Snowbirding 2018 Postcards: Dawn at Tyson Wells

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As discussed in the previous post, I’m currently camped out at the Tyson Wells Rock and Gem Show in Quartzsite, AZ. This morning dawned perfectly clear and calm — a typical desert morning. I sent my Mavic up to take some photos. Here are two of the best.

Here’s the show area from the northeast corner. The area in the upper left will soon have an enormous tent for the RV show that starts around mid-month. That’s the show that brings in tens of thousands of RVers every January. Don’t you just love the way the mountains look in the early light?

Here’s the same area, but from the southeast. Beyond the freeway, you can see most of the town of Quartzsite. Beyond that, a lot of open desert.

Snowbirding 2018: At Tyson Wells Rock and Gem Show

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A quick aerial video and an explanation of what I’m doing here.

After about three weeks of off-the-grid camping out in the desert with and without friends, I’ve settled into a vendor campsite at the Tyson Wells Rock and Gem Show.

I’ve been having some trouble with the batteries in my RV or possibly the solar panels or maybe the charge controller. That’s the problem: we don’t really know where the problem lies. Or even if there’s a real problem. I could go into detail here, but it isn’t really worth it. Although my batteries are now fully charged and my solar setup seems to be working fine, I decided to take a break from being off-the-grid and spend some time with at least a partial hookup. And that’s the main reason why I’m here now.

You see, I was supposed to be here later in the month for the Tyson Wells Sell-A-Rama. My friend Janet, who is an artist, has been doing the show for years. I always wanted to try having a booth here. But what could I sell? My photos? My glass work? Honey from my bees? None of it was either interesting or likely to succeed. And then I thought of my Mavic Pro and all those folks camped out in the desert. Aerial photos of their sites? Why not? So I signed up for the Sell-A-Rama and got a site right next to Janet’s.

But that doesn’t start until January 17. It’s January 3.

Tyson wells has two other shows here. The first, which starts on January 5, is the Rock and Gem show. Quartzsite is famous for its rock and mineral shows — almost as famous as Tucson. (In fact, most of the rock vendors start here in January and go to the big show in Tucson and then come back.) Tyson Wells joins in the fun at the beginning of the month.

If you’ve never been to a rock and mineral show, you have no idea what it’s like. There are rocks every every type imaginable, many of them cut and polished into jewelry quality. And yes, people do buy rocks. If you saw these rocks, you’d know why. Heck, even I bought rocks last year.

Of course, it’s not just rocks. It’s the usual collection of tools and clothes and dog stuff and food and … well, anything goes.

When I went in to ask about a spot, I was told there were only a few left but was offered a double sized spot for the price of a single. Because I signed up late, however, I got stuck in a spot in the rock area. I’m at the end of a row, which is good because I can get in and out easily, but also bad because, well, I’m with the rock people. My neighbors are hippies of every age, some with dreadlocks and others with what look like painful facial piercings. They have countless dogs and live in an old motorhome. They cut and polish rocks and make jewelry. One of them polished a piece of what he called bacon agate for me. It’s about the size of the top joint on my pinky finger and very pretty. It actually sparkles. It might make a nice ring.

I spent most of the day putting together my booth. I have a tent-style shelter, standard 10×10 feet, that I bought years ago for helicopter rides events and I brought that along. Unfortunately, the side panels attach with velcro, which I think is a bit flimsy. So I spent most of the afternoon adding grommets. The finished tent looks good, although I still have work to do inside.

My camper and truck are parked in my booth space, which I’m pretty sure is 28×28 feet. There’s another 28×28 empty spot behind me (which might stay empty) and a 14×28 spot next to me (which should get a vendor). I have an electric and water hookup, which is nice. I dumped my holding tanks on the way over here so I shouldn’t need to dump. On January 15, I move to my other spot for Sell-A-Rama, which has a full hookup; I can dump again when I arrive there. In the meantime, I’m running my fridge on AC power (instead of propane) and don’t have to run my water pump.

When I got my booth buttoned up for the night, I had just enough light left to launch the Mavic for a quick tour of the area. I added some titles and a voiceover for the circuit around Tyson Wells. Just a quick thing thrown together in iMovie. I’ll try to make better videos later in the month.

