January 13, 2002
Well, we're still at the Tyson Wells Rock/Gem/Mineral show. And the Prospectors Panorama Gold Show (haven't seen much gold yet)..
As some of you know, I did a little turquoise and silver importing myself in a former life, so I took particular interest in these bracelets and the raw turquoise for sale.
Watching these guys unload the semi-truck trailer full of rocks made me appreciate the time I spent in school! And more bracelets. The vendor pointed out a few he said were over 100 years old, and I could find no reason to dispute the claim. Some were beautiful, some were dull, and a few were just gaudy, but all were interesting to us.
More of the pretty blue stone (with some coral in the foreground in the shot on the left) and tables full of geodes.
From boxes of rocks, to magnificent inlay work including silver, mother-of-pearl, and other stones. The black ball that was so shiny was a common item for some reason lost on this old boy.
Yeah, boxes of black balls. And then remember the tables of geodes? Well, here is one table up close. And I wasn't going to take pictures of rocks. Yeah, sure.
The little sign on the rock in the picture on the left gives the price at $369, and Barby's fooling around with tiny little geodes. A whole pile of them! And here's where I quit taking picture of rocks. At least for now.
Apparently cactus wrens aren't the only birds that nest in the Saguaro cactus. On the left is a dove on her nest, and across the street from the yard where this was, I was getting soundly scolded for stopping in the middle of the street. His tail was wagging furiously along with the ferocious racket, but I wasn't about to test either end.
The Hi Jolly monument is a gottado when in Quartzsite, and it was in an old cemetery. The date on this wooden headstone is 1872. Old by my standards anyway. Barb scoffs at anything younger than the 1700's because she's from the "other" coast.
And now it's official. We've visited Quartzsite. The wind caught Barb's shirt, and she thinks it makes her look fat. I don't remember my response, but I still have all 10 fingers to type with, so it must have been acceptable.
Ray and Kay showed up and were putting up LOW signs when we got back from somewhere. Great people, friends of John Cristman, so naturally were friends of ours immediately. And besides, they have a Jeep Grand Cherokee for a toad (RV'er's word for vehicle "towed" behind a motor home). We had to dump our sewer tanks and refill the water tank, and when we got back we moved into the circle of what will be several rigs from LOW. Now that we feel "secure," I went ahead and put out the awning, sunscreen, floor mat, and chairs, hoping a desert wind doesn't come along and force us to take it all down. We're about 100 yards from our first spot, so the comparison shots when everybody gets here won't be perfect, but close enough. The trio are posed just after parking to watch the Hi Jolly Daze Parade followed by the bar-b-que at the city park, which sort of kicks things off. Sort of, because the "real deal" doesn't start for a week. Oh, just for the record, Ray was kind enough to let Barb drive the Jeep back home after the festivities. We could be in the market sometime soon.
And what a parade it was! Ever seen a cop's car with flames?
Most of the fancy floats like this one were built by the local RV parks. And "Mike the Mayor" was a neat guy. When's the last parade where you saw the dignitary driving himself and waving to the crowd? At the bar-b-que he gave his seat to us because the tables were full. He and some of his city council were at the table, and passed a resolution that stated that all in attendance had to have fun. Then they decided that because someone was missing from the "meeting" that they really couldn't enforce it. We assured them they didn't need to worry about enforcement. One of the La Paz County sheriffs came by and confirmed that he'd have trouble enforcing the resolution. It was the same sheriff that was on a high-spirited horse that didn't like to stand still in the parade, and did some dancing around for the crowd.
First Bed & Breakfast we'd see with wheels! And we won't tell anybody that's Kay with her mouth open in the corner of the picture. Ever seen a "Miss Dudette" to go along with the "Mr. Dude"? I tell you, it's amazing what you'll find in the desert.
They might be little, but they were all in step.....at least they were when I took the picture! And one of the local RV repair shops had this float, complete with A/C and bat-wing TV antenna on the top, a propane tank in the front, and dragging their sewer water tank behind which got a hearty laugh from all RVers.
The local "Hit & Miss Antique Engine Club" was represented by an old pump engine consigned to "automobile" duty, and then the local car club (I think it was a club, but I'm not sure) consisted of a nice Corvette and a nicer old Subaru.
The classic car and hot rod show turned out to be a little less than anticipated, but nonetheless it was enjoyable, and once again we saw some things we'd never seen before. The Ford panel wagon was my personal favorite, with exquisite upholstery work, the really old hot-rod with its original flathead engine and skinny (by today's standards) tires, and then the "dwarf" cars. This was new to us. Barb is standing on the other side of one of them to give it perspective. They run, are drivable, and are all hand made. The gauges, steering wheel, and interior are all scaled down to perfect proportions. Truly a piece of art.
This is a converted dwarf race car that is street legal (if it had a windshield wiper) pulling a dwarf boat!
While at the post office, I was sitting in the truck and Barb was in line to pick up the mail, when a fellow caught my eye and said hello. It was Stan Miller who is the webmaster for the Escapees MDT BOF (Medium-duty Truck Birds of a Feather--the affinity group in the Escapees RV Club for those of us who own or want to own a medium- duty truck). Stan and wife Trudy were most helpful to us in April 1999 when we met them at the Escapees rally (called Escapades) in Chico, CA. Back then Trudy assured Barb that diminutive size had nothing to do with one's ability to drive one of these big trucks, and I picked up several tips from Stan. Tips that helped us make the decision to order our truck while at the rally. After chatting a while, I asked Stan where in town I could find a reasonably priced place to plug in to do an upload of the webpage and a download of e-mail. Turned out they own a lot in town and invited us out to see it and to use their phone line. The people in this sub-culture we call RV'ers are one of the biggest reasons in our minds to be living like this. What generosity!! So if you're reading this and it's still January, thank Stan and Trudy at etcetera1@stanmiller.info for us, OK? They'll get a kick out of it.