Quartzsite, Arizona - Perfect for Us. How About for You?

It was a crisp morning on January 2, 2025, when we began our 10^th annual trek to Southwest Arizona to dry out our bones and our rig, Suite Retreat, from the wet, humid weather we had experienced when home in Livingston, Texas.  We took our typical route along I-10 and US-90, making our traditional overnight stays: Alamo Area SKP Co-op Lone Star Corral in Hondo, Texas ($5/night boondocking); Ghost Lights Visitor Center, Marfa, Texas (free boondocking); and Escapees Dream Catcher RV Park, Deming, New Mexico, to pump/dump/do laundry (“Escapees member” price of $36 including tax, for 50 AMP, full hook up, pull through “super” site).

Visiting with long-time Escapees friends At Lone Star Corral...

...and making some new animal friends, too.

 

It was windy when we arrived in Quartzsite, Arizona.  But with moderate temperatures (60F degrees), it was a much better alternative than the cold blast and tornado watches affecting home and many other parts of the Country.  Our friends from our “boondocking neighborhood” advised that our camping spot from the prior 3 years was still available, so we proceeded directly to Tyson Wash, 1 of the 4 Long-Term Visitor Areas (LTVAs) operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Quartzsite, Arizona.  Staying in 1 of the 4 Quartzsite LTVAs gives access to water, dump station, and trash, all amenities NOT PROVIDED if you stay in the nearby 14-day free areas.  Though BLM has had public meetings about increasing the price of staying at the LTVAs, the $180/Oct 15-April 15 and $40/2-week permits were still valid for the 2024-2025 winter season. 

Are you wondering what possesses us to boondock in quirky Quartzsite year after year?  After all, it is a small desert town, a speck on the Arizona map.   It has little nightlife and only a handful of sit-down restaurants (though there is a new Indian restaurant near the Love’s Travel Center whose food is delicious!)  The Quartzsite desert has frequent windstorms that blow dust into every crease and crevice of your belongings.   And with little rain this past year, it was cooler and drier than usual, resulting in many of the flowering cacti, trees, and bushes remaining dormant and dull in color.

 

So, what DOES Quartzsite offer?  For us, Quartzsite is synonymous with community.  Those of us who are desert dwellers represent all walks of life.  We hail from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.  We inhabit all types of living quarters, from tents, cars, and vans to diesel pushing buses and towable trailers/fifth wheels, from converted school buses to self-built units.

Like our living quarters, we desert dwellers all have different-sized vehicles to drive.  Look at this cute little number I test rode!  A complete opposite of our tow vehicle, Big Boomer.

But we share a love of being outdoors, living in nature among God’s wonderous creations.  We adore witnessing glorious sunrises, marveling at spectacular sunsets, smelling the unusual scent of the creosote bushes after a rare day of rain, and being rewarded with a colorful rainbow.  We enjoy watching a variety of birds as they partake of the feeders that we set up for their dining pleasure.  The dark skies are perfect for star gazing, catching the International Space Station (ISS) fly overs, capturing great photos of a Space X launch from Vandenburg Air Force Base, and watching lunar events.     

Sunrise...

Sunset...

Cold morning temperatures in late January produced icicles on this tree...

...and on nearby foliage.

An early March rainstorm...

...produced a colorful rainbow...

...and yielded us some creosote bush blooms.

The dark skies of Quartzsite made it easy to capture this photo of a SpaceX Launch from Vandenburg Air Force Base.

March's Strawberry Moon, taken through the cell phone attached to our new tabletop telescope.

My family values our solitude in Quartzsite, but we also enjoy reuniting with folks who are now like “family”.  We have our “dance” family, with whom we took lessons 2-3 times per week with beloved and wonderful instructors in Quartzsite and in nearby Brenda.  We went to live music venues 2-3 times per week with our fellow dance enthusiasts, putting those lessons to good use.  We had great fun at our annual paint party, where we customized our dance group T-shirts.  And, of course, we enjoyed another March Madness.  Held annually at the Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) the first Monday in March, 90 people of all ages from ½ dozen towns come together for a full day of line dancing.

Putting our lessons to good use at the QIA...

...at the Senior Center...

...and at dances sponsored each week... 

...at JRs RV Park.

Thank you Marlys and Luanne for organizing our T-shirt painting party!

Marlys and Julie getting me decked out in a custom-sized Rambling RV Rat Quartzsite Line Dancing Group shirt for March Madness!

Our beloved Quartzsite Line Dancing Group.

Thank you, Vee, for another terrific dance season!

Now that we replaced our Polaris RZR 570 side-by-side with my Rambling RV Rat Pack Rubicon, we have a new group of fellow off-roading enthusiasts, the Rock-N-Slow Rollers and SKP Birds-of-a-Feather Off-Road Jeepers, with whom we traversed trails this season.  We did a little exploring ourselves as well.  So, we saw some very cool new-to-us places, enjoyed re-visiting some interesting areas, and did a bit of hiking and geocaching along the way.  Here's a few photos and a compilation video of our rides.

Hogback.

We stopped for lunch at this Guzzler.  The minute we left, a big horn sheep came out of hiding.

You never know what you will find...

...when off-roading!

My Rambling RV Rat Pack Rubicon had an "intimate meeting" with the rock wall within this slot canyon at Maggie's Wash.

