Quartzsite, AZ January 2014

Road Runner BLM Campground
Exploring the Quartzsite Area
Tue., Jan. 28 - Thur., Jan. 30

The weather is continuing to be really nice.  We wanted to go geocaching while we were here, so we picked the Grizzly Trail series.  For those who don't know what geocaching is, it is sort of a treasure hunt where people hide containers (caches) then, using GPS coordinates, you try to find what was hidden.  We found all 22 of the caches in this series, over a two day period.  We enjoyed this series because the owners were more creative than some who place series, especially those in the desert.

 We found caches in cacti.

Under rocks.  The theme of this series, the Grizzly Trail, was carried out in the containers used for the caches.

 And in dead tree stumps or branches and bushes.  You have to look closely to see that there is a cache in here.

Geocaching gets us into areas that we might not have gone to otherwise.  Often there are interesting sights along the way, as well.  For instance, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is a huge area that has been set aside to protect desert big horn sheep, Sonoran pronghorn and other animals of the desert, as well as plants native to the area like the fan palms in Palm Canyon.  We did not have time to explore the refuge in depth, however, the last three geocaches of the series were located along the first couple miles of the main road inside the refuge.  One was very close to this sign.

The cacti that you see below are called cholla (pronounced choya).  The fruits/blossoms are forming at the ends of the segments of new growth.

Below, Earl is searching for a geocache in the cactus in the background while I am trying to get a good picture of some desert plants.  See the little oval shaped balls below this cholla?  This type of cholla is known as "jumping cholla" because they are so prickly that they easily attach themselves to whatever may accidently brush up against them.  It doesn't take much to break off one of the segments, in fact, one time we were out on a hike and I got too close to one that attached to the back of my hiking boot or pants leg.  I didn't notice it until I was back at camp and moved in some way that made it dig into the back of my leg. OOOWWW!!!  We were able to get it detached, but it was a painful process.  Of course you can't just grab it and pull it off.  If you did, it would be attached to your hand, then there would be more pain.  We learned to give this type of cactus a wide berth.

After we got our geocaching done for this trip, Earl worked on setting up a Ham Radio station at the trailer.  We were at Quartzfest, here, all of last week and used the hand held radio, but now there was more time to get things set up in a more leisurely fashion.  We had not established a plan for using the bigger radios when we are out and about in the trailer, so Earl was able to work on that without the distractions of seminars and everything else that was happening during Quartzfest.  Bob helped with setting up and tuning the antenna seen above the back of out trailer.  It looks like a very thin "T".  The other smaller antenna at the front of the trailer is for the TV.

Bob and Earl tuning the antenna

After everything was adjusted and tested to see that it worked properly, Earl got on the air and made contact with a guy in Iowa, the first contact with this radio and the first time for a long time that he has done any long distance radio communication.  Now we have a plan for our mobile "Ham Shack". 

We plan to leave tomorrow, Thursday, so we have to pack up and get in travel mode again.





 

Quartzsite, AZ January 2014

Road Runner BLM Campground
Exploring the Quartzsite Area
Sun., Jan. 26 - Tue., Jan. 28

Quartzfest is finished.  Many people are leaving, so our section of the desert is becoming sparsely populated.  We and some of our friends are going to stay here for a few more days and do some things that we haven't had time to do earlier.

The first order of business that we need to take care of is to get the trailer cleaned up, organized and resupplied.  We have been out for about two weeks and at this location for over a week, so it is time.   Since Quartzsite is a seasonal town made up of "snowbirds" who winter here mostly in their self contained RVs without hookups to water, electric and sewer, those holding tanks must eventually be emptied and fresh water tanks refilled as well as refilling the propane tanks that are used to heat water, cook and warm the "house".  Now I usually do not talk about the everyday maintenance that we do while on the road, but Quartzsite has what we think is a unique answer to this task.  It is a one stop location where you can take care of everything in one spot and reasonably quickly.  It's called the ...

As you can see, they even have a website.  Here we are at the first station filling our fresh water tank.  The attendant has collected our money according to what services we need, a note is placed on our windshield so that other attendants can guide us to where we need to go.  We actually fill our own tanks, so we know that we get a full amount of water to fill up to the top.

You can see that the line forms on both sides of the water station.  While we were filling the water, I took a photo of the propane station.  They do fill those propane bottles for you.  It is a little more tricky and dangerous than water.

After we finished filling the water, we were guided to the line for dumping our holding tanks.  It was very busy at the time we went, so we had to wait in line while others dumped.

Our truck is directly behind the Road Warrior trailer the vehicles in the background are in lines for water, propane and the dump station.  The attendant in pink has quite a job directing all of the motorhomes and trailers as well as folks who may just bring water jugs or propane bottles to fill.  Well, it finally became our turn at the dump station.  Like the water and propane stations, both sides are put to use.  We do this job too, so we know that it is done like we want.

That job is done, so now we will head back to our campsite and settle in for a few more days, confident that we will be OK for at least another week.

