Week 19 - The RTR

Week 19 January 14 – 20, 2020

Quartzsite, Arizona

Another fast week. I know that much of the north has been in a deep freeze and it may take several weeks for our friends and family in Newfoundland and Labrador to dig out from that massive snowfall over the weekend!

I spent two days at Rice Ranch North, which is a bare bones RV park. I was able to hook up to shore power (regular electricity) and monitor my AGM Optima battery.  It was charging but was unable to keep a charge even when hooked up to a battery charger. Just before I left Quartzsite, I was able to buy 10 boxes of firewood for a really good deal from Noel at Woodstock on Kuehn St. In the desert, especially on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) you cannot pick up and burn wood.  I drove to Polmosa Road and found my crew – the Rainbow Nomads.  They are a great bunch of folks who are very welcoming and love to chat.  I picked a spot to park Mobius and since then I have been giving tours on a pretty regular basis.  K, who has been instrumental in organizing this caravan, ordered a projector on a bit of a whim. Which was amazing, because I had been thinking that Mobius’ box would make a great movie screen. Thursday night we watched “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” and on Sunday we watched “Kinky Boots” and we had an even bigger crowd of appreciative movie goers.  The next movie is going to be a surprise.

Question: How do you show a movie on the side of your truck?

Answer: Using my laptop, connected to a projector and a couple of Bluetooth speakers. I use my solar power to run the laptop and projector. This whole setup is community driven, my movies and laptop, K’s projector and a couple of speakers from various folks.

Rainbow Nomads watching "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"

I have been more sociable and engaging with people.  But the last few weeks have been a build up to visiting and getting to know people.  I still make sure to have enough down time, I don’t want to leave at the end of the RTR all burned out and feeling ragged.  Self-care is always essential – even in the desert.

There is a core group of campers who seem to make things happen.  We’ve had communal meals, and I hosted a taco night here at Mobius. This morning (Monday 20/20), J, R and B hosted a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. I supplied the syrup and some fresh bannock. And tonight SN is promising some Vietnamese Stir Fry for folks.

Every couple of nights we have a bonfire, sit around chatting with each other and talking about our plans, dreams and goals. It is actually a great way to wind down after a day of socializing, learning about RV living and just being out there.

Cathedral Geodes in a store in Quartzsite, Arizona

On Sunday, I was part of a 3 person panel talking about stealth camping.  I didn’t have too much to say, the two delightful women I was with covered a lot of information. After that, I led a breakout session talking about getting ready to build  a boondocking vehicle.  It was really well received and a load of great questions.  And like with any group of boondockers, we had an informative conversation about bathroom needs.  There is no other group I can think of that will ask what you’re using for an alternative to regular bathroom, especially out here in the desert.  Just think, there are several hundreds of thousand people camping in various RVs, Class As, Class Cs, camper vans, custom vans, box vans and cargo trailers….can’t just go out into the desert and do your business. Some folks are very creative in their bathroom facilities…5 gallon buckets with plastic bags and kitty litter, or cartridge toilets where you have to go to a dump station and empty out your waste, some folks even compost their waste and drop it off with friends or family who add it to their own composting.

I spoke briefly about my build, but it was really the questions I asked myself to begin my build and what I absolutely needed inside my new rig.  Later on at the RTR I will actually present Mobius and how I build out the box.

Not everyone out here is financially well off and living in a half million Class A, some err a lot of us struggle to make ends meet or we have just enough to be relatively comfortable. I have been exceptionally fortunate that everyone I have met, has been gracious, community spirited and very generous.

I have helped various folks figure out the lay of the land. How to get to Quartzsite and Parker (local towns), local landfill sites, where to get gas, food, and supplies.  One new friend SC, has had nothing but bad luck of recent, and when I told her about some of the programs HOWA (Homes on Wheels Alliance) has to help out the nomad community, she was reluctant to sign up, because she didn’t want to be greedy. Another person in our group, had talked directly to President Bob Wells of HOWA about SC’s situation and he said she was an ideal candidate. We’re all angels for each other out here.

Up next for me: drive the ET Highway in Nevada, go visit a friends in California, Oregon and Washington before crossing back into Canada March 1^st.

So far, this has been a great event and a great week for me.

**Been socializing, hanging out at the bonfires at night, that I forgot to take loads of pictures**