Lake Havasu to Phoenix, with our first stopover in Quartizte

We got the house hooked up and left Lake Havasu City on Sunday the 18th. Our plan was to stop for a couple of nights in Quartzite, Arizona, as we wanted to check out the free camping areas for a future visit. We also hoped that there would be a rock shop with the rock polishing equiptment we have been looking at purchasing. From there we would head to Surprise and spend a few days replenshing our supplies and visiting old friends.
It was a short and easy drive to Quartzite, on US 95. We managed to miss our turnoff for the rv park, hard to do in a town this size,(too many cactus?), but we called the resort and the lady helped us find the park while barely containing her laughter.
We set up and unhooked ok and so I was pretty happy about my repair job. Resting first, we took a drive around the town looking for rock shops and beading stores. Unfortunaely for our budget we found both. The next day Renita hopped out of bed, eager to go shopping. I was excited too, as we had spotted a neat looking rock shop called T Rex. We drove there first and were really surprised to see one of the best rocks shops we have visited in our travels,
The storekeeper knew her stuff and had some of the same rocks we had collected in Wyoming, including our Wyoming jade, at eight dollars a pound,(And that was for the cheaper Jade)! We looked at all her samples and finally decided that we couldn't live without a beautiful six plus pound specimen of malachite! More rocks for the fiver.
Our next stop was even worse. As Renita looked at the jewerly making supplies I started talking with the owner and lo and behold he sold both of the rock grinders and polishers I had been looking at. Now we have a rock saw, grinder, shaper and polisher in our basement!
The next day we headed out of town to the nearest free BLM campground, called Hi Jolly. There we drove around the campsites and really liked what we saw. It turns out there are six 14 day campgrounds and a long term area,(Our campground host told us that the thing to do is to spend 14 days at the free area and then go to the long term area where it costs 49 bucks for two weeks. He also said that for 25 bucks a honey wagon will come around and empty your tanks. We really liked what we saw and next time we come here we are going to boondock in the desert!
We like Quartzite so much we stayed another day, it was also pretty windy. I cut and ground and polished rocks and Renita did her beading stuff. It was a nice restful day.
The next morning, we made another run to the bead shop as we still had some money to spend. Returning to the house, we hooked up and left foe the drive to Phoenix. Now of all the roads we have driven I dislike Interstate 10 about as much as any, but it really wasn't so bad. The wind was sideways and the trucks caused us to sway slightly with their blast of displaced air, but ti was just normal and the miles sped by.
Renita spotted a blimp and managed to take a picture of it with her window rolled down. She has turned into a good photographer and its always neat to see what her eyes pick out, usually something that I have missed. We arrived in Surprise and were greeted by the Air Force as jet fighters where zooming back and forth and round and round. It had been the usual, a trip with hidden surprises. Clear skies.