After reading about Quartzsite ever since we started researching about the RV lifestyle and entertaining the possibility of full-timing we finally visited, although it was only a day trip for the RV Show. Quartzsite has been called "Woodstock for RV'ers" and "The Greatest Show on Dirt" and is about a two hour drive one way from where we are currently parked. We went with our friends Bob and Wilma and their company and the rugged scenery mostly on I-10 made the trip seem shorter than two hours.
You can read about it but nothing prepares you for your first look at the area. There are RVs everywhere, vehicles everywhere, people everywhere. According to the Arizona Highway Department, as many as 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, mostly in RV’s, converge on this sleepy little desert town every year mostly between November and March. There is an ongoing flea market along with a gem show, an auto show, and the one we were going to, the Sports, Vacation and RV Show during different weeks. The RV show is billed as "The Largest Gathering of RVers in the World". Like Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska that becomes the third largest city in Nebraska on game days the RV Show becomes the third largest city in population in Arizona during the RV show at over 150,000.
You can read about it but nothing prepares you for your first look at the area. There are RVs everywhere, vehicles everywhere, people everywhere. According to the Arizona Highway Department, as many as 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, mostly in RV’s, converge on this sleepy little desert town every year mostly between November and March. There is an ongoing flea market along with a gem show, an auto show, and the one we were going to, the Sports, Vacation and RV Show during different weeks. The RV show is billed as "The Largest Gathering of RVers in the World". Like Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska that becomes the third largest city in Nebraska on game days the RV Show becomes the third largest city in population in Arizona during the RV show at over 150,000.
Similar to Branson Missouri which has a small population and then swells with visitors Quartzsite has just over 3000 permanent residents but unlike Branson which has a good infrastructure Quartzsite has only two off ramps on I-10 which can make the traffic terrible. But it was worth it for us because of the RV Show. 
We have been full-timing since September 2009 and have yet to attend a big rally so this was our first exposure to the vendors that are typically at rallies so we enjoyed ourselves. We spent some money on some items and saw many others that we were tempted to buy. Directly outside of the RV Show tent were other RV related vendors and food vendors. We ate at a Texas BBQ place and got brisket, pulled pork, beans and fries. Not the greatest but pretty good for the setting. After we toured all the RV related booths we walked to the flea market area, and walked, and walked. Man there are a lot of vendors here in the desert. We probably only hit about 1/2 of all the vendors possible but by then it was time to go since we had a two hour drive ahead of us. We went on a brief driving tour of Quartzsite which took us by a McDonalds for a necessity break and some hot fudge sundaes to fortify us for the drive.
To be honest the day tired us out a little and it took us a couple of days but now we are ready to go back again probably next year.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
We have been full-timing since September 2009 and have yet to attend a big rally so this was our first exposure to the vendors that are typically at rallies so we enjoyed ourselves. We spent some money on some items and saw many others that we were tempted to buy. Directly outside of the RV Show tent were other RV related vendors and food vendors. We ate at a Texas BBQ place and got brisket, pulled pork, beans and fries. Not the greatest but pretty good for the setting. After we toured all the RV related booths we walked to the flea market area, and walked, and walked. Man there are a lot of vendors here in the desert. We probably only hit about 1/2 of all the vendors possible but by then it was time to go since we had a two hour drive ahead of us. We went on a brief driving tour of Quartzsite which took us by a McDonalds for a necessity break and some hot fudge sundaes to fortify us for the drive.To be honest the day tired us out a little and it took us a couple of days but now we are ready to go back again probably next year.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
I wish I could have warned you about the Texas BBQ place. Personally, it ranks as one of the worst places I've ever eaten. There are some pretty good places to eat in Q but that ain't one of them.
ReplyDeleteBut it really is a place you have to experience in order to understand it. And next year, you should pull the rig over and spend a few days. That really makes for an experience.