By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
Yesterday I was macerating. What’s that, you may ask. Check out my website at http://ontopoftheworld.bz/category/barrys-travel-blog-3/ for a full explanation with photos. I first learned about it six years ago in Key West but didn’t try it until this week. Monique are I are in the throes of preparing for 10 days in the high desert of Arizona, where we will witness an expanse of nothingness blossom, beginning with the huge white canvas tent already up and awaiting us and up to a million folks with interests common to yours. That cavernous tent will contain endless RV-related booths [look for us behind booth No. 401 next to one of the western entrances]. Outside on the perimeter of the tent will be more service and product vendors including gem and mineral sellers, plus a long RV repair garage. Beyond that is free parking flanked by hundreds of flea-market-type booths.
Me leaving the show a couple of years ago -- OVERLOADED!
Across Interstate-10 is the desert town of Quartzsite, which, in addition to rock and “collectibles” shops now has fast-food restaurants and cafes, groceries, gas stations and other essential services. On down the road … or really roads … are private RV parks (we’ve heard differing stories about whether there are spaces available or not) and radiating outward even further are miles of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) scrub lands, where RVers park for free, boondocking in remote areas or in conclaves with others.
In answer to Ron West’s question, yes, there are dogs on leashes in the aisles, but I recommend a very short leash because of the erratic tidal movement of shoppers.
We’re excited about returning to the chaos. Our shopping list this year is short … but I think that’s what we said on our other visits and ended up shelling out hundreds of dollars – all well spent to make our lifestyle more comfortable.
Everyone at the show has bags of goodies
AND NOW FOR YOUR COMMENTS
FROM JANIE THORNTON — I have enjoyed your blog for a year or 2 now and can’t wait to take our Alaska trip this spring. We live in Georgia and will travel thru Alabama and then north to Glacier NP before Alaska, probably hooking up with a caravan in Canada. My question is what to see between Ala. and Mont.? We love the outdoors, not cities. Do you have an older blog I can read about the middle states? We love the west but I fear April/May will be to snowy for the mtns. Is there another blog that would be helpful?
MY RESPONSE – Janie, I’ve written many blogs about the states going upwards from Alabama and Florida’s “Redneck Riviera,” but my first suggestion is for you to skip the Great Plains states on this trip and drive due north. Some highlights:
The American Institute of Architects boat tour of the Chicago River (I know it’s a big city) is something we will always fondly remember. That’ll put you near the access to the western shoreline of Michigan which leads into the Upper Peninsula (UP). From the unique UP you’ll want to head west on U.S. 2 for some of the best scenery in America that eventually takes you directly into Glacier National Park. (Check state maps for their scenic routes)
If you choose to skip the UP, head for the hills — the Black Hills of South Dakota — which are beautiful in their own right, but we were surprisingly amazed at the grandeur of Mt. Rushmore. We didn’t expect to be that inspired. The Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho are worth detouring to see, and as time allows, try not to miss the Cascades and the Columbia River Gorge.
On your way home, the difficult choice would be whether to drive through the many national parks of California or the parks of Wyoming and Utah. We hope to spend a month in Arizona and another in New Mexico in the near future, because, although we’ve toured both several times, there’s a lot more to experience than we’ve been able to work into our flexible schedules. There’s that much to see!
I don’t mean to be derogatory about the Great Plains — those rolling hills with their amber waves of grain, the prairies and farmland are a wonderful part of America. But, honestly, it’s not so good for diverse scenery. Just a different experience.
I hope this helps in your trip planning. And as for Alaska — I’m envious. It’s been over three years since we went there “just to check it off on our list of states,” but after two weeks, we were saying, “When we come back, we want to …”
Sorry, I don’t remember ever writing a blog about avoiding snowy travel, and while we have been caught in unexpected flurries, the white stuff didn’t stick. Thankfully Monique always routes us away from the potential hazard. Thanks for the note: Barry
From Daniel Oren — I was following and enjoying your blog for a while. We live in Israel and are ‘Full-time summer RVers” — meaning we RV since 2002 every summer for 4-5 months in North America. At the end of each trip we store the rig for the winter, fly home to spend time with family and friends, then return to collect the rig in May to discover States/Provinces new for us.
Hope one day our paths will cross. Best wishes to the New Year and may you do all the things you want to do but had no time till now. Danny&Shula
BARRY’S REPONSE – I love that last “wish” for us. Our bucket list of things we wanted to do has been filled and continues to overflow with adventure and discovery. Every excursion taken by “the Never-Bored RVers” has resulted in memorable times: it’s doubtful that our passion for seeing North America through our windshield and the back window of our travel trailer will ever be quenched. Thank you for your note.
As in this instance, we have been directed to the writer’s blog site or website. I appreciate the offer but am reluctant to publish those sites, over which I have no control; in other words, I feel obligated to omit this information.
One more statement, not relevant to Danny’s comment but to another one published below. I know what RV equipment works for us, but I don’t have an interest or the capacity to test one product against others. For instance, we have a very reliable Honda 3000i generator. Is it the best on the market? I have no idea, because it’s the only one I’ve used since selling our 2000i. When other bloggers talk about and recommend amazing products, I’m in no position to trust their judgment nor do I have a sense of where they’re coming from, so I don’t ever take it upon myself to recommend a product.
From Marian MacDonald — I have really enjoyed your blog. We travel in our 5th wheel every year. This year we went from Oregon to Vermont then to the Rio Grande Valley where we will stay the winter.
From Pat Donaghy — Over the years I have tried out just about every type of RV from pop-up tent trailers to my present 32-foot Class “C” SunSeeker. Did a trip of 7,951 miles from my home in Norland, Ontario, to Pensacola, San Diego, LA and points in between in May, June and July 2013. Along the way I’ve read most if not all of your posts since last February. Keep ’em coming!
BARRY’S RESPONSE – You guys are wonderful. I’ll keep the blogs coming and hope you’ll keep the comments coming.
From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
© All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved
Because of the numerous Spam comments on this site, the comments section has been deactivated. Please email us at neverboredrvers@gmail.com and I will pass along your comments. Learn about Alaska, the Canadian Atlantic Provinces and much much plus a growing number of travel photos at http://ontopoftheworld.bz.