Arizona, take off your rainbow shades (2/24/2010)
Well, we made Arizona today. After a home-cooked breakfast in the trailer, we left Rialto at about 8:30 AM.
We traveled east through San Bernadino all the way to Indio, where we stopped for fuel, a grocery store run, and then lunch at Panda Express — Roseann’s favorite. Then back on the road bound for Quartzsite, AZ. We chose Quartzsite since Blythe, CA seemed to have only a bunch of 55 and over RV “resorts.” We just wanted “a flop for the night.” I was also really jazzed about crossing the state line. At about 2:00, we did so, and I noticed that my cell phone now said 3:00. We changed our clocks and watches.
Quartzsite is a strange place. It’s a sleepy town that almost totally shuts down in the summer, due to the brutal heat. In January and February, however, it comes alive with RV travelers. There is a large gem and mineral show and sale as well as many flea markets selling just about everything. Several large RV dealers open temporary sales offices. Many RVers make it a point to meet here each year to catch up on their friendships. Since Quartzsite is surrounded by BLM land, the countryside is dotted with RVs, where people camp without hookups for weeks at a time. Clubs have annual gatherings here. It’s a giant party.
Sticks in the mud that we are, we registered at an RV park ($22 with tax) and set out to get the flavor of the town. Most of the vendors are gone, but there are some die-hards. We walked around a gathering of mineral vendors. I took some photos.
I wanted to hit some of the more general flea market booths, but 5 PM snuck up on us, and everybody rolled down their awnings and went home. So we took the hint, and went home ourselves.
About 8 PM, Mountain Time, I made fish and chips for dinner. Now that this blog entry is done, I’m going to hit the hay.