I actually didn't feel that good that day; maybe it was all the desert dust that was making me have a stomach ache. It was a bad place to be with nothing to do, as were going to have to stay here and wait for the man to arrive with the replaced windshield. On AroundMe, an app which tells you stuff around your area you can do, listed all the rock shops as the things to do, oh, and a McDonald's. Wow, a whole lot of choices. At least I was reading a really action packed and good book, though. We were 17 miles away from California, and I was really excited that soon we were going to see the awesome state of movie stars, famous sites, all those stars along the Boulevard, the stars' homes. Hollywood would be a place of stars. We were gonna be done with the Southwest and all the cowboy and desert, and now into the famous West Coast of America!!! But first, a few more days of Quartzite had to pass. :(
At least yesterday we had seen some cool rocks that were pretty awesome, even though I don't like rocks. In the hot sun beating down, I squinted to read my book. Now in the morning, everyone got dressed and Rebecca talked and talked about her wonderful rocks. I spread out on my black and turned my head sideways. When Dad told us to go to the famous Gem World, I didn't reply and grunted. Mom said that she would stay with me and I would just lay in the back, and Dad and Rebecca went to Gem World. I read about Alex the spy tight roping over a street exiting a burning building, and a guy with his face tattooed all over his face, of the world. Creepy. I got up and blogged as Mom read in her chair, and then I took some more naps.
Because Rebecca is the rock queen and she is really enthusiastic about the subject, and she and Dad's were the only ones to see Gem World, I'm gonna hand her the blogging reigns for a little bit (she also might write a blog post about T Rocks): Oh wait....she has decided to write about the whole of Quartzite, from her point of view. Alright, take it away. But don't snag it too hard.
IN REBECCA's WORDS....
hi this is Rebecca just in case u didn't already know i LOVE rocks i am a rock nut so when we heard about it i dragged the family over to Quartzite. When we arrived i was a little bit let down to say the least the season was OVER; (this is a little bit of what it looked like...dirt roads hundreds of trailers and fifth wheels and little stands full of gifts and little things maybe fresh produce when we got to the campground (TRAILER PARK) the office was a small trailer with a boardwalk.The trashy scraggly lady told us that we missed the season and when it is the right season they could get up to one million visitors a year! Anyway, let me describe the trailer park. It was gravel gravel and more gravel. It had a couple of trailers and fifth wheels with some that were turned into little stands and trinket shops. We drove around saw a place called T-rocks and that was hog heaven for rock nuts like me. Rows and rows of beautiful and amazing rocks like Amethyst Citroen and many more. We were there for around two hours I loved it. We ended up buying many dollars worth of rocks. We bought geodes, turquoise, a diamond and lots of crystals. Um I have gotten so much throughout the trip its all jumbling together. I loved getting all those rocks when I get home I will have so much rocks to show you. They're not just pebbles but real crystals and stuff. After we left the lovely place we went home. I set up all the rocks on little tables or what we call tv trays. I told mom dad and Andrew all about my rocks (which Andrew thought was boring and I don't even think my mom was listening) but i still did it anyway. I can't wait to do it to u:)!!! After telling them about my rocks for like a hour we went to bed.
The next morning I rolled out of bed and discovered that Andrew was sick so after we got ready and I ate BUTTERTOAST!!! Anyway me and dad drove around and saw the same stands, same campers and past the AMAZING T-ROCKS!!! Anyway, this time we stumbled upon a place called GemWorld! It was a black square building with bright gold letters saying Gemworld. I really thought it was cool so we drove in the parking lot. When we went into the store we saw the cash registers on the right. One half of the store was more the beads jewelry and that kind of thing, but to the left half was the gem and rock section. Of course me and dad went to the left side first. There was geodes that were a ugly dirt color on the out side but on the inside there was sparking white crystals, so of course i got one. Then to the amethysts there were none that was the kind I hoped for. There are some that are like light purple and some that are dark purple. There are some that have a lot of little purple spikes and some have like five large spikes. The ones that i like have lots of little spikes that are dark purple but these are light purple with five spikes which are still really cool so i got one. Then on to the geodes as big as eyeballs. Oh and in case u didn't know I love geodes. I got a huge geode at t-rocks so the geode as big as a eyeball had little black design on the front with crystals but on the back its ugly dirt color again as big as a eyeball. That was a really cool rock.
