Quartzsite, AZ

We have been to Quartzsite many times as we have to travel thru the town on our way south. We stay for free , otherwise called " Boondocking " but we never stay any longer that 3 days. Today we convinced our friends , Vince and Lynda to accompany us to Quartzsite as they have not been here for many years. As you drive into town the place looks like a large Circus ,without the animals, unless you call Seniors animals.
 For those who have never been to Quartzsite it is an amazing town. The population in July would be about 3 to 4 thousand but from Dec to mid March it goes to approximately 750,000, spread over 1000's of acres. There are two main reasons for this growth. First , the area surrounding the town is all Federal Land  (BLM ) and for a annual fee you can park your RV basic anywhere you want. This land grows nothing but "scrub" trees so you can't do much damage to the land however there are some rule such as no dumping of any kind, and no Generators between 10 PM and 6 AM. which is monitored by the Park Rangers. Also if you are staying longer than 2 weeks you will have to pay an annual Fee and this allows you to " Squat " on BLM areas in AZ, CA and NV.

This is very profitable for the town as you can imagine as someone has to supply the necessities such as RV Services, Bars, Restaurant, Bakery, fuel and you can guess the rest of the need for 750,000 people. Those staying in the BLM area get Propane , Water and Septic truck service , who come right to your Rigs for a price. They also have two large areas in the town that provide a one stop service for Water, Sewer dump and Propane and you do not even have to get out of your RV as they have people who do it all at once... for a price.
However there are several attraction starting with a Huge Tent about the size of a Football field that has everything you need for RVers, several States and Cities  advertising to visit their area, and includes all the cooking items you can't live without that come with a Life Time warranty that probably runs out by the time to get to the parking lot. It cost me about 100.00 before we got out of the Tent. The Big Tent is only here for 10 days.
They have enough Food vendors that you seldom have to line up longer than 10 minutes. I had Ribs and Carroll had 1/2 a chicken with a side order of fries for 25.00 so the price was not gouging us.

Then there  1000's  of RV's/ Motor Homes for sale. These MH will be here for at least a month, some small companies will be here for a few months. . It is such a important place for MH sales that the CEO for Tiffin MH is on site in the yard for anyone to speak with, just like any sales staff.

There is also enough tools  for sale that it boggles the mind and they would give the largest CDN Tire store in Toronto a run for it's money.

After the Big Tent shuts down the "Gem " sales are the big draw. There are actually Truck Loads of "Rocks"  for sale covering acres of the grounds. I can't imagine making a living selling  Rocks. However, several years ago while travelling in New Zealand we met an American   who called his business " DR. Fossil" and he says  he makes a good living selling "Gems " in Quartzsite and other place in the US.
 Different Strokes for Different Folks. Cheers