The Hand Writing is on the Wall

Long before subway graffiti, long before painting on the sides of Train Box cars and long before graffiti on the sides of New York buildings there were rock paintings in the desert.

Looks like a snake.

Gecko and the Sun.

Gotta use what ya have available I guess.

It is quite fun to find these etchings from the past.

Life is a Journey....enjoy it.

Jim & Barb.

QUARTZSITE, AZ

“There is a lot of history in this area, from the pioneers and settlers who came here and settled into the town, to the prospectors and ranchers, whose descendants still live in the town”.

There are also lots to see in this small town. 

“Q” MOUNTAIN:

"Q" Mountain

MARBLE CITY MARKERS

Then there are the marble city markers that have just been erected before this tourist season this year:

City Limit Signs

HI JOLLY CEMETERY:

The Hi Jolly Cemetery is named after Hadji Ali (or Philip Tedro), a camel master employed by the US Army during the late 1850’s during their trial use of camels to cross the desert of the southwest, who is buried there.  The US Army experimented in the 1850's with camels to haul supplies in the Southwest in place of mules.  When the experiment was abandoned, the camel driver remained in the Southwest and prospected in the Quartzsite area.  Today, the camel is an icon used in logos and other identifiers.

There are other places of interest, like the Camel Stop Auto Repair buildings, Judge Hagely’s house, Anton Hagely’s General Merchandise Store, The Currier House, The Quartzsite Jail just to name a few.  Most of these buildings are in such disrepair that they are not open to the public.

Hi Jolly Monument

Sign at Hi Jolly Cemetery

A grave site in the Hi Jolly Cemetery
They get pretty creative with rocks and stones here.

STONE CABINS:

On our off road travels we have found several Stone Cabins.  Rocks and stones were the building material of choice....and it is free!!




Moe's Cabin



Another Stone Cabin

Indian Joe's Cabin

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK:

The Border Patrol's eye in the sky

Observation balloon near the Border.....checking for bodies!!!


READER’S OASIS BOOKSTORE:

One of the places of interest is the Reader’s Oasis Bookstore.  The book store is owned and operated by a local celebrity, Paul Winer, AKA Sweet Pie.  In his hay day he was an opening act for different celebrities….only he did it in the nude!!!!  And he still operates the bookstore practically in the nude.

Paul Winer's Bookstore.
That is him in the black jumpsuit...it was very chilly that day.

Go to this BlogSpot to see the picture of Deb and myself with Paul.  It was a bit chilly that day so he had a little jacket on. http://2withwanderlust.blogspot.com/

CELIA’S RAINBOW GARDEN

Another spot of interest was Celia’s Rainbow Garden.  It is a memorial garden for the daughter of Paul Winer and his wife.  There are memorials to others included in the garden.

A walk down Memory Lane



More Memories!!!!



PUBLIC CITY PARK

There is a public park for the local children to play.  There are two fighter jets that were given to the city for display in the park.

Fighter Jets at the City Park.

Of Course Jim is looking at the business end of the thing!!!!

THE HIKE UP Q MOUNTAIN:

This is the Mountain with the Q on it.

On the way to the top!

That's our big truck way down there.

We took pictures of the town down below.  The BIG TENT had already been set up for the RV and Vacation show.  The RV and vacation Show draws lots and lots of people.   Along with the people came their campers.  Quartzsite is a mad house for about 2 ½ weeks (Jan 21 through Jan 29^th).  After the RV and Vacation show is the Arts & Craft show (Feb 1 thru Feb 3^rd) then the Classic Car Show is Feb 4^th & 5^th.   We have noticed that a lot of the people left after the 29^th and the crowd really thinned out.  Like Deb said “now we can have our desert back to our selves”.

BIG TENT for the RV and Vacation Show.

A sea of RVs



See all of the RVs?



And there are even MORE RVs.

SHAPES IN THE MOUNTAIN:

I think this looks like Homer Simpson….snoring! 

I think I have been out in the desert to long….I am seeing shapes in the Mountains.

HOME IS WHERE YOU PARK IT:

Here are some pictures of where we have been staying for the past 2 ½ months.

Home Sweet Home

This is our back yard!!!!

AN OFF ROAD TRIP

We were part of a group of 5 vehicles to check out the KOFA National Wildlife Preserve.Refuse.   KOFA stands for King of Arizona.  There were 3 Jeeps, 1 Toyota and our Duelly truck.  It was like 4 nimble cats and 1 Saint Barnard going down the trails.

Party of 5, Party of 5!!!!

The Wildlife Refuse puts up these windmills to pump water
to a trough for the wild animals to drink.



I found a wild flower...Spring is on it's way here in the Desert.


















PALM CANYON AND SKULL ROCK

We once again took part in a road trip to another part of the KOFA Wildlife Refuse and went to check out Palm Canyon and Skull Rock.

At the bottom of Palm Canyon.

These Palms are believed to be the only native
palm trees in Arizona.  They are not date bearing
palms.

On our way back down from seeing the Palms
Out kicking a few rocks!!!

On the way to Skull Rock

Skull Rock.

This was just part of the mountain range.
I just thought it was kind of neat.
As if there are not enough rocks, here are
some more.

SUNRISE, SUNSET

I’m not really sure if this is a sunrise or a sunset.  They kind of all run together out here and they all pretty much look the same…GORGEOUS!!!!!!!

This is a sunrise.

This is a sunset.

Another great sunset in Paradise!!!

We are having a great time here in the desert in Quartzsite, AZ.  We have met some pretty adventurous people.  We are glad that we have had the pleasure to spend time with them.  On the other hand we miss all of our friends that we have left behind in Ohio!

Safe Travels and Stay Healthy,

Jim and Barb