Deserts fills, shows set. Come on down!

It's beginning to look a lot like Quartzsite at high season. The big tent for the Quartzsite RV and Travel show is now up and in place, although the show is yet still ahead of us. Vendors report to us that sales are improving, although the perennial growling about, "Not enough business to make it worth coming back next year," is still heard. Oddly enough, many of those who growl are the same ones who've done the same noise-making for years.

Out on the desert on BLM lands, there's still plenty of territory available for RVers (and those with "alternative" arrangements) to stake out a claim for the warm, sunny desert.

The big non-vendor event coming up is on the 24th at the QIA. We bring this up early, because if you don't get your tickets soon, it'll probably be too late. It's Paul Winer, in concert! Don't know Paul Winer? You probably know him in his better known-persona as Pantless Paul the Bookstore Guy.

That's right, long before Paul was "the naked bookseller," he was also known by his stage name of Sweet Pie, a latter-day vaudevillian. A wild man on the piano, Paul was a music-loving comedian who performed in Canada and New England before his present life. When Paul and his family moved into Quartzsite years back, he knew it was time to settle down so he could give stability to their daughter Celia. Tragedy hit the family when Celia died at eight years old. Paul kept on with books, but recently, 'got the call' to hit the stage again.

For those of us with tastes a bit more modest than the casual sporting of a G-string, fear not. Paul puts on his pants and shoes to perform. It's a rousing show, and the admission to the 2:00 pm show is but $5. But as we said, best get on down to the QIA and get your tickets while you can.

January warms up Quartzsite

Quartzsite is heating up--in more ways than one. A spate of unseasonably cold weather has finally moved along, bringing "normal" daytime temperatures back into the 70's. Also heating up? The seasonal crowds are typically blocking streets with interesting manuevers--take for example, idling your motorhome in one of Quartzsite's busiest intersections--Main Street and "Post Office Way."

Sure enough, just as Quartzsite Police were sending four cars to investigate a vehicle pointed the wrong way and blocking two lanes of busy Highway 95 near the B-10, a couple of--well, bozos--decided to stop and chat in their motorhome blocking traffic at the post office at 2:00 in the afternoon. No, these weren't a couple of confused seniors trying to get directions to Phoenix, but a couple of 40-ish kids who apparently didn't want to drive around the block while one picked up the mail.

Quartzsite's major vendor venues, the Main Event, Tyson Wells, Rice Ranch, and all the rest are fired up and rarin' to move out their wares. The Big Tent is still just a blip on the radar--this year show promoter Kenny has pushed his Big Tent shows off a week. The 29th Annual Sports, Vacation, and RV Show that's the major drawing card for the season pops up in full January 21 through 29. This puts the ever-popular Rock and Roll Classic Car Show into February. To our thinking, Kenny has made one of the best moves possible. Instead of "packing the house" of Quartzsite events into a narrow slot, show promoters would be a lot smarter to stretch out the season.

Lest you think there's nothing going on but vendors in the meantime, here are some upcoming events you might take a shine to:

Saturday, January 7 The town's big street extravaganza in the form of the annual High Jolly Daze Parade firing up at 12:00 noon, appropriately at the fire station at Highway 95 and Tyson Street. Find your way to the end at the Town Park for food and music.

Friday, January 13 If you're only as old as you feel, you might still recall The New Cristy Minstrels. Think folk songs like, This Land is Your Land, and the ever raucous, Saturday Night. OK, so this time we all get together on Friday night, or afternoon, depending on your sleeping habits. The group will play to an undoubtedly full-house crowd at the QIA, two shows, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Tickets are $12 a pop, available from the QIA office. If you want tickets, better get 'em early, as prior years have sold out quick.

Our next installment on 'QZ Activi-tees' will include a wild show featuring Paul Winer, "Bookstore Paul" and his not-so-secret "other life." Yep, there's more to Paul than a G-string and thousands of dusty books.