 

Along the same lines, one of the Laundromats in town has another useful service that they offer.  They provide private showers for a fee.  We use them so we don't fill up our waste water tank with bath water.  Plus, we can take a more leisurely shower than the quick one we take in the trailer.  It is a whole different world in Quartzsite.

 

Quartzsite is an interesting town in other ways, too.  Many of the temporary winter residents open businesses that are there in the snowbird season only.  That includes restaurants and shops as well as the multitude of  flea market type stands that do resale of purchased products, others display crafts of all sorts that the occupants have been working on specifically to sell at Quartzsite.  Some have specialized food items.  We went into town to see what was available, one day.  This is a sample of what we found .  Places to buy clothing, kites, jewelry, food staples, RV supplies and accessories, rocks and beads of al types and sizes, food of all kinds to eat and much more.

Our favorite hardware outlet.

If your doggie needs to have some dental work done, here is the place to go.  You can see some of the other booths nearby.

There is even a drugstore for over the counter items that you may need.  There was a "grocery store" among the booths, but you need to beware.  What we saw there was recently expired boxes of cereal and other boxed products. 

There are permanent grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants with delicious food, etc.  The bottom line is that you can find just about anything that you need, want or didn't know that you just had to have, in Quartzsite.  It is very interesting to walk around just to see what is out there.  Everything from top quality to cheaply made items and very expensive to bargain basement prices.  Buyer beware .

We enjoy going to Quartzsite.  In the next post I will tell about what else we did during our extra days of camping.

Quartzsite, AZ January 2014

Quartzfest 2014 (Part 2)
Amateur Radio Gathering in the Desert
Sun., Jan. 19 - Sun., Jan. 26

Education, Seminars, Workshops, License Testing

 

Quartzfest is like a convention in many ways.  There are educational seminars, just outside.  They cover topics about everything that has to do with Ham radio, especially how it is adapted to the mobile life of the RVer.  Other subjects include radio controlled aircraft, how radio is used in space, emergency communications adaptations, building your own items for use in your Ham Shack and much more.  There are courses that help you study for taking any one of the different levels of licensure as an Amateur Radio Operator.  The tests are offered here as well.  Our classroom is located near the main fire ring. Here you see some people attending a seminar about how to tune your mobile antenna for communicating on the road or at a disaster site.  

The speaker has his truck with the antenna and is explaining what he did with his setup.

One of the activities that is repeated year after year is the "antenna walkabout".  There are antennas everywhere. Several are picked to visit because of their uniqueness or the way someone attached it to their RV.  Here are some examples.  We went to each of the rigs and the owner talked about how and why he built his antenna in the way he did.  Very interesting.  We got a lot of good ideas.

 

Excursions, Activities, and Happy Hours

 

It wasn't all business.  There was a 4 wheel drive day trip onto some of the back roads of the area.  We don't have a 4x4 vehicle, so we didn't go on that.  We heard, from our friends that went, that it was a very interesting tour.  There were some old mines that they saw and some great views as well.

 

The RV show is also happening in town during Quartzfest time.  One day was left unscheduled so that participants could go into town, about 6 miles away, to peruse the Big Tent which was loaded with RV supplies and parts and pieces as well as other items and RVs for sale.  We got some items that we needed and took advantage of getting some things that seem to be found only in Quartzsite.

 

Everyday there was happy hour.  This was held near the main fire ring in the afternoon.  Announcements were made to let us know of changes in the schedule or anything else that we needed to know. 

After the announcements, door prizes were given out.  There were many of everyone's favorite - cookies, Yaesu and Icom bumper stickers, and "One of a kind Quartzfest 2013-2014 Yaesu Radio Amateur's World Maps".  There were some nicer more valuable prizes as well.  It's just that there were so many cookies, bumper stickers, and maps that many couples and individuals ended up with multiple of the same things.  It became quite a joke.

There were some group meals.  People cooked out over the main fire pit coals and brought a side dish to share.  There was a Dutch oven cooking demonstration.  Then there was Hobo stew one evening.  Everyone who wanted to participate contributed fresh or canned of vegetables and a dollar for meat.  The organizers in charge of stew cooked the meat and added the vegetables.  It was a potluck one dish meal, almost like "stone soup".  There was a lot of stew.  There were four huge pots full of it

Everyone who had tickets, (we got one when we brought our can and dollar), lined up according to whether they wanted mild, medium, hot, or VERY hot spiced stew.

 

This is what it turned out to be.  This is ours.  It was pretty good.

 

That gives you an idea of what goes on at Quartzfest each January.  We have decided to stay here in our desert location another few days so that we can see and do some things in this area of Arizona that we didn't have time to do during Quartzfest. 

 

 

 



Quartzsite, AZ January 2014

Quartzfest 2014 (Part 1)

Amateur Radio Gathering in the Desert
Sun., Jan. 19 - Sun., Jan. 26

Every January, Ham Radio operators gather in the Quartzsite, AZ desert for what is basically a convention in the outdoors.  We have attended this event many times, but this year was particularly warm and the wind was minimal compared to the past.  Daytime temps were in the 70's and low 80's instead of the 50's and 60's. Nights were cool enough for jackets or hoodies, no winter coats needed this year.  The wind was quite calm with a nice breeze to keep us comfortable.  There were a couple times when the wind was a little stronger, but not anything like we had experienced before. 

