Travel Log 4: November 19, 2008 - Elvis Has Definitely Left the Building!

It’s so hard to believe that we were in Las Vegas only one week ago. It is particularly hard to believe, because now staying in Quartzsite, AZ, we are in the exact opposite environment to Vegas. Quartzsite is a settlement at the intersection of Highway 95 South and Interstate 10. The population of this little dustbowl is 1,800 people. 

 

Something else that’s hard to believe is that this little dustbowl hosts 1 million visitors per year! It is a mecca for the RV crowd. As far as infrastructure, there is next to nothing here. For groceries there are only a couple of little corner stores. There are two gas stations, a McDonalds (of course!), Subway and Carl’s Jr. There are a couple of RV dealerships. The roads are paved, and one of the RV dealerships and the two gas stations are the only paved properties in town. Everything else is gravel, sand and dirt. 

 

If for some reason you are not sure that you have arrived at Quartzsite, the gigantic iron statue of a fishing rod beside the highway will alert you. Carl and Emil…we’ve taken a picture just for you!

 

There are many, many RV parks, as well as dry camping on the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), which costs a nominal fee for a year’s pass. There are literally RV’s as far as the eye can see across portions of the desert. The RV ‘season’ hasn’t quite hit here yet, and apparently when it does (December/Jan/Feb), this crossroads becomes an RV city.

 

What does everyone do here? We keep asking that question to anyone who will listen. We get the following answers: sit and read; look at the desert; go for walks; enjoy the warmth; go rock hounding; go flea market shopping. I forgot to mention, that’s the other thing one sees for acre after acre…flea market tents.

 

One can find just about anything under these tents; and characters to go along with them. There is the 70 year old book vendor who sits in nothing but his speedo bikini; there’s the vendor with table after table of surgical tools (hmmmm…); there’s the wood carver who is dying to make a sign for our RV which says ‘Ma and Pa Thompson’. Yes…we are a long way from Vegas. Elvis has definitely left the building!

 

We’ve found a fairly nice little RV park here. The caliber is totally different from where we’ve visited so far; no such thing as pools or exercise rooms, no paved lots. However our park has a nice clubhouse for laundry (complete with a clothesline outback!)  and we have a site right at the edge of the park where we overlook the desert. Very nice and quiet. 

 

We’ll stay in Quartzsite for a few days and attempt soak up some of the local culture. Adrian is intrigued by the area; I, on the other hand am not sure how much ‘soaking up’ I’m interested in! It’s all a little “wild west” and we already find ourselves uttering such things as “sun up”, “yonder”, and “I reckon”. I guess the desert brings out the spaghetti cowboy in all of us!

 

We still aren’t sure where exactly we will go from here. But, I reckon we have a few days to work it out!