January 17 – 21, 2009 – Quartzsite and More

Just getting a chance to get caught up to tell you about the past few days.

On Saturday afternoon, a number of us went to the Desert Bar – also known as the Nellie E Saloon. The Bar is above Parker, AZ and about 5 miles in on a dirt road.

The road (the scenery was incredible):

The bar is powered entirely by solar. It is open from ~ noon to sunset on Saturday and Sunday only and closed during the summer.

The bar:

The view from the ladies room (how about this – all open air):

The church:

Some of our group:

Some other scenes from the area:

What a wonderful time!

On Sunday (18th), Andy and I decided to do the Big Tent (RV Show). We went in early and got through it. And we were a little disappointed. There were a lot of vendors but the show was really no different than others we have been to in Hershey, Harrisburg, or Philadelphia. We were told that it is a lot smaller this year. But at least we have done it. Would I come back and do it again? Quartzsite, yes, the RV show, probably not!

From the show, we walked thru Tyson Wells. They are having a huge swap-meet. It was like a giant flea market. We did pick up some stuff and did go back and finish on Monday (yes, it was that big!)

How about this little fellow nesting in the Saguaro:

Did I mention the sunsets?

We had lunch at the Yacht Club and on Monday, we joined it – what a hoot!

Monday afternoon, we had a Polar Bear party. What is a Polar Bear? – Vodka, Kaluha, Ice Cream and Ice – in a blender - mmmmmmmm – need I say more -:-))

On Tuesday a group of us went to Palm Canyon and took the half mile hike up to see some of Arizona’s only native palm trees.

Here is our group:

The palms:

The Sonora Desert:

This is one of four desert regions in North America. It receives about 6 inches of rain annually and in the summer reaches temperatures over 120 degrees (I won’t be here!). The region is green now because they had a lot of rain last month.

The Saguaro cacti:

I just found out that they do not start to grow arms until they are at least 60 years old – how about that!

Another cactus that spits needles if you get too close (I was not about to try it out):

Some other scenes along the way:

From there we went to the bookstore and met up with a few of the other ladies. The bookstore is also known as the naked bookstore... The owner wears very little... I am not posting a picture here due to the nature of the picture but if you want me to email you a picture, let me know.

From there, Jona, Pam, and I had lunch at the Yacht Club and stopped at the Hardies Bead Store. This store was once a restaurant/bar where there were carvings done at the ends of the beams. Some carvings:

And of course, every night happy hour followed by a campfire – how wonderful.

This afternoon, I am headed to a wire wrapping class. I found one cheap that uses craft wire so stay tuned.

To those I owe emails, bear with me, I hope to get caught up by the end of the week.

Until next time.