There were two reasons for our trip to Quartzsite, AZ this past week. The first was because we were so close (3+ hours) drive time from there we just HAD to see what everyone has been going to see and do for so many years, (The big Vacation, Sports, and RV Show).
Then I found out that this week was also the 20th annual Amateur Radio Convention known as “Quartzfest“. Being a ham radio operator since the late ’60’s, (My call is WB8BHK) I thought it would be fun to hang out with some like-minded people. We were all camping in the same area … on BLM land about 6 miles south of Quartzsite in an area known as “Road Runner”. Quartzsite is just above Yuma on this map.
Camping in the desert there is free for up to 14 days. Of course, you need to be totally self-contained (fresh water/waste tanks/batteries/generator/solar) since you are in the desert with no utilities or hookups. When we showed up on Sunday, the registration desk showed we were rig #239 … by the time we left on Thursday there were just under 600 rigs/hams registered!
The purpose of the Quartzfest Convention is to provide a time for education (through seminars and forums), sharing of ideas, display and demonstration of radios and antenna projects, and of course — to have fun.
The Sonoran desert treated us well while we were there, although Monday was VERY windy. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were beautiful sunny days with low winds and temps in the 50’s to 60’s.
The pictures in the slide show below illustrate just some of what we saw surrounding us in the desert. Some of the interesting RV rigs with all kinds of antennas. Check out the pix of the guy in his electric recumbant bicycle, he was zipping around all week silently. Take a look at Mark’s company web site here.
Check out this short video of our trip to Quartzfest 2017
We’ll have subsequent posts of our day trip to Lake Havasu and Parker Dam along with a post about the Big RV show at Quartzsite.
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Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
Is the Sanoran Desert near the Sonoran Desert?
Very much enjoyed the post and video’s. Looks like you’re having a great time. We hope to have some solar installed next year so we can make the trip and stay for more then 2 days. Safe travels.
Thanks for the comment Larry, we are back home now, plugged in to shore power. They had a good deal there on Trojan T-105 (225ah) 6v batteries for $125, but I didn’t get any. I don’t think we do enough dry camping yet to warrant an upgrade to our solar system, it worked well enough for us, but of course we used the diesel generator too.