I’m completely exhausted — perhaps because I’ve been up since 2 AM and have been working all day? — but might enjoy a movie on my RV’s little TV before I go to bed. Or, more likely, fall asleep with the TV on. If so, I probably won’t post this to my blog until the morning; I’m still waiting for the video to upload to YouTube.

Tyson Wells after Sunset
Here’s a photo from this evening’s flight. I circled my booth setup. If you look very hard, you can see the tent, my camper, and my truck parked perpendicular to the camper with the truck’s bed under the camper’s overhang. It looks weird, but it works.

More another day.

Snowbirding 2018 Postcards: Camping at the Holtville Hot Spring LTVA

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The Holtsville Hot Spring in Southern California is a BLM — that’s Bureau of Land Management — managed property just off of I-8 east of Holtville. The property features a maintained hot spring with two soaking tubs and a hot shower, a 14 day free camping area, and a long-term visitor area (LTVA) where camping is available for $40 for two weeks or $180 for the entire season.

I arrived here on Thursday with my friend Janet and we camped out for the night in the free 14 day area. We had a nice soak in the hot tub the following morning and then Janet departed for Yuma and Quartzsite. I stayed behind. I decided that I wanted to spend a few days in the area and I splurged for the $40, 2-week camping permit. I can use the remaining time next week at another LTVA in California or Arizona.

The main benefit to camping in the area north of the freeway is that it is easier to access the hot spring via a hard-packed dirt road that I can take my bicycle on. The sites are spread apart and because there are some trees in the area, there’s a certain level of privacy. The farther away you go from the hot spring and freeway, the quieter it is and the fewer campers are around you. I’m about half a mile away and can’t really hear the freeway at all.

The folks who stay in places like this are serious about off the grid camping. Just about every single rig out here is equipped with at least one solar panel. I have yet to hear a generator running. There are no power, water, or sewer hook ups or even a dumping station. The only luxury convenience is a set of dumpsters so you can get rid of your trash. I noticed more than a few folks filling up gallon sized jugs at the hot spring from a hose that’s provided just for that purpose; I’d like to think that they wash with this water and don’t actually drink it.

Almost all of my fellow campers are retirees and I estimate that at least half of them live on the road full-time. The types of campers range from slide in truck campers like mine to luxury Class A motorhomes pulling cargo trailers or cars. More than a few people have motorcycles or ATVs. People are friendly and often stop to chat while walking or biking by with their dogs.

I sent the Mavic up for picture of my campsite today. Here’s one that gives you a good idea of the area around me.

This photo faces south on an overcast, hazy day. Normally, you’d be able to see mountains in Mexico, which is only 6 or 7 miles away. If you’re wondering why I didn’t back all the way into the campsite, it’s because there are a lot of soft, sandy spots that I could get stuck in. Because I’m only staying here a few days and because I can use my bicycle to ride between my campsite and the hot spring, I didn’t bother taking the camper off the truck. I did, however, lower the legs to steady it so it wouldn’t rock so when I’m inside. The photo makes the place look kind of dreary but I think it’s today’s overcast skies more than anything else. The weather has been in the 70s every day, dropping to the 40s at night. This is the first overcast day I’ve had in over a week, but there’s still enough solar radiation to charge the camper’s batteries.

Snowbirding 2018 Postcards: Holtville Hot Spring

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My friend Janet and I arrived at the Holtville Hot Spring this afternoon just in time to get a nice shot of the lagoon. We’ll go for a soak in the tubs in the morning. Janet will head back to Wickenburg afterward, but I think I’ll stick around here for a while. It’s so nice not to have a schedule.

Snowbirding 2018 Postcards: Campfire-Baked Yams

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I’ve been camping out with a friend along the Colorado River backwaters on the Arizona/California border for the past two weeks and we have had a campfire every night. The other evening, on a whim, I decided to try cooking two yams over the campfire. I wrapped them each in aluminum foil and laid them directly atop some hot coals in our mature campfire. I used a set of tongs to turn them frequently as we chatted for about an hour. When I went in for the night, I brought them in with me. The next morning, I opened one up and found a perfectly cooked yam inside. It was, by far, the most delicious yam I’ve ever eaten.

I managed to repeat that performance with three yams last night. Since last night might be my last campfire for a while — we’re back on the move later today — I figured I’d stock up. I already had one for my breakfast this morning! The skin peels right off. I bet it would taste amazing spread in a toasted bagel.