By Monique & Barry Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
Monday we reset our old analog clock to Mountain Standard Time as we crossed into Arizona on our way to the craziest gathering of RVers on the planet. We are here to visit the big tent filled with everything RV, plus the never-ending booths displaying gems and minerals. And, we remember from our last visit that the swapmeet is an adventure all its own.
To capture what we experience, I’m going to do this as a journal rather than an article, so you can see what we are seeing through our eyes.
NOTE: Internet service is bad. We found the library today and got online. We’ll have another report tomorrow … I hope!
PART I – ARRIVAL
Let’s start with Monday driving in from the west. The first two days of the RV show had ended, and we passed dozens of RVs of every size and condition heading in the opposite direction. As we neared the town, we began seeing rigs parked in the desert, scattered at random in proximity to hard roads that come to life each year in January for the RV invasion.
Then we began seeing huge RV parks, crowded with rigs parked side-by-side, more densely populated as we approached town. We were amazed, given all those rigs that we had just passed on their way out of town.
On suggestion of veteran show exhibitors Ken and Carole Adams we passed the town, turned back westward and then north and drove five miles to a free BLM miles-long camping area. We pulled in on a narrow path cleared for RVs through the chaparral and drove like lost souls looking for the perfect spot – but, honestly, they were all pretty much the same.
We set down the trailer stabilizers just as the blue skies began changing to gold. As we prepared for a long stay, I wandered over to visit neighbors Kathy and Bob to let them know we are rookies. “What do we need to know?” I asked. “Don’t drop your black water,” was about their only advice.
I called friends Jeff and Noreene to see where they were parked. They had left. Noreene said they were among the vast hordes of folks rushing in at the beginning of the show Saturday. They were so overwhelmed by the crush of people they exited a side door, packed up and went home. (That’s why we avoided the first weekend.)
PART II –GOING TO THE BIG SHOW
Tuesday morning I awoke in time to see the brightness of the morning sun wipe out everything to the east. To the south between the scattered rigs I could see the road, which at daybreak was already a dotted line of RVs leaving for home.
Incredible – An hour later there is still a steady stream of homes-on-four-wheels on the road out of here, our entertainment as we sip our morning latte.
Nearing the big tent © All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved
We took our time getting over to the gargantuan tent, which houses scores of vendors pushing everything from braking systems to luxury RV resorts, expensive kitchen knives to miracle mops – we don’t know how we’ve lived this long without all this good stuff.
Parking is the biggest challenge, with a steady line of vehicles looking for openings, many that require 4-wheel drive to exit later in the day. We found
Parking hazard
a fairly good spot in 8-inch deep sand – we have 4-wheel drive – and strolled into the tent.
Mayhem! Lots of people blocking the aisles as they watch cookware salesmen or magic welcome mat salesladies hawking their stuff. All part of the adventure, and we appreciated the very friendly attitudes of everyone.
Knowing that there would be a lot of items we might be swayed to buy on our first time through, I recorded in my back-pocket notebook booths we might want to revisit: a collapsible bucket, a window-cleaning scraper, bedding, spices to add to dips for snacking, a dirt-trapper rug, water filters and 1,500-count thread Egyptian cotton sheet set.
Hawking Cookware -- Lots of Excitement
Oops, forget that last one. We bought a set, so we won’t go back.
We had a great time, and only spent … ohmygod … $169, but then there’s tomorrow. .
On our way back to our desert hideaway, we stopped at a Moroccan mineral outlet and then walked into an India crystal display. What a thrill. Luckily, we don’t have a few thousand of discretionary funds to walk out of there with incredible pieces at incredible prices.
Great to be back in our RV thinking about what we saw and the interesting people we talked with, both shoppers and vendors. It was a great day!
SOME THINGS YOU MIGHT FIND INTERESTING: The Quartzsite show attracts the largest number of vendors and RVers to one place in the world. Each year in January, the little town swells to become the third largest city in Arizona. – There are large private campgrounds, but most of the space is U.S. government land run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – On miles of RV parking, there are no services, including dump or trash. But the land is clean and the stench of years-gone-by is no longer a problem. – We found one private business that provides dump and clean water for a moderate price. There were hundreds of rigs there Tuesday morning. – We have good AT&T signal, but probably too many people on
And this is only Day 1
the internet for everyone to get connected during the day. That’s a problem for us. –The nighttime sky away from town is incredible. We watched a meteorite streak across the blackness when we went outside to appreciate the cover of stars. – Temperatures this year have been in the 70s during the day, getting down to mid-40s at night.
More information, including an amazing aerial view at http://www.quartzsitervshow.com/ and more when I can access the internet again …
… From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
© All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved
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Bob and Julie
Ron: The RV portion of Quartzsite lasts one week in January, This year it started on the 22th.
Nancy: It is indeed a “happening”. I don’t want to start anything but the best way to describe what is going on here is it is the “Geriatric Woodstock”.
Love the crowds. Love the energy. Love the concentration on RV stuff. Been talking to strangers all day. Everyone is friendly and having fun.
Ron
when does Quartzsite start and when does it end?
Carol & Wayne
This is our 1st winter in Quartzsite and now we are officially Canadian Snow birds… we have purchased an older park model so that we don’t have to haul our 5th wheel 3,000 miles 1 way…. what is there to do in Quartzsite, AZ, “EVERYTHING”!!!!!!!! – Love it………..
Don Eyre
Internet at Quartzite and many other places works quite well for us since we got a Verizon air card. We have the kind with a built in router so we can use both of our computers at the same time. So if you want to boondock in the boonies and still have internet, this is the way to go.
Frank
Thanks for your journals. It sure gets us excited to get in our RV & travel!!!
Nancy
I’m new to RVing however Quartzsite sounds like a “happening” that would be fun to attend. Is it a dog friendly area? If parked a couple of miles away, is it possible to ride a bike and secure it at the tents?
Ross
Keep up the good reporting. We really enjoy your articles. One can close their eyes, and almost hear the excitement in the air, and all the people.
Thanks for all your doing.
Ross & April
Drew
Which vendor had the 1,500 thread count sheets? We can’t find ’em here.
Thanks!
butterbean carpenter
Howdy Barry,
I’m glad itz you out there and not me… I don’t even do WalMart very well!!! See if you can find out anything about a woman’s class C that burned out there in the WIN
camp group… She was a full-timer and lost everything, so I read.. Have a real good time and don’t lose Monique!!!
Smooth roads and balmy breezes!!!!