Desert Messenger

October 18, 2017 www.DesertMessenger.com 15 Traveling with Gypsy Jane by Jane Finley (1936-2017) The Queen of the Trailer Courts Quartzsite, AZ 1/07/03 I LOVE QUARTZSITE! And I don't know exactly why. But I can tell you I have more fun here than anywhere! There's no place like Quartzsite; it is truly unique -- like Key West, Florida is unique. One reason I like Quartzsite so much (I jokingly say) is that I have more dates here in a week than I have all year in Seattle. Like this year: I've been here a week today, and I've already been invited out six times by four different men! Let me tell you; it's great! I really feel like The Queen of the Trailer Courts! If you look at the atlas, Quartzsite is directly south of Las Vegas and Laughlin. It's desert country: wide open spaces encircled by mountains upon mountains. The early morning sunrise turns the sky to muted golds and pinks while the sunsets turn the sky to fi re. The shadows on the mountains during those times leave me speechless with their beauty -- always changing -- always miracu- lous! Just makes you glad to be alive; makes you want to thank whoever is responsible for one more glorious day on this beautiful earth. You can read about Quartzsite in National Geographic. I believe it's the January 2000 edition. The magazine photo- graphed Quartzsite in the summer (when it can exceed 120 degrees), and there's mostly vacant land. An- other photograph shows Quartzsite during the winter months, and it's wall-to-wall RVs. Amazing! Then there's the people. I was talking to a woman who agreed with me that Quartzsite is wonderful, and we didn't know exactly why. Then it occurred to me that the people are REAL here. There's no pretend; there's no fancy airs. They are just who they are, and you can take it or leave it. How refreshing! How easy! People who say what they think; so you don't have to fi gure it out. I'll take those kind of people any day over what I call "yes" people: people who will tell you what (they think) you want to hear. You don't really get to know those kinds of people, and besides it's just too much work. I'll take REAL any day. I paid for one month at Desert Gardens RV Park, and I'm already thinking of staying through Febru- ary. January and February are "hap- nin" months here because of the gem and mineral show. I couldn't care less about gems and minerals, but Quartzsite is a "kickin" place during that time. People come from all over the world to display their wares -- not just rocks but all kinds of goods and food. I call Quartzsite the "swap- meet capital of the world." I stayed a month here two years ago, and it's really fun to run into people I met back then. For example, the fi rst night I was here, I ran into a guy I met from Australia. There's a library in Quartzsite that opens at 8:00 a.m. week days, but I can't type on my website there. Once a week I drive the 20 miles to Blythe, California to write at the library and bring my "Where Am I" section up to date. There's a movie theater in Blythe and also an Albertson's. It's a small city but bigger than Quartzsite (which doesn't even have a bank), and it's much more "normal." But then, normal has never appealed to me! You can go dancing every night some place in Quartzsite. My favor- ite place is Silly Al's because of Rocky Watson, the terrifi c singer who can play any request; he's here January and February. There are other places: The Silver Buckle (mostly country) and The Yacht Club (which I have yet to check out), all three smoky to varying degrees. I told a friend that I'm undressing OUTSIDE my camper and hanging my clothes out- side because they reek with smoke. But what can I do? I'm addicted to dancing, and it's such good exercise (for the spirit as well as the body). I just hope I'm not getting lung cancer from second-hand smoke! (All three places have kareoke two nights a week, which I avoid like the plague.) The QIA Community Hall has dances on Wednesday and Saturday nights from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m., but it's a bit slow for me, and there are mostly couples there. Before the Wednesday night dance, there's a pancake supper for around $2, and they serve other things as well -- all cheap and good. I'm really thrilled with the place I'm staying: Desert Gardens RV Park. At fi rst, I thought I might stay on BLM land for a couple of reasons. It's free for 14 days and costs $100 to stay six months. That's right! They provide water and outhouses. The other reason is that I thought I could avoid being crammed into a small space as is the case with most RV parks here. Last time I paid $210 to stay one month. The advantage was I was right in town and could bike everywhere. I eliminated the BLM land because I workout fi ve days a week, try to walk daily at sunset, and dance a lot. That means A LOT of sweating. I really need to have ac- cess to showers. So, I started looking New Year's Day. I don't know why I started with Desert Gardens which is on the north end of town near Love's Gas Station. The offi ce wasn't open, but I was able to talk to the locals who gather every morning for coffee and conversation in the rec room. I walked around the premises and decided to stay. Desert Gardens has everything I need: showers, water, laundry, activities (including music/ dancing), and I even played canasta one night. Showers are a quarter (if you're fast) and it costs 75 cents to do a load of washing. There's a rec room where I can go at night or in the early morning when it's cold. I can work on my laptop or do paperwork there at night and do my stretching and exercising in the morning. It gets dark around 5:00 p.m. here, and my camper is much too small to stay in- side. There's no TV reception here, and radio is not much better. But, BEST of all is that I'm in the "dry camp" on the very edge of the des- ert -- nothing between me and the breathtakingly beautiful mountains and desert. I never get enough of the desert and mountain view. It gives me great JOY! All that, and the cost is only $70/month. Authors Jane Finley and Jack Wiley, both long-term RVers have teamed up to publish books from Gypsy Jane's discontinued website: WANDERINGS: Living the Ordinary Extraordinarily (Stories from the Road). To order: amazon.com. ~*~*~*~*~*~ If you have the guts to do what you need to do, the universe will support you in amazing ways. ~ Jane Finley ~*~*~*~*~*~ QUARTZSITE COMMUNITY THRIFT STORE 177 W. Main St. (end of Showplace Lane) Behind Silly Al's Pizza SUMMER HOURS April thru October Thurs. Fri. Sat. 9am-1pm Call us and schedule a donation pickup 928-927-6039 or 928-916-7338. 100% of our proceeds remain here in Quartzsite! WINTER HOURS November thru March Mon- Sat 9am-1pm QUARTZSITE COMMUNITY THRIFT STORE Read Desert MESSENGER ONLINE @ www.MyQuartzsite.com

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