Jim Range, a man with amazing grace

Tonight I got news that my friend Jim Range--a man who took me in to his life nearly 22 years ago--died yesterday.

I am so very sad. I am also so incredibly grateful that Jim is such an integral part of my experience on this earth.

I love you Jim, and I miss you terribly.

1840s Fur Trader Arrives in Q

Meet Pinky Williams, an 1840s American Fur Trader--found in Quartzsite, AZ in 2009. Each summer this Texas native can be found at Royal Gorge Bridge in Canyon City, Colorado. He is a professional re-enactor and is here selling antlers.

The Portraits of Arizona Series, by Utahredrock, 2009.

Jacob Kanab Powell in Quartzsite

The most beloved dog in Quartzsite.

The Portraits of Arizona Series, by Utahredrock, 2009.

Utahredrock's Jewelry Table, Quartzsite

Jewelry at Tyson Wells H-19.

Fabulous Quartzsite, Arizona

A gold purse for the ages, $20.

Airstream of China, AZ

Antique Chinese scrolls available at Tyson Wells H-19 in Quartzsite, $30 each.

Meteorites from Utahredrock

Campo del Cielo meteorites from Argentina available at rock bottom prices. Everyone needs a rock from outer space.

Necklace by Utahredrock

$75.

A scene in our booth at Quartzsite

Cool Joe

Joe AKA Coolie AKA Coolio is a native of Maryland and a veteran of the show circuit. He's back in Quartzsite for the 2009 season and is now a college graduate and a veteran of even more trips to China.

Originally posted January 19, 2008: A veteran of four trips to China, Joe is a college student here on winter break. He attends Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina.

The Portraits of Quartzsite series by Utahredrock, 2008.

Paul the Naked Book Seller

Paul is featured in the current issue of Airstream Life, in the Quartzsite article. He's a reason to stop in Quartzsite any time of the year--a true desert character.

Originally posted January 16, 2008: Operating one of the finest independent bookstores we've ever visited, Paul Winer is one of Quartzsite's most famous residents. He was a male exotic dancer for 25 years. His act went beyond just stripping and included comedy, dance, and song. He parades around almost naked at his Quartzsite bookstore which is one of the few businesses in town opened year round. It was a cold day today in Quartzsite and he was wearing a sweater. He also had a sock-type contraption over his male parts but was bare beyond that.

The Portraits of Quartzsite series by Utahredrock, 2008.

Dapper Dan, Modern Day Hobo

Dapper Dan is back in 2009. He is now the father of a baby girl and will be a great dad. His lifestyle seems to be changing somewhat.

Originally posted January 14, 2008. Meet Dapper Dan. He's introduced me to a subculture I knew little about. He's a self described traveler and hobo, riding the rails as his method of transport. He goes where he wants, does what he wants, and lives with total freedom. When he works, he's a hard worker. He's also a smart and personable guy who has a lifestyle that makes mine look downright conventional. Dan works for a vendor near me in Quartzsite. He's sleeping in the desert with a tarp and his sleeping bag and a crew of fellow travelers.

The Portraits of Quartzsite Series by Utahredrock, 2008.

Kindred Spirits Greeting the Morning Sun

Jay and Carrie are back again in 2009.

Originally posted January 15, 2008. Finally I meet my match. Jay and Carrie are rock dealers and Airstreamers. Here they greet the morning sun. They personally buffed their 1966 Airstream to a glorious shine. They are third generation owners of this trailer and passionate about their Airstream. They're also first rate rockhounds and dealers. This is their 13th year in Quartzsite.

The Portraits of Quartzsite series by Utahredrock, 2008.

See more Portraits of Quartzsite

I will be adding new portraits in 2009, starting late next week. For the rest of the 2008 series visit the January 2008 archives, accessible on the upper right side of this page.

What is Quartzsite? And where is it?

Quartzsite is a tiny little desert town along Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Palm Springs, California.

It's a hardscrabble place that is sometimes called the poor man's Palm Springs.

Each winter, and in January especially, it fills up with people, most of whom come with their RVs. There are rock, gem, jewelry, RV, and car shows, as well as flea markets offering all sorts of stuff. Free spirits congregate in Quartzsite from all walks of life.

January of 2007 was my first time in Quartzsite and I loved it so much I stayed for 50 days--open for business the whole time with my traveling retail operation. I mentioned to Arizona's Governor Janet Napolitano last summer that I'd spent nearly two months in this little town. She looked at me twice and said “there must be quite a story behind that!”

Indeed there is.

Quartzsite is a fun, quirky place. I can't wait to set up there again! I'll be there soon. If you found this web site via Google, click here for more. After clicking, be sure to scroll down.

Living the Jetson's lifestyle, in Phoenix

Here is my Phoenix setup. I've been here since early September, and could be here for a while--though with Quartzsite and a California trip pending we'll at least get on the road a little bit this year. I like to think of my "guest house" as Jetsonesque. Jake, one of the cutest dogs of all time, is not in a photogenic mood here.

