Left Yarnell about 11am and after a grocery stop in Wickenburg pulled in Thursday afternoon and am currently hangin’ out in Quartzsite with friends. Lots of friends. Hundreds to Thousands of people with RVs that I don’t know and five (so far) that I do know and even like. Most of the folks I’m hangin’ with have worked at Grand Canyon at some point, mostly for Grand Canyon Association (nonprofit partner with the park), the concessionaires, and a couple National Park Service folks like myself thrown in. Started out with day time temps a pleasant mid 70s and night only down to high 40s. Sadly, that changed.
Lots of shows happening in town. Starting this weekend the Big Tent full of RVs for sale. I’ve never been to this show as I already own two RVs and don’t need another. Would be fun to look I guess. Friends here want to see their “used” stock of small tow trailers as an upgrade from their 8 foot slide-in truck camper. Seems they frequently have company.
Friday night the wind blew in, probably the southern edge of a big storm moving east. And Saturday’s southern wind made the low 60s barely tolerable so most of us hung out in our respective “homes”. My signal is weak and iffy so I spent windy time inside labeling more photos, of course. Finished with June 2017. 
The sky to the north looked ominous but only a few drops of rain fell Saturday afternoon. I counted them, seven on the window. Enjoyed the show of clouds racing across the sky from west to east.
The organized groups of RVs, ie: Newmar mega motorhomes and some other groups, park in lines and rows so close together they can barely get their slides open, and forget the awning. I don’t get it. It’s a huge desert. Single RVs seem to find an open area as far away from others as possible. Small groups like ours, currently four units, kind of circle up to create some sense of privacy around a large rock fire ring. I’m on the outside of the circle. More will be joining us. Gravel “roads”are grided across the land in an attempt to avoid the sparse vegetation of creosote bush, palo verdes, and a few saguaros. It is easy to get lost. Or at least misplaced for a while.
Gorgeous sunset as we enjoyed dinner around the fire with newly made friends from Canada invited over with their dog Zues because they parked their Pleasure Way van nearby. RVers are usually a friendly bunch.
As usual the wind blows in Quartzsite, and much of the southern desert, during the winter. Temperatures can be in the mid to high 60s and sometimes even low70s but is cool to uncomfortable outside when the wind blows. Still, many of us will bundle up in the afternoons and gather around the fire, the leeward side of a large RV, or even inside the largest RV to chat away until it’s time to eat dinner. We eat often and well with this group. Everyone takes turns to cook one night for the group plus there’s always leftovers available.
I caught a sunrise
By Sunday, night time temperatures dropped to high 20s and that’s really too cold for me. I sleep warm enough but it’s very difficult to get out of bed in the morning at 40 inside the camper. Yet nature calls so I turn on the heat on the way. It’s only two steps apart in this tiny house.
Friends and visitors come and go. It’s a great place to meet with people from far away who are traveling in the Southwest. Berta may come down this week and Tom by the end of the week if he can get out of Santa Barbara. Plus Saturday is the 4th Annual Bogger-Fest. Hard to say who’ll show up for that.
RVs are on the move all the time, coming in, going out. All shapes, sizes, configurations, and value. Plus sadly also lots of generators running at all times of day and night. Really, someone spends around $100,000 on an RV and can’t live off grid for a day or two. Yet I know that many of these mega-motorhomes have household refrigerators that need power. My 5th-wheel is like that and so it doesn’t boondock.
Monday the group size increased by five but two others left. I cooked dinner that night for 10 and only needed to borrow one oven to bake the second pan of sausage, beans, and greens casserole. That evening’s entertainment was a paper lantern sent off, not particularly my thing, but boys will be boys even once they grow up.
During the day people drift in and out of camp, going for walks or going to town. I’ll be honest, I still haven’t walked a whole lot. But I do have a list for going to town. Some miscellaneous RV parts and whatever else catches my eye. That’s where I am this morning. Signal has been the shits out in the desert and I wanted to get this posted. Plus I knew if I wanted a place to park in town I’d have to be in the lot early.
