Quartzsite, AZ-2009

On Tuesday, 1/20, we brought the MoHo out of our lot at Happy Trails for the first time for the short 2 1/2 hour drive to the legendary Quartzsite. We caravaned with our friends Allan & Shari and Bob & Maggie. We met with other Monaco owners at the same spot as last year, about 5 miles out of town on BLM land. This area allows 14 days of dispersed camping for free out in the middle of the desert. Click here to view last years blog entries.

This is camping with no hookups at all. It's called boondocking by RVer's or dry camping. We have to rely on only the water we carry with us in our tank, and keep track our usage of water to make sure that we don't fill up our black & gray water drain tanks. We use our batteries for electricity, and we run our generator to recharge the batteries a couple of times a day. We're really into green living! We can last 7-9 days like this before we have to dump our tanks and fill up with water again.

The Monaco group has been coming to the same area for 8 years. Some of the other groups gather in a circle like a wagon train, but we like to line up next to each other.

In case you're wondering why, here's the view from our living room out the front window.

As you can see, it's spectacular. And it changes with the time of day.

Unlike last year, the weather has been great. Cold nights, but warm days, with lots of sunshine. This allowed us to have a long Happy Hour every day! We would drag our chairs over into a circle, and enjoy a beverage and some snacks with our friends.

It always seems that no matter how we start out sitting, the ladies figure out a way to get together for their own conversation.

The men generally stand or sit, and talk about their motorhomes and places they've been. We don't know what the women talk about, but maybe that's a good thing.

While we're here we visit the big tent where the RV show is, and we try not to buy very much. We also visit the other sales areas. It's like a big swap meet, with everything from jewelry to tools to rocks. There's something for every interest.

We also visited the Bar in the Desert. That was interesting enough to warrant a separate blog entry to follow.

We also had a potluck where everyone grilled their own meat entree, and sampled all of the different sides that were shared. It was quite a spread, and everyone really enjoyed it.

All to soon, on Sunday, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Happy Trails so that John could continue his Physical Therapy and Linda could attend a Doctor's appointment. It was a great week. If you would like to see all of the pictures from the week please click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/winequest/QuartzsiteAZWithMonacoFriends#

Stay tuned for the Bar in the Desert