Quartzsite, Arizona

We arrived in Quartzsite on Monday, January 16. We have never been here before and were not sure what to expect. I had read a bunch of other blogs of experienced Q people, but it never is what you have in your mind. They have plenty of RV parks in town that are not expensive, but also not our thing. They have lots of BLM camp areas that have a 14 day limit and are free. They also have some Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVA) that have a fee of $40 for 14 days or $180 for 7 months, but they have water and dump stations. We were contacted by a guy on RVillage that was looking to do a Dual Sport ride and he was staying in the Plomosa Road BLM area that is about 7 miles north of town. We decided to go out to Plomosa road and check it out. When we arrived we went to the check in area and were greeted by a very friendly camp host that gave us the information about the area. We filled out the form and got our free 14 day pass. We drove in a couple of miles and found an open spot along a small draw. The ground was dead level. We have been in plenty of improved campsites that were not this level. We have a great view of the surrounding mountains and although there are hundreds of RV's in this area, our closest neighbor is about 100 yards away.

It is really hard to get a shot of this area that really shows the size and the spacing of the rigs. I think a drone shot would be best.

While we were setting up, the main slide failed again. I knew it was the shear pin again and now knew exactly how to fix it. That took me about 20 minutes and I now know that some more adjustment is needed. I will just keep playing with it to get it perfect.

I went to town to pick up my package of my bike parts. As I said in my previous post, I found a small shop that accepts packages for $2 per package. I went in and the owner was a bit frazzled. She asked me if I knew anything about computers. I said well I actually do. That was what I did for 33 years. To make a long story short, I was able to fix her problem. She was grateful and would not let me pay for my package. I told her I was going to have a number of other things shipped in and would pay for them. She told me that my money was not good in her store and would not let me pay for any of them. How cool is that?

I took advantage of the quiet times in the desert to get a few things done on the bike, truck and trailer. That work pointed to some new parts I needed. I have ordered them and am now waiting for some of them to arrive.

Our first impression of Quartzsite has been very good. We like the laid back vibe of this place and will write more about it as we explore more and hit the big tent show. We have friends coming in and we are really looking forward to seeing them again. I will write more about our experiences in Quartzsite in my coming posts. As of this writing, it looks like we will stay here about 3 weeks.