Quartzsite day trip

Ah, the new year and time to visit some spots close to home!  Quartzsite is about 125 miles NW of Phoenix off of I-10.  We headed out there Sunday to catch the annual RV Show.  If you've never been out to Quartzsite, its hard to describe.  In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing, 1000's of RVers hang out in the desert during the winter.  The standard joke is that you see $200K diesel pushers (large RVs that look like buses) pulling $40K jeeps getting cheap parking for the winter on BLM public land.  And that's just the beginning of the oddities.

The RV show is mostly about RV accessories, although there's a handful of new models surrounding the main tent.  The tent is packed with those "carnies" hawking miracle cleaning supplies, healing medicines, and complicated machinery for chopping food.  Add in a few thousand of the over 60 crowd (were these really the flower children of the 60's?) and you've got an inkling of the experience.

There's always a gigantic junk sale going on, mostly regulars hawking dried foods, motor parts, tools...blocks of the stuff, the rows are labelled "A" through "T".  There's plenty of not-so-healthy food to chose from and many of the winter visitors stop by to pick up every day goodies.  

We picked up some solar lights, ear muffs, lots of brochures for travel north (Alaska and Canada) and lots of dust.  It was windy driving out and it swirled around the outdoor shopping areas.  Oh, and I bought a stainless steel slotted spoon.  Whoohoo!  I wish I'd given in and bought the clever peacock fashioned from old metal.  We made it back in time for the football games around 5ish and agree we really don't need to go next year...but I bet we do!

No pics but here's a link to explore The Desert Messenger says it's an online newsletter for the area.  Just remember, don't go after April 1st - the place is mostly deserted and the heat really sets in.

Where is the prospecting?

This is suppose to be a blog about prospecting and being a prospector's wife. So where's the prospecting? We did drive through the LDMA campground in North Carolina where we'd thought about taking the grandkids sometime. But prospecting in my mind is more about seeking treasures and enjoying the journey in that search. So why we may not be digging for gold, our travels lead us to new places with new adventures and we leave with lots of memories. Stay tuned for some close to home digging!

I-40 September trip

We had business back in Asheville so we left the heat of Arizona and headed East along I-40.  When we're driving rather than truckin' we drive til 6 or 7 pm.  This trip we stopped at casinos with poker rooms to collect a chip for my son along the way.   Gallup, NM didn't really qualify, but we stopped there and headed onto Oklahoma.  The rest stops in the Midwest are great!  Not like the cement picnic tables and barrels for garbage out west!  Arkansas had a pretty garden of plants typical to the area.

When got to North Carolina via the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, stepping on the Appalachian Trail on the way , we visited Mike's family (brother, niece, sister) in Asheville and the kids and grandkids in Winston-Salem.

 

We climbed up to the top of Clingman's Dome (well, Mike coaxed me up) and got a wonderful view.  We have such a beautiful country!