We are in Quartzsite, Arizona a large RV gathering location. The town swells with winter visitors, mostly RVers from late November well into April. Sports, Recreation and Vacation shows, Gem and Mineral, RV and Classic Car shows are all here. There are also Swap Meets with vendors from all corners of the U.S. The temperatures are moderate, with days often sunny and climbing to the 70s and 80s.
   The current cost of dry camping in a self-contained RV (trailer, 5th wheel, motorhome, camper) on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land is $180 for the entire seven month season or $40 for a two-week permit. The fee includes access to potable water and sanitary dump. Trash receptacles are available at each of the BLM Long Term Visitors Areas (LTVAs). We chose to be close to other campers and to town. We notice that other campers prefer to put up camp with more privacy and isolation against the desert landscape and jagged mountain backdrop. The flow of RVs arriving, including every kind of RV trailer imaginable, continues.
   According to local reports, the turnout of RVers this year, the 32nd for the event, is lower than usual. That’s hard to tell by us. We count thousands upon thousands of RVs and people.
   Yesterday we wore out our feet at the Tyson Wells Sell-A-Rama, just one of the many venues, this one with more than 850 selling spaces on 25 acres. There were motorized bicycles, unexpected African art, jewelry, beads and craft items, catalytic heaters, tools, canopies and tarps, RV shades and every other kind of RV accessories, RV parts and amethyst geodes taller than myself.
Today we look forward to the “Big Tent,” the RV show of massive proportion.