The glory that is Q
When I first started RVing thirteen years ago, I had heard insiders refer to Quartzsite, Arizona, as "Q," the place 
in the desert "not to be missed." Driving east on Interstate 10 in mid-July that first year, I saw a sign heralding Quartzsite. "We have to get off here," I told my husband. "Everybody says you have to stop in Q at least once." So we did. I looked around at the barren sun-baked roads, the lack of people, the occasional boarded up businesses, and wondered what Q they were talking about. In 1875, Martha Summerhayes described this place as being the most melancholy and uninviting that she had ever seen, saying that it "reeks of everything unclean, morally and physically..." As far as I was concerned, it hadn't changed.
But then I returned the following January to a teeming metropolis of tens of thousands of people, mostly living in their RVs scattered throughout the area north and south of the Interstate. According to official counts, more than one million people visit the area during the winter season from November to April.
Modern-day Quartzsite, which started as a community hosting a small informal rock and gem show that attracted rock hounds, has grown to the winter home of major RV shows, swap meets, hobby and craft shows, vintage car exhibits, parades, neighboring bluegrass and jazz festivals, and of course the perennial rock and gem shows. As a result, a winter community exists that has created a variety of activities that serve the visitors when they are not shopping.
You are welcome to visit just for the day or as long as the whole season. Quartzsite is conveniently located seventeen miles east of Blythe, CA, at the intersection of Interstate 10 and US 95.
BIG SHOWS
27th Annual Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show, January 16-24, 2010. This huge show takes place in the 
"BIG TENT", just 1/2 mile south of Interstate 10 on State Highway 95. No charge for admission or parking. The attendance for the 2006 show was estimated at well over 150,000. There will be several hundred new and used RV's on display in 2007 and over a dozen service bays will be offering immediate installation, repairs & service on many of the items that will be exhibited at the show. The exhibits range from generators, lifts for handicapped RVers, Biodiesel fuel, inflatable boats, to the Pampered Pooch collars for the ever-present small but darling RV dog. And, of course, there are plenty of dining options since this is a RV gathering.
13th Annual Quartzsite Hobby, Craft, and Gem Show, January 27 - 31, 2010. More than 200 exhibits of unique clothing, jewelry items plus many other interesting products will be on display. There will be demonstrations of do-it-yourself craft items and many products for the home and kitchen.
12th Annual Quartzsite Rock & Roll Classic Car Show, January 30 - 31. Hundreds of hot rods, street rods, muscle cars and classics will converge on Quartzsite. These beautiful and unique vehicles will be displayed under and around the "BIG TENT" alongside the Hobby, Craft & Gem Show exhibits over that weekend.
The Main Event, January 9 - 24, 2010. Giant swap meet and more in two sections. Phone 928/927-4496 for the East side and 928/927-5213 for the West side.
Tyson Wells Rock and Gem Show, January 1 -10, 2010. You may find amethyst from Brazil, opals and crystals from Australia, turquoise from Africa and the U.S., fossilized geodes and ancient bone
s from everywhere.
Tyson Wells Sell-a-Rama, January 14 - 24, 2010. Another incredible swap meet.
43st Annual QIA Pow-Wow, January 20-24, 2010. The original super show to raise money for the town's recreation center that started the Q phenomenon. See Town of Quartzsite Calendar for complete schedule.
If you're looking for antiques, T-shirts, souvenirs, socks, wind chimes, pottery, polished rock eggs (and other items), slices of rocks for any craft use, wood carvings, clothing, medical aides, dolls, Indian blankets and jewelry, and much, much more, then Quartzsite is the place to come to in the winter. There is an old saying that if you can't find it in Quartzsite, then it hasn't been thought of yet.
MUSIC
Blythe Annual Bluegrass Festival, January 15 - 17, 2010. Three full days of bluegrass plus a quilt show
Also you can find impromptu musical jams every day at the Q.I.A., senior center, many of the RV parks and BLM campgrounds. Look in local newspaper. Bring your instrument and join in.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Check the calendar of the local newspaper as well as the Q.I.A. and Senior Center for the variety of classes and 
activities, including jewelry making, rock hounding, square dancing, various craft projects, line and social dancing, bingo, potluck dinners, etc. For more information, look for the Quarzsite Visitor Guide and the Quartzsite EZ Guide, available locally.
GATHERINGS
Many groups use January and February in Quartzsite as a time to get together. They will meet at the same campground or agree on a special location where they dry camp (boondock) with no amenities except friendship and the ubiquitous potluck meals. In addition to shopping at the shows and swap meets, when our group (more than one hundred rigs) gathers, we have a list of activities that are open to all: bicycling, four-wheeling through the back roads, bird watching, hiking, writing, beading, singing at a jam session or karaoke night, sharing other boondocking sites, sharing expertise, chatting with old and new friends, and so on. We all leave enriched by the fellowship and abundance of activities.
BEAUTY OF QUARTZSITE
One of the joys of being in Quartzsite is that you can shop until you drop one day and the next day travel just a few miles away and still enjoy the beauty of the rugged Mojave Desert and the surrounding mountains. Go south, off of U.S. 95, and explore the Kofa Mountains, including a climb to Palm Canyon, a gorge populated with native palms. Try four-wheeling through the back roads around Quartzsite. Or drive 17 miles west to the Colorado River to enjoy a variety of water sports. Or simply wait until the crowds leave and enjoy the late Spring when the quiet and the wild flowers return to Q.
WHERE TO STAY
If you motel it, you can always stay in Blythe, just 20 miles away, though now there is a Super 8 in Quartzsite. If you want the comforts of an RV or Mobile Home park, you have more than 70 to choose from in Quartzsite. The Quartzsite Business Chamber of Commerce has a listing. Or you could boondock on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. You can stay for free for 14 days on dispersed land (no facilities at all). Or you can pay a moderate amount and stay for up to seven months on LTVA (Long-Term Visitor Area) that includes access to fresh water and dumping facilities. Fees are $180 for 2009/2010 or $40 for 14 days for this season. Permits can be purchased onsite or at the Yuma Field Office.
The BLM 14-day areas in the immediate vicinity of Quartzsite are Plamosa Road, Scadden Wash, Hi Jolly, Road
Runner and Dome Rock Mountain. La Posa, south of town off US 95, is the LTVA and has four sections. A Quartzsite Business Chamber of Commerce map shows their locations. For those boondocking in 14-day areas, a number of businesses in Quartzsite offer services for purchasing water, sewage disposal, propane, showers and laundry.
You can get your mail via general delivery at Quartzsite. Because hours are limited and lines can be long, we have ours sent to Blythe or another nearby town. We plan a grocery shopping trip to Blythe on mail day and skip the crowds in Quartzsite.
QUARTZSITE ATTRACTS INDIVIDUALISTS
When you visit, you will see the variety of RVs and characters that come to Quartzsite. Prepare for an interesting experience! Go with the flow, allow plenty of time to get places in town and do your errands before 9 a.m. during the big RV show, if possible.
By Alice Zyetz. Updated for 2010 by Jaimie Hall Bruzenak