January 14, 2014 Watching the Big Tent go up in Q.

First, I have to say, it is COLD in Quartzsite, AZ.

How cold is it?  Yesterday morning, it was 34 degrees—inside the camper!!!  And the outside temperature was about 20 degrees.  We don’t run a heater inside while we are sleeping.  It is a long story, but we sleep too soundly to have hot things running while we are asleep. We are quite warm under the layers of blankets, but those 3 a.m. potty runs are COLD!

Second, the wind is blowing along with the cold temperatures.  It is 43 degrees at 4 p.m.  Brrrrr.  However, we still feel blessed.  My daughter-in-law sent me a cute video of my GRANDson playing in the snow outside their house in Boise, ID.  Yes, we have cold weather and strong winds, but as of today, none of that pesky white stuff—called snow.

Third, we have two much time on our hands.  So much time that we have been watching the Big Tent going up.  We have been coming to Q for about 20 years and this is the first time we have taken the time and made the effort to watch the team erect the huge tent for Kenny  King’s Sports, Vacation, and RV Show held the third week of January.

The installation of the grass floor is the first sign the tent is going up.  There were just rocks and sand in this area last week.  The tent poles are laid down the center.  We have wondered how they get the poles up in the air.  There aren't any elephants to help raise the big tent.


The little piles on the right side are some of the canvas for the tents.  The main tent is white, but some of the other tents used in the show are blue and yellow.


The next day, the poles were up!



Notice all the guy wires used to raise the poles and hold them upright until the canvas is on.



Any sailors out there looking for a job going up the mast?  You can see that he is rigging the pulleys for the pole that is just going up.  Once the poles were up, they started laying out the canvas.  Another question answered:  How do they get the tent around the poles?  They connect each panel around the main poles on the ground—once the poles are up.  The guy on the left is connecting the seams working away from the hole around the big pole.



And then two days later, after a very windy day, they started raising the tent.  How do they raise a 200 or 300 ft. long tent?  Very slowly!!

 



First they attach the outside edge to the main tent and then use about 10 ft. poles to raise the entire outside edge, adding guy wires to support the outside edge.  We missed where they removed some of the big pole guy wires.  Once the outside edge is raised and secured, they start raising center of the tent from the inside.



We could hear the sounds of the ropes running through the pulleys and the sounds like a main sail being winched up the mast—and the top rose slowly up the pole.  AHA, that is how they do it!!
  


 

And the workers went to work on the second pole.  They winched and winched—moving canvas up to the same height as they worked down the line.  We left them to their work as it took most of the day.  The following morning, the big tent was up.



We stopped by on Saturday to see the next stage.  The sides had been attached—and another line of poles were in place.  The second poles are just about half way between the top and the bottom edge of the big top.



The electricians had started wiring for all the outside booths and food vendors.  I got a “charge” out of the connecting plug for the line.  It is as big as my foot.



Today, with 30 MPH winds, we didn’t go by the tent.  We figured the electricians were inside wiring the tent for the 600 booths.  The show opens next Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, and closes Sunday, Jan. 28th.
Thousands of visitors will fill the aisles—and vendors’ pockets--during the 10-day run.  I love wandering though, but it will be packed over the 3-day weekend.  When I was doing the Escapees Commercial Membership program, I would visit all the vendors who sold RV-related stuff to explain the program.  Now that I am retired, I go to shop.

The following weekend, the Hobby, Craft & Gem Show opens in the tent for 4 days along with a Rock ‘n’ Roll Classic Car Show.  So much to look at—so little space in the camper!  Ouch!

Since Saturday, we have noticed a dramatic increase in RVs parking in the BLM areas around Quartzsite.  It seems to be lighter than previous years, but I think the show will have a lot of attendees again.  Many of the Escapees RV Club’s chapters are holding rallies in the area as well as the Club’s Annual Happy Hour hosted by Denny and Susie Orr on Jan. 16th and 17th from 1 to 3 p.m. Several hundred Escapees members bring their chairs to a spot on BLM land for two afternoons of visiting and listening to two hours of fun entertainment.
 
In the meantime, we hope you are warm and comfortable—wherever you are!