By Barry & Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
We’re packing up this morning, but before we head out of Quartzsite to get on the road again, there are some questions posed in last night’s comments section that I’ll try to answer:
“To be happy you must be free; to be free you must be brave.” This seems like an appropriate occasion to repeat that Norse adage.
Some of you are taking this place too seriously. You can make reservations and you can research everything there is to know about the area and local events, or you can do it like we did. You drive anywhere within five miles of town, look around, find a place near other RVs parked in the desert and turn off the engine.
Your neighbors, who were once as timid as you about the RV experience, will tell you more than you need to know. It’s that simple.
Now, in answer to Chestnuts, the best way to find information about the place, other than putting in “Quartzsite” in your Internet browser, is to call or visit the Chamber of Commerce. And don’t worry about our landlords, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). They aren’t going to tell you anything that your neighbors can’t.
To Drew, who is apprehensive, I refer you to Paragraph 2 above (the one with the italics). As commenter Thomas said, “It’s truly an experience that should not be missed.”
As for the honey wagon, the service that visits campgrounds to drain the tanks, we’ve heard that it has been available in past years but haven’t seen anyone around in the week that we’ve been here.
And, to Liz, Paul is not flaky. He runs a business and knows his inventory and his long-time customers from around the nation. He told me he is a nudist and loves the fact that he can practice that lifestyle (with a tad of covering) and still make money. Monique asked him questions about “Walk Across America 2” and about books on a specific subject. He knew that among the thousands of books in his collection, he had sold out of “Walk,” and he led her right to the area where books on her other subject were shelved. Another $10 plus tax wisely spent.
Before you arrive if you plan to dry-camp, bring containers for at least 10 gallons of water that you can fill at the Pit Stop everyday, plus a few gallon bottles for drinking water. If you are going to a private campground, it’s a good idea to ask them what you should have on board.
Out here in the desert — as I look out on distant hills where the sky is a neon orange as the sun approaches the horizon — the feeling is sublime. We read about a blizzard in the Midwest and hear about the cold and rain from our kids in the South, and we remember that we are blessed … or lucky … and always thankful that we now have this opportunity to enjoy our lives after so many years of toiling in the real world.
Prepare for your RV travels, but please don’t take it too seriously.
And speaking of preparing, the answer to most of those dry-camping and boondocking questions are very adequately covered in RV.net blogger Bob Difley’s ebooks. Visit his website at www.HealthyRVLifestyle.com. We learned a lot from what we read, and his writing is enjoyable.
PLEASE WADE IN
Having mentioned the word “blog,” I have a request of RV.net readers. The “Comments Section” is your opportunity to ask AND answer questions by other readers. We all have experiences and knowledge to share. Don’t be shy about wading in on the conversation.
For instance, in the previous article, I mentioned a few mistakes I had made about what’s not available in Quartzsite. That was an excellent opening for some of you Quartzsite visitors to say, “You forgot to mention there’s a Burger King, Subway, McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr., Dairy Queen and a bank in town.” I rely on you to straighten me out on these things – or anything. I’m pretty certain that all of us writing these blogs will agree that we want your feedback.
Uh-oh. It’s time to lift the Honda 3000 into the back of the truck. We’ll see you on down the road.
From the “Never-Bored RVers”
© Photo by Monique Zander. All rights reserved
Pingback: hcg-diet
hoppe
Conservatives
Why is it ‘redistribution of wealth’, when we tax someone who ‘Pays Themselves’, annually, as much as 1,000 people normally make in a year?
$100k @ 10,000= $10 Million
Food for thought.
fred
I’m wintering in Vegas without an RV (it’s sleeping in a snow covered barn) – I want to show a couple of mid-aged relatives what the RV lifestyle can be but they’re not up to walking miles both ways to get to the fun – Is it possible to park a car within walking distance of the business/entertaining areas ?
Jon
Gary it has to be your computer..I log on to this site everyday and never have had a problem..
Judy Thomas
I am very intrigued with the Quartzsite area. I have only been there once with friends and then for only a few hours, but in that short amount of time I realized that it is definately somewhere I want to return. I am finsihing up my last year of doing income taxes and then we are OUT OF HERE. I am tired of the snow, mud, cold and no sunshine days. My husband and I were both amazed at the size of Quartzsite, but again we were there in December and missed all the fun during the swap meet. I want to return next year when the swap meet is on and see what Quartzsite is really like!
