Quartzsite: The town

Day 132

We're out and about at a bright and early 9 am. Some folks are already back from there morning walk. Never mind that, it's our turn and the desert is still a cool 70° degrees outside. Katie is finally back to full speed as she totes her camelback through the brush. Sidekick black dog is with us and trodding along at full speed through the brush. We push on for a total of four miles before finally returning back to the RV.

I've been wanting to see town and today we get that chance. Although it's not the bustling metropolis that occurs during the peak snowbird season, there are still a few things going on. We drop into the post office to mail off our earnest money for the new house. I can say this is the first time that two ATV's have parked next to me at the post office.

Just across the street was a flea market selling all sorts of random junk. After rifling through the junk we meandered over to the grocery tent to look around. Oh yeah, tent groceries for sale. 

Just look at all of that well organized non-expired goods that are displayed under the hanging lights. What's not to love?

Then there is the largest industry in Quartzsite. Rocks. People come here to buy rocks. Technically they are called "gems" and you can buy them by the pound. We passed no fewer than a half a dozen permanent rock stands and found that every flea market stand also had a rock section. To be honest it was actually quite impressive. We browsed the aisles and looked at rocks from all over the world brought here to be sold. I can only assume when the massive influx of RV'ers show up they buy rocks. Then they take the rocks and sit in the desert to make crafts. You see these crafts at a flea market near you, being sold out of an RV. The perfect circle.

We left the rock garden and avoided botulism from the tent grocery store. Shirley steered towards the northeast corner of town and started to weave through the side streets. It turns out there was an entire neighborhood dedicated to houses that had garages for RV's. 

A final stop at Hi Jolly's tomb on the way out of the town would seal the day. This guy apparently came over with a herd of camels that the US Army bought to run supplies through the desert. It was supposed to be an effort to help develop a supply chain through the arid land. Locals adore him and camels are prominently displayed around town.