Dang RV

The big show finally came to town and finally I got to see it. I’ve been trying to get to this for years but never could arrange to be in the right place at the right time until now. YAY! While I don’t think it was as great as the hype or something I need to go to every year, it was nonetheless fun and and I’m glad I got to go. I would do it again though not every year.

My sister and her husband came in with friends and camped in Quartzsite in the BLM area La Posa West which is an easy walk to the Big Tent. We drove over to spend time with them and take advantage of their parking spot after the first day when we got shoved out into a sandy bog by parking attendants and had to kick into 4 wheel drive lest we get stuck like many others who kept the tow trucks busy. It didn’t help that some fool in front of us in a 2 wheel drive kept hitting his brakes and stopping in front of us. You don’t stop in sand! Anyway, it was great seeing my sister again. We BBQ’d and played cards. I hear she, like many others, enjoyed the ice cream vendor very much outside the Big Tent. Yah, I didn’t shop with her. The RV show is the sort of place for people on a mission to go it alone and see all they can while they can.

The Big Tent really is BIG! It doesn’t stop there either as vendors abound outside around it as well. You can find pretty much everything RV related in Quartzsite at this time of year and lots of just plain old living items as well. Camping chairs and RV mats were very popular. There were some RV insurance agents there. Good Sam, Passport America, Escapees, and Coast to Coast were all represented. Many campgrounds and tourism bureaus were there. Along with RV parts dealers, there were dealers for new RV wonder gadgets, Honda Yamaha generators, a vendor of tools for women (pink hammers?), cooking pots and utensils, miscellaneous tools of all types, used items, cheap groceries, solar panels, rocks and gems, jewelry, T-shirts, socks, other clothing, personal shopping carts for flea markets, camping tables, books, videos, LED lights, solar lights, decorative items for inside and out for those that still have a house, food, over the counter drug store items, and lots more. There was something for everyone. Even Verizon showed up with a fantastic deal on phones that also provide 3G internet service over Wi-Fi to 5 other devices or users (Lots of happy users now including me.).

Continue reading Quartzsite, AZ Swap Meet – RV Show – Continued

For any true hardcore RVer, a visit to Quartzsite, AZ for the giant swap meet and RV show in January every year is necessary to attend at least once. Plan at least a week if not all winter to have plenty of time to see everything the vendors have to offer and checkout the local color. Aside from the main interest (shopping for anything and everything RV related), there is Hi Jolly’s grave and the story of the U.S. Camel Corps experiment, Sweet Darlene’s restaurant with home-baked goods and Friday fish-fry, the Oasis book store run by a nudist and exotic male dancer, panning for gold, a museum, geocaching, free dry camping on BLM land surrounding Quartzsite, hanging around at social hour with groups such as Escapees, trail biking and quad running, and more. There is plenty for everyone’s taste there and a good time is sure to be had.

For those not into dry camping, there are plenty of RV parks with utilities everywhere around Quartzsite and in nearby towns. The I10 through town is very loud so don’t pay for a full week or month without checking out the noise level at the park first. Look for parks farther away from the freeway if noise bothers you. Parks close to the freeway though allow you to walk to the main shopping venues. It’s a tradeoff. Personally, I prefer being able to sleep so I’m staying 20 miles away in Blythe. Also be careful to check prices. Some parks are pricier than others and many jack the price way way up in January. Be sure to ask.

Be prepared for some lousy weather. Open desert can get extremely windy and last year they got hit pretty hard with wind, hail, and the kitchen sink. There were some RVs damaged. Most of the time is pretty pleasant however. It can get pretty cold at night so be ready with a jacket as soon as the sun starts dipping.

Many snowbirds have arrived already and are taking time to run down to Algadones, Mexico on the border for dental work, eyeglasses, and pharmaceuticals. I’m told it is relatively safe there, the food is good, and the services are excellent. There is a bus running from Quartzsite down to the border once or twice a week. I hope to get there myself this winter.

I’m in the area for the winter and am going over to Quartzsite once a week to shop early and watch it grow. Last week started to get pretty exciting as many more vendors moved in and more RVs can be seen here and there on the open desert. The show doesn’t actually start until January 22, 2011 but there’s plenty to look at now. Tyson Wells on Kuehn Rd. has enough there to wear your feet out already and Rice Ranch further down the road is definitely getting interesting. I already bought and have used a chair cane to walk about and sit down as needed. LOL You can also find shopping carts that become chairs and I found a handy backpack that also becomes a chair. I sense a theme here…

More to come…