Summer Travel Map

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Rally done, and moving on to the desert

January 13, 2008
Quartzsite, AZ

We had a great week at the Western Area FMCA Rally in Indio, CA. We got to spend time with our friends, Wayne and Eva, for the week, and had a good time taking advantage of rally activities. We got some shopping done, and had nice dinners each evening. I had two specific things I was interested in shopping for at the rally, and was able to accomplish both.

My first objective was to get an offset hitch extender that would allow me to change the angle on the tow bar from the coach to the Range Rover. The hitch on the coach is a little lower than the front of the SUV, so it’s been pulling on a downward angle. This contributes to uneven tire wear. I was able to get an adapter that raises the hitch on the coach by 2”, resulting in a straight tow bar.

The second thing I was looking for was a fire suppression system for the engine and generator compartments. I’ve seen quite a few YouTube videos of RVs on fire (there aren’t more fires, technology allows the capture of more videos) and I’d like to add protection. I was able to get a “hands on” look at two completely different systems, and purchased the one that I think will work best for us. I’ll probably look to supplement the automatic discharge system with a temperature monitor, but that’ll be a future project.

We finished up the rally activities last night and had our last dinner there. We packed up all the outside stuff in the afternoon, and were ready to roll this morning. We took the short drive to Wayne and Eva’s place a couple of miles away and took care of maintenance activities by refilling the fresh water tank and dumping the holding tanks. Since their house if “RV Friendly”, we were able to do all that and be on the road by 10:00 AM-ish.

Our plan was to meet up with a group of folks with the same brand of motorhome as we have, and spend a week or so at Quartzsite, AZ. It’s a small town at the junction of I-10 and US-95, about 20 miles east of the California-Arizona border. It’s really just a wide spot in the road. There are two exits from I-10, one on each end of town with a main drag running parallel to the Interstate. It could be the world’s largest year-round flea market and, during the winter months, it’s a gathering place for Rvers of all types. The attraction is that the town is surrounded by BLM (Bureau of Land Management) areas called “Long Term Visitor Areas” (LTVAs). You can park off the roads in the desert for $40 for two weeks or $180 for six months. Since many snowbirds are “thrifty”, thousands of them descend on the area during the winter. There are many different “shows” each winter, with the annual “rock and gemstone” and “RV” shows being big draws each January.

We stopped for fuel just over the Arizona line and saved 25 cents/gallon on diesel. We arrived at the designated camping spot earlier than the other three coaches planning to arrive today, so we just unhooked the car and waited by the ranger station, having lunch (leftover chicken and Carne Asada from last night) and enjoying the nice afternoon. The “group leader” (it’s a somewhat informal gathering, but one fellow volunteered to do the coordination) and another coach arrived an hour later and selected the appropriate spot, and we started to “circle the wagons. We had a fourth coach join us late in the day, and there could be another 20 +/- motorhomes join us over the next few days.

I took a few pictures (I know; I haven’t posted Rally pictures yet, but will do so soon), which can be viewed at: http://picasaweb.google.com/GeorgeandGeri/200801QuartzsiteDay1

Well, that’s in for tonight. More to follow tomorrow!

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