Quartzsites’ motto…. The Rock Capital of the World. This sleepy little desert town with a population slightly over 3,000 turns into a thriving metropolis each year during the months of January and February.
Well over a million tourist’s cycle through Quartzsite for the numerous Gem and Mineral Shows, Rummage Sales, and the Big RV Tent Sale. This year’s Big Tent Sale started on Jan 19th and ended Jan 27th. The Big Sale attracts thousands of RVer’s from around the country. The landscape turns into a sea of RV’s in all directions.
This was our first time to Quartzsite. Al and I don’t have much interest in flea markets, garage sales, or such and thus did not expect Quartzsite to be our cup of tea. We do have an interest in supplies and equipment for the RV and I always enjoy looking at new Rigs. So we knew there would be some small part we’d enjoy.
There are lots of RV Parks in the area that provide full-hooks, but for us, to be a part of the true Quartzsite experience, that would entail boondocking in the desert……..being self-sufficient, living off the grid, living off the land like a true Pioneer (or with a Wal-Mart 40 miles up the road). Quartzsite is surrounded by BLM Land (Bureau of Land Management – Federal Land). As such, it’s available for our enjoyment at no to little cost.
There are areas designated; Day Use Only, 14 Day camping, and LTV (Long Term Visitor). 14 day camping is free with absolutely no services of any kind. LTV areas require a fee but provide dump and trash service. The roads and trails are open to ATV’s and 4×4’s.
The Escapees RV Club – The Boomers, set up Boomerville in a 14 day camping parcel of land. We have our own community complete with organized activities. During the two-week period, 129 RV’s passed through Boomerville. We arrived to this gathering knowing a total of two couples. By the end of our stay, we were no longer newbies and were acquainted with dozens of couples.
We explore the town and vendors several days before the start of the tent sale. Al and I think, “Hey, this isn’t so crowded”. We wonder if we’re missing anything. AND then, they started showing up. A line of RV’s exiting Interstate 10 continued for days. Each day more and more RV’s pulled into Quartzsite, some of which headed to Boomerville. Al and I used to live on the outskirts of Boomerville and now we were surrounded by neighbors. As the two weeks progressed, neighbors came and neighbors went. Most folks stay for a much shorter time frame than the full 2 week period.
Traffic in town went from small town traffic to city stop and go. Parking at times was a challenge. The first 3 days of the tent sale brought elbow to elbow crowds. We went out to dinner at a local bar for a Friday night fish fry with friends and waited to be seated for an hour. The fish was good, I’m just not sure it was worth the wait.
Al and I returned to the Big Tent on Sunday the 27th, the last day of the event. No crowds. Some but few deals. Burned out merchants. Some vendors were already starting to pack up. We ate some of the best pulled pork and chicken for lunch. No waiting, no crowds! It was awesome. We bought a couple of things we needed but manly browsed. The day before had brought rain which kept us rig bound. So it was nice to get out and about and enjoy a gorgeous day of sunshine and a little shopping.
Al and I had a great Quartzsite experience. Is it for everyone? Nope. Would we do it again? Yes. What was the best part of our experience? Friendship. How long did we stay? Sixteen days……shhhh, don’t tell anyone we stayed two days longer than alloted. That inital five-day stay we thought would be plenty, turned into sixteen and with the exception of a few cold days and one day of rain, the weather was very agreeable.
We took the rig into town twice to dump the tanks, take on fresh water, fill up propane, and purchase gasoline for the generator. All and all our boondocking capabilities are improving and we had an immensely good time. More tales to follow!
Live Laugh RV 
We are settled in Quartzsite right now for just the night. Not sure we could have handled the throngs of the past two weeks. Looks like a huge flea market but it certainly appeals to the masses as evidenced in your photos. It sounds like there are places to get away from the huge crowds and enjoy socializing.
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Fortunately the crowds were short lived and it was definitely an “experience” worth writing about 🙂
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That is so crazy how many RVs show up. Did you get the turtles? They’re very cute.
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No to the turtles 😦 and it was thousands of RV’s. We thought it was crazy and crowded but locals/regulars said it was not a good turn out. There’s an interesting book store in town….up coming post. An avid reader would love this place – perhaps not the proprietor though.
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Looking forward to hearing about that book store.
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Fun post! Been there once, it was like a billion degrees and I didn’t even want to get out of the car. ha ha! Thanks for sharing!
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I can’t imagine what this place is like in the summer. Even most of the restaurants and business seem to shut down due to heat. Interesting place!
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Thanks, Ingrid, for the recap of Q…I do love a good garage sale, but those crowds and vendors would be a once experience for us…Neither of us like crowds much. So, now we feel like we went, thanks to your “woman on the street” reporting….Like you said, it is for some, but not for all…Thanks for the tour!!!..Tell Al when I had the crud I found that a Brandy Manhattan was better than Nyquil…:-)
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The last day of the tent sale was empty. QZ has emptied and returned to a little desert town. Great advice for Al…..already with ya on that one. One more post on QZ coming up…..lots of photos and you can check QZ off your list “as seen”. 🙂
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Looks like fun. I like walking around market places like that – as long as it’s followed up with some good food. haha!
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We had some of the best pulled pork and chicken ever…..slow cooked outside….yum. Margaritas and sunsets at the rig 🙂
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Now that’s what I’m talking about! 🙂
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Thanks for all the information. We hope to experience the Q some day. We plan to become full timers June 2013.
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Well we haven’t taken the plunge to full-time just yet but working on it. We’ve been taking it in baby steps. So far, so good. Keep us posted 🙂
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We will be getting to Q about 2nd week of Feb.. Were lots of RVs also leaving as the vendors were closing?
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The town has emptied out and returned to normal. Plenty of room 🙂
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Well done. We will be getting to Q about 2nd week of Feb.. Were lost of RVs also leaving as the vendors were closing?
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It’s amazing what a difference a week makes. Q is returning to a quiet little desert town. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding a place to park…..providing there isn’t some sort of other major show!
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I’ve never been to Quartzside but I hope to go someday. It sound like a place I would like to visit on our RV travels. Great Blog! Love those turtles!
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Q is a different place for sure. Some feel once is enough and others return year after year. But isn’t that the beauty of a home on wheels……don’t like? move on. It’s a great lifestyle.
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Well done,and you captured it all ! We can call you now boondocking experts. Way to go. Going in to Quartzsite with a positive attitude results in a positive experience and more fun. Safe travels as you heed back to civilization.
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We were going to head toward Phx today, but once again changed our mind. Al is finally starting to feel better….he had that crud that was going around. There are currently three of us left at our QZ camp. I’ll have an unobstructed sunset view tonight….happy dance 🙂
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Now this sounds like something I’d enjoy.. I must say I do enjoy a good flea market if full of all sorts of things and not just cookies and books… and the camaraderie really sounds super .. love it..
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If you like flea markets, you’d love this place. There’s stuff for sale everywhere…..and lots of DIFFERENT stuff. Yes, I could see you and the wife enjoying the bargain hunting and gorgeous skies…….and our company of course….lol
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Glad you had fun in Q and thanks for the great overview of the process, we have never done it, but would like to someday.
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I think boondocking with a group made it more of a positive experience for us than a’ bunch of you never know what’ll pull in next to ya’. If you decide to give it a go next year, I’d be more than happy to share some ‘insider’ tips 🙂
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