Quartzite - the Famed Winter Home

Quartzite doubled its population between 1990 and 2008, booming to 3,692 residents. But in the winter, the town draws 500,000+. Most of these are RVers. The Bureau of Land Management has over 11,000 acres of land on which to camp. The price is very reasonable. There are RV parks, and government parks with facilities. And then there are acres and acres of land for dry camping.

RVWomen was having a rally, and I wanted to see what Quartzite was like. We dry-camped about 5 miles from the town. We drove off the road and over the desert. There was a BLM officer there to register us for a maximum of 14 days. The price was $0. The rally was fun. I knew no one there, so started up conversations with numbers of people. The first night my neighbors, the Colorado contingent, invited me over to one of their rigs. I met a number of people who, when they heard I was from MA, mentioned they grew up or lived there for a while. In fact I met a woman raised in West Brookfield.There were 2 of us from the Northeast contingent: myself and a woman from New Brunswick. I also met a couple women from New Hampshire, who were making their way around the country, planning to spend the summer in Alaska.

 

   

The large number of wintering RVers has drawn a huge number of vendors. It is also a spot for gem and mineral swapping and different shows. I avoided the big RV Show the first day because I heard it was shoulder to shoulder walking through the show. The second day was much more reasonable, but the parking was still a challenge. I went through the many parking areas and headed down a less-traveled path. I soon realized it was for 4-wheel drive cars. I started backing up, but someone came in back of me, determined to go forward. I asked a woman if the "road" had an exit. She said "no" but there was room to turn around. The problem was as I drove on, the gravel and rocks got much deeper, and my little car was stuck. The people were great - dug me out, pushed me out, and cheered me on. They even found me a parking place. I said, "thanks, but no thanks, I 'm seeking firmer ground." The next time I drove the loop looking for parking, a volunteer pointed out a place that was just vacated. So, I got to see the show. 


My batteries would not hold a charge past 2 days. If I'm going to spend much time dry camping I shall have to remedy this. I went back to John Wayne RV park to wait for mail and spend some time "keeping rig."