A funny town called Quartzsite

The day after the golf tournament in Phoenix, StoneRidge Pals and our hosts Patty & Jim were moving back to Quartzsite, AZ. If you aren't into RV'ing you probably have never heard of it.

"Quartzsite is west of Phoenix at the junction of Interstate 10 and US 95, near the Colorado River. The community has a Sonoran Desert setting. The nearby Kofa, New Water and Plomosa Mountains provide topographic relief while the Colorado River lies only 17 miles to the west. Quartzsite was established in 1867 on the site of old Fort Tyson, a privately built structure constructed in 1856 by Charles Tyson for protection against Indian raids. Named Quartzsite because quartz was occasionally found in the area, the name evolved to Quartzsite through an error in spelling. The Town is currently is 130 sq. miles."

Most of the time this small town is just that...small. But come here in January and February and it's a sea of RV's, trailers and campers as far as you can see. All here to see the largest swap meet in the world. Several StoneRidge motor coach residents stay here in the winter, this is where we came to spend 2 more days.

They are renting the lot from Sandi and Gordon which is in a neighborhood called Rainbow Acres. Once we got set up here they gave us a tour of the town. There isn't much left to see since most of the vendors have moved on along with the RV's. A rainstorm was moving through town, so we decided to just head back and play cards.

The next day brought sunny skies so we headed out to the desert and Kofa's Palm Canyon Trail. Jim had always wanted to hike so off we went. 18 miles south of Quartzsite is the road that takes you to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and the Palm Canyon Trail.

Here you see us at the base of the trail. It's a short hike up to find the elusive palms. To be specific, the trees are California Fan Palms. They are not fruit bearing and are thought to be descendents of palms growing in this region during the last periods of North American glaciation.





The palms are able to survive in the narrow side canyons where direct sunshine is limited but some moisture is available.
We managed to time our arrival perfectly as the suns rays crossed into the canyon where we could see the palms.
Then it was back to Quartzite where we stopped to see some of the vendors and to wet our whistles at Beer Bellys.



Back at the coach we passed the rest of the day playing a twist on horse shoes.

The next morning we left our friends for home. After 2 days of driving, we arrived back at StoneRidge. We went from 80 degrees to 40, but not a lick of snow on the ground. While we were gone the warm temps at home melted what little snow remained on the ground. Even the snow belt between Spirit Lake and Rathdrum is clear of snow.

The course is now officially open and Stoneridge Guy and golf Pal Mac play every chance they get. We all wonder, will this mild weather hold through until spring has sprung or will winter surprise us with a fresh blanket of snow?