Quartzfest is the annual gathering of amateur radio operators and their spouses at the La Paz BLM dispersed camping area south of Quartzsite, Arizona. There were events and activities all day, every day. Clifford attended classes on portable antennas, vertical antennas, drones, the Red Cross, RV Refrigeration, participated in the antenna shoot-out, and studied for his ham test, which he took and passed with flying colors (he now has his Extra Class license).
Antennas Sprout in the Desert- TECHNICAL CATEGORY IN PHOTO CONTEST
I went to a photography class, a card-making class, and attended a daily women’s circle. Daily we went to Happy Hour – the afternoon gathering where the events and activities of the day were reviewed, upcoming activities were announced, and raffle prizes handed out.
Getting the Shot – PEOPLE CATEGORY IN PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
There were nearly 800 people in attendance at this Quartzfest, most of them camped in the desert for the week in everything from cars to giant 5thwheels. Bus-size motor homes were very popular and a few tents were set up. The events were either held in open-sided tents or out in the open. Usually the weather this time of the year is mild with daytime temperatures in the 60’s to 70’s. However, this year the daytime temperatures were mid-50’s, and with the overcast sky and a very chilly wind it seemed much colder. Several events were canceled due to the winds. But even so, people showed up activities and Happy Hour, bundled up in winter coats, hats and gloves. Clifford and I were camped about the equivalent of two blocks from the event center, so we made several trips daily, walking back and forth in the blustery wind, to attend classes and events.
A photo contest was one of the highlights of the week. As I mentioned earlier, I was not too inspired to take photographs here, as being surrounded by RVs in the desert is not really my thing.
La Paz at Sunset or RVs in the Desert – GENERAL CATEGORY IN PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
However, I certainly couldn’t resist the opportunity to enter the contest. There were five categories: Technical, People, Pets, Nature, and General. I started looking around for photo opportunities, but even with the intention of taking photos for a contest, I didn’t come up with much. I reviewed and narrowed my photos for the week down to five and, just by chance, I had one photo to enter in each category.
On Friday, the top five photos in each category, out of hundreds of submissions, were posted on the bulletin board. I was quite delighted to see that two of my five entries had made it to this pared-down selection. For the rest of the day, people voted on their favorites. At the closing ceremony on Saturday, 3rd place, 2nd place, and 1st places winners were called up. My photo of a parrot on the shoulder of one of the volunteers took 2nd place in Pets
The Famous Parrot – SECOND PLACE IN PET CATEGORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
and my photo of a saguaro, taken right at the main fire-ring during one Happy Hour, took first place in the Nature category. Then, the professional photographer who gave the class chose one photo overall as the Grand Prize winner. To my surprise and delight, the saguaro, which he called Portrait of a Cactus, won the Grand Prize.
Portrait of a Cactus FIRST PLACE IN NATURE CATEGORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST and GRAND PRIZE OVERALL
Hooray for me! In spite of not being very inspired, I still pulled the best out of what was available to me.
It was a fun week. I’m guessing we’ll go again and maybe next time it will be warmer.
4 thoughts on “Winter Journey – Quartzfest – January 2017”
Nice blog post! Looks like you had a good time too,
There were a lot of fun and interesting things going on, especially for the ham radio enthusiasts. I think the biggest drawback was the chilly wind which blew almost the entire week. We had a nice spot by a palo verde tree a little off by ourselves, but it was too chilly and windy to ever play my cello outside or to have a campfire. Sometimes I wasn’t bundled up enough for the outdoor events and got cold standing or sitting around. But other than that, it was pleasant there, especially being around people who were together to share a common interest.
Congratulations on your success in the Photography Contest!
Let me ask you this: Did any of the (other) attendees at Quartzfest know who “Clifford Carnicom” was/is? — Namely, one of the main and legitimate – (not Organized Opposition) scientists studying the Aerosol Spraying Program/Crime and Morgellons. It seems to me that the Ham Radio crowd might be the type of social grouping that might contain some people that are open to non-MSMedia information, and thus know the factual reality of the popularly-termed “Chemtrails”/Aerosol Spraying of the atmosphere. Did you or Clifford, run into any persons that were “awake” and aware of the ASP, and maybe even aware of Morgellons?
Thanks. The photo contest was fun and I was pleased to do as well as I did. Hard to get a shot with a decent sky, by the way!
I think you are right about the kind of people the harm radio crowd could be, but we didn’t really socialize with people at all or get to know them on a personal basis. There was never a chance to find out how aware any of them are, and even if they know of the aerosol spraying or have heard of Clifford , he never introduced himself to anyone – other than the one volunteer who needed his name to send him the T-shirt he purchased. In a way it was okay, as it gave him a break from the non-stop studies, learning curves with newly acquired portable lab equipment, and the numerous business calls related to the work of CI.
Nice blog post! Looks like you had a good time too,
There were a lot of fun and interesting things going on, especially for the ham radio enthusiasts. I think the biggest drawback was the chilly wind which blew almost the entire week. We had a nice spot by a palo verde tree a little off by ourselves, but it was too chilly and windy to ever play my cello outside or to have a campfire. Sometimes I wasn’t bundled up enough for the outdoor events and got cold standing or sitting around. But other than that, it was pleasant there, especially being around people who were together to share a common interest.
Hi Carol,
Congratulations on your success in the Photography Contest!
Let me ask you this: Did any of the (other) attendees at Quartzfest know who “Clifford Carnicom” was/is? — Namely, one of the main and legitimate – (not Organized Opposition) scientists studying the Aerosol Spraying Program/Crime and Morgellons. It seems to me that the Ham Radio crowd might be the type of social grouping that might contain some people that are open to non-MSMedia information, and thus know the factual reality of the popularly-termed “Chemtrails”/Aerosol Spraying of the atmosphere. Did you or Clifford, run into any persons that were “awake” and aware of the ASP, and maybe even aware of Morgellons?
Hi Daryl,
Thanks. The photo contest was fun and I was pleased to do as well as I did. Hard to get a shot with a decent sky, by the way!
I think you are right about the kind of people the harm radio crowd could be, but we didn’t really socialize with people at all or get to know them on a personal basis. There was never a chance to find out how aware any of them are, and even if they know of the aerosol spraying or have heard of Clifford , he never introduced himself to anyone – other than the one volunteer who needed his name to send him the T-shirt he purchased. In a way it was okay, as it gave him a break from the non-stop studies, learning curves with newly acquired portable lab equipment, and the numerous business calls related to the work of CI.