Thank you Tim, Tina, and Nicky of SKP Birds-of-a-Feather Off-Road Jeepers for the trail rides!

Joseph Fremont Cone Cabin.

Petroglyphs at Dripping Springs.

Apache Chief Cabin.

Great time on Jeep ride to Dripping Springs with Dave and fellow Escapees/Xscapers. 

Potty Lane at Erdman Mine.  There are active prospectors still mining here.

My parents and friend Melana posing at Skull Rock, KOFA NWR.

Enroute to Alamo Lake/Maggie's Wash with Rock-N-Slow Rollers.

Compilation Video of our Off-Roading Adventures.

We got together with our “workcamping” community—folks with whom we have shared work and/or volunteer experiences through the years.

Annual visit with Gloria/Rick from our days at Amazon in Hazlett, TX during 2015/2016.

Friends from 2022 50th Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta: Vivian/Denis... 

...Deb/Dennis...

...Kate/John.

We met Marie at our Crazy Horse Memorial gig in Custer, South Dakota in 2015.  We have had an annual reunion in AZ with Marie and her hubby Bob every year except 2023, when Dad's health issues prevented us from traveling.  Sadly, Bob passed away that same year.

Sylvia, fellow volunteer in 2020 at USACE Dworshak Dam in Orafino, Idaho.

 

We have our pickleball peeps with whom we played, on average, once weekly.  We thank Holiday Palms RV Park for allowing non-Park guests to enjoy the courts for a nominal fee.

We had some great folks within our boondocking neighborhood, some we met in prior years and some new to our section.  

Thanks, Sharon, for hosting this get-together.  Such good times with neighbors.

A variety of special events occur in Quartzsite to keep us winter guests entertained.  (While many special events occur throughout the October 15-April 15 season, the following are those in which we participated during our stay of early January through mid-March.)

 

The Hi Jolly Parade/Camelpalooza takes place the second Saturday in January.  Though the 2025 parade was shorter than last year, I was excited that there were many more members of the Camel Corps participating.  Camelpalooza includes food, music, rides on the camels, and vendors, whose wares focus on everything camel.  I couldn’t resist buying Mom a camel necklace from our jewelry-making friend Lisa.  I also purchased some 3-D printed camel “ducks” from another vendor to bestow upon Dad and fellow Jeepers.

Members of the Roadrunner Rock and Gem Club. 

Members of the Camel Corps, the stars of the parade.

Friend Carol, a local Quartzsite resident, showcases her Miata.

Even the aliens are crazy in love with camels!

My favorite parade entry.

The Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, and RV Show commences on the 3rd Saturday in January.  We rode our bicycles in to see if the vendors offered anything new or exciting.  Let’s just say my cheese money is still in my own pocket.  And after touring the RVs, this Rambling RV Rat’s opinion is that most were complete crapola with an astronomical cost.        

 

We attended the annual Party on Plomosa hosted by Escapees RV Club in mid-January.  With the Status Crowes performing, we all were guaranteed a good time.  

 Escapees RV Club invites the general public as well as Club members to attend its annual Party on Plomosa.

Having friends Gayle/David, Denis/Vivian, and Lisa with us made it even more fun.

Our favorite dancing dinosaur, Lisa, recruited Dad as her T-Rex sidekick. 

Mom, Lisa, and others dancing in the desert.

The Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) hosts several musical performances during the season.  In late January, we attended the first of 3 monthly ukelele concerts offered.  Members of the Greater Quartzsite Ukelele Orchestra are a fun-loving, entertaining group of talented strummers.  Their performance included playing kazoos to accompany the ukeleles.  (Finally, I found an “instrument” this stuffed rat with no fingers can play—the kazoo!  Lord knows I am filled with enough hot air to play this “wind” instrument!)   

We patronized the spaghetti dinner sponsored by the Roadrunner Rock and Gem Club as a fundraiser to award scholarships to Quartzsite area students.  Mom was the winner in a tricky tray auction of a lovely piece of jewelry handcrafted by Joan, our Livingston neighbor who winters in Quartzsite with her hubby, Charlie.

 

We enjoyed a Baked Potato Potluck Party at the Quartzsite Historical Society.  It was an opportunity to see the old Wells Fargo Stagecoach Station again, catch up with friend Carol, and meet several of the other year-round residents of Quartzsite—all while enjoying some delicious spuds with a variety of toppings.

 

I hosted my annual Rambling RV Rat Desert Party on March 8.  It was well received by friends, and we had terrific weather.  Mom cooked and baked up a storm, as usual.  She is not the best cook, but her claim to fame is that she had never poisoned anyone.  I am happy to say that her record is still intact.

Aerial view of my 2025 Annual Rambling RV Rat Desert Party.  

  

Dad checking the quality of the photo he took.

As you can see, Quartzsite kept us quite busy for our 9-week stay.  For us, it is a perfect fit.  But, if none of these activities interest you, there are tons of others to choose from: rock hounding, jewelry making, karaoke, music jams, to name a few.  And if boondocking is not your scene, there are numerous RV Parks in Quartzsite.  Plus, there is lots to do as a day trip in Phoenix, Bouse, Parker, California, and Yuma (I will tell you about the fun stuff we did in those areas within my next blog.) So, I ask the question:  Is Quartzsite right for YOU?