AZ desert

So we are now in our 2nd state this 2011 year - Arizona. Thoroughly enjoyed CA but it's time to be on the move again.

We are in Quartzsite, AZ or alternately known as Q when you tire of typing out the entire long name. Vast areas of desert and BLM lands with small mountain backdrops, just across the CA border from Blythe on I-10. Q is a town with a population of about 3300 folks if you do not count the itinerants like us. Count us and the population reaches something like 100,000. Over 1 million people visit Q in the months of January and February for RV, vacation, gem, mineral shows and flea markets. Hotels and motels do NOT abound for this. RV's do. It is said to be the largest gathering of RV's anywhere in the world. This aerial photo above was taken by a member of our group, the Escapees Boomers. He flies a power parachute each morning here. What you see, we call Boomerville. Our first trip here, but some of our friends here have done this for years. Days are full of activities, campfires, happy hours, pot lucks, seminars, hikes, 4-wheel drive trips, night-time outdoor slide shows of members' trips, bike rides and trips into town for the incredible RV show and flea market.

Boomerville has had about 100 rigs this past week, some coming and going, but a pretty big core group of us making up our little town. You can see in the picture that there are other little towns of RV's throughout the desert. Rallys of all kinds of clubs and groups and lots of tiny groups. They spread for miles and miles and into other little AZ towns like Bouse and Brenda. Fine place to spend a winter or a part of it, lots of snowbirds here, lots of Canadians.