Quartzite’s Main Street

On the way to Tucson and on the way back, Martine and I stopped in Quartzite, Arizona. On the way back, we actually spent the night. Why? Enroute to Tucson, we stopped at the Stagecoach Chinese Restaurant and had, respectively, chicken chow mein and kung pao beef. Martine urged me to stop there on the way back as well.

In fact we spent the night in the motor hotel connected to the Stagecoach Chinese Restaurant. (We had decided it was better to take two days to drive the 500 miles (805 kilometers) between Tucson and Los Angeles. And Quartzite was close to the middle of the trip.

The Stagecoach Restaurant and Motel

Quartzite was a strange little town whose residents appeared to be mostly snowbirds living out of their RVs during the winter. There were about 20 RV encampments scattered around the town.

There is a monument in town to one Hi Jolly, a Syrian-born camel driver who was involved with the U.S. army’s attempt in the 1850s to introduce camels into the cavalry posts of the Southwest. After the program fizzled out, Hi became a resident of Quartzite. Today there are numerous statues of camels distributed among many of the local businesses. (See top photo.)

Oh, and by the way, if you like beef jerky as much as I do, I highly recommend Daniel’s Really Good Fresh Jerky. I tried the popular Cowboy flavor and also the Habanero Mango flavor (H-O-T but good). And don’t forget the Chinese food at the Stagecoach.