Quartzsite, Arizona

I headed back out on the open road to Quartzite, Arizona! My sister, Carol, Jo Jo, and I only planned on spending a couple of days, but we stayed for four. Our main mission, other than "getting away," was to rock hound. We have some books, and have done some internet searches, and we have decided, looking ahead, that joining a rock hounding club is probably the best way to go. We are learning novices at this point in time. The directions, even with GPS tracking, was vague at best. In any event, we still found some banded barite, quartz crystals, red jasper, and agate. We are always on the lookout for gold nuggets as well. We found jasper and agate near the town of Brenda, and stopped for dinner to-go. The Buckaroo Country Store gave us the largest portion of french fries, (along with a chicken wrap), that I have ever seen in my life. Good thing Carol and I split meals, but we still had fries for two more days! (I know...thats bad!) We went through the small towns of Bouse (pronounced "mouse") to find hematite, but unfortunately, we didn't. The hunt was on going.

We spent a day at the Quartzite flee markets, and gem shows. Its was wicked windy and chilly that day, so we skipped the rock hounding and stayed in town. My heart went out to those exhibitors as I know all too well what its like to stand out in the wind and cold all day long, from my art show days. It's a tough job. We found a lot of "pretty" rocks, or "purrdy" rocks, as my grandmother would say in her Hungarian accent. The people were friendly. Many are pretty rough around the collar, looking weathered and haggard. I am sure they could share an amazing story. I did bite the bullet on a polished piece of amethyst. I chose this piece for the intense dark purple, and like the polished natural rock around the edges. The photo here doesn't do it justice. But I just had to have it.....its "purrdy." The photos of quarts crystals and agate, are pieces that we found laying around. We drove miles and miles on dirt roads, and it took nearly an hour to drive 7 miles to Crystal (quartz) Hill.

We found plentiful options to boondock in the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) area. We found complete solitude, and peace as we drove off the road a few hundred feet into the desert. The nights were chilly, but the propane furnace was perfect, and the sun kept the battery charged. We slept in my Mom's vintage sleeping bags, lined with her "purrdy" reconditioned cotton fabric. It was like she was there with us....glamping.

The Sylver Gyspy "rocked" the load and the dirt roads very well. What an amazing tank! And another adventurous journey!






















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At home now… from the great 2023 Alaska Road Trip!

Image
​ Jo Jo and I are home, from the trip of a lifetime! 106 days, 11,539 miles, 675 gallons of gasoline, a ton of fun, beautiful views, and amazing experiences. Other than a brief head cold, no other mishaps, except my souvenir windshield chips. The Sylver Gypsy performed wonderfully. She kept me safe and warm. My last days were drive heavy, but I managed a quick stop at Bryce Canyon National Park. My last night was in the Coconino Forest near Flagstaff, where I also made a brief stop at Sunset Crater. I’ll need a few moments to adjust being back to reality, but it’s nice to be home!
Read more

Bryce Canyon National Park, then almost home

Image
​ A great night in the Utah desert, and a rather chilly morning, surprisingly, but I got up and hurried out of there with the intention of getting to Bryce Canyon National Park. I wondered if I would have enough time and decided it was only 20 minutes one-way, out-of-the-way as I continued on my route home. This would be my third time visiting Bryce and I’m so glad I did. As with any National Park, there are some new changes and the Ranger told me that because I’m over 20 feet I would have to park in the main parking lot and take the shuttle bus in to see the viewpoints. She gave me a tag to hang in my window. My heart sank to the bottom, since I know the shuttle buses will not except pets, and I was not willing to leave Jo Jo. However, upon examining the tag, it indicated vehicles over 23 feet to park and shuttle. My Travato is 21 feet. Hmmmm, I was annoyed. So I ignored the directions and went straight to the parking area at the sunrise amphitheater and not only did I see other campe...
Read more

Beaver, UT

Image
​ Well, another day of long driving and just two fill ups, but then I did stop at a place called Rowley’s Red Barn farm market. I wonder why they were so many people and kids and then I realized it was Labor Day. They had so many goodies there I wound up getting a fresh peach, tomato, and corn on the cob, and some apples. Of course, I had to get the chocolate covered caramel popcorn and chocolate covered blueberries, just as a souvenir from leaving the blueberry season in Alaska. Leave it to me to justify all my purchases. I kept driving and driving and got to a dispersed spot in the desert, just nearby Beaver, Utah. The first directions lead me to a very narrow roadway, which I elected not to take. Though further on down the road, about a quarter of a mile, I found a pull out intersecting between two roads and this is where I stayed. Except for a few farm vehicles, it was a restful night and a chilly morning. It’s near the highway full of sage, juniper and rolling mountains. I enjoyed...
Read more