Quartzsite, Arizona

Socializing Around Camp

Annually, we gather in Quartzsite (Q to most) partly for the RV Show, but mostly to meet with friends, eat, drink and be very merry. Campfires are lit most nights at happy hour, and are occasionally accompanied by dinner hosted by one or more participants. This year, once again, the Porters and Swains host quesadilla/margarita night, and the Dwyers host spaghetti night. Everyone chips in, but these couples' efforts and organization are yummily appreciated.

Most mornings, some of us girls go hiking, for the exercise and comraderie, not the scenery.

Our departure. Several people, mostly the men, fall to a bad cold virus. Brad is on the verge, and we leave while we can so he can spend the next few days in bed recuperating since we've run out of fresh water.

Brad Goes Jeeping

A couple of folks have jeeps, and several couples go to Dripping Springs, an old mine/ghost town. This road is too difficult for our truck's long wheel base, so the jeeps are necessary.

How to thread a needle - with 10 people telling you which way to turn your wheels and when. I opt to spend the day quietly at the trailer, although I unwisely use my spare time cleaning and doing laundry!

Brad inspecting a few remaining artifacts.

Swansea Jeep Trip

Another old copper mining town, Swansea is about 1.5 hours away from Q. We go with Barbara and Wayne, who insist on driving their jeep, although the road is a well graded gravel road, rough only for the last couple of miles, but one we could have easily done in our truck. This panorama shows the remains of the smelter on the right.

Only a few walls of the smelter are left standing. Most of the buildings have tumbled and only the foundations and a few brick walls remain around the town site.

Barbara at the processing plant's foundation.

Barbara, Wayne, me and Brad with the miner's cabins behind us. Someone is currently restoring these buildings.

For those of you who are astute, you may have noticed that I have updated our "States Visited" map. I have changed my criterion from "we've set foot or wheel to soil" to "we've explored this state and stayed in one or more locations". It's a more accurate depiction.