Stan & Irene
Barry & Monique…you are our travelling companions. However we are not full timers, like yourselves, we truly enjoy going into new places & checking out places of interest. As snowbird Canadians, we have the winter to enjoy the nice southern parts of USA. Whether we are in the west or the east, since we retired in 2002, every place we have visited had some special meaning, meeting new friends, seeing new places, hiking, driving etc….. we can also say that we have “never been bored”. Continue your your writing about the places you visit, as we enjoy reading your blogs.
Sam & Eddi Cope
Barry & Monique: Have bee following your blogs starting with your Alaska trip. We made a solo, 11.000 mile, 102 day, Alaska trip last summer from Alabama to Alaska to Yuma, AZ then back to AL in a 35 ft Bounder. Did not get to see some of the things we wanted to in Alaska, as I fell and broke my leg on the Dalton. My wife had to drive the coach from Fairbanks down to Yuma before I was cleared to drive again. She had driven the coach previously, but mainly on Interstates. We went through Q on our way to Yuma after spending the night in Lake Havasu City. Read about the January event and hope to get back for it in the near future. Keep up the good information.
David and Dianne McCracken
Another great spot to dry camp is about 40 miles south of Quartzsite on the east side of Rt # 95 called KOFA Natural Reserve. The entrance is just opposite a small Hamburger Joint. This is BLM land consisting of 660,000 acres with great views all around. Just drive in, find a level spot and set up camp. The gentleman that owns the Hamburger Joint is very friendly and is very helpful with answering any questions you might have about the area.
Alice Wildermuth
Gary, you’d better fix your computer. I’m out in far west Texas near Big Bend National Park on an unreliable wi-fi connection and if I can get online, I can get on this site.
shorty and barb young
Believe it or not two weeks ago we were in Quartzite at the very start of the rv show but we are now at home in Wisconsin (because of an illness). Since 2 days ago we have gotten about 18 inches of new snow and it seems like all I have been doing is either shoveling or snow blowing the driveway. We got so much snow last night that I had to have the neighbor farmer plow my driveway with his truck. Oh, how lucky we were to be able to get away from all this the last 10 winters. I am sure we will be doing that again after this short detour.
When we were at Quartzite we camped on BLM land about 5 miles North of Q on the East side of the road. It is just North of the re-cycle area which is on the West side of the road. You needed to register but there is no charge and we saw the “honey” wagon come thru the camp area almost every day. We did not need to dump so we don’t know how much he charged.
Shorty and Barb Young
stephanie
We spent a few days in Quartzsite just before the RV Show with several other Roadtreks at Hi Jolly Camp on BLM land. The camp was not real pretty during the day but around the campfire at night was magical. Everyone should do Quartzsite at least once–it is really great fun if you like a flea market/swap meet environment. And, yes, it was busy but lots of fun if you just go with the flow. We were not there for the RV show so can’t comment on the crowds during that time, but, again, if you can’t have fun with it don’t stay!!! As everyone has said, be prepared to dry camp and have plenty of water.
Gary
FIX THIS SITE. to get to you I have to leave and start all over again. Very annoying!
Kerry Liliedahl
There are several ‘honey wagons’ – the guys who are out here from October to April are Y’ont To. Jim and Deb will fix you right up! I pay $25 – but it’s a blessing!
I think if you walked to the ‘tent’, you were actually staying in La Posa North (on the East side of 95), or La Posa West, (on the West side). La Posa South is about 2 miles South of La Posa North on the East side, and on the West side is Tyson Wash. No – I didn’t have a blessed thing to do with naming any of these!
BLM land costs $40 for two weeks, or $180 for six months. Take your pick, or mix and match. There are also free areas where one can just hang out for up to two weeks.
There are three different types of potable water at the Pit Stop. Plain old Quartzsite city water, city water that has gone through a reverse osmosis filter, and deep well water. The cheapest is the city water – fill your tank for $5. The most expensive is the RO water at .25 a gallon. We compromise and fill up with the nickel a gallon well water. We bought a 55 gallon soda syrup barrel from Herb’s Hardware for $35, put it in the back of the truck, fill it up and siphon it into our rigs. Works like a champ!
