Quartszite in March is not bad, really. There are probably less than 1/10 of the visitors and traffic congestion than there was in mid January, yet there is still free camping, with few campers, low propane prices, and convenient places to dump and get water. There is even still lots of flea market type shopping, but not the big tents…thankfully.
There was a used bookstore I wanted to go to in January, called Reader’s Oasis Books, but every time I passed by the parking lot it was jammed full, so I never bothered to go in. It’s not so busy now, and I got there just before it opened at 10am. A couple of guys were there looking at the free books outside, and I joined them. Pretty soon the owner rides up on his three wheel bicycle…an old guy, wearing a hat….and…and…nothing else except a string around his waste, holding a sort of, um…puppet type item on his…yeah…you guessed it. (He may have been wearing shoes, but I,ah, didn’t notice).
And then I remembered RVSue posting about him. It must have been him…who else? I guess I’d forgotten she had that experience in Q.
His skin looked like soft brown leather, all over. No tan lines. And that’s how he rides his three wheel bicycle to his store, and how he spends his days, apparently.
Yes, his total butt shows, and he is completely unselfconscious.
I traded in two Tony Hillerman novels and purchased four more. Didn’t hang around. 🙂
From looking at the little newspaper here, he is also a local blues musician and his name is Paul Winer. Yup. But I saw pictures and he wears clothing when he plays music.
He put me in mine of maybe an old Native American man 150-200 years ago…except for the puppet thing.
So, along with getting my propane tank filled, that was my adventure today. 🙂
Wandering Spirit 
I had to see it. And yep, there are a million photos of him and his pouch online (in the winter he adds a sweater!). I searched “reader’s oasis books quartzite”, clicked on ‘images’ and pouches galore! He’s got quite a wardrobe of them, and the perfect abs to carry it off. Micky, I am so disappointed that you didn’t take a photo with him. EVERYONE else does!
I also found mention (and photo) of him in this photography book – “Life on Wheels: American Nomads” which includes many photos of travelers out in the RVs, boon docking, Salvation Mountain, visiting Quartzite, etc.
http://www.lightight.com/galleries/LOW/content/_0208121003_large.html
Enjoy!
Laura
Yup that’s him. 🙂
Eeek Laura, you can come on down here and get your own picture taken with him! 🙂
I guess everyone knows about him, but I didn’t. When he was riding his bike up to the store I just thought he was shirtless…imagine my surprise when he stood up! 🙂
I have heard of him, never seen a picture and that’s OK. Loved your post 🙂
If you get curious Marcia, click on Laura’s link above. Certainly not what I’d call sexy. Sorry Mr Winer. Gosh, I wonder how that name is pronounced. 🙂
Sounds like a fun time and left you with a great story!
Hi BadgerRick, yes, I’m still chuckling. He said he wouldn’t be at the store tomorrow. Imagine what I’d have missed if I’d waited? 🙂
Thank heavens someone had a picture! It makes a MUCH better story!
How much are propane prices? I just ordered a load for $1.59/gal but that might be different as mine comes by the truckload!
Hi Marsha. Yes I’m glad Laura posted the picture link. If I knew how to put the link into the blog I would do it.
Propane was $2.11. That is the cheapest I’ve seen it so even though I didn’t have an empty tank I got the the used one topped off. I believe the tank holds less than 5 gallons when it’s empty. I have two of them and even if I use the furnace a lot a tank lasts a month or more.
You didn’t take a picture ?????
Sent from my iPhone
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:-))). I’d be too embarrassed to ask for a picture! Even though it was him with the bare ass! 🙂
hahahaha! I love this story Micky!
I can hear your laugh Deb. And you know I love it! 🙂
Gosh – I’ve have several dreams of riding a bike and realizing I had no clothes on but you met the real thing ‘in the flesh’….good for him. I think. Maybe living his dream….. You ARE getting an array of experiences! Love the story too!
Apparently he’s been living this way since he was a teenager!
One of my first thoughts about the guy was, sun exposure! All these years in the Arizona sun, and his skin looks flawless. Like leather, but flawless leather. Except for a crack in the back….
Yikes dreaming of riding a bike naked…well if he had that dream as a child, then he IS living his dream…literally. Maybe even the three wheel part. That’s one thing I have in common with him. If I ever get another bike, it’ll be a three wheeler.
Great story Micky! I was with my friend Jana last night. She goes to Q in January every year and she knows of this guy. But then he is not so apparent with the crowds haha
Hi Patty
I was thinking now that aybe that’s why the parking lot was always so jammed in January. :-)). But then the whole town is jammed in January so it’s probably just normal.
It would be one thing to be expecting to see a naked guy when I went there, but for me it was… Well… Quite a surprise! 🙂
Now that you have 7 months under your belt , what has been surprising about this change of lifestyle? As much as anyone plans and prepares, it’s an entirely different lifestyle so you can’t be totally prepared for how it will ‘feel’.
What are the good and bad surprises…. ie are you surprised that you can live in a small space or are you surprised at how small it feels? did you expect to feel lonely but don’t? Or maybe it’s exactly as you thought it would be??
Thanks. caroline
Hi Caroline,
Wow what great, thought provoking questions!
I don’t know if I’d call most of these things surprises…more like things that have slowly dawned on me….
On the positive side, I’m so happy to find that this lifestyle suits me so well. Before I set out I had this little lingering question in my mind all the time, ‘am I really going to like living like this?’ Now I know the answer is YES! As long as I’m healthy and relatively strong, I feel that I could enjoy this lifestyle for years.
Since I don’t get lonely easily, I wasn’t worried about that aspect, but I think what I’m finding is that I meet more people and have more conversations than I thought I would. I’m finding that is ok with me. I thought that I’d want to be alone and off by myself more often, but I’m finding that I don’t mind having some people around. I’m finding that I’m a bit less shy than I’ve been in the past ( though I’m still not up to asking a naked man to have his picture taken with me, apparently! 🙂 )
Space…the size of my trailer (about 14 feet inside) is big enough, but because of having two big dogs it can be tight. In fact, being just one person with two big, strong dogs (that don’t always listen to me) has been harder than I thought it would be. I love them dearly and they are my family so I’ll continue to deal with it, but it’s not always easy. I won’t go into all the problems. Actually I should blog about it sometime, and I probably will.
Even with the difficulties, I’m happy they are with me…it’s all about the dogs for me.
I still feel like I’m holding on to too much ‘stuff’. I guess I am surprised that I feel the need for so much of it. To be fair, I have a WHOLE lot less than I had. This downsizing/minimizing is a process, and I’m still in the midst of it. I still need to let go of things.
I’ll probably think of a lot more things I could have said here. This is a good blog topic!
Great answers! Thank you. As for the positives, I think I will share the same feelings you have expressed…. no concerns about loneliness and I look forward to some interesting conversations with new people along the way.
The dogs are my worry, but I’m 4 yrs away from retirement. Most full-timers with pets have a small dog or cats; You’re the only blogger I’m aware of with 2 large dogs so I always enjoy your discussions about Joy and Shiloh. Winnie Views has 1 lab. So sure, anytime you want to talk more about fulltiming with dogs, I for one will be an attentive audience. Thanks again. Cheers,Caroline
Caroline, refresh me on what kind of dogs you have and what size RV?