Monday Jan. 18

8 PM UPDATE
It just might rain tonight in Q. Hope you are on high ground. Remember you were warned.
Click on the below graphic to see the latest local radar scan which will open in a new window. 

Or for a NWS radar scan of the entire country click here. This is so cool do check it out. 
You will bookmark it for sure... trust me. 
When there you can click on any area on the map and it takes you to the local NWS radar.

Sunday Jan. 17

We have not wondered down to the big tent show as of yet. Like past years the first few days are a mad house. You can't see anything being packed wall to wall inside a hot tent just moving along with the flow. Not my idea of fun. In mid week we can have the place to ourselves without the crowds. I can take proper pictures of the unique offerings being hawked and actually talk to the venders and vacation reps.

The Big Tent taken from the far east side of Q on the I-10 overpass. 

The view looking west into the Tyson Wells vender area. 

Saturday was once again a gem of a day and evening. No breeze at all after sundown and warm. I perfect night to sit out by the campfire. I'm sure many thousands of happy campers all around Q were saying... 
I don't think it could get much better than this. A lot of tired people who had been shopping till they dropped. 

But little did some of them not know... Houston we have a problem... 
You know when that's said your ears perk up a bit.
 
 

Well get this... Three sperate storms are headed this way right in time for the big events in Quartzsite.
The Big Tent Show started this weekend and the huge QIA Pow Wow Gem and Minereal Show  starts  Wdenesday and runs January 20 - 24, 2010. This event draws big crowds of snowbirds and rock hound shoppers. Rock hound vendors come from all corners of the Earth to show, sell and swap their treasures. Public admission, parking and shuttle service around the nine-acre QIA show grounds are free. As usual all the vender spots are sold out again this year. More than 500 booths fill the nine acre QIA showgrounds during the five day show. Latest forcast calls for rain starting Monday 7AM. 
 

...VERY WET WEATHER IS FORECAST FOR SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...AS WELL AS SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA INCLUDING PHOENIX...YUMA...AND EL CENTRO NEXT WEEK...

A MAJOR CHANGE TO WET WEATHER IS FORECAST FOR NEXT WEEK AS A VERY STRONG LOW LATITUDE JET STREAM ACROSS THE PACIFIC SENDS VERY WET PACIFIC STORM SYSTEMS INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES. THE SNOW LEVEL IS GENERALLY EXPECTED TO BE RELATIVELY HIGH NEAR 6 THOUSAND FEET OR HIGHER MOST OF NEXT WEEK WITH A VERY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SNOW IN THOSE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.
TIMING IS SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN...BUT THE FIRST PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD RAIN EAST ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. A SECOND STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO BRING THE LIKELIHOOD OF RAIN AGAIN AND A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS BY TUESDAY NIGHT. YET...A THIRD PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO BRING THE LIKELIHOOD OF RAIN AGAIN BY THURSDAY NIGHT.

SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN ARE POSSIBLE NEXT WEEK ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN NORTH AND EAST OF PHOENIX WHERE 5 TO 10 INCHES OF RAIN IS QUITE POSSIBLE. LOCALIZED FLOODING OF NORMALLY DRY WASHES... STREAMS...AND LOW LYING AREAS COULD OCCUR IF STORMS CONTINUE MOVING OVER THE SAME AREA FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME. IN ANY CASE...A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE FLOW OF WATER IS EXPECTED IN NORMALLY DRY WASHES AND STREAMS. IF YOU ENCOUNTER FLOODING OF WATER OVER THE
ROAD OR DEBRIS SUCH AS ROCKS OR MUD...TURN AROUND AND FIND ANOTHER WAY TO YOUR DESTINATION.

THE RAIN ON TOP OF A BUILDUP OF OIL AND DUST WILL LIKELY RESULT IN SLIPPERY ROADS NEXT WEEK. IF YOU WILL BE DRIVING...BE ALERT FOR SLICK ROADS...SLOW DOWN...AND LEAVE EXTRA SPACE BETWEEN YOUR VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE AHEAD OF YOU.

STAY UP-TO-DATE ON THE LATEST FORECASTS BY LISTENING TO WEATHER RADIO ON THE PUBLIC SERVICE BAND. 

If you are parked or planning on camping in the BLM watch where you set up. Don't park it in a wash. Or on leaving you have to drive through a wash. Guess I had better get fresh batteries in my police scanner.... This should be some extraordinary fun people watching, he sez in jest.  Looking for more info on Q check my out. What is this place called Quartzsite, AZ?  page.

