Quartzite AZ , is a small, dusty, desert town located in western AZ, 20 miles east of the Colorado River. In January and February a transformation occurs…RV’s come…hundreds and thousands! As far as one can see, the desert becomes populated with with boon- docking RV’s . Over a million visitors converge on the town to enjoy the mild climate and attend the various swap meets, flea markets, rummage-sales, gem shows, and knick-knack shacks. It is thought to be the biggest RV gathering on earth!
This was our 4th year in Quartzite, but, the 2nd year with our “OOBIE” friends. The event was dubbed OOBERFEST (it is a long story, but in a nutshell, the name was derived from our organizers blog). We arrived on Thursday afternoon with our RV full of food and plenty of water. The weather was beautiful and we had no issues getting parked and set up for our stay. The price of admission to our camping area was cheap…firewood! Ken unloaded our firewood and then we were all set to watch as the remaining RV’s arrived. We were expecting 111 coaches in our group, but, only 67 showed up.
The hosts/organizers for our group were also our activity coordinators. They planned several activities; morning donuts, daily happy hours, nightly bonfires, pot luck dinner, and RV seminars.
On Saturday we decided to drive to Parker, AZ to check out a place called the Desert Bar. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we soon found out that hundreds of cars and trucks rattle along 5 miles of a dusty beaten path to Arizona’s most out-of-the-way drinking establishment. We were with our good friends, Paul and Kathy and had a very fun afternoon.
A pot luck dinner was scheduled for 5PM but the weather was not cooperating; too windy to set up tables and enjoy the bonfires.
On Sunday we went to the “big tent” in the very center of town. We walked through the tent where RV vendors sell everything imaginable for your RV. No purchases this year for us! Does that mean that we are finally seasoned RVers?
Sunday night was the Pot Luck Dinner…with everyone contributing a dish, we had lots of great food! For our grand finale, we were entertained by the musicians from Notes From Neptune. They entertained with classic rock, motown soul, swing jazz, and modern music. It was a great night under the stars with music and bonfires! We even had a few Chinese Lanterns over our camping area!
This year we added another couple to our circle of RV friends…Kirby and Paula! They are the proud owners of a 2017 Allegro Bus and are looking forward to their future adventures. It is nice to have other couples that enjoy our RV interest!
All in all, we had a good time. Our group organizer did a fantastic job and we are thankful that we have friends that like to organize and plan! Here’s to looking forward to next year!
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