Dec. 29, 2010 Where and what is Quartzsite???

Are you wondering where Quartzsite is and why we are here?

Quartzsite grows from about 1,000 heat-loving hearty souls during the summer months to 10,000-15,000, mostly RVers, in mid-January. Quartzsite sits at the intersection of I-10 and AZ Highway 95—about 20 miles east of Blythe, CA and about half-way between Lake Havasu City and Yuma, AZ. Yes, it is basically, in the middle of the AZ desert. The big draw: Quartzsite is surrounded by BLM lands that allow dry camping. Visitors can choose between free 14-day camping without services or pay permit fees of $40 for 14-days or $180 for long-term (between October and April) for dry-camping with a BML-maintained sewer dump, water faucets and garbage services. Or stay in one of the numerous RV parks in town with full hook-up services.

The Jennings and Cray’s homesteads for the winter. We stay in the BLM’s La Posa North Long-TermVisitor Area ($180 for the season).

The area first developed into a tourist area because of rocks--lots and lots of rocks—all for sale!

Quartzsite, AZ became a popular place for desert camping and rock hounding in the 1960s. In the beginning, local rock hounds gathered at the intersection of the two highways to sell or trade rock to be used in lapidary and other crafts. Eventually “flea markets vendors” added their products to the mix and set up shop up in every vacant lot on the main street of town—attracting more visitors.

And the gathering grew every year. Vendors came from all over the US to spend the winter selling rocks, jewelry findings, and RV items. Today’s biggest draw is the Big Tent Sports, Vacation and RV Show held during the 3rd and 4th week of January; it starts on January 22 this year and is held in a block-long tent for 10 days.

And why are we here? We drove through the area in 1988 on our way to spend some time in warmer weather down in Yuma, AZ and enjoyed the atmosphere of the area. We shopped the flea markets back in the “old days.” We could wander through for hours looking at all the different hand-crafted items for sale. Today the items are mostly Chinese imports and with so little space left in the camper, we aren’t tempted any more.

If you collect something, you will find it for sale in Quartzsite.

We are drawn back by the drier weather—fewer aches and pains in these old bodies, a friendly community of RVing friends, and an excellent local library that carries the newest books by authors we enjoy. Plus our cell phones and broadband card keeps us up in the digital age.

We spend a lot of time at the library. They offer free use of about 16-20 online computers and a great selection of the newest books, which saves us money during the year. When the new books come out in paperback, I don't have to buy them. : )

We visit the local laundry mat (A.K.A. “Washateria” in TX) about every five days—wiht our limited space, we don’t carry a large supply of clothes in the camper.

And right across the street from the Laundry is the General Store where I pick up the items I forgot to buy in Parker, AZ, or Blythe, CA, on our stock-up shopping-trip days.

We also fill about two gallon jugs with filtered water for each day from the blue machines at the General Store for drinking water and making coffee.

And just in case you think we are really roughing it out here, this is our neighbor on the other side—pressure washing his car the day after they arrived from Iowa. He brought his electric-powered power washer and connected it to his RV’s water system.

Some folks find it hard to leave their toys home—they want to play in the desert. The methods of transporting toys are as varied as RVs.

Fred built a quad rack so he can have his toy to play out here. He has rigged a winch to lower it down the ramps instead of driving it down backwards like two years ago. It was a heart-stopping moment to watch!

These folks wanted their quad and tow car—and brought it all. That is a lot of weight hanging out behind his motorhome.

We will post more photos as we encounter the explorers coming to Quartzsite this year—looking for good weather and fun-filled times.