Today we did a little field trip into Quartzsite to see what was going on. We are staying in RV park we stayed in a couple years ago when we were out this way - Black Rock RV Village in Brenda. This RV park is about 12 miles east of Quartzsite.

Ang and I were curious as to how QZ would be different than the last time we were out here.  Last time we were here was mid October of '07, so it was pretty quiet still. We remember a lot of road construction in QZ, not a lot of places open, and mostly fried food to eat. This visit would prove only slightly different.

As we came in from the east, we definately saw an increase in the number of people boondocking in the BLM last east of town. I love seeing the boondockers out there because it reminds me of a type of Burning Man scene - except with some greenery. Simply a bunch of RVs parked in a seemingly random configuration. I am sure there is some order to it, but not apparent from the freeway.

We drove through the sleepy town, and quickly noticed the increase of activity over last visit. You can really tell this town fills up with stuff during the winter. We decided that Quartzsite is pretty much made up of flea market shanty towns.  There were several large RV dealers that had areas staked out for the arrival of inventory. There were a few restaurants that look like they try to make it year round. Other than a Dollar General and a Beals Outlet, the shanty commerce seemed to rule the region.

Ang and I stopped at one of the outposts and walked through a few tents. I was pretty excited to walk through a large surplus RV parts tent, and it provided quite a bit of entertainment for the both of us. The tent contained new and used RV everything - from cabinet knobs to couches. It was fun to check out the goodies, and we walked out with a few items we were needing.

We walked down and checked out a few other sites, and I bought an awesomely ugly carpet from The Carpet Lady. All in all, I walked away only about $40 poorer.

We grabbed a quick bite and beer at Taco Mio, which was not too bad. As we sat there with the coldest Pacifico I have ever had, we talked about the draw of QZ. What happens with the RVer buys everything that will fit in their RV? As fulltimers, we are not too big on tchotchkes,  we can't load up on wall art or yard gnomes, and we need to fix only so many things on the RV. In our opinion, the area does not hold the beauty we find in California, or southern Utah, or Texas, or Colorado, or most anywhere else we have been. 

It must be a "homecoming" of sorts. Groups meeting up, friends gathering. Doing a little shopping to find repair parts, maybe upgrading a mattress or replacing a day/night blind. That has to be it, because other than the nearly free boondocking (not free: propane, fuel for genny, water, dumping tanks, etc), I can't see a whole lot pulling me here, other than meeting up with others that come out.

It was a good day though, because I played hookie and got to hang out with my lady :)

--kev