Q just around the bend

With Christmas just around the corner and the new year just beyond, my thoughts have started to turn to Quartzsite. Now mention of the "Q" may bring mixed responses from you folks out there. True, Q in January is a zoo, with tens of thousands of RVers converging on a tiny town with no other real excuse for existing than to try to host them. But as I wrote in RVTravel.com earlier this year, the big RV show there is pretty amazing. And as I am also a part-time rockhound, the big Rock and Gem show and displays in Q are a further attraction.

I'm sure that the Long Term Visitor Areas around Q are already well populated with this year's flock of snow birds. I enjoyed meeting up with some of the Class of 2005 fulltimers out in South Laposa last January. But after visiting with them, I was glad that I had camped farther away from Q in the BLM lands to the south. The LTVA was crowded, dusty and the long lines at the dump facilities would have stretched my patience. Yes, I was limited to staying two weeks at a time in any one place out where I was, but the privacy and tranquility were wonderful. The sunrise photo above is from my time near Q.