Arizona

More on Quartzsite

by Ingrid

As I stare off in the distance, I see a total of two RV’s.  My what a difference in just a few short days. The RV’s started pulling out Sunday and a steady stream continued Monday and Tuesday.  By Wednesday morning there’s three of us left at the party.   Al and I were going to leave Quartzsite today (Wednesday), but with all this land to ourselves, we thought we’d take advantage of a little solitude and savor an unobstructed sunset this evening.Quartzsite

This small desert town offers all the necessities one could need during an extended visit.  There’s one small grocery store;  The Road Runner Market.  Prices are definitely more expensive than a Safeway or Fry’s but as the only market within 30 miles, they have a captive audience.Road Runner Grocery

Want a new or used RV?  Quartzsite has at least half a dozen lots with hundreds of RV’s to choose from.Quartzsite

Quartzsite offers a variety of little cafe’s and bars for dining out purposes.  Pool seems to be a popular activity round these here parts, as most bars appear to have at least one Billiard table.  The RV Show/Big Tent Sale brought the addition of mobile eateries..

some of the best barbeque
here for the Big tent sale

Need to park your RV?  Quartzsite has lots and lots of RV Parks as well as BLM Land galore to find a place to park and call home.  RVer’s return here year after year to meet old and new friends or to live in solitude.  There are all kinds of groups small and large that gather.  They gather because of a common bond.  It might be model airplanes, beading, geocaching, 4 wheeling, antiques, general comradery, or even nudism.  You name it, it’s here.BLM land

rocksRocks, gems, and minerals seem to be a super big deal.  You can still stake a claim for mining.  Them there hills may still have some gold!

Quartzsite has a couple of laundromats.  Our stay was long enough to try each once.  Doing laundry at the Main Street Laundromat was an event.  First it was super crowded.  There were three attendants, one who seemed to love his job or rather control a little too much.  He got on his megaphone to let patrons know people were waiting for machines and to remove laundry from stopped washers or the laundry would be removed by staff.QZ5 036

I grab an available cart for clothes in the dryers.  I manuever the cart through and around the crowd and ready it in front of one of my dryers, Just then ‘Mr. Love my Job’ goes to haul it away while abruptly responding, “we need to keep the aisle clear and since the dryer hasn’t stopped, it must be moved”.  I quickly give him “the look”, the one the kids know well and respond by opening a dryer door and voicing, “it stopped”.  He mutters, “fine” and walks away.

QuartzsiteOh, but the best part……while my clothes were in the washing machines, I took a shower.  Yep, that’s right, they offer showers for $6.  Clean clothes, clean body and a very efficient use of my time.  And I was sure not to go over the alloted 20 minute time limit.  I wonder if I had remained in the shower 21 minutes if Mr. Megaphone would have stepped in and promptly yell, “Hey lady, times up”.

And then there’s shopping.  If you like flea markets, garage sales, antiques and generally hunting for a deal, you’ve come to the right place.  There are independent shop owners galore.  Quartzsite also offers a adventurewell stocked book store with great pricing and a unique store owner to boot.  The proprietor, Paul, is a classically trained pianist originally from the northeast.  Paul likes the freedom the west offers…..freedom to live his life on his terms, his way.  Paul is well known as “the naked book store owner”.  The picture of Paul is courtesy of my former Quartzsite neighbor and fellow blogger, Cheryl.  The day I went to the bookstore it was a tad chilly.  Paul wore kind of a jacket, socks with sandals and a crocheted….um….hoody of sorts covering his privates.  I didn’t feel comfortable taking my own photos of the owner.   So thanks Cheryl.

Readers Oasis Bookstore
A normal day at the bookstore. Naked owner, Paul helps a customer

Quartzsite is definitely a unique place.  I’m pretty sure the word “refined” won’t ever be used to describe this western town.  Eclectic seems to fit quite nicely though!

Street performers

37 thoughts on “More on Quartzsite”

    1. We were the second to the last Boomer to leave. It was wonderful being out there a couple nights by ourselves….beautiful sunsets. Currently happily camped at Cave Creek Reg Park. 🙂

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  3. Hi, Ingrid,
    Just joined to follow your blog.