Airstream still life

Living in a 150 square foot mini palace on wheels has changed my choices of decor. The 1970s represent a low point in American design, or on the positive side--a unique period in American design. Think plastic. Since my 1973 trailer is mostly original I've embraced the era with the few choices I've made for accessories (like silverware).

Chopping wood, Ohio

Chopping wood with my niece at Fox Hollow, in Lexington, Ohio. The wood splitter was purchased in the 1970s or early 1980s. It's a monster of a machine and works fast. Photo by John M. Breitinger.

Who's that girl? Ohio

With Eva. Photo by John M. Breitinger.

Country cousins, Ohio

Two of my cousins photographed at Tally Ho Farm, near Alexandria, Ohio. In the 1970s and 1980s I spent a lot of time at this farm. When this Christmas day photo was taken, I was jetting through the skies en route to Columbus from Phoenix. Photo by John M. Breitinger.

Lolo Soetoro

One of my minor accomplishments this year was contributing to the world of human knowledge by creating the article on Wikipedia on Barack Obama's stepfather--Lolo Soetoro. The article required much defending, but at this point I think it is there to stay.

Like Colin Powell, I was offended both by the false charge that Obama was a Muslim and the notion that if true it would disqualify him from office. Smears and guilt by associaton were the evidence provided, including the charge that Obama's stepfather was a radical Muslim. From the research I've done along with reporters and other Wikipedia authors, there isn't much credence to those charges.

If you do a Google search on his name, this article is the number one result.

Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolo_Soetoro

An Edward Abbey loop

I left Phoenix Thanksgiving morning, heading north. I passed by Southwestern Academy and Sedona then climbed up the Mogollon Rim to the Colorado Plateau--the elevated, magical, almost mythical geophysical province that sprawls across northern Arizona, southern Utah, and spills over into Colorado and New Mexico. I continued through Flagstaff, across the "painted desert," over the Little Colorado (just east of the Grand Canyon), and paused at the infamous Glenn Canyon Dam before arriving in Kanab, Utah--where I spent 1.5 days with some friends, and their family.

This morning I began the loop back to Phoenix, heading through polygamist country (at Fredonia and Colorado City), St. George, the Virgin River Gorge (along I-15) and then Vegas where I am currently parked in a Starbucks. The next stop will be Quartzsite, and I'll probably press on to Phoenix tonight.

This is a stunning and unique part of the world. My route until I left Utah was made famous by Edward Abbey (among others), along with his fictional characters George Hayduke, Bella Abbzug, Seldom Seen Smith, and Doc Jarvis. If you haven't read it yet, and you're an American with an interest in the West--I encourage you to read The Monkey Wrench Gang, at your earliest convenience.

Frank Sinatra, hosted by Judy Collins on Sirius Satellite Radio provided the soundtrack this morning.

It was a good Thanksgiving and even with the gloomy economy I am thankful for so much. I'll mention two things briefly. First, I am thankful for my very good friend Kellie Forbes, and her family who took me in for 1.5 days in Kanab. I've always been a tourist or traveler passing through that beautiful and remote town--but this time I got a taste of the local culture which is as colorful and interesting as the culture anywhere. Kanab is American Jesus Country--Latter Day Saints style. The LDS people have become pretty unpopular with many of my friends, but my personal ties to Kellie and her family far outweigh any political opinions of mine. These are very good people.

The second thing I am thankful for is something a little more abstract perhaps. I am thankful to live in times when I can see so much of the world. Traveling is an important part of my life and it's so easy and relatively cheap to do right now. The current crash in fuel prices, while not good for our fuel consumption habits, allowed me to relish (with little financial pain) the open road of the American West--a place where I am very much at home. On this trip I paid my all time low price for diesel fuel, $2.11 per gallon (down from $5 this summer).

In his lifetime, Edward Abbey lamented the loss of the open spaces of the West--and what he percieved as the mindless "Americanization" of some of the last great wild places in the continental United States. While I share some of Abbey's sentiments (please note the word "some" I am no anarchist, for example), even two decades after his death, vast and wide open spaces still exist along the Colorado Plateau. They will likely be there for a long, long time given the scarcity of water in the region--though the inevitiable march of "progress" changes the landscape bit by bit, year by year.

Hopefully, as Americans, we'll follow the advice of contemporary thinkers like Thomas Friedman, and many others, and make American Progress more progressive.

Jim
Starbucks
Las Vegas, Nevada

With my main man

With Cosmo on my final day in New York. 

Wranger Jim returns

In Springfield, Massachusetts with RJ Masterbug, star horse of the Disney film "Hidalgo." Photo by Joa Sigsbee.

Twenty years visiting Dutchess County

With my sister Cari Swanson as my hostess, I've been visiting Dutchess County for twenty years now. Here we are yesterday. She is on Bond. I am on Cosmo.