Q!

For those of you who are familiar with Quartzsite, Arizona, the picture above exemplifies the quirky mass of folks from all over the U.S.A. and Canada who descend on this special spot in the desert not far from the Colorado River and California on Interstate 10 in the winter.

The pictures below exemplify the real Quartzsite, Arizona. This is the Quartzsite that excites my wife and me the most. That is not to say we don’t like shopping at the multitude of vendors who dot the landscape and all the yard sales that pop up each weekend. We do – but the best part is our small homestead we call our second home. We have quail, Mexican and Ring Neck doves, humming birds, Cooper and Red Tail hawks, assorted lizards, and occasionally, coyotes who visit us looking for food. The coyotes are looking for bird dinner or better yet, Chihuahua steaks. We watch our dogs carefully when they are walking with us.

There is talk in Quartzsite that the city and county are trying to rid the town of vendor tents and the like. This may or may not be true, but from our perspective, the real lure of the area is the winter weather and motor home visitors who love to enjoy life. All of us are very sociable and like to meet new people who become winter friends. While we all scatter to the four winds in the summer, you can bet we all look forward to meeting again the next winter – God willing and the creek don’t rise!

Meet "Pickles," our Meyer's parrot. He is heading toward me for food and since he is a cannibalistic demon bird, a finger will do quite nicely!

Sunrise in the desert is so very special. We have doves waiting patiently for us to spread seed out in front of the motor home. This is a morning ritual that happens every day we are in Quartzsite until our departure for the summer.

Speaking of breakfast, Gonzo, our older Chihuahua (named after the former D-backs' baseball star), waits not so patiently for food. You can barely see Taco, our rescue Chihuahua, with his white head sticking out of the covers to the upper left.

My wife, Sandy, is holding Taco and Gonzo while standing next to an African Sumac tree we planted while in Quartzsite this trip. Planting trees is something we both feel strongly about. Someday after we have left the planet, this tree will still be standing tall and proud, providing it survives the long, hot summers. I travel to Quartzsite once a month in the summer to water trees and check the motor home.

We found this outdoor U.S.A. flag wall picture at a swap meet and decided it must be attached to our shed door between two palm trees that are guaranteed not to die in the summer.

Trust me when I tell you I did not look this good while digging the hole for the African Sumac. The ground is like concrete!

There are four new signs in Quartzsite that were paid for by a grant along with new road paving, plantings and bus stop benches. Signs of progress I suppose – I will miss the old Quartzsite that we have been coming to for many years. But still, progress is not all bad…is it?

Sandy took this picture while we were driving along the Colorado River on a day trip. There is still much unspoiled land in the southwest deserts. You can see the lake behind Parker Dam in the foreground. God, we love this part of the world – I guess you can call us desert rats for sure.

I’m just saying Happy Thanksgiving,

Mittster