    You are the second person I’ve read that decided to stay a little longer in Q now that the crowd has gone. Sure is a different place without a ton of people!

    I forgot about the book store man when we visited just before the tent affair…darn!

    Gotta love a retired person with a need to feel important. I am a former teacher so I can just imagine “The Look” as my students called.

    Enjoy your quiet and solitude:)

    Pam

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    1. It was really nice when the crowds left, but seventeen days in Q was more than plenty. Thanks for following AND stay safe on those hiking trails 🙂

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    1. Poster child for sunscreen…….lol. Hopefully I gave you a good idea of where your in-laws winter. Hey, I like your new gravatar photo.

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  5. The megaphone man had me laughing:-D I’ve enjoyed your posts on the big “Q”. Excellent reporting! -Maureen

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    1. When he started on that megaphone, I stood there and couldn’t believe it….really. We’re back “home” in Cave Creek Reg Park trying to rid ourselves of the Q dust/dirt….good luck, right!

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  7. This place certainly sounds interesting… as do all of the places you get to… but a megaphone laundry mat attendant and a bare arsed book seller.?? This must be a place worth visiting… He needs to sell some books though, his tail end is looking a bit skinny … Love this blog… you either show me some of the most beautiful places or damn some of the funniest…

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    1. The wild west is alive and well. It’s not unusual to see cowboys with guns and on horseback OR on an ATV. The book seller actually sells plenty of books. Since he is a classically trained pianist he’ll hold fundraising concerts and actually wears a suit. But he definitely prefers the freedom of no clothes…..poster child for the importance of using sunscreen!

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  9. Oh my! THAT is what you were talking about with the bookstore. I don’t blame you for not taking your own picture. So funny.

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    1. It surprised me by just how uncomfortable I was. Other patrons didn’t think anything of it and were asking him questions. It IS a great book store though.

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  11. I can imagine it’s much nicer out there after all the rowdy neighbors have pulled out. We’re in an RV Park called Rivers Edge somewhere in California – right across the river from Yuma. Discovered the local library today with wireless so I can finally catch up on stuff again. I miss not having a good fast internet connection, so this is pretty thrilling for me. Okay, it doesn’t take that much to excite me. We’re staying for a month in the land of full hookups and laundry nearby. Oh does that shower feel good!

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    1. Isn’t it amazing how a nice long shower becomes something we savor in this lifestyle. We were the second to the last to pull out of Boomerville…..first to the party, last to leave! Enjoy the library internet and plenty of water 🙂

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  12. Wow. I am not sure which is more shocking….the megaphone laundry mat greeter…..or the buck-naked guy. Lol! That is definitely an interesting place. 🙂 Love the photos.

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  14. All I seem to be hearing about these past couple of days is Paul, the bookstore owner. We are in Quartzsite right now, having stopped for the night on our drive to Cave Creek. I was thinking about stopping at the bookstore this morning but think I will probably take a pass. I’ve seen his picture from the front and the back and that is probably more than I needed to see (lol)! 🙂

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    1. I had heard about the book seller, so no shock (well kind of no shock) but the megaphone dude at the laundry was too much. Oh, the things we encounter during our travels!

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  16. My mother (who had a great sense of humor) use to crochet something called a “peter muff and nut snuggy”..Paul might have had something like that on..Too bad you couldn’t talk someone out of the “Silly Al’s”..what a hoot that would have been to hand over a bar in your home (if you have one….closest we have is sitting at the bottom of our basement steps and drinkin’ a beer!).

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    1. Oh my! I love the “peter muff and nut snuggy”! Thanks for the laugh Donna!

      Great post Ingrid! Sounds like you had a fun, eclectic experience at Q!

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    2. Well Donna, that is not the first time I’ve heard those names “peter muff and nut snuggy”. I figured I’d gone far enough by posting the one photo. I wonder if it’s ‘one size fits all’…..lol.

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