|
Tuesday Feb. 19
For gem collectors,
town is place for rock-bottom deals
08:13
AM MST on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 By JOANNE DODDER / The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT,
Ariz. (AP) -- With a name like Quartzsite, it's no surprise that
this little desert town is a haven for rock hounds. And for two months
out of the year during the annual gem and mineral shows, it's more like
a lazy rock hound's true paradise.
There's
no need to go into the desert looking for gems in January and February,
although there are plenty to be found there. Hundreds of vendors set up
their wares in Quartzsite, a three-hour drive from Prescott, and often
sell them at wholesale prices. The deals are especially ripe right now,
toward the end of the show season. Some vendors have left but many still
remain.
Hundreds
of recreational vehicles cover the remaining landscape on both sides of
Interstate 10.
It's
been an annual scene for more than four decades.
"For
the most part, it's a bargainer's paradise," said Deborah Olvham, a Quartzsite
Chamber of Commerce coordinator. "And people are real friendly. They tend
to come here to have fun."
Along
with rocks and gems and fossils, shoppers can find everything from kitchen
utensils to kites. One shopper found silicone oven mitts for $6 - less
than a third of the price that she'd seen elsewhere. She also bought a
$30 petrified wood bookend, $8 turquoise earrings and $23 earrings made
of carnelian and moonstone.
The
cemetery with the Hi Jolly monument - just a block north of the main drag
- is worth a detour. Named for a man whose real Arabic name was Haiji Ali,
U.S. soldiers morphed his name into "Hi Jolly" when he came to America
to care for camels while the military experimented with their use.
The
camels proved their worth carrying supplies through the Arizona desert
on the Beale expedition of 1857, but the military later abandoned them
in the area, where they survived as an oddity for years.
While
Jolly was an interesting historical character, plenty of live characters
are attracted to the rock shows these days. Some buy rocks, create jewelry
and then sell it on the street.
"That's
where you get the best artwork," said Edward J. Avery, an amateur rock
hound from Southington, Conn. "But the vendors own the place because if
it wasn't for the vendors, the show wouldn't be here."
Avery
arrived here a few months ago and set up camp in the desert before upgrading
to an RV. He comes to buy rocks in bulk, and then he sells them in the
Northeast.
"General
rule of thumb: The more you buy, the cheaper it is," Avery advised newcomers.
Avery
- who also is a professional wrestler with the stage name of Avil Graves
- couldn't resist buying some Oriental weapons and books, too. Tools and
food also are big sellers, he observed.
Avery
is making some money on the side while in Quartzsite as a waiter at the
Grubstake Chuckwagon and Watering Hole.
Avery
was sporting two necklaces made of rocks held together by copper wire,
which he acquired from two men on the street.
A
guy
named Dread made the shorter necklace that featured jasper, malachite and
carnelian. Another guy called Lucky made the longer one of herkimer, ocean
jasper, opal, turquoise, chrysocola, aquamarine and a pewter globe.
Avery
said he got the best deals of all. He traded an old guitar and a strand
of silver for his jewelry.
Saturday Feb. 23
The last few days the ultra
lights have been buzzing the BLM campgrounds. They swoop down and like
try to touch and go. People were getting tired of it and we heard some
police radio scanner calls to try to stop them.
Saturday
was The
5th Annual "It's Chili in Quartzsite chili cookout.
We
were surprised as it looks like they had it well organized this year.
There were rows of cilli
cooks doing their thing right next to their RVs.
Next up was the Tyson
Wells Bluegrass Festival held right next door. Feb. 22, 23,
& 24th
It too this year, looked
well attended, with the lots filled with RVs parked for the weekend to
have a good time with the music. This annual event could in spite
of itself turn out to be another success. Watch it Quartzsite this is not
your style to pull off non lame events.
Back at his campsite loving
playing the music. It was cold and rainy on Friday so the reason for the
tarps. But today Saturday it turned out sunny, just a great
day to be out and about.
The crowed was large. This
could, if not careful turn out to be a fun event.
The next act getting ready.
So in late February people
having fun in Q. This just has to stop...
Sunday Feb. 24
Back
on Monday Feb. 18 I posted:
Just
tonight a burn victim who fell into a campfire in La Posa south The rescue
group from Q got there and called for the helicopter. We watched it fly
over heard them talking to the ground units to get the GPS grid and land
and later take off to the burn center in Phoenix. This type of thing goes
on day after day.
Now
I find this posted on Escapees.com forum.
