THE GATHERING PLACE

In the summertime, it’s just another sleepy town in the southwestern Arizona desert (Pop. about 2,500) In the winter months, it’s a different story when Quartzsite turns into one of the biggest gathering places in the country, especially January and February when the annual dealer shows are held there. The biggest is the RV, Sports and Vacation Show held this year Jan 17-25 in “the big tent,” a huge three-ring circus size tent packed with vendors, followed by the Rock, Gem and Mineral Show, then the Classic Car Show. There are also numerous ongoing swap meets featuring rocks, gems, and minerals, beads, antiques, craft items and jewelry to name only a few.

Quartzsite is also a place where snowbirds from Canada and the US states come in their RVs to spend the winter on thousands of acres of BLM land in the warm desert climate. Winter daytime temps are normally in the 70s. One can boondock (dry camp) here for two weeks for a fee of $40 or stay the entire season (September-April) for $180. A nearby water and dump station is available. There are also free 14-day camping areas but they are farther away from town. We like it close to town because we can walk about ¼ mile to where the “action” is.

We arrived here January 8 with a full tank of fresh water and empty holding tanks, paid our two-week fee and claimed our dusty plot of ground in the desert, facing a dry wash lined with Palo Verde trees. We were surprised to see so few RVs here compared to past years. But, a few days before the “big tent show” opened, RVs began swarming into the area.

Every time we stay here, we learn more about this area and thanks to Gary and Diane, our next-door neighbors from British Columbia, we have learned a lot more on this visit. Gary volunteers at the QIA building. What’s that? We asked. The QIA is a sort of community center but not run by the city. It’s an independent non-profit that hosts numerous activities. Gary gave us a schedule: exercise classes, line dancing, programs and entertainment; they serve lunches and dinners on scheduled days and host dances Friday or Saturday nights. That’s how we learned that the New Christy Minstrels (thenewchristyminstrels.com) were scheduled for a performance and we were able to get tickets. What an enjoyable evening that was!! The QIA also hosts Pow-Wow, a large gem, mineral and jewelry show with over 700 vendors.

THE TV PROJECT

For about three months before we left home, Larry had been talking about replacing the old 19” TV in our motor home with a flat screen LCD TV. It sounded like a daunting project to me. But, encouraged by the receipt of our $600 economic stimulus check from the government, we began our TV shopping and research. First we looked at 26” TVs, but a friend, who owns an identical motor home, had installed a 32” and he suggested that we upgrade the size. So we dug a few more dollars out of the sock and after much comparison shopping, we purchased a Sony Bravia flat screen TV, and the project began.

The original TV was centered between two cabinets above the motor home dashboard. We decided to install the new TV in a slightly recessed area occupied by a cabinet on the passenger side. I cringed as Larry began ripping the guts out of the cabinet. But during the process we acquired a real appreciation for how sturdy this coach was built. After removing the door from that cabinet, he installed it over the “hole” that was left after removing the original TV.---It fit perfectly. The plan is to make a storage cabinet in that space, later. After installing lumber supports for the bracket that would hold the new TV, and tearing them out, and redoing it three times, Larry finally got the new TV installed “perfectly.” He did a great job, and we love it. Here are the before and after photos. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.

The project was finished just in time to attend a Christmas RV rally December 10-14 in Murchison, Texas hosted by our Lone Star FMCA Chapter.