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We extended our stay
here another night because there was more riding to do in the area. Kim has not had his telescopes out yet…mainly
it’s the full moon issue. But tomorrow
morning we’ll turn the trailer back into a bike trailer and tomorrow evening
will make it back into our home away from home, hopefully in Picacho. I haven’t made reservations yet, but the last
two years when we’ve come through this time of year, space availability hasn’t
been an issue. Hoping for the same this
year…however, if it is, we’ll improvise on a Plan B.
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| Time to dress warm and ride! |
While today’s ultimate ride
destination was Lake Havasu City, we started the day by riding to the ‘Hi Jolly
Monument’, which as it turns out is located in the Hi Jolly Cemetery. At first
I thought that was odd until I realized that monument was the grave marker for
Hi Jolly. (The mystery of who Hi Jolly
was will be explained later.) Anyway spent 15-20 minutes wandering around the
cemetery, which was .different than I’m used to seeing but probably typical for
a hot desert town. Since it’s grass isn’t
very prevalent in a desert, there was no grass; however there were enough
desert bushes around to provide some relief from total blah. Also there were big walking paths around each
grave, not many had ornate headstones (except for Hi Jolly) and most were
marked by either cement rectangles or rock mounds. Most of the rock mounds had smaller stones on
top with bigger stones around the outer edges. On the top of the infant/child graves, there were bells…I’d call them jingle bells. My google search was unproductive as to the reason for the bells; however, I
found a page that listed a contact email so I wrote, inquiring about the bells. Maybe I’ll get an answer, maybe not.
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From the cemetery we headed to Lake Havasu
City, home to The London
Bridge. At less
than 75 miles away, it should be less than a 2 hour ride…but we’ve learned that
a Kim n Karen ride always takes
longer than expected. 😏We wanted to be back to camp
before dark so we left about 10 a.m. and had to put on the big jackets, gloves,
etc. because it was only about 58o at that time. It warmed up as the day went on so we were
able to shed the cool weather gear. Another great day for riding!
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| Family photo |
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| Geocaching in style |
We did some geocaching
today, which is like treasure hunting even though we don’t take any ‘treasure’…we
just sign the log and call it good.
Today we only attempted to find two caches…one while riding the bikes
and one walking from camp. It’s hard to geocache while on the bikes
because of the necessary navigation to the site of the cache…but there was one
that specified stopping in the parking area at mile marker 114. Easy peasy to remember so we stopped on our
way back to camp. I had to reacquaint
myself with the app which proved a little frustrating but with Kim’s guidance I
was able to get us on the trail and we found it. Yay!!
There were two within
walking distance of the camp…one indicated that to find it you had to be
willing to get dirty and I wasn’t, so we went to find the other one. Mission accomplished and then back to camp to
get the wash going.
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Bike miles today: 157
I’m going to take the time now to tie up a couple of loose
ends since we’ll be leaving tomorrow and there will be new things to be curious
about. So I finally researched 'Hi Jolly'…'Desert
camping'…and the 'Quartzsite flea market'.
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Hi Jolly:
‘Hi Jolly’ seems to be a big
deal around here…saw signs for the Hi Jolly Monument for three days as we wandered
around the Quartzsite area. It wasn’t
until last night while sitting
near the sign in the
truck with phone in hand that I
remembered to Google it. I found
this information on the Roadside America website:
In 1856, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis
(later President of the Confederacy) had a novel idea: transporting
freight and people across the desert Southwest on camels. He eventually
imported over 70 of the beasts. Along with the first batch came a Syrian
caretaker, Hadji Ali. His American masters called him Hi Jolly.
A plaque on Hi Jolly's
tomb says of the camel experiment: "A fair trial might have resulted in
complete success." But the Civil War intervened, Jefferson Davis changed
jobs, and without his support the project was abandoned.
Hi Jolly remained, living into his seventies.
