First…a few definitions to lay the framework for this post.
- Quartzsite, Arizona – a desert town in Arizona, west of Phoenix, surrounded by BLM land (Bureau of Land Management which means FREE camping). Population most of the year is 3650. But, in January and February, they have 1.5 million visitors due to the big RV show and also rock and gem shows.
- Escapees – a nationwide club of RVers
- Boomers – a BOF (Birds of a Feather) subgroup within the Escapees. No officers, no rules, just fun.
- Boomerville – the annual gathering of Boomers at Quartzsite. Imagine over 200 RVs showing up for two weeks of fun, happy hours, hikes and whatever else you want to do.
- Boondocking or dry camping – parking your RV and living in it without any hookups. No water, no power, no sewer. You rely on your tanks and your solar panels or generator.
So…got all that? Visiting Quartzsite has been on our list of must-dos for a while. Going with the Boomers to Boomerville seemed like the way to do it. We would be in a group that could show us the ropes and how to boondock for two weeks.
It’s hard to summarize Quartzsite in a blog post. All I feel capable of doing here is detailing some of the activities and how the week went. In order to capture it all, I would have had to do a blog post a day! I felt like I was at an adult summer camp. Another person likened it to a being on a cruise, only we were in the desert.
To start, we met up with our Maine friends Paul and Kay and friends from back home Dan and Amy (see Dan and Amy’s blog posts on Quartzsite here and here).
We all arranged to arrive at the same time to the BLM land some Boomers had laid claim to about 5 miles north of Quartzsite. There we arranged our RVs to form a square. It was great for gathering together and for shelter from the wind.
Once we arrived, we “checked in” at Boomer Headquarters and got our BLM permit (good for 14 days of free camping). Let the fun begin. We weren’t the only group boondocking in the desert. There were thousands of RVs in the Quartzsite desert.
At Boomerville, you quickly settle into a routine. Basically, you check the schedule of events for the day and decide what you want to do or don’t want to do.
People would sign up to teach classes, such as how to use an Instant Pot. Or alternatively, they would schedule a session to learn about a subject, such as visiting the Maritimes in an RV.
See this fabric star… 
I signed up to teach others how to make one.
We had an urge for pizza one day. Silly Al’s in Quartzsite has good pizza as the group found out a few days later. But we decided to try making pizza on the grill instead.
Dan was willing to try pizza on his grill. 
It came out really good! We’ll be trying this ourselves!
A couple pulled in about halfway through the two weeks in the most unusual motorhome pulling a toad (a car you tow). Check this out.
A bedazzled RV. 
The surface has been decorated with glass stones and paint. 
Their Mini Cooper was also bedazzled. 
Check out the car’s dashboard. 
The car bumper was covered in pennies. 
Blackboard paint was on the RV basement doors. 
Remember I said the car was their “toad”? Look at the roof of the car. Toads!!!!
Quartzsite gets about 3.5 inches of rain a year. We experienced 1.65 inches our first full day at Boomerville. Not to be discouraged, the women headed into town town to see what we could see. Apparently not much. The RV show had not begun yet and the flea market booths close in the rain!
Amy, Corinne and Kay. Rain won’t stop us! 
The “Hi Jolly” monument. 
Don’t step off the path! 
Yes, it does rain in the desert. Here’s proof. But 1 day of rain then 13 days of sunshine? I’ll take it.
Amy, Kay and I are all quilters. So we decided to take one of my projects and turn it into a charity quilt that we will donate to a good cause. Yes, we were sewing outside in the desert sun. Each of us took blocks with us to work on until we meet up again in February. This is truly a group project!
Plenty of light to sew by outside. 
Laying out the color scheme.
It was a great two weeks. We did as much as we wanted to (or didn’t want to). The camaraderie was wonderful. New friends were made along with future plans to meet up. We left Quartzsite with smiles on our faces. And it turns out boondocking for two weeks was very doable!
My, my — the things that you can see and do in the desert — when you are “roughing it.” Read the other 2 posts as well —- thanks!!!!
Yup…really roughing it! 🙂
Very cool!