He held several jobs including mining, postal delivery, scouting, packing, and selling water to tourists. Hi Jolly lived the remainder of his life in Quartzsite. The Army left Hi Jolly and the camels in the Sonoran desert at the end of the project. Sadly, the start of the Civil War caused the Army to abandon their experimental camel program before it could prove viable. His primary role in the Army was a camel herder. Hi Jolly was Turkish with Greek and Syrian parents and was immigrated along with 70 camels to kick off the project. Jefferson Davis started the project to test transporting people and freight across the desert Southwest using camels. Hadji Ali or “Hi Jolly” was hired by the US Army Experimental Camel Corps in 1857. Hi Jolly’s Tomb and Monument is Quartzsite’s top Tripadvisor attraction. They hold a Hi Jolly Daze Parade in January to celebrate his legacy. Quartzsite embraces the quirk and still celebrates the history of Hi Jolly and camels in the area. Camels in Quartzsite: The Story of Hi-Jolly Rubbertramp Rendevous (RTR) is a free annual nomad gathering in the deserts of Quartzsite, organized by the Home on Wheels Alliance.The town was the main filming location for the non-fiction book turned movie, Nomadland.Quartzsite is also known as quirk-site due to the quirky people it attracts.Big Tent RV Show was started in 1983 and was geared to the growing number of snowbirds.Pre-Columbian petroglyphs and grain grinding holes have been discovered throughout the area.Originally named Tyson Wells but changed to Quartzsite when the discovery of quartzite attracted miners to the area.The town started as a water hole on the trail from Phoenix to California.If you want to follow the rules when staying longer than 14 days, see below about LTVA. The posted rules state camper must move at least 25 miles away after 14 days but I can imagine many RVers bounce around the various BLM spots close to town. In Quartzsite, the 14-day stay limit is rarely enforced. To learn more about how we added solar and upgraded our electrical system, check out this blog.ĭispersed camping on public land is free for everyone, usually with 14 days stay limits to protect the land and prevent permanent residents from dominating the available spots. When driving into town, there were hundreds of more rigs boondocking all over the desert.ĭispersed camping, aka boondocking, aka dry camping is camping without electric, water, or sewer connections. Pippi has solar panels and large storage tanks for fresh water and wastewater so lack of connections doesn’t affect our quality of life. From our campfire we counted over 50 rigs in the distance. The city is surrounded by BLM public lands. We have never seen so many RVs boondocking in one location until we arrived in Quartzsite. But during the winter months, the city grows to over 250k residents with nearly one million people passing through. Quartzsite is a small town in the middle of the Arizona desert with less than 4k residents. The quirky town was featured in the movie Nomadland, which follows the story of a nomad and gives a glimpse into the lifestyle for some. Quartzsite is known as a snowbird destination among RVers and traveling nomads.
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