Today was divided into several distinct pieces. At 8:30 AM we connected Linda’s iPad to our Verizon MiFi and Facetimed with our son, daughter-in-law, and grand-daughter. At 25 months her vocabulary is developing quickly and she recognizes us on the iPad as Grandma Linda and Grandpa Bruce.
The Nellie E. Saloon at The Desert Bar outside Parker, AZ.
When we concluded the call I made a quick run over to the Quartzsite Market Place to touch base with Gary Hatt and the folks at the Eagles International bus rally and the FMCA Western GM Bus Chapter rally. I returned to pick up Linda and we chatted briefly with Jim Guld of Geeks On Tour. He and Chris are staying at our encampment for at least this week.
Linda at The Desert Bar, upper level.
We headed up AZ-95 to Plomosa Road and headed east into the BLM camping area to pick up Mara. She is camped with the WINs (Wandering Individuals Network) but we drove past their camp and she flagged us down on the return. We got a brief tour of her Fleetwood Bounder and then headed for the Desert Bar. It was over 40 miles to get there with the last five on a primitive road that is not regularly maintained. It was very rough in places but our Honda Element had enough ground clearance to handle it and 4-wheel drive was not needed. It was, however, a slow drive. There is also a network of rougher trails that ATVs use to get to the bar.
The lower level of The Desert Bar. Lots of people for a Sunday afternoon.
One of the buildings that makes up The Desert Bar is the Nellie E. Saloon. It is named after the mine that operated there at one time. The bar began very humbly in 1983 and has grown considerably since that time. It is the quintessential “let’s build it and see if they come” venture. And come they did. It is completely off-grid and powered mostly by solar energy, although we did see a propane tank which we presumed fuels the cooking grills. Hours are weekends (Sat and Sun) noon to 6 PM from the first weekend in October to the last weekend in April. We got there a little before it opened but there were already people there and by 1 PM there were at least 200 people milling around and eating and the live band started playing. It was an older but active crowd, reflective of what we generally see around Quartzsite. The Desert Bar has moved beyond famous and is now legendary.
Linda with our friend, Mara, at The Desert Bar.
The beer was canned but cold and fairly priced, especially considering the location. We had veggie burgers that were tasty and cost $3.50 each. We shared an order of garlic fries with Mara and they were excellent. There were lots of other choices on the menu as well, so of which we could have had. As we were getting ready to leave we spotted riders on horseback coming up the road so we stuck around long enough to photograph their arrival. These were the original, 1 HP, ATVs of the American west. We had a great time there and it was certainly a unique place and experience for us.
The dance floor at The Desert Bar.
We left at 2 PM, stopped at the Wal-Mart in Parker, and got back to our rig at 3:30 PM. I dropped Linda off and headed over to Lloyd DeGerald’s place. Verda was there but Lloyd had their credit card machine with him so I said I would come back tomorrow morning to buy the Webasto flame detector photocell. I then headed back to the Eagles International and Western GM bus rallies to grab some general bus photos.
Linda and Mara enjoying the vibe at The Desert Bar.
Gary and I touched base with Buck Bolding to get squared away with arrangements to photograph his Eagle later in the week. We also walked over to the Western GM rally and made arrangements with Larry Hall to photograph his bus on Tuesday morning.
Byron Pigg and his wife Betty had straightened up their 1985 model 15 Eagle so I spent some time photographing the interior. The rally was having a pot luck (carry in) meal at 4:30 PM and invited me to stay so I had some plain spaghetti and green salad. While I was there I met Rico and Monica, a couple from Europe that have spent four months each winter for the last 15 years traveling around the world in a decommissioned Swiss military truck with a large trailer behind it. Rico drives buses in Europe for a living and works enough hours in eight months to earn his full year’s pay, which gets paid out to him once a month all year long and making it convenient to fund their annual travels. Gary and I chatted with folks until it was dark and I finally left to go back to my coach.
Patrons arrive at The Desert Bar on the original, 1 HP, ATV.
BCM publisher Gary Hatt (L) at the Eagles International bus rally at the Quartzsite Market Place drycamp area.
I spent the rest of the evening copying photographs from my camera to my computer and working on this blog post. Somewhere in all of that I got a phone call from Lou Petkus of the SKP photographers BOF and we figured out a time/place to meet.
Sunset over ‘Q’ Mountain from the Eagles International bus rally site.