Thousands of Stars Over Quartzsite

Remember the eBike I mentioned a few days ago? I’m talking about the one that Terry had to have and not the one I wanted him to have. This was the one that you plugged in and it did the pedaling for you. Since it was bigger and heavier than a normal bicycle, we needed a way to carry it. First we had stopped by the scooter shop looking for a carrier. They had a couple but none were big enough or sturdy enough to transport this eBike. So, where did we go to really look for one? Where else but the internet! Don’t you love the availability of all the facts and stats in the comfort of your RV? We found what we thought was the perfect rack at Camping World. Actually, it was two racks that could be consolidated into one. By putting the tire holder rack on the bigger carrier, we came up with a perfect fit. Notice in the photo that the “we” included quite a bit of help. That’s not to mention the neighbor who stopped by to put in his two cents worth too. He suggested we set up chairs in the street so everyone could watch the “engineers” at work. We didn’t do that.

Our start towards Quartzsite wasn’t very early but we hadn’t planned to move out at the crack of dawn anyway. Phoenix traffic isn’t any fun and we wanted to get through it as smoothly as possible. Around noon our wheels started rolling west. Instead of taking US 60 to the 202 Loop before hitting the I-10, we took US 60 all the way to I-10. Then, we hopped on the I-17 (I-10 West truck route) to avoid the downtown tunnel and most congested area. It’s about a 5 mile loop before joining up with the I-10 again but it normally works best for us.

Once we were rid of the city traffic it was almost smooth sailing the rest of the way except for the construction that closed down one lane of traffic and backed up the freeway for miles. Then, there was this turned over truck and U-Haul trailer on fire. We arrived just as the police cars were arriving. I certainly hope the driver made it out okay. We could feel the intense heat as we drove by. Most of the cars that stopped to help made sure their vehicles were down the road from the accident.

Exit 19 off of I-10 has an Arco station. There had previously been a small gas station in the same spot but we had never pulled into it. It looks like Arco may have taken it over. It’s nice and easy to pull into. Our intent was to fill up with propane. However, they have not received the permits from the state yet. Fuel prices were less expensive than in town by about 17 cents per gallon.

You could certainly tell it was almost January in Quartzsite. All of the empty lots are now over-flowing with motorhomes, 5th wheels and trailers for sale. You can even stop and enjoy a free pancake breakfast if you’re interested in checking the display models on Main Street. Many, many vendors have set up their tents and the place is hopping. The BLM is starting to fill up for the season. La Posa South is the only LTVA that has a dump and fresh water so many more RV’ers are set up a little farther south of town at this location. We noticed a couple new RV parks. Well, maybe they aren’t really new but they are open for business and have totally been redone.

Quartzsite is a nice little town this time of year. Lots of people are coming in for the winter and the grocery stores have raised their prices to take advantage of the season. Over the last couple of years we’ve eaten at about all the restaurants in town but Tuesday night headed to one of our favorites in the area, the Palo Verde. Guess who was sitting at a table just waiting for people to crash his party? It was IYQ – aka Lee! Crashed his party we did!

I had forgotten that the sky really had thousands of stars in it and gasped at my first look. The sky was beautiful. I tried to photograph it but we all know that’s difficult to do. It was clear and full of bright lights. This is when you want to remember that astronomy class you took and the name of all the constellations. There were a few I could remember but not many. Stars like this are only over Quartzsite because you certainly can’t see this in the city! I bet some people have never seen such a beautiful sky! I’m glad we moved in when we did since the clouds are now also moving in, a little rain is expected and the temperature is forecast to drop. Matter of fact, I can hear the wind picking up outside and a few little drops as they hit the roof.

We’ll only be here about five days. In that time we want to check out all the returning vendors before moving on to the Yuma area.