Quartzsite, AZ - Nov. 25 - Dec. 1, 2008
On November 25th we left 'Arizona's West Coast' on the Colorado River and headed inland to Quartzsite, the southwest's desert RV capital. We have fond memories of boondocking in the desert south of Quartzsite in January of 2006 (see the Jan. 2006 pictures here). Since we had been dry-camping or boondocking for several weeks, this time around we decided to go for full hook-ups at Arizona Sun RV Park. Although we missed the spaciousness and fabulous views and sunsets of the open desert, we were happy to be able to do the laundry and join the friendly long-term residents of Arizona Sun RV Park for the Thanksgiving potluck feast.
We were surprised at how much Quartzsite had changed since our last visit. Three years ago it seemed there were very few permanent structures and the town was reminiscent of a Middle Eastern bazaar under a sea of tents. Today there are many more paved roads, upscale homes, new government buildings, schools and recreation facilities - even the naked bookseller has moved from his tent into a permanent building. What is the world coming to?
OK, enough of the old codger, good 'ole days' rant. The town is still surrounded by thousands of boondockers, and when January arrives many more thousands of RVers will arrive to be tempted by hundreds of vendors hawking their wares beneath a sea of white canopies.
On the recommendation of a Thanksgiving table partner, we took a short, scenic drive to Bouse. Bouse boasts a memorial to General Patton's tank brigade which trained near the town. Other than that, we saw very little appealing in this nearly deserted desert town.
On the way to Bouse we stopped to see the fisherman intaglio (geoglyph or earth figure), a large figure created in the soil by Indians many years ago. Wind and rain have taken their toll and we could barely make out the figure - but the views of the Kofa Mountains were magnificent.
On the way back, Susan suggested we take a 'short cut' that theoretically linked directly to Plymouth Road just north of our RV park. Well, the theory was sound, but it didn't account for the lack of pavement and profusion of ruts and ravines. Kermit got to go 4-wheeling.
We explored Quartzsite and checked out the early season vendors at Rice Ranch and Tyson Wells; and stopped by the Hi Jolly Monument. The monument honors Hadji Ali (Hi Jolly to 19th Century Americans), a Syrian brought to the US in 1856, along with 77 camels, as part of the US Army Camel Corp. Hadji Ali was hired to train soldiers in the art of camel driving. The Camel Corp was developed as a demonstration project to supply the Army's desert outposts and deliver mail throughout the Southwest. However, with the first shots of the Civil War the Army Camel Corp was abandoned and the camels sold. Hadji Ali kept a few of the animals and started a freight business serving the lower Colorado River area. The business failed and he turned his remaining camels loose in the desert. He eventually married and settled in Quartzsite. It is said the ghosts of the camels still roam the desert around the town.
On a perfect sunny, windless day we explored the town and points south by bike. We discovered a recently completed bicycle trail that loops around the north side of town, a number of privately owned RV resorts with deeded lots with asking prices of around $60,000, and new schools and businesses. Then we crossed I-10 and rode the peaceful dusty desert roads. Alas, we saw no camels - ghostly or otherwise.
On December 1st, our week at Arizona Sun expired and we headed south to Yuma for what we thought would be our winter nesting grounds.
