More Fun in Quartzsite

Well, we haven't left yet. We decided to stay on for a few days and check out some of the places the Logan folks recommended. So yesterday we drove to the little town of Bouse, about 25 miles away. An area outside of Bouse was the site of Camp Bouse, one of the desert training centers for Patton's army. Camp Bouse was home to a top secret tank project that never quite got off the ground. There is a WWII tank and a howitzer (I don't know the difference) and an interesting little museum right in town, and then Camp Bouse out in the desert about 30 miles. We were headed out there, but took the wrong road and got lost, but will probably go back and give it another try. There is also a ghost town out there, and an intaglio (one of those giant figures you can see from the air), and Bouse has a great little cafe--the Kountry Kitchen--where we ate lunch and would do so again. Fresh cut French fries and homemade pie. And the cook came around with a tray of freshly "broasted" potato wedges for everyone to try that were fantastic.

This morning we hiked in Palm Canyon, a very rugged little canyon in the even more rugged Kofa mountains, about 18 miles south of Quartzsite. It is home to one of the two or three places in Arizona where palm trees grow naturally--all the ones you usually see are transplants. It is a strange and weirdly beautiful place. The palm trees grow way up in these little slot side canyons, right out of the rocks.

On the way back, we stopped at LaMesa RV for their free lunch--pulled pork sandwiches and cole slaw today, very good. Chef Gene, who is from Twin Falls, Idaho, says he serves about 300 people for breakfast every day and around 400 for lunch! After that, we dropped by Reader's Oasis again so I could pick up some souvenier bookmarks for my friends. It was warmer today, so Paul, the owner, was nattily dressed (?) in a red crocheted thong with turquoise beaded trim, matching red socks, and an elk tooth necklace. Oh, and his cowboy hat. He is a really nice guy, and very fun to talk to.