Update 9 PM Sunday 
Just looked at the radar. It's moving in... take cover.

Click on the above radar map to see the latest updated scan. 
 
 

8 PM
The BLM LTVA areas offer water and a dump station at La Posa South for $40 for 14 days ($180 for about 6 months) yet yesterday they put up signs up saying there is NO water. That means RVers might just as well stay in the 14 day FREE BLM areas and go to the Pit Stop in town and fill up their RV for $3 and I think dump for $5. 
Now most people come here with full water tanks and empty gray and black tanks so if they are here for only a week or so all this is meaningless as they are good to last out their stay. (Now the norm is not to travel with a fulll water tank but when headiing to the BLM to dry camp you do try to arrive with water on board.) The dump station is still open. But if you came here thinking you could get water as advertised you are out of luck. Wonder how many RVers drove back to the BLM contact stations and requested a refund for services not performed. Sure this is the desert but this situation should not last for more than a day or two.

Sunday 9 AM Found out it was the pump that went out and not a lack of water. A new pump is on order. Still thousands of unhappy campers. 
 

Friday arrived with clear skies with no wind unlike yesterday.  And the RVs just kept pulling into the BLM areas. The $7 a day dry camping in town sites right along I-10 were filling up also. It's party time in Q.
While Terry was off to, where else, the rock club, in the morning I had a visit from Bob and Linda 
from www.because-we-can.net   who are in Q for the big show. I remember meeting them when they were hosting at the Umpqua River Lighthouse in Oregon. Bob does a great tour and Linda does the visitor center. They both do research on the history of the places they host so as to be able to share it with their visitors. 

file photo 

Terry took a bike ride up later in the afternoon to the corner to Tyson Wash and come home with this.

He claims it's all for the rock club. Ya sure. They had to tie the box to the bike holder with plastic bags. 

Later we were outside at the picnic table taking in all the action and up pulled Scott and his wife Lisa from San Diego. Scott had written saying they were coming to Q for the shows and wanted to stop by. We sat around the picnic table and had a great conversation. They later headed to the Grubstake for the Fish Fry. Hope they liked it as we suggested that's the place to go to.

Terry had been in the above picture next to Scott, but I edited him out. Who wants to mess up a great shot of these two. They brought us a huge container of famous HK Anderson Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels.

I don't know where these have been all my life but Oh My God they are so good!  Thanks... 

Terry and I later built a fire and ate more of them. After that supper was just a salad.
 

For all you who are heading to the big tent show in Quartzsite and later are going to wonder around the Tyson Wells vender area. I took another look at  BEER BELLY's bar. This is right north of the big tent show and a little east of K and B tools.  Easy to find and me thinks a great spot.  After you guys are tired of following your wives around you can retreat to the beer tent (they'll know where to find ya) while they continue to shop till they drop. Perhaps they'll came back and have a brew with you.
(Like they say... I don't know these venders, or have any interest 
in promoting beer drinking or drunkeness unless it's my own.)

Food venders right next door and you can carry your food into the beer tent and sit at their tables. Bet you should order a brew. 

The Gyros place had a sign for Tenderloins at $5 w chips. Hope it's pounded out thin and hanging out over the bun like I remembr from days past. I'll want to see one. See the Burger sign for $1.50.  I'm going to check out their Gyros later on, but want to make sure they are selling enough of them so they are fresh. 

Beer prices seem fair so they should do a well. 

Love the clock... it's always 5 somewhere. 
 

We headed out north for Parker after lunch to beat the rush later in the week and set ourselves up with supplies so if needed we can sit tight in the grid lock and just watch the circus around us.  Terry of course will still have to get to the rock club at all costs. (Sort of like getting to work up north in winter through ice and snow. You just take your time and tuff it out.) Traffic is not so bad as in years past now that the main streets are 4 lanes with center turn lanes. We are in a good spot to watch it all, we are right along HW 95 south of Q on the west side just up from the La Posa West BLM contact station. We're the big Hitchhiker 5er with the DataStorm satellite dish on top (second dish out back on tripod for HD TV) and the white canopy with redwood picnic table under it. 
We can walk to the big tent show or Tyson Wells vender areas whenever we want. Many times I like to get out my police radio and FRS radios and set them to scan and listen to the action just sitting at the picnic table. Like a state fair people watching or listening is the best part. 