Hello everyone. I'm requesting
a shower of cards and support for one of our members. On February 18, 2008
Kevin "Boogie" McClure was badly burned in Quartzsite,AZ on BLM land while
grilling his dinner.....3rd degree burns on 30% of his body. Kevin is partially
paralyzed from a previous motorcycle accident, and in spite of this, drives
a 5th wheel, works as a camp host during the summer and a cashier in Q
during the winter. Kevin lives alone, and while grilling, lost his balance
and fell into the fire pit. Because he is paralyzed, he was unable to get
out. Neighbors heard his screams and came to his rescue,pulled him out,poured
water on him,called for rescue. I can't say enough about the Quartzsite
sheriff,fire department,police,rescue unit, etc.Their response was lightning
fast and Kevin was airlifted to Phoenix. Quartzsite has a helicopter "on
site" next to the fire department...this is the first year this service
has been available.
Here is Kevin's address:
Kevin McClure
118 Rainbow Drive
PMB 1832
Livingston, TX 77399-1018
For the next month, his
address is:
Kevin McClure
Arizona Burn Center at Maricopa
Medical Center
2601 E. Roosevelt
Phoenix, AZ 85008
Room 10
As of yesterday, Kevin was
conscious, alert, and bragging about his pigskin grafts. He has a long
recovery ahead, and we're all hoping he will be able to return to the RV
lifestyle. |
I posted
to the forum...
Ginsou... Thanks for
your post..
We are in Q and at La Posa
North BLM and were sitting outside that late afternoon when we heard the
call come over our police scanner about a person who was burned in a campfire.
We watched the rescue ambulance and fire dept. rescue units respond down
HW 95 past us to La Posa South. They reported on air 3rd degree burns on
the back and legs. Later Care Flight 8 helicopter came from Parker and
the radio calls from the rescue people on the ground giving the pilot the
GPS numbers to find them. It was getting dark. The pilot could see the
flashing lights. We were transfixed watching the copter flying over us
and heading south, and how this could happen, and what it must be like
to be in this situation. We listened later as the pilot radioed that they
were taking off to the east to the Maricopa Burn Center.
I had trouble sleeping that
night wondering how whoever it was was doing with the pain they must be
in and if they would survive this.
Now we know the rest of
the story due to the Internet and forums like this.
People sharing with People...
What the Internet does Best!
I hope you will also send
a card or more to this person.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I found this picture on
the web of a Care Flight on the pad next to La Paz Regional Hospital in
Parker.
A picture of the La Paz
Hospital from a Care Flight. Landing pad right lower.
This is the same hospital
I took Terry to at 2 AM back in November. Bigger than it looks.
We would all be at more risk
if these dedicated Care Flight people weren't there for us.
They have landing pads in
all the local towns in the area. This is how you get flown to a trauma
center that is not available in much of western AZ.
As we listen to the police
scanner and the ambulance calls I wonder how we can help these people in
need.
The need is there, we only
need to find how to help. It is time for those who spend the winter in
Q to investagate how we can be of service to others while here. I
am sure many already do, I just now need to connect with them.
A week ago over the scanner
we heard about a MH from Canada that burned up in the14 day BLM near Dome
Rock. How tragic would that be. Who was there for them?
Monday Feb. 25
It
is starting out warm and sunny this Monday. Looks like a great week
ahead for us here in Q.
Where the wildflowers
are
BY
JENNIFER LOVELL, SUN STAFF WRITER 2008-02-24 23:12:00
Wildflowers
such as Sand Verbena and Ajo Lily are in bloom this season and Yumans can
go out and enjoy the colors displayed throughout the desert landscape.
"It
is so pretty," said Karen Reichardt, a botanist with the Bureau of Land
Management's Yuma Field Office. "The colors are just exquisite (and) it
shows the desert in a different light."
The
sprouting of flowers throughout the desert is due to the rains last month,
said Reichardt. This is the month to see the desert's vibrant-rich blooms
in selected locations. The wildflowers can be seen into the month of May
as long as the Yuma area gets rains, said Reichardt.
According
to Reichardt and Web sources, some of the wildflowers in the Yuma area
and their locations are:
-Sand
Verbena - a purple flower 2 to 3 inches wide, with oval leaves. They can
be found on the slope on the north side of 24th Street across from Yuma
Regional Medical Center. They can also be seen along Interstate 8 on the
way to Los Algodones, Baja Calif., and on the mesa southeast of Yuma along
Avenue 3E.
Motorists
traveling east on I-8 can also see Sand Verbena on hillsides east of Wellton.
-Ajo
Lily - a large white flower with long slender leaves and wavy margins on
the edges of the leaves. These can be seen in the flat, unbulldozed areas
in the Foothills along North Frontage Road, Reichardt said.
-Birdcage
Evening Primrose - a showy white flower than can also be found on North
Frontage Road.
-Desert
Sunflower - a tiny yellow sunflower that can be found in selected spots
on Highway 78 going toward Blythe.
