Beads, Artists, Rocks and Onions!!

What could those things possibly have in common?  The flea markets at Quartzsite Arizona.  There are quite a few of them and they are huge!!  The best part however, is the sunrises and sunsets!!  This was taken yesterday morning before anyone was up ... except there was a light on in the Chance house!!

Here's our little campsite ... when we arrived there were quite a few rigs in front of us.  They all moved out, including two of the four behind us!!  That's not a bad thing ... we like having no neighbors!!  Too bad the guy behind me didn't leave too ... he has the loudest generator I've ever heard, and let it run it until it ran out of gas!!

We hit the big flea market yesterday.  I thought because we were kind of early that it wouldn't be crowded.  Wrong!!  It took us quite a while to find a parking spot.  There is a big wash in back, but you can get stuck there easily in the soft sand, and heaven forbid a downpour and resulting flood should happen!!  You're vehicle would be a goner!!

There's everything imaginable here.  I'd show many more images, but the internet is just too slow.  There were these huge piles of beads you could purchase if you were able to untangle a strand, along with tons of jewelry, both cheap and expensive!!  The difficulty is in knowing the difference!!

There were lots of artists ... this one is pretty exceptional.  I would love to have the picture he is painting, but the very smallest was $500.  That makes this one unaffordable!!  There was everything imaginable for aches and pains, GUARANTEED to cure you, and of course everything motorhome.  Patty and I hit the kitchen gadget store, coming away with sticks for roasting marshmallows, plastic cutting boards and two tiny cooling racks.  You really have to look for things made in the U.S.A., but they are there!!  There are people selling rocks ... yes, rocks of every size and shape.  There is even a flea market JUST for rocks!!

There were lots of puppies of every kind.  This baby's mom had a doggie backpack hanging around her neck for when sweetie pie got tired!!  I would say just leave them home, but our neighbors did just that, and THAT sweetie pie barked the entire time we were at our rigs.

This guy was laying quietly until he heard his master's voice ... tired of waiting, he sure let him know it was time to go.  Check out the turquoise and bone dog collar!  This is no mutt!!!

There aren't many food vendors, except the kettle corn guys, some of the most expensive ice cream I've ever eaten (yes, I just HAD to have some) and these polish sausages with HUGE piles of onions.  It was early and I guess he was getting ahead of the lunch rush!!  Boy did they smell GOOD!!!

By noon it was getting even more crowded, so we headed back to the rigs for lunch, followed by even more flea marketing at two other huge sites in town.  This goes on for most of the winter, so it must be worth it to the vendors to set up in the dirt and put up with a bunch of old fogies!!  I found a gorgeous pottery coffee cup to add to my collection and they had some of the cutest aprons I've ever seen, but they were all made for twiggy!!

We stopped at an RV repair shop on the way home, since I've been looking for a gas heater to put in my rig.  The shop foreman came out and gave us the scoop on all the different kinds.  Unfortunately, he had sold out of the one we decided was the best.  Another stop at Grandma's Heaters didn't result in anything, so the hunt is on to find the perfect one for me.  Maybe when we reach Tucson and the internet is better!!

While Dan barbecued some steak and Patty wrote a message to her granddaughter in quartz rocks (sent via phone), I walked around for some photography and rock hunting.  The saguaros are just as we left them last year ... pointing to the jet streams in the sky!!  I just LOVE the desert!!

Dan made a nice fire after dinner that kept us warm until dark.  It's been in the low 40's at night and probably up to 70 something during the days.  Perfect weather for dry camping in the desert.

After a little TV I hit the hay ... it's hard work walking all day through flea markets!!!  I'm not sure what's on the schedule for today, but it doesn't matter, because I just like being here!!