As to what to do – I think you could spend a month just looking at all the flea market type vendors booths (the largest single assortment of such in the US for a few weeks I’m told). I went back to the big tent on three different occasions, and it wasn’t until the last when I actually got to hold a sugar glider. You had to have been there………….
My boyfriend is hosting and busing at Palo Verde Restaurant for the season. I take advanced Spanish two days a week, am helping teach beginning another two and am getting private water color / therapy classes at least once a week with a wonderful gal I met in Spanish! Oh, and I play ‘games’ (usually dominoes or such) with a group of gals on Wednesday afternoons.
Two weeks ago my brother and sister in law came out from LA so we gave them the tour, and this last weekend 7 of us gals who met on an RVing women’s forum got together for a, well, for a get together!
I am amazed that I’ve been here since October and I am NOT bored! I’ve read a lot of books, walked a lot of loops to the dumpsters, improved my Spanish and learned out to draw a roadrunner -but bored, nope!
Come join us!
Hank
Q will be about the easiest “boondocking” experience you can ever have. Within a couple of miles you can get about anything you will ever need. From food, water and fuel to RV parts, hardware stores, churches and bars. I’ve been in many state parks that you had to drive 40 miles to get far less. If you find you don’t like the boondocking experience, there are RV parks within a couple miles of where you are…. 20 miles at most.
Carol & Wayne
The following is a link to my pictures if you are interested in visiting webshots.com and my username is crowder12.
http://community.webshots.com/user/crowder12/profile
Carol
Carol & Wayne
Barry and Monique, so glad that your experience in Quartzsite, AZ was so rewarding…. This is our 1st visit here and were only coming for 2 weeks, but now we are regulars and love every minute…
Reference to Paul and his bookstore, what a wonderful man, with or without clothes!!! He is a talented musician but he and his wife share the loss of their 8 year old daughter with a beautiful memorial garden that the community and Visitors can visit! It has now become a place where everyone can build their own memorial for their loved ones. You walk through acres and acres and what a blessed feeling you receive, so peaceful!!!!
We are at an RV Park and we do have our own water jugs for drinking as the camp water is a bit hard but there is a dispenser so all is good… We have a beautiful spa and music, music and more music everywhere!!!! This is now our winter home and feel like part of the family already… EVERYONE is so friendly !!!
What is there to do in Quartzsite, AZ!!, everything!!!
Gayle
Just left Q last week and been reading your blog. We were there last year but the weather was awful-cold and rainy, so we stayed at Mayflower County Park in Blythe, CA where we had hookups. Our experience was not fun, with traffic and crowds at the show. This year we went back and stayed with a group of fellow RVers in La Posa South BLM. We were able to walk to the vendors, the weather was perfect, and we had such a good time socializing at happy hour and our evening campfires. I agree it is something all RVers should attend at least once, and I highly recommend staying nearby to get the full experience. Good idea NOT to receive your mail there, though. That is one busy post office in January!
judy Griffiths
Have thoroughly enjoyed your writing about Quartzsite. We are visiting Arizona for the first time from Canada. Had heard so much about the little place in the desert we definately had to see for ourselves. That was our number one thing to do this winter and that we did. Came for a couple days and stayed for 6 weeks. Of course it was in Dec before the mad rush but we got the idea. It is a wonderful place and we are definately returning on our way home. There is so much to see and do, and like you we travel and just wing it, very seldom do we reserve ahead cause if there is something along the way we are not committed to being somewhere at a certain time. As far as “Paul” and the book store, it is a must see place, he is so full of knowledge of all the books its amazing. People are reluctant to go because of what they might see but he is human and that is his way and if you can get past that it is well worth the trip.
Thank you again for writing about Quartzsite and happy and safe travels.
Judy
PS, I did have my picture taken with Paul and he wrote some very nice comments on his book marks that we pruchased for our daughters.
Bill Daines
I enjoy reading your blog. Especially today while its a very wintery day in SW Michigan. Keep up the good work. Bill