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cactus flowerIf you’ve ever been to Quartzsite, Arizona, in any January, you would never recognize it today. The huge RV lots with hundreds of monster-sized high-dollar all-the-bells-and-whistles motor homes, trailers and fifth-wheels, are gone, empty asphalt slabs now in their place.

The ginormous Big Tent, with its bazillions of vendors hawking everything from camp-hosting jobs in the national forests, to slice ‘n dice vegetable shredders, to ill-health-repairing emu oil, to bright shiny rocks of all shapes and sizes and colors, to temporary holiday “picker” jobs at Amazon, to freshly made kettle corn, and everything imaginable in between, is now an empty blacktop the size of Kansas.

The street-side vendors of everything from kitchenware (get your latest greatest do-it-all spatula here!) to used car/truck/RV parts are also pretty much gone, although there are one or two die-hard hold-outs hanging in there, hoping for that last dollar or two before they head out to cooler climes.

Sundog

Quartzsite’s weather is beginning to warm up. Ninety degree temperature days are about to become normal and ice cream will melt before you can get it into your car after buying it at the market. Oh yes. The markets. Groceries are marked up substantially during the “season” and once all the visitors have left, the locals will be able to buy food and other items at greatly reduced prices (one local guy even told me that prices drop in half once the tourists are gone).

looking out over the desert

But for those of us still hanging around, Quartzsite offers a few diversions, including a camaraderie with the other late-leavers like us:

  • live music, including a dance floor for those with enough energy to move and who are not beat down by the high temperatures;
  • petroglyphs, those long-ago markings left by the native dwellers who were here way before any white guy showed up;
  • cactus flowers beginning to bloom, the most wonderful, gorgeous flowers imaginable from a prickly, spiny plant;
  • campfires where telling stories both long and short are the name of the game;
  • walks in a desert made green by the recent rains, where tiny flowers poke their heads up in the most unlikely of places;
  • pizza and beer at one of the few restaurants still open;
  • geocaching, where one couldn’t run into a muggle if one tried;
  • gorgeous sunsets, brilliant sundogs, amazing clouds, a sky so blue it hurts your eyes;
  • tiny, little baby desert-dwellers, some of which might even have you running away to Google it to find out exactly what it is and if it will hurt you or not;
  • and of course, that all-time favorite of some people, the nap!

But whatever it is that you end up doing here in Quartzsite in March, whether you’re here for a day, a week, or the whole month, it’s sure to be peaceful, quiet, and relaxing, leaving you feeling like you have been rejuvenated – and if one just has to return to the other world out there of work and responsibility, at least one will know there’s a place to go to find peace when one wants it.

Trailer
My new home for a few days, in the shade of a desert tree
Carl at the washbowls
Carl, checking out a few of the grinding bowls
Charlene pointing out something
Charlene, using her walking stick to point at a petroglyph (or something)
new campsite
Another view of my new home site
desert flowers
Teeny, tiny flowering plant growing out of a crack in the rocks
geocaching
Look! It’s a geocache!
baby sidewinder
A baby sidewinder rattlesnake, not much bigger than a quarter
petroglyphs
Petroglyphs and blue sky
campfire
…and a campfire to end the day

Peace out, everybody! See you on the road to somewhere!

Quartzsite in March ~ What to Do in an Almost-Ghost Town
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8 thoughts on “Quartzsite in March ~ What to Do in an Almost-Ghost Town

  • March 13, 2015 at 3:09 pm
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    Love, love, love the photos! And what fun to hear of the differences in Quarzsite now that the tourists are leaving. Thanks for keeping us updated.

    • March 13, 2015 at 6:00 pm
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      Thanks, Blaize! The little iPhone takes great pics, doesn’t it! I’m loving it here right now – those horrific crowds are gone and it’s so nice and quiet! Thanks for stopping by!

  • March 13, 2015 at 5:44 pm
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    Love the pictures! Isnt it amazing how full of life the desert is! It’s own beauty. lots of fun!

    • March 13, 2015 at 6:02 pm
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      Thank you, Debbie! I love my iPhone – the pics that come out of that thing are so cool! I love the desert… I also love the mountains, the ocean, the everything!!! Thanks for reading and leaving a comment!

  • March 14, 2015 at 7:05 am
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    The flowers are amazing, aren’t they ! Thanks for the link re Sun Dogs – very interesting. Not sure if I’ve ever seen one (pair); or maybe I didn’t realize what I was seeing. Q. What is the history of the grinding bowls?

    • March 15, 2015 at 9:50 pm
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      I love desert flowers, Nancy… a lot of them look like cactus orchids or something; very ornate. Grinding holes were made by the women when they ground seeds or grains into flour to make bread cakes or whatever they called them. Over the years, the holes became deep like the ones in the pic here but sometimes shallower ones can be found, as well.

  • March 14, 2015 at 8:23 am
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    Thanks for coming to the neighborhood. This has been a very good visit with all of you here. I love Quartzsite, but have actually been thinking of taking a vacation during January to miss the hoards. Love your photos. May have to get a new camera.

    • March 15, 2015 at 9:42 pm
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      It’s been fun being here in Swankieville, Charlene! Maybe next year, you’ll have to designate lot lines or something 😀 Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!

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