Quartzsite & Ajo

After our 4 day stay in Kingman, which I might add, was a very pleasant stay and one that we have said that we'd like to do again, we headed out for an investigatory trip to Quartzsite, AZ. Not a particularly long trip, about 130 miles, but interesting. Part of the trip had us traveling through Lake Havasu where we actually saw water. We also saw the London Bridge

Just south of the city, we took a break from driving and did some stretching and picture taking.....

The Colorado River

It is amazing how water will attract RV'ers........

We continued on heading south on RT 95 through Parker and then on to Quartzsite....

The Rock Capital of the world

Quartzsite is a relatively small town until January when the area population explodes to what is reported to be in excess of 1 million. Many come for the Rock & Gem show, others for the get together with old and new friends.

We spent 4 days there at 88 Shades RV Park....

Our spot

We toured the area and visited a lot of the vendors that set up about this time of the year - planning on the increased winter snow bird traffic. Unbelievable the things that you can find....and SEE.

We thought this was pretty neat- my kind of place

While there, we did find one nice restaurant that we liked. And the food was pretty good too....

Silly Al's Pizza

After 4 days of Quartzsite, we were ready to move on. Next stop on our Itinerary was Ajo and a trip to Organ Pipe National Monument. Ajo definitely proved to be a pleasant surprise.

Our new home

What a great spot!

Like most places that we've been to, the real nice part of a stay is the people we meet. And this place was no exception.....

With our neighbors at Happy Hour

And also in keeping with AZ tradition, 1/2 were from Canada: British Columbia and Alberta. Then there was the couple from Michigan and us.

Ajo is a story in itself, but the real reason that we went to this area was Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

And where better to stand to have a picture  taken....

If you will notice the Hat and the Plaque just behind Mary, there is a story here...

This area is very close to the Mexican Border and while it is not a common thing, there still are warnings about watching out for illegals when out exploring the park. The illegal problem is very much a part of the local area. 15 miles up the road is a US Border Patrol check point and a few miles up the road from the checkpoint is US Border Patrol Headquarters for the area.

We did tour the Visitors Center, bought the obligatory souvenirs, and even sat through a 15 minute movie on  Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. It was very  enlightening. And then it was time for our tour. The Park Ranger on duty in the Visitors Center was very helpful. Not only did he take our money for the things we bought, he even gave us literature and advice on the tour that we had chosen to take....The Ajo Mountain Tour. This tour, on some pretty rough roads, is in the vicinity of 21 miles long and takes between 2-3 hours to complete. You start out on the desert floor and work your way up the Ajo Mountain Range. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.....

Ajo Mountain off in the distance

As we began our trip we caught this hawk surveying his domain

Up in the mountains

What a wonderful tour this was. We did see some pretty incredible sites while traveling over some pretty rough roads. I could see someone doing this  on a mountain bike. What a day that would be!

Back at the park, we did another happy hour and it was good to visit with our new friends again. Amazing the stories that a bunch of full time rv'ers can tell and relate to! That night I caught a pic of our sunset....which was free BTW.

Sunset at Ajo Heights RV Park

Sunrise at Ajo Heights RV Park- also free.

I can definitely see us coming back to this area, and to this park. It is by far and away, one of the nicest that we have stayed in. And did I mention that the owners of the park are also RV'ers? They close the park in April and don't reopen until Oct 1.  And on one of their trips, stayed in Bayfield, CO area and ate at the same Mexican Restaurant that we did with friends Dick & Patti. Small world. So tomorrow we pack up and head to our winter home, Fortuna de Oro in Yuma, AZ. But, we will be back here, to this park, again, some day. It is that nice.