I think you might be asking yourselves how my love with rocks began. I was really young about five or so when Mom's really good friend (and former coach) gave me a geode as big as a average head with a nice pretty design and a long streak of crystals on the front and on the back there was just like a normal rock. When I got it i loved it and wanted so many like it. And I've collected rocks ever since. Anyway, back to gem world - so we shopped around a little bit more and and found a orangeish colored rock that sort of looked like a coral reef. It was really cool, so I added it to my collection. Then we shopped around some more and saw the beads and jewelry then right when were about to check out I see these things that are called zingers and there golf ball size black shiny smooth balls and the lady that works there was showing these people the zingers and she thew them up and they stuck together and made a zzzzzzzzzzz noise. That's why they are named zingers. I loved them so we got them and dad got excited until he saw the label that said MADE IN CHINA, so that changed dad's thoughts about them and that also made him ALMOST not want to get them. But we did so then we left when we got home I showed mom and Andrew my goodies and they were excited but all mom wanted to know was how much did ya spend! Then we went to Q Mountain.
We went driving around on dirt roads :( and we found Q mountain for Quartzite and if you have traveled a lot then you know that a lot of towns have a blank mountain.You know we climbed the famous A mountain and all that so we get there I want to climb this one so we're climbing and climbing. I'm thinking "man" this is really hard and steep and then Andrew stops and like falls down and I turn around and he's like yelling stop help and I said, "your joking!" and he really does look like he's faking. So, Andrew is a joker, so I think I'm gonna bend down and try to help him and then he's gonna run ahead so I made the choice of leaving and so then I climb so more then finally got to the top and there was a man up there and he was fiddling with a army box and then tried to cover it with rocks and leaves. That's a little weird don't u think??? So, me being my curious self, I went to go check it out. I was very careful because it might have been a bomb or something. Sorry I watch a lot of crime shows - anyway when I got it uncovered this other man showed up with a black lab and after a minute I said "hi" and he replied "hi how are u?" and I said "good, how are u" and he said, "good".
"What is that?" he asked and I said "I don't know", so then the conversation ended and we both enjoyed the view. Then I tried really hard to figure out how to open the box and number one it was confusing number two it was closed shut really hard. After about ten minutes of trying, I yelled down to mom who was helping Andrew who was dehydrated and on the ground and I said MOOOOOM I CANT OPEN THIS STUPID MYSTERIOUS ARMY BOX!!! and she said what there's a box? what's in it?! AND I SAID UMMMMMMMMMMM I DON'T KNOW CAN U COME UP AND OPEN IT?? and mom said no come down it might be dangerous!!!AND I SAID NO I WANT TO SEE WHAT IT IS I CAN OPEN IT!!!so after a few more minutes I asked the black lab man um sir can u try to open this for me? (and I did a cute little girl voice and the puppy dog face) and he hesitated a moment then said yes and walked over then I said thank you then he said you should always be careful it might be something dangerous. After a few moments, the man got it open as he opened it his eyes were closed then opened and we both found OUT THAT IT WAS A BOMB!!!!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THAT HAD THREE SECONDS LEFT AHHHHHHHH hahaha the jokes on u. It was just for a scavenger hunt - keys, rocks, little trinkets and things - hahahaha that would have been a good alex rider book!!! hahahahaha!
Anyway, the man laughed and so did I and I said sorry I made u do all that work to open it and it was probably just for a scavenger hunt or something then he said oh no problem I'm glad it wasn't something dangerous it might have been take something leave something. Anyway we both admired the view a little more then I headed down - me laughing so hard and him quietly leaving when I reached the car, I told the family about my adventure and we laughed then drove around some more then went home ate then went to bed.
Andrew now.(isn't she a good writer?) :
After Rebecca got back from Gem World, they came in and a lot more noise entered me. I had tried to sleep and did for a little time, but had woken up once more from the land of dreams and so started reading about going to Pink Flamingo, an island in the Caribbean, seemingly because he was being thanked for rescuing a man's son and saving his life, but that was not the case. I got really far in that book and would also the next day. Rebecca came in first with all her stuff, which she said wasn't actually that much. She showed Mom some of it and then said that Dad wanted us in the car, now. We were going on a little jeep ride around the desert, and it was approaching evening as she said this. I didn't want to hold everybody back, and besides I had a really action packed and good book, so yes I went along. It was one of the bumpiest rides ever.
We rumbled over the desert rocks, smooth and brown from ages of dirt building. The dust would settle as we made our own trails, whizzing by ocotillo and brush that had come in our way. Many saguaro cacti tried to stand out of the way of our ranging torrent. In the process of all this chaos, we got the jeep more dusty than an old Sumerian temple. One side would go up, and then the other side, as Rebecca and I crashed into the sides of this unforgiving road. We slowed down a little more, as my headache and stomach hurting increased. We looked at all some of the recluse trailers and campers, pale or beige and blending in the cactus that surrounds it, with all the dust and dirt. I was totally missing Georgia, where although most of the land is developed there is a lot of farms and green grass. Perhaps only a few more weeks until that wish happens. Dad told us that as we traveled this area of hills, all this shrub and poky plants, that immigrants from Mexico have to traverse the terrain, carrying only clothes and a backpack, hiding in the day from the Border Patrol, and then hiking at night. It was almost that time. So THIS was the KIND of area that IMMIGRANTS from MEXICO went on?