We were surprised today to find Walmart up in Parker was well stocked and running on all cylinders.  Vicki our check out person said they have hired many more stockers to keep the shelves full due to the rush of snowbirds.  It seems to be working. We did of course go across the street to Safeway and secured our meat selections and some veggies that looked better than what Walmart had.  Walmart has lots of things but fresh meat is not one of them.  Safeway had NY Strips in a family pack for $4.49 so picked that up. That should be good to grill while watching all the action next week. 

Back in Q pictures from earlier this week... 
It's not an official happening unless the Too Crazy Ladies show up. 

We noted Root Farms, Inc. have at least three or more vender spots around the area. Not to miss a beat. All good stuff at what seemed to us at first glance fair prices. Easy to buy and carry and a treat when you get back to the RV for later at night. If people don't buy anthing else they will get some of this comfort food, me thinks. Nuts are heart healthy don't ya know.

Terry just loves to search out the flea markets. Never can tell what he will drag home. And I slowly just ask him what he is going to throw out to make room for this new hunk of junk. Stops him dead in his tracks, as he just can't part with any of his old treasures. He has been known to try to hide stuff under the truck back seat, untill I raise a fit and demand it gets removed, at least from the truck. I don't even look in the back reaches of the 5er basement anymore. 

 

Reporting on life in Quartzsite as we see it.

We wondered over to the Main Event on the west side of Q on B I-10 this afternoon. 

We ran into friends from the rock club eating at a BBQ vender just under the ape in the above picture. 
They just seem to know the hot spots for good food so I asked why they were at this BBQ vender. They said because it was the best in town.  Word of mouth moves fast around here. 

Don on the right liked it so much he went back for a second one. 
The cole slaw looked good. We had Subways that Terry brought back for lunch an hour earlier. 
This looked so much better... so this will be on our must have list for later. 

Pulled Pork or Beef Brisket $6.50 w/side. Small operation who look like they have their act together. 
Keep it simple and do it well... They sell their own BBQ sauce.

He opend up his smoker so I could get a shot as the others at the table were telling him I do a blog and will help his sales. Don't think he needs any help...  Big Hole BBQ check them out...

 

I told you, you can find most anything in the vender show areas here in Q.
These were in the Main Event Show area on B-10 West.

Just what you may want in your back yard or around your pool. 

Need some lawn ornaments or party room items. This is the place to find them. Investments in antiques could be a better return than .9% in a CDs these days. 

 Place this pool boy by your pool and his fish. 

I want a hot tub with this guy and other treasures next to it with green grass and palm trees on a lot of our own in Q. 
I think or maybe not. I guy can dream can't he.  The tree below would work. 

They haul all this stuff in for days and unload it to sell. We wonder how much has to be hauled away again. Come to think about it, there are lots of storage areas that they might store it, in Q till the next year. 

Not to fret they do even have lots of rocks. Huge rock show areas I have not even been to. I let Terry do that part of the Q adventure. 

These fine folks made it back to the food vender area in Tyson Wells. 
Ready to serve you.

After our little campfire last night we headed back into town to the Best Mexican Restaurant. We have been hearing good things about this place and Terry does love to eat Mexican. On B-10 west next to Pilot truck stop. Don't get confused on the other side of Pilot is McDonald's. Go for the Mexican place. Entrees under $10 which included fresh warn chips and salsa. I'm gunna use that word again Yummmm...
They even do a highly rated Friday night fish special, would you believe. Now if they could just get rid of the pink painted walls.
 
 

It just seems to get warmer in Q each day.  About 75°  today and clear skies. Sorry if you don't want to hear that... if you are where it is not as nice. But that's the way it is. Above normal temps.
We headed out in mid afternoon after Terry returned from laboring at the rock and gem club. We needed a loaf of bread and propane. Now at $2.55 a gal but still total cost under $20. We can handle that without much complaining.
We stopped at Tyson Wells after that to look around. And you though all was rock and gems. Thery are pushing everything. As you can see below. 

Items like these go on and on in the vender areas. This is lke the CES happening now in Las Vegas of out on the edge anything.  Not a electronic chip in any of these but that's the point of it all, me thinks. 
 

We got back and lounged around the picnic table with happy hour listening to NPR playing on our WiFi netbook. Even started a small fire at sunset. Turning to the west I got this shot of a different kind of sunset today. 

 
 
 

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