Quartzsite Exit is a welcome sight-250 mi from Tucson.
RVs in the desert
Quartzsite is our favorite venue to buy rocks and minerals, shop for slabs, and talk to fellow rockhounds. Quartzsite is a quirky little town about as far west as you can go in Arizona. There is really no Quartz in Quartzsite, but there are an an unbeleavable hoard of RV’s parked in RV parks, and what seems like every available open spot in the BLM Land surrounding Quartzsite. The normal 2000 resident town explodes to , some say, a million visitors in January and February each year. This year we saw very few RV’s as compared to past year.
Desert Gardens Show
The famous fake water tower
Malachite galore
We love driving the back roads from our RV park in Tucson to Quarzsite, cresting that last hill, as we travel west on I-10, and seeing a virtual sea of RVs. It’s a mind-blowing vision. When we see all these RVs, we know that the rocks are also there.
January – Quartzsite, AZ. Desert Gardens and Prospectors Panorama areas are open from January 1 till 28 Feb. Mainly outside. The Tyson Wells Show (there are no wells in Tyson Wells) closes Jan 10th, and QIA PowWow Show, mostly inside. January 20-24. Quartzsite, AZ.
Rows of dealers
Gembone-I bought the three on the corner
A great yellow Dino Bone
The Desert Gardens Show is always our first stop. There are no gardens at Desert Gardens. It is actually a big, flat, dusty flat spot in the desert, covered with RVs, show tents, people, and rocks–a Rock Pickers paradise. Parking is easy here, unlike down the road near the flea market. We have, over the years, found so many hidden treasures at this show it’s just amazing. You never know what may be found here. This show is the largest in area and is located on the frontage road running parallel and south of I-10. Exit as if you are going to Love’s Travel Stop. We did not drive the RV over to Quartzsite, but opted to drive our car and spend a couple overnights at the casino in Parker.
Look; A slightly used Pixie now in my possession.
Zebra Agate. How could you ever use this much?
Lemon Chrysoprase (Magnesite). Wait until you see it cut. What’s inside?
Here is what was inside
Prehnite–African
Can’t keep the woman away from the beads.
Bags of Denim Lapis
Big Ruby in there
We have stayed in Blythe, California (Known as Blight by the natives), but are always afraid our car will be broken into there. You can always get a cheap, seedy room in Blythe if you are the risky type that might participate in the TV show Fear Factor. Blythe is a one-street town (everything is on th US10 business route). Go for it; chances are at least 50-50 you’ll come out OK. Sorry Blythe people, I’ve been wrong before, and did not really mean to get Ricky Gervais on you.
Today I will cover our adventures at Desert Gardens, and tomorrow Prospector’s Paradise. I’ll also show you some of the flea market fun. We have, in the past, bought spatulas that had an unconditional guarantee to melt; saw, and purchased from a place that sold only RV water filters, witnessed piles of third-world manufactured clothing (perhaps even tainted with nuclear dust), and bought mystery meat from the jerky shop. We have seen musical instruments made from mailboxes and license plates, hippie buses, dried vegetables, and weird people galore. We have eaten “Fair Food” and drank cold beer. We have even seen the “naked guy”. Is he still alive? (Go ahead and search “naked guy in Quartzsite”,if you don’t believe me) I did hear from a local that his book store closed. This is so much fun….Anyway here is our first-hand report from Quartzsite. Trust me, these Quartzsite blogs could be real quirky.