-Indian
Wheat - a grayish-green grass-like plant with a yellow flower that that
can be seen in low, flat areas around Yuma. These also can be seen along
North Frontage Road, Reichardt said.
"If
people enjoy walking the desert, the desert washes are more promising than
the desert pavement - low flat areas - this year," said Reichardt.
However,
for a greater amount of flower scenery, Reichardt recommends going to Tucson.
Flowers
can also be seen on the hills northeast of Gila Bend. And they can be seen
up toward Eagle Tail Mountain north of Dateland, and at the New Water Wilderness
east of Quartzsite.
For
more information on the Yuma area's wildflower season, call the BLM at
317-3200.
Tuesday Feb. 26
I know the above article
is all about wildflowers but we went on a drive Sunday and found not yet
here , several miles in east of the La Posa North entrance in the BLM to
Dripping Springs. (We didn't even find the springs) But it was great drive,
if you are in a ATV but in a dually one ton PU the road seems a bit narrow.
Sort of like driving a straight truck on ATV trails. A small Jeep would
be fine. We just need to get an ATV next year. Right after the RV lot for
my hot tub mini swimming pool.
This was one of the easy
drives through a wash. Terry walked several of them to see if we could
get through. This one was a piece of cake. And with yelling between
us we didn't take pictures of the rough ones.
After the washes we came
to the next valley and this view. This goes on forever and we decided to
turn our big truck around. Now if we only had a ATV.
Thursday Feb. 28
Terry
went to the rock club (whats new) and I did the online newspaper thing
while having breakfast since they don't want to deliver here anymore. I
check out msnbc.com, thenytimes.com, rawstory.com, rtc. and do email checking.
I
had one today who wanted to know more about how we do some things:
Hi
There!
We
love reading about your RV travels. Please continue posting them!
Do you run your refrigerator
on electric or propane? Do you run your hot water tank on electric
or propane?
Good Travels!
Reply:
Thanks for your email.
The fridge is run on gas
and only on electric only when we stop at an RV park. It will also be much
more efficient if you keep it defrosted. We never run the hot water heater
on electric. We only turn it on a little before we are going to use hot
water. Late in the afternoon so we can have hot water for dishes and showers.
Then we turn it off. Don't know if it makes that much difference, but that's
how we do it anyway. We now, never hook up to city water. High
pressure has caused leaks at times when we did this. So we fill our fresh
water holding tank and run the DC pump. Works for us. Don't want to worry
coming back to a flooded trailer. We also turn of the water pump off when
we go for a drive.
I wouldn't post this except
we have had this same question several times...
Saw a commercial on national
TV about a McDonald's promotion... Free McSkillet Burrito with
a med. drink.
Now doesn't that look good...
When I called the
local Quartzsite McDonald's I was told they didn't participate in this.
I said you are a McDonald's aren't you? So much for that idea.
We still like their $1 double
cheeseburgers though...
So much for life in Q today.
Firday might just have to
be a fish fry event at the Grubstake bar. The weather has been more than
perfect. And you people left after a few days in January. And if you are
up north in on of the bigger winters of the last several years...
I called the La Paz Hospital
ER doctors billing service (not connected to the hospital billing office)
agian today, (the ER docs. don't bill through the hospital but through
their own private billing service) (the hospital bill is all paid) and
they now told me (this was my my 4th call) that they at last sent in a
correct (date of service) claim to our insurance compamy on 02-25-08. We
were in the ER on 11-27-07. One more step in the quagmire of health care
and insurance we all have to find our way through. Now I get to watch the
online claim section of my Ins. Co. web site to see when they get it and
if they accept it. Think of the wasted cost of all this paper work back
and forth. Can you say single payer system?
Friday Feb. 29
Remember this picture I
posted back on Jan. 15. I posted: It is some sort of show that
happens several times a day. We want to find out more about this. We were
just driving by. Look at the chairs set up to view the show. Can
you imagine doing this traveling show. Think what their mind set must to
be to get into this, and build this stage on a truck body. Then to have
the talent to actually put on a great show that people will see, and tell
others by word of month, so their audience will grow. WOW that is a leap
of faith in yourself, to be able to have the guts to do this. We can respect
that kind of adventure spirit. Just look at us (you and us) in this RV
life, all doing our own thing just like them.
Well just today I got an
email from Tom, a reader, who sent me their web page link. WOW.
Home
Page Village Blacksmith (See all about them, their show, and
how they built the RV and stage)
Michel Olson and Christy
Horne are the husband and wife team who have History Ringing in the ears
of audiences all over the Western US. Combining Fabulous Storytelling with
Live Anvil Accompaniment- They have come up with a unique form of "Edutainment"
for the entire family. 19 different half hour shows Fort Smith Stage
All Items Made are GIVEN
AWAY last year that was 3,200 items!
|
