7-QUARTZSITE, AZ: Part 1

We have been in Quartzsite many times before. However this time it is not part of our “Can’t Go Back” theme. Most, if not all of the things we have seen and done here are new to us.

When we arrived in Quartzsite, the desert was covered with RV’s parked everywhere on the desert for miles around. Quartzsite is a very tiny, dusty little town pretty much out in the middle of nowhere.

However, every January there is a huge RV Show held here. Downtown is a huge tent full of venders of mostly RV things and then most of the rest of the town has small booths with everything else you can think of for sale, some really good stuff and a lot of pure junk.

Our friend, Ron Chojnacki had invited us to park with his Escapees group and he and his big black lab, Kiwi, greeted us when we arrived.

There are no RV Parks out on the desert where most people park. You just find a piece of desert that you like and call that home. Organized groups often park close together, sometimes circling their rigs with a fire ring in the middle where they can gather in the evenings just to talk. Groups often park in the same place in the desert every year.

The RV Show opened on Saturday and being a holiday (MLK) weekend, we knew it would be a zoo down in the Big Tent so we decided to find some other things to do. Ron told us we needed to visit the Desert Bar. It was about 45 miles away up near Parker, AZ. We had never heard of it. He assured us that it was something you just had to see.

From the website we learned that it is only open on weekends and not until noon at that. Ron urged us to arrive early to “get a table in the shade.”

So we drove the highway to just a few miles beyond Parker and found the road to the Desert Bar. While a beautiful drive, the road was extremely rough and rocky. It took us 30 minutes to drive four and a half miles.

Finally we bumped around the last curve and saw the Desert Bar tucked in amongst the rocks on the side of the hill.

There was an eclectic collection of rusty old cars and trucks scattered here and there. Most looking like they had just been parked and forgotten for a lifetime.

In the parking lot there was a tiny church made totally out of steel. It is the scene of numerous weddings. It is large enough to hold the bride and groom and no one else. Definitely unique.

We arrived at 11:30 looking for lunch. The entrance is over a covered bridge, the parking lot on one side and the bar/restaurant on the other side and down below.

Being out in the desert, practically everything was outdoors, there were no windows anywhere that I saw.

There was one room that was sort of a old-timey saloon. It had an antique player piano…

…and a wood stove that was suspended from the ceiling.

Ron told me to be sure to check out the ladies rest room. Don would have told him that was a totally redundant  suggestion. He thinks I have seen the inside of every restroom in North America. (I think I have!!)

The row of sinks were made out of stone, obviously hand hewn. There were small pumps that were the faucets.

Above the sinks, where one would expect mirrors, was…nothing…except spectacular views. No glass in the windows, just open air.

We arrived at 11:30 and were ready for lunch. There were only a couple other people there at that point in time. Don went down the stairs where the main kitchen was and found that they were ready to serve lunch.

Ron had recommended the tri tip sandwich. We each ordered one and decided to split an order of fries. Ron should have been more explicit about the size of the orders.

First we couldn’t figure out how to get the huge sandwich in our mouths, so just used a fork on the meat. That was the biggest order of fries I have ever seen!

When we first got there, there were not many people there at all but then they began to pour in. We were amazed that all of these people had driven that narrow bumpy road to come way out here for lunch…and almost all of them were senior citizens.

By the time we left, there were a few hundred people there and they just kept coming. They were getting ready to play some music down near where we ate.  When I had read the reviews of this place, under “music” it said, “Loud!”  We decided to be kind to our ears and call it a day. We passed a lot more cars coming in as we were going out.

When we crossed the bridge as we were leaving, we looked down at the line of people waiting to order food. The line snaked all across the lower dining area.

This place is totally off the grid and runs entirely by solar. It was amazing that this little place out in the middle of the desert attracts this kind of a crowd. It was definitely a place worth the visit. By the way, the tri tip was great!

Next will be the rest of our Quartzsite adventures and explorations.