Uhhhh...... okay.
My face turned pale.
We finally left and hit for the highway. What about going home, we asked? Nope, we would get to the border of California first. So we were going to go on the CA line and take our picture? In only a few more days we would be really going into the Golden State. I had always dreamed of going there, being a movie star or a famous director or screenwriter, having a Beverly Hills estate, my own private jet, happy children and a great wife. We would first travel to Palm Springs, where all the stars used to live also, and there we would get our motorhome fixed up by....I'll get to that later. We passed through what looked like tollbooths, but in reality it was a border control checking place, where a man in a booth looks at the passenger's faces to see if they look Hispanic. Sounds kind of like racial screening, now doesn't it. If you have a tan face and black hair, chances our you'll get pulled over and checked for documents saying your a U.S. citizen. We did see a young guy in a brown sedan being pulled over and is car being looked over hand in foot. I know, it's not very kind and you could even say a little....well.... racist? I mean, if you're black-looking or white-looking or Indian-looking than you get through. It makes me kinda sad how they do that.
We took individual pictures at a blue background sign with in yellow cursive: Welcome to California and some yellow tulips on the right side of that. Lower on the two wooden poles was simply ENTERING PACIFIC TIME covered with graffiti-like stickers. We had previously been in Mountain Time, probably called that because of all the mountains in the region. For a few minutes we were in Pacific Time, before we turned around back for Quartzite. There was a Q mountain, instead of an A Mountain like in Tucson, Arizona where their university is. It really copied the idea, I guess. Well, Rebecca really wanted to climb this white painted Q, because she loves rocks and it stands for Quartzite. The mountain was about the same height, as we drove toward it, but however, there was no round the mountain road like before, where going to it would be a lot easier. Even though not that high, it still seemed daunting. I still didn't feel that good, but I would never be at Quartzite again, probably, and so I went with Rebecca, my jacket off, video camera, phone in the holster, ready to conquer the mountain. I had gotten up first the first time on A Mountain and so Rebecca wanted to be the first up here. We decided to just go up at the same time.
Mom and Dad parked the car at the base of the mountain where a truck was up to a trail with a lot of shrub. I went up first, dumbly not bringing a water bottle. We went together, but I jogged on, and did not pace myself as I jumped over rocks and dodged shrub. Rebecca told me to wait up, but I continued. And that's when I started to get winded.
It's a feeling of out of breat, even though you may be breathing a lot, you need constant air replenishment. I put my hand on a cold large boulder, and sat down with my head throbbing and my sternum hurting. Rebecca came past me, and I gasped for air, and tried to tell her to stop and wait for me or get me water from Mom. I shouldn't of ran in my sickened state. My eyes turned to a blur. And Rebecca, wanting to be the first one up the mountain, and thinking perhaps I was joking and that when she came down I would zoom past he and get to the top first, trying to ruin her spotlight(how mean that would be, I would never do that), did not heed my pleading. She went on, as I looked at ants on dirt and yelled in a hoarse voice for Mom. Rebecca was such a jerk for not staying. Good thing I had taken my phone. I texted Mom using a single, but very effective word. HELP!
Meanwhile, Rebecca strode on, and got to a top, where she saw a bald and suspicious man taking what looked to be a lunch box with army camouflage and putting it back under some rocks, with dirt. Rebecca stood, hoping it wasn't a terrorist plot or bomb from an anarchist group. Yeah, she knows what goes on in the world, that's for sure. Why would they want to attack Quartzite? She stood back on the further end away from the center, where the guy was and then left. Another man, with a cap and grey beard and black lab tied to a leash, said that it was probably a scavenger hunt thing where they leave something that is theirs and become part of Q Mountain. Pretty cool, right? The man helped her open it, and inside were rocks, pictures, and beads, and other things of the nature. All through this time Mom was taking pictures from the jeep and Rebecca was yelling down about all the stuff. Mom told her to be safe. Pretty scary.
She came back down, and I was yelling, as on the other side Mom came with a waterbottle, which I had also told her to get. My eyes were blurred, but I had enough strength with a dry mouth. I heaved myself up and ran down, ripped it out of her hands, and chugged it down. I fell on a rock, as she helped me back to the car. Rebecca had left me basically for dead. I was madder than a gorilla at her.
We went back home. I didn't talk to Rebecca and accused her of being so mean. She was selfish and wanted to go up first. I have forgiven her and she said that she thought I was kidding her. Still....
That was kind of the end of the day. We had some soup. Goodbye for now. -
The BloggerS, Andrew and Rebecca.
Rebecca: It was a pleasure guest blogging for you and hope you have a wonderful day.
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| Quartzite, AZ |
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| Rebecca at the top of "Q" Mountain with arms raised. |
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| Rocks for sale! |
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