From eating to dancing with shows along the way -- it's the QIA

Getting used to Quartzsite takes a bit of doing. Much depends on your interests, but oddly, some who visit have been actually heard to say, "What is there to do here, anyway?" Actually, there's a whole lot more to QZ activities than just walking the vendor tents. For many, the QIA (Quartzsite Improvement Association) is a whole new way of looking at this big-little desert town.

RocksinmyHead1 on flickr.com

Back in the 1960s, when Quartzsite was still largely "undiscovered," folks rolled into town with pickup trucks, selling rocks and gems off the back of their tail gates. It was gritty and fun, but it had its drawbacks. The QIA was formed up in 1965 to help give a venue to some of this rock dealing, and to give folks a sense of place. Today the annual QIA PowWow is considered one of the biggest rock and gem shows in the world, is in an anchor point for the Quartzsite snowbird season. But there's a lot more to the QIA than just the big rock show.

The QIA is home to weekly classes, dances, and a place to get some fairly good grub cheap. Roll in on Wednesday evening and you can stuff yourself full of pancakes and the usual trimmings that go along with them. But the cooks also offer a weekly special – the opener this year was pork roast (a big sellout), and of course, you can expect plenty of gobbler late this month. As to education, classes range from hobby type activities, to helping you learn to use your computer more proficiently, maybe even pick up a new language.

During the season, plenty of evening shows, many musically based, come riding into town. No, these aren't all second-rate 'mom and pop fiddle scrapers,' either. For the last several years groups like The New Christy Minstrels have sold-out repeatedly. And if you're feeling like sitting for a show might cause you to need to get up and exercise, there's plenty of that going on with daily exercise classes, and line dancing.

So where do you tap into this information? The QIA set up a new website this year, with plenty of informational function. Check out the website at www.qiaarizona.org.

Quiet boondocking near Quartzsite -- Crystal Hill

If you've ever stayed on in Quartzsite during the high season – say anytime from mid-December to mid-February, you know the place is hopping. Sometimes a wee bit too hopping. Unless you're a vendor, the crowds can be just plain oppressive. Need a little break? Not far south on Highway 95--the road to Yuma, is the Kofa Wildlife Refuge. A favorable boondocking spot is at Crystal Hill.

Crystal Hill was once pretty popular among the rock hound set, as you could (and with persistence still can) find small crystal formations. Evidently popularity was too much, today the leaveright rule applies there. Spot something nice in the way of rocks or crystals? Look at it, appreciate it, but 'leave 'er right there,' because it's illegal to take them away.

photo: Magnus Kjaergaard

Aside from rocks needing to stay put, Crystal Hill is a relatively quiet place off the road, and yet not too far from civilization. The refuge is home to desert bighorn sheep and the only place in Arizona where you can find native palm trees--the California fan palm.

The former have a tendency to roam around wherever it is that a sheep's fancy takes them; the latter are found in Palm Canyon--a short hike from the Palm Canyon trail head (clearly marked by signage on Highway 95). We've also been fascinated by rock formations like the one pictured here. This fellow surely reminds us of a bobcat getting ready to set about a little luncheon. Now some will tell you he's quite natural, but a local friend of ours tells us he results from the artistic efforts of Spanish explorers who carved him (and other formations) to point the way to gold mines and other hot spots.

You'll find the road to Crystal Hill between mileposts 95 and 96. Palm Canyon road is 18 miles south of Quartzsite, follow the dirt road to the trail head and thence hike from there--about a half mile. Best light is found around high noon.