Rock Hound Heaven

Rock Hound Heaven

Sunshine is not all that sparkles in Quartzsite, Ariz. (pop. 3,055). Rock collectors worldwide know the town of trailer parks and dirt roads-and its surrounding desert-for its abundance of gems and minerals.

Fire agate, purple amethyst, blue turquoise, dark red jasper and metallic gray hematite, not to mention gold, are just some of the geologic treasures sought and sold by local prospectors and traders.

"There's a larger variety of minerals around here than any place I've ever been," says Alva Richardson, 59, president of the Quartzsite Roadrunner Gem and Mineral Club. "You can pick them off the ground. Most other places you have to dig for them."

Like many others residents, Richardson was drawn to Quartzsite by the region's geological bounty. Rock hounds such as Richardson have a passion for gems and minerals, which were formed millions of years ago by the powerful forces that created the Earth. The ancient rocks, which are engraved into artwork, faceted into jewelry and treasured as geologic collectibles, have been gathered, polished and sold by townspeople and visitors for decades.

When local historian Rosalee Wheeler, 84, arrived in 1940, her father-in-law panned for gold in the area, but shiny rocks and gemstones were already becoming an attraction for visitors.

"I would gather pretty crystals and sell them to tourists," recalls Richard Oldham, 65, Wheeler's son and a former Quartzsite mayor.

Quartzsite, which was first revitalized by a gold mining boom in 1897, got another economic boost in 1967 when the Quartzsite Improvement Association hosted its first annual Pow Wow Gem & Mineral Show. The event, now in its 39th year, has grown into one of the world's premier gem and mineral shows and features everything lapidary, from intricate gold jewelry to crystal-filled geodes to slabs of petrified wood.

Scheduled from Jan. 26-30, this year's Pow Wow is the largest of nine swap meets and trade shows in Quartzsite each winter. The events attract thousands of vendors and millions of shoppers who buy, sell and trade antiques and collectibles, arts & crafts, recreational vehicles, and equipment and tools for cutting, polishing and engraving gemstones.

"You wouldn't recognize the place," Richardson says, describing how rows of RVs turn Quartzsite into a sprawling city during the shows. "Sometimes it takes an hour to get across town. I have seen traffic backed up three or four miles."

While Quartzsite bustles in the winter, crowds disperse during the hot summer months. Still, year-round residents endure the desert heat to cut, polish and fashion gemstones into jewelry and collectibles, which depending on quality, rarity and workmanship can fetch from a few bucks to thousands of dollars.

Rocks and lapidary (the art of cutting, polishing, and engraving gemstones) were already interests for Marilyn McFate and her late husband, John, when they moved to town from Laurel, Mont., in 1977. "It's a healthy place to live," says McFate, 74. "It has good water and sunshine and low elevation."

Shortly after they arrived, the McFates began offering jewelry-making classes to members of the Roadrunner Gem and Mineral Club. Today, the club's 700-plus members can learn everything from stone faceting to chain making, using the gold and silver and gems and minerals found in the area.

Jean Barney, who moved to town in 2002, got bit by the rock hound bug after she attended one of the classes and made a rose quartz necklace pendant for her daughter. "You come here, and you get so passionate about rocks and lapidary," says Barney, executive director of Quartzsite Chamber of Commerce. "I could facet 24 hours a day."

For more information, call (928) 927-5600 or log on to www.quartzsitechamber.com.

Andrew Means is a freelance writer in Apache Junction, Ariz.

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