“Q” (01-24-15)

  

Q is for Quartzsite, a small town in the middle of a desert.  So, why were we parked in the middle of the desert, with no hook-up and only the electricity we could generate for ourselves?  I mean, what do you do for 12 days, out in the middle of nowhere?  Whew!  Where do I begin?






Well, first of all, to say we are by ourselves is not quite correct.  We “circle the wagons” with a bunch of our friends, most of whom are full timers like us and most of whom are members of Escapees, a club for RVers.









When we arrived, we were one of a few, and by the time we left, we were one of many.  In fact we had over 40 people in our group this year- many of them new- so we have a lot of new friends now!














 

Sometimes people arrive after dark and someone feels we have to go on the roof with a flashlight to guide them in.

We call our group the class-less class.  If someone starts full timing in 2014, they are considered to be part of the class of 2014, but our group spans many years, from 2008-2014 and we are always welcoming new members. We also, as you can see from the quality of this picture, have a professional photographer (Carol Dwyer) in our group.  Every year she lines us up for a group photo.

Rather than your standard potlucks, this year we opted for themed evenings.  Paul and I were two of the hosts for Margarita/Quesadilla night.

 

We started the evening with a toast, followed by the bursting of a custom made piñata, which was a house, sitting in a wagon- the logo for the Escapees Club. Once the candy was on the ground, people picked through it, looking for their favorites.

  Other group dinners included a hot dog night and an Italian night, complete with wine and Sangria.

We had so many activities, we had to post everything on a white board to keep everyone in the loop.

One of the reasons for coming here in January is the big RV show.

Although we don’t really buy much, heading to the Big Tent RV Show gives us an excuse to stop at two of our favorite places- Beer Belly’s Adult Day Care, where you can get a burger and beer while listening to live music- and Thrifty Ice cream- $4 and they don’t do single scoops- yum!!

Other activities included Mimosas in the Morning and a Take it or Leave it table- people dropped off things they don’t want anymore and other people shopped.  Anything that was left was donated to a thrift store.

Some of our activities are mundane.  This is what the bed of your truck looks like when you announce that you are making a trash run.

One of our favorite pastimes that isn't very plentiful in Quartzsite is hiking.   We did hike several times but the trails aren’t very interesting and there aren't very many of them.

And finally, no trip to Quartzsite would be complete without a trip to the Desert Bar.  Located 5 miles down a dirt road, the bar is only open noon-6 pm, on the weekends, so at 11:30 am, the road to the bar holds a steady stream of cars and trucks, all trying to get there before the parking lot fills up.

The Desert Bar is completely dependent on solar energy and is a unique place to listen to live music while enjoying a beer and a burger.  It is best enjoyed when you are with
 someone who has never been there.








Over the last few days, many people have moved on to new locations, as we will do tomorrow….