The locals were so fond of him
that, after he died, they spent several weeks
building Hi Jolly a special pyramid tomb, made of multicolored petrified wood
and quartz. It was dedicated on Jan. 4, 1903. Thirty-three years later the
Arizona Highway Department came along and cemented a bronze plaque to the tomb,
telling Hi Jolly's story, and topped the pyramid with a metal camel silhouette
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| The Hi Jolly Monument |
In those
long-ago days the Quartzsite cemetery was remote, just bare ground and a few
scrubby sagebrush at the edge of an obscure desert outpost. Now you have to
drive through the very busy Quartzsite flea market to get to Hi Jolly. Still,
his tomb is the biggest thing back in its tiny patch of desert solitude.
The camels, by the way, outlived Jefferson
Davis, Hi Jolly, and even the cementing of the plaque. Their last reported
sighting was in 1942.
 |
| The camel mystery is solved |
So I not only learned about Hi Jolly but also discovered why there are three camels on the Quartzsite signs located at the city limits. Up until
last night, that detail was a puzzler. And
I realized if I said Hadji Ali enough times and fast enough that it did indeed
sound like Hi Jolly.
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Desert Camping:
 |
| Boondocking...camping out in the desert |
If you choose boondocking in the desert, you have a number of options.
There are multiple camping areas that are designated as “14 day free areas.” You register with the campground host, fill out a form that you stick to your windshield, and declare yourself home for 2 weeks at no charge. There is nothing provided, so you need to be self-sufficient and make your own arrangements for water, waste, garbage, etc. There is absolutely nothing on-site.
Anywhere
else in Arizona that is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), you can stay for 14 days for free. Then you
can move 25 miles down the road and stay another 14 days for free. You can keep
this up all winter if you choose.There are multiple camping areas that are designated as “14 day free areas.” You register with the campground host, fill out a form that you stick to your windshield, and declare yourself home for 2 weeks at no charge. There is nothing provided, so you need to be self-sufficient and make your own arrangements for water, waste, garbage, etc. There is absolutely nothing on-site.
There
are 2 Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVA’s) just south of Quartzsite
where you can pay $40 to stay 2 weeks. Or you can pay $180 for a permit that
allows you to stay from August through April. At the southern end of the 2
areas, there is a fresh water station, and a waste dump station. Garbage
dumpsters are provided at both LTVA’s.
All of these Bureau of Land Management areas are within about 3 miles of town — going both north and south. You can pick and choose to stay wherever you want. And if something like a bad neighbor problem should happen, then you can relocate as often as you feel like moving camp.
All of these Bureau of Land Management areas are within about 3 miles of town — going both north and south. You can pick and choose to stay wherever you want. And if something like a bad neighbor problem should happen, then you can relocate as often as you feel like moving camp.
If you
happen to be of the nudist persuasion there is an officially designated 75-acre area specifically labeled as
clothing optional as well.
When
camping on any BLM land you need to supply your own power. Solar is very
popular, but everyone has generators.
If you
choose to rent a spot in an RV park, prices are very reasonable and you can
even choose to park permanently for as little as $1,200 a year.
I
usually buy the $180 permit for the season — because it gives me access to
water, a dump station, and garbage close by at no further charge. I still have
to move the motor home to the dump station, but I set things up so it is a
minimum of fuss to do so.
Flea Market:
We’ve been asked by
a couple of people if the flea market is over yet. I thought it wasn’t since there are still a
couple of flea markets around town.
However, I have since discovered that in January and February there are
two flea markets considered the mother of all flea markets that take over the
town. Many websites report over one
million visitors, most in RVs, come into town for this event. A giant tent is raised in the center of town
and vendors come from all over the world to sell their wares, which apparently
include anything and everything a person could want or need. And the flea market is a bonanza for rock
hounds. Oh, so, they were asking about that flea market…yes, that flea
market is over, thank goodness. Can you
imagine accidentally stumbling into that?!
Quartzsite has
approximately 3000 year round residents but the number swells in the winter due
to snowbirds seeking warmer climates and according to reports, that number climbs
to at least one million during flea market time. Comparatively it reminds me of Charlevoix
whose population increases in the summer months and then goes to crazy heights
during Venetian Week. 😏
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