It may be a dusty, desert town, but despite what some may say, there are PLENTY of activities in which you can participate when visiting Quartzsite, Arizona. Hence, we dove right in. We started by attending several line dance lessons at the Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA). We also drove up to Brenda for dance lessons at Desert Gold RV Park. We were greeted warmly by all our instructors and fellow classmates.
We try to put those line dance lessons to good use. So, we joined several of our classmates to do some fancy footwork to the sounds provided by
the SkyHawk band at both the Senior Center and the QIA.
We Quartzsite line dancers don a new T-shirt design each year for our March Madness event, courtesy of our talented friend, Marlys. In addition to creating a new design annually, Marlys hosts several paint parties during which we all “customize” our shirts, and we were just in time for the final party of the season.
We hit the pickleball courts several times with some of the folks with whom we played last year, and we met some new competitors as well. Though the Town Park has a court, we prefer to pay the nominal fee to play at Holiday Palms RV Park ($3/day/person; $30/month/person; $125/season/person; $200/season/couple).
What we love most about Quartzsite is reuniting with RV friends. So, we broke bread at Silly Al’s with Curtis/Stephanie, whom we met back in 2015 when we attended a Rally for Montana 5th wheel owners. Though we visited with them in recent years in Idaho, this was the first time they have been back down in Quartzsite since 2020.
There is no better way to celebrate lunar activity than attending a monthly “Howling at the Moon” festival in Yuma, Arizona. It is 4-5 hours of great music, dancing, vendors, and, of course, photos with Wolfie. We were joined by good friends that we met when we all volunteered at the 50th Anniversary of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in 2022.
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| The monthly Howling at the Moon Festival in Yuma is such a blast... |
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| ...even the paragliders drop in for the fun. |
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| Mom and me dancing in the desert. |
 
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Earlier that same day, we had a mini reunion at Da Boyz Cafe with folks with whom we work-camped at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Hazlet, Texas in 2016. Those were 3 months of hard, physically-taxing work. But the wonderful people we met there made it all worthwhile.
There are all types of musical events in Quartzsite, from
informal jam sessions, to live bands, to drum circles. We enjoyed watching friend Chrissy perform
with the Greater Quartzsite Ukulele Orchestra. It proved to be an evening of fun and
laughter for participants as well as audience members. Where else can you listen to the gentle
strumming of ukuleles accompanied by kazoos (which is one “instrument” I
think I can master!).
We were among the 350 people who attended the Quartzsite
Roadrunner Mineral/Gem Club Spaghetti Dinner.
Delicious food, great conversation with fellow attendees
Maryellen/Richard, musical entertainment by Jade Street Band, and all for a
good cause—raising funds for the Club’s Scholarship Program.
We hit the road early one morning to visit the University of California in Holtsville (UC Holtsville). We love this place. Pre-2020, we would attend their farm tours. We would get an informative presentation about the protocols for agriculture within the Imperial Valley of California, a delicious lunch, and an opportunity to pick our own vegetables. Sadly, COVID killed those enjoyable tours. Now, UC Holtsville just sponsors pop-up u-pick produce markets every now and then. There were about 100 of us who were happy to bring our own bags and knives and hit the fields to harvest romaine, cauliflower, and broccoli. We picked 30 pounds of produce—plenty to share with 6 friends! It sure brought back memories of all the u-pick farms we frequented near our home in New Jersey. From a variety of berries to apples, from peaches to pumpkins, you name it, we picked it. I, PoPo the Rambling RV Rat once picked a peck of peppers all by myself! It is such a spiritual experience, reaping the bounty provided by our Creator and connecting with Mother Earth.
While in California, we stopped at Imperial Sand Dunes,
playground for off-roaders, motocross, and dune buggies. It was a VERY windy day, so only a few
diehards were out on the dunes. The
blowing sand felt like a microdermabrasion treatment on my face, not to mention
sand being stuck in every crevice of my stuffed body!
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| A lone buggy braving the winds. |
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| The winds were so fierce, they damaged my sand art self portrait! |
The wildflowers were prolific along CA-78! While the scenery was lovely, the road was like a roller coaster. (In fact, I saw several signs that said “dips”. At first, I thought it was referencing my parents. But then I realized that it couldn’t possibly know that our car was approaching and that the sign was referring to the road conditions!)
We had a busy first 2 weeks! But that is just the way we like it. I'm looking forward to more fun in the Arizona sun. Talk to you again soon!
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| Tonight's sunset! |
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