Quartzite sights, or is that sites

February 6 (Tuesday)
A few chores this morning. The grey water was dumped (only ten gallons in the tanks, woohoo!) and I added another twenty gallons of fresh water. This system seems to work out well and really isn't much of a chore. We will have to dump the black tank soon and I'll move the trailer to the dump station for that.

We picked up Steve and Dianne (Living the Dream) and went to Silly Al's Pizza for lunch. This restaurant is a Quartzite tradition and anyone who has been to Quartzite has one time or another gone to Silly Al's. So, I guess we have been initiated! The pizza was good, the beer was better, and the company was the best! So nice to chat to these wonderful fulltimers who willingly share tips with us. Thanks guys!

From left: Dianne, Cheryl, Steve, me

Back home we let the beer and pizza do their thing, which is code for me not doing much of anything but enjoy the warm temps and sunshine. Red Deer has had some very cold weather (-40 with windchill) and now more snow. So glad we are where we are! I was warned that Quartzite could be habit-forming. I think they may be right.

February 7 (Wednesday)
Today we wanted to get into town and see some of the tourist sights.

We started with the Hi Jolly monument at the Quartzite cemetary.

The story of Hi Jolly and the camels that he cared for.

The Hi Jolly monument. Very beautiful. Petrified wood, and various types and colors of minerals.

A peaceful cemetary

Many of the graves are quite old but they are meticulously maintained.

Next stop was Celia's Rainbow Gardens. The garden has a sad beginning. Celia was an eight year old girl who passed away suddenly. Her parents started the garden over twenty years ago as a memeorial for her and it has since grown  to encompass a large area of memorials to individuals and groups. All are somehow connected to Quartzite and area. There are many types of trees and cactii growing here and some very interesting memorials. Not sad like a cemetary but peaceful and contemplative. A very worthwhile visit.

A Totem Pole Cactus

Close-up of the Totem Cactus

A Saguaro skeleton

Held together with wire

This well fed Red Tailed Hawk was checking us out.

Not so healthy at the base......

......but doing well at the top.

Golden Barrel Cactus

This little guy was about the size of a softball and loaded with blooms.

It had its own sunshade.

A Joshua Tree

Old Saguaro from the outside.....

......and inside.

Teddy Bear Cholla. The best way to photograph these is with backlighting.

Adamsville

Very well done. Great detail.

This model of a broken down house is amazing. It stands about 12 inches high.

Some strange creatures inhabit the Gardens.

Memorial to RV'ing women who have died.

The last stop of our tour was Reader's Oasis Books. Coincidently owned by Paul Winer who was Celia's father. Paul is quite the character. He dresses quite 'skimpily' (although he wasn't in today), but knows where every book in his store is located. He is also a very good musician and plays a mean piano. In fact he has a couple of upcoming concerts this month in Quartzite.

There are thousands of books here

Most books are used and sold at a very reasonable price.

A large collection of cassetes and VHS tapes. Not big sellers I'm sure.

Books for every taste

We made a couple of stops at the local grocery stores. The Roadrunner has a great bakery and we bought some buns rght out of the oven. They also sell half-pies so you only feel half-guilty when you buy one (thanks for the recommendation George!). They were out of smoked pork chops, so we'll 'have' to go back. 

So with that we went home. We saw some great sights today and enjoyed the weather thoroughly.

......and that was Our View From Here!