December, 2008 and January 2009 - After Yuma, we stopped in Quartzsite en route to Phoenix for the holidays. This became the
first of a delightful string of reunions with friends and family that filled our winter months, and we returned again in January. As we
first settled into the strange desert living that characterizes boondocking in the Quartzsite BLM land, winter arrived with a
vengeance. The land is ideal for RVs - flat, level, and hard-packed, as if it were paved. But it is very exposed, with only some low
desert scrub brush and the rare saguaro cactus and hummingbird as company. When the wind decides to blow the trailer rocks!
We camped next to our friends Bob & Donna Lea whose 20 years of
experience with winter camping in Arizona's deserts was invaluable as
we tackled the project of installing a new heater. Their warm company
made the chilly, grey days pass very quickly, and we had a chance to
compare our solar setups (see notes at bottom of that page).
Each January, when it plays host to a series of gem shows and the
annual RV show, Quartzsite swells from a truck stop with a few homes
and small stores to a 120 square mile parking lot filled with retired RVers
from the north country. RVers gather in groups of all kinds, marking
their territory
with signs.
"Loners on
Wheels," "The
Gadabouts,"
"Escapees Boondockers," and manufacturers' rallies fill the desert for miles
in every direction. A paper plate with a couple's names on it and an arrow
is enough to signal friends to a gathering location. There is no reservation
system and no management of these crazed senior citizens, so if you
arrive and your favorite spot is taken, you find another spot.
This year the Montana Owners' rally was the most impressive, even
though they took our friends' preferred spot by their favorite saguaro. The
group drew an enormous circle in the desert floor, and as each rig arrived
it was carefully parked in a spoke pattern around the circle. Some 50
Montana fifth wheels showed up, and they formed a perfect circle around their mammoth campfire.
Quartzsite is filled with unusual
characters. As we walked one morning
we passed a couple making music
outside a rig. He had been a
professional musician in his day, and
she was enjoying his pointers and
accompaniment. Another day we were
greeted by a couple that puts on an
animal show with their farm animals in
nearby Bouse. They were doing rig-to-
rig advertising as they drove their
animals through the desert and invited
people to their show.
Sightings of "rare birds" is common in Quartzsite, and
people watching is great entertainment for everyone.
We visited Paul's Oassis
Books bookstore again,
and he was dressed in his
holiday finest.
Seeing Quartzsite out of
season makes you wonder
what would ever draw
anyone to visit this
desolate, dusty, shabby
town. But in January
people arrive from all over,
and the town comes alive.
We are accustomed to seeing hummingbirds at our trailer window's
feeder, but where else would you peek out your window to see a
small plane land just a few feet away? We got a wave from the pilot
when he took off again!
Not just Quartzsite's culture but its skies come alive morning and evening
as well. We were blessed with several stunning sunrises and sunsets.
I loved the way
the whole
desert sunset
scene would be
reflected in the
rear window of
our trailer.
Between visits
to Quartzsite,
we stopped in
Phoenix for
Christmas. We
took several
wonderful hikes
in the White
Tank mountains
west of the city.
One hike goes to a waterfall that runs only after a torrential
downpour. We were lucky and got a downpour and the waterfall was still running when we hiked in. I was fascinated to see a rock
covered with petroglyphs showing squiggly horizontal lines. Clearly, the people who lived there a thousand or more years ago
noted the occasional presence of water by pecking out the universally recognized symbol of water on the rock face.
After the holidays we snuck back to San Diego for the January sailboat show.