh food selection and things were pretty pricey. But they outdid Fairway Market in one aspect - this is the first grocery store where I've seen a sign in the meat market that says "For meat, please go behind the counter and help yourself".
One afternoon we drove about 30 miles to visit the town of Parker. It's another very small town, but at least it was a different small town.
We met several really nice people who have been camping on BLM land since November and are really enjoying it, but I have to admit that I don't understand it. I just couldn't find anything I wanted to do in the area. And it's very dusty. We had to make sure the RV was cool enough for the pets during the day and fortunately there was always a breeze, so we kept the windows open. But the breeze meant that dust was always stirred up. The dust got everywhere inside- not just in our RV, but inside every building - and after about an hour outside I would have trouble breathing. So Randy and I decided that we are simply not interested in long-term desert-camping.
While we were there we rented a vendor spot in the QIA Rock and Gem show. There were some beautiful rocks for sale, especially inside the QIA building, but our goods - ivory and knives - are neither rocks nor gems, so again we were out of place. We did make some sales but in the end we decided that Quartzsite isn't for us. We were debating moving on towards the Phoenix area, but the combination of desert and dust was discouraging. Just when we were trying to decide where to go, we got a call from Jack in Riverside, suggesting we come back and spend more time there. And it sounded like such a good idea that we did! Eventually we will need to head East, but for a little while longer we are relaxing with our California cousins.
Jack had a great surprise for me when we got back - a full day out with the horses. He and Teresa already had one horse and they recently bought another. Dolly, their original horse, is 21 years old. She is very smart, easy to ride, and determined to be in front of other horses on the trail. But she has short legs so to keep ahead of the taller horses who are walking, she has to trot.
Their new horse is a gorgeous five-year old Paint. They named him Charger but after today his nick-name is Nervous Ned Pepper. They've only had him a few days and he is still a little nervous about his new surroundings, so Anna started calling him Nervous Ned and then the guys changed it to Ned Pepper, which is of the bad guys in True Grit.
Today I got to ride Dolly again and Jack rode Charger/Ned. Jack boards their horses with his friend Dale, who joined us with his horse Roullette. Roullette is also a beauty - a little taller than Dolly with brown and white markings, and she has one brown eye and one blue eye.
Dale's friend Anna also rode with us. Her horse Ransom is a tall Thoroughbred who used to race. Ransom is getting a little extra training from their friend Craig, so Craig joined the ride with his horse Cincinnati. Here's Cincinnati, Charger Ned, Roulette and Ransom. For just a moment Dolly and I were behind them, but right after I took this picture she started trotting to take the lead again.
I really love horses! I don’t know who owns this Percheron Paint - he was in a neighboring field. But isn’t he amazing?
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