Yuma & Quartzsite, AZ

We didn’t technically stay in Yuma. We stayed just across the Colorado River (less than a mile) in Winterhaven, CA. But we hung out in Yuma and ate so many tacos there. We also boondocked in Quartzsite, which is a place, if you full-time RV, that is a staple of the experience. Or you could even call it sort of a rite of passage. Like in the future if we’re talking about our full-timing experience to other full-timers and we haven’t stayed in Quartzsite it would be kinda like, “huh really”?

YUMA

We extended our stay in Winterhaven twice (which we’ve never done before) because we loved the hot tub/pool area so much. (And the weather!) Good conversation, funny stories, and recommendations of things to do in the area were the best part of hot tub time.
Yuma Territorial Prison is a morbidly cool place to visit.
Six men to a 9×12 ft. cell.
Two women to a cell. There were far, far fewer females but apparently they tended to be difficult inmates.🤔
Is excessive jibber jabber really a crime?
The Yuma High School football team is called the Criminals, or Crims, with pride.
Arizona Marketplace was a fun flea market with good live music, appetizing food, and quality crafts and goods. And it’s very clean.
Date shake!
Real lemonade!
The craftswoman who made this was so talented. Could’ve bought several pieces if we had the room. We hung this above our sofa in the RV living room.
It’s hard to tell, but this is the full moon. Thousands (like 3-4k) gather in the desert to “howl” at the full moon.
This was a sight out the window on the way to Yuma. Just thought it was pretty.

QUARTZSITE

We stayed for three days. We would’ve stayed longer, but it got into the triple digits for the weekend so we moved on to Palm Springs, CA early. Would love to come back someday!
Our site.
Imagine that there is a lot of quartz in Quartzsite!
There were actually camels in Quartzsite, AZ for a while. Hi Jolly was the Syrian man who coordinated the effort for the army. The camels were eventually released into the desert, where they gradually died off.
There is a pyramid monument for Hi Jolly, and various places named after him around the area.
There is an awesome geek shop in the middle of the desert at Quartzsite that we all really enjoyed visiting. It has card and board games like magic, D&D, unstable unicorns, bed wed dead, way more novelty monopoly games than we’d heard of, etc. It’s the best shop of its kind we’ve been to. The choose-your-own adventure graphic novel above came highly recommended and can’t wait to read it.
A squirrel moved into our truck in Texas (passenger-side fender well). Who knows where it bailed between there and Arizona, but we will always have its memory with us. The stuffing of this chair became part of its nest.
Hi, Harry. (He’s a nut and fits right in here.)
On to Palm Springs, CA. Home of date palms and date shakes!

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5 Replies to “Yuma & Quartzsite, AZ”

  1. WOW! Thanks so much for the update. Very interesting! My only excitement around here was I went to Green Dragon on Good Friday. YEA!!!! It was jam packed! YEA!!!! Karly works there at a produce stand so I go there every Friday to have lunch with her. She’s 16 already and just bought a car. I miss you and pray that you all stay safe. Love, Gramma

  2. Sounds like fun! Hope you all had a Happy Easter. Stay safe cool and know your loved,
    Dad

  3. Thanks for sharing, glad you’re enjoying Arizona, hopefully at some point we can meet and perhaps enjoy lunch or dinner. Please give me a call or text when you get close to Tucson, blessings
    Paul

  4. Hi Vanessa hope all is well,I have left a comment previously but you may not have gotten it. I am your Dad’s cousin in Tucson. Your grandma just gave you my number so when you get to Tucson Arizona give me a call. Blessings paulknauer1@comcast.net

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