Quartzsite: boondocking and friends

Quartzsite, Arizona can be described as one of the great spectacles of RV life. Thousands of RVers gather in the desert for two weeks to celebrate life on the road. There are potlucks, classes, music, and a huge RV show and swap meet. Companionship from new and old friends combined with a beautiful desert landscape made this an unforgettable experience.

photo by Larry Farquhar

We camped at the Escapee RV club's Boomerville camp. It's a subgroup of mostly Baby Boomers and those who are like minded. There we met with some of our favorite people from workamping at Yellowstone in 2017. Debby Bradford found us all a sweet spot near the central Boomerville fire pit. Bob and Cindy Pettit, who suggested we all meet in Quartzsite, soon joined her, followed by Sue Dusenberry, then Denise and me. A few days later, Richard Browning arrived. It was really great to be with some of our Yellowstone family again.

The weather was perfect -- highs never went above 85 degrees and overnight lows were in the low 50s. It was occasionally very windy and lots of traffic constantly kicked up dust, which often stung out eyes and throats. Denise had just been getting over a severe cold, only to be hammered by the dust. We both spent a lot of time inside to avoid sneeze and cough attacks.

I hadn't spent much time in the desert. The Sonoran Desert is vast, showcasing the iconic Saguaro cactus, along with squat barrel cactus, and prickly cholla cactus, among many other kinds of vegetation. We saw few birds, but there were many bugs and we could hear coyotes calling every few nights. There was lots of rabbit scat and loads of tiny ground burrows, but we never saw any rabbits or mice.

Kimbo got a brand new hat to shade his fair skin.

We bought a few things from the swap meet, including a porch mat for Loretta and a hat for Kimbo. There were vendors selling anything and everything you might need for your life on and off the road. One of the things we'd love to eventually add to Loretta is a screened-in room under our awning. We saw one there that would be perfect, but at $1,800 we decided to wait until we can better predict our income. Many people report there are fantastic deals on RVs as well, but Loretta still has years and many, many miles left in her.

One of my favorite things to do was wander around and talk to people or join a gathering. People shared ideas or led discussion on everything from crafts and playing ukulele to cooking in an Instant Pot and using social media to fund life on the road. At night, there'd either be a big central gathering to watch a presentation projected on the side of a Class A RV or music and dancing. Many people set up smaller fires around camp and invited neighbors to join. We met so many nice people who love RV life.

This was a typical crowd at demonstrations in Boomerville.

Camping in the area surrounding Quartzsite, which is run by the Buerau of Land Management, is free for 14-day stretches. You must get a permit from the area camp host and then must move your camp to another area after your permit expires. Many people spend months in the Sonoran desert this way.

The roads can be really rough. The 2-mile stretch to get to Boomerville was mostly gravel and the little section that was asphalted hasn't seen any love in many years. We just took it slow and kept double checking all the critical nuts and bolts in our RV to make sure nothing shook loose.

Quartzsite gave us a new-found appreciation for the desert and extended boondocking -- we camped for 10 days. It's a far cry from our favorite landscapes: beaches, mountains, and forests. But we learned a lot and met some really great people -- in the end, that's what our travels are all about.