QUARTZSITE: WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT??

Sometime during the second half of January, I usually write about our visit with the Boomers in Quartzsite, Arizona (click here to read a typical post from last year).  It is our biggest annual gathering of Escapee Boomers; in fact, I think the 100th rig just signed in around 3 pm today.  It is one of the few times during the year that we boondock (camp without hookups), and it is sometimes difficult to explain to people who aren’t RV’ers – and even those who are - just exactly WHY we want to leave the comforts of electric, water, and sewer hookups behind to go squat in the dusty Arizona desert in a group of 100+ other RV’s.  In fact, our group is just one of the many groups that bring together 100,000 +/- RV’s on federal land surrounding this normally tiny desert town; Quartzsite is said to be the third largest (by population) city in Arizona during the RV shows.

For us, it is all about friends – here in Boomerville, we have the chance to catch up with people we might not have seen for a year or two, and to meet more of the Boomers we don’t know. 

And activities!  Here is a partial list of how we can spend our time here in Boomerville, each activity planned and announced by volunteers:

Saturday, Jan 21 – Big Tent Opens (this is the beginning of the RV show).
9 AM Walk – tent  (This is usually a 4 mile walk for us; some go farther, some not as far)
10 AM Desert Bar (This is a solar-powered bar at the end of a dirt road out in the desert)
11 AM Zumba – Alfa with flags (Yes, Zumba to a DVD outdoors)
1 PM Easy Watercolors (taught by a volunteer artist)
4 PM Happy Hour (everyday at 4 pm, with announcements followed by food and socializing)
7 PM Panama Canal Pix  (At “Pace Theatre”, projected on the side of the Pace’s RV after dark – BYO popcorn)

Sunday, Jan 22
8 AM Pancakes – tent  (Gretchen makes pancakes every other day or so, a fundraiser)
8:30 AM Trash Run  (Volunteers with pick up trucks take all our trash to the dump in town)
9 AM Walk
10 AM 4 x 4 Run – meet at tent (lots of 4-wheelers in our group)
11 AM Tai Chi (a change from Zumba for a little variety)
1-3:30 PM Z Circle – (like a progressing dinner, but it’s progressive visiting – a great event) 
4 PM Happy Hour
7 PM Rose Float Decorating – slide show at Pace Theatre

Monday, Jan 23
9 AM Walk
11 AM Smart Phones – fire pit (We have a LOT of tech talks)
12 PM Artist Trading Cards – Time to Trade – fire pit
1 PM Military Campgrounds – fire pit
1 PM Women's Outing - tent
4 PM Happy Hour – fire pit
5 PM Potluck – fire pit
7 PM Burning Man Movie – rally 2011 (at Pace Theatre)

To me, it is amazing.  We come together for two weeks and our community blooms.  You can do it all, or just hang out and visit.  Odel and I usually stay 5-7 days, until our water runs out or other commitments dictate we move on, always invigorated by our visit with our tribe.

Now… back to our previously scheduled programming: Panama.  :)