Rather than take each day's activities as an entry, I will tell about various things that go on at Quartzsite as topics because each day has some of everything.

Camping

We met some of our friends and staked our desert campsite claim within the area that Quartzfest has occupied for many years.  Ham's had come from across the country.  There were about 500 people who attended at least one day of Quartzfest.



Our Campsite

We made wadingers for dinner one night.  First you wrap a Pillsbury Grands Biscuit around a section of closet pole with a dowel attached for a handle.  You need to cover the end and sides of the pole to form a cup/glass shape. 

Next you cook it over the campfire until it is done and slips off the wooden pole.

Now fill it with your favorite filling, either sweet or savory.  We had taco fixin's.

As you can see, we are sitting around enjoying our creations, potluck, and each others' company.  Some are ready for seconds.

One night we had a campfire.  We were sitting around talking...

...when Rich and Cathy brought out their Chinese lanterns.  They are like mini hot air balloons that use a block of waxy stuff set on fire to heat the air inside the bag causing the whole thing to rise and float on the currents until the fuel burns out.  We saw some of these when we were with the Montana Owners Circle a few days ago.

And it's off!



Sunsets

Sunsets are one of my favorite subjects to photograph, so here are some that occurred during the week of Quartzfest.  These are some interesting clouds.  Some of the campers here in the Roadrunner BLM camping area south of Quartzsite can be seen across from where we have parked our trailer.



And beautiful deep colors.  Note some of the various types of antennas.

I even got a sunset reflected into the back window of our trailer.  It almost matches the Montana logo sunset below it, well, sort of.

In my next blog post I will talk about other activities that go on at Quartzfest.

Quartzsite, AZ, January 2014

Circling of the Montanas
Thur., Jan. 16 - Sun., Jan. 19

Every January, owners of Montana trailers gather in the desert north of Quartzsite, Arizona.  Over the years, more and more members of the Montana Owners Club form a huge circle on BLM land and spend about 9 days experiencing this part of the desert Southwest, enjoying each other's company and, for many, the warmer weather.  We were only able to be in the circle for 3 of those days this year, but here is a photo taken just before we arrived.  There were over 60 rigs signed up for the gathering, so not everyone got to be in the circle, but they were close by as you can see.  Those off to the side in this photo were part of the group as well.  Everyone in the circle parked their trailer with the back to the center so that our back windows had a nice view and so that it would be easy to get out if you needed to leave before the end of the event.

This is our trailer just to the right of the bush.  You can get an idea of how the circle looked from ground level.   The photo below gives you a sense of how big the circle actually was by looking across from our trailer, on the right, to the opposite side.

Above is a panorama of much of the circle, with the fire ring in the center.  The group was getting ready for a potluck dinner. Other activities that took place in this central area were crafts workshops, happy hour and the nightly campfire.  There was no sparing of the size of campfire as you can see from the wood pile.

The desert sunsets are spectacular.  This one was on Jan. 17th. (not our trailer)

That night, a little later, a group somewhere to the northwest of our group sent up some Chinese lanterns.  They act sort of like mini hot air balloons and float along until the little wax fuel source burns out, then they fall to earth.  This is what we saw that evening.  All of the orange dots in the photo on the left are Chinese Lanterns making their way up and across the sky.  I like the way that you can see the way the light of the sunset has faded in a curve of darkness on the right photo.

On Saturday, about fifteen vehicles, mostly trucks, from the club caravanned to the Nellie E. Saloon and Desert Bar, just outside of Parker AZ.  Note that, if you don't know what highnoon" is, it is translated for you.  It is definitely a seasonal enterprise.

Once we got to the turnoff to go to the Desert Bar, it was a long (about 5-6 miles) dusty, bumpy ride on a dirt road back into the hills.  The establishment is built on a hillside where an old mine was located years ago.  The place has everything, food, drink, entertainment, shopping, museum and interesting views.  It was amazing how many people were back in the middle of nowhere to have lunch.  Here are some of the highlights.

Multilevel restaurant, bar and snack bar with stage
and dance floor all built on the hillside.
 

The church is made of solid steel with stamped steel walls and ceiling inside the center area.  There are some old vehicles on display in the foreground.

Here we are at the entrance to the church.  It is very compact
having just this approx. 10'x10' open room  and a steeple.  The
other walls to the sides are just a single wall.

There were even some wild mountain sheep (cutouts) on the hill across from the parking lot.

Not to be left out of the excitement, Monty, the white
elephant and mascot of the Montana Owners Club, was
there for lunch, too, sitting on one of the tables.

That night, Jan. 18th, there was another beautiful sunset.  You can see the roaring campfire compared to one of the men.  It's up to his waist!  And later on in the evening, it was even bigger!

Off to the upper right of the photo below is an ultra light that was flying by at sunset.  He actually landed then took off again just on the other side of these trailers.

 

Tomorrow we will be moving to the south of Quartzsite to attend the Quartzfest.  It is a convention of
amateur radio operators in the desert.