We have not really journeyed very far in the past 15 days, but this is our annual journey to Quartzsite, after all.

Quartzsite Arizona

We arrived in Quartzsite on Tuesday January 14. Tony helps all year in organizing the seminar schedule for the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, and RV Show and in return the promotor allows us to camp inside the fence so we have easy access to the tent during the show.

Tony also helps with tent setup, and we bring a large speaker and wireless microphones so the vendors can be heard when they lead their seminars. We like to arrive on Tuesday, because a majority of the vendors arrive Wednesday and Thursday, and it becomes quite a flurry of activity at the show gates. We like to just stay out of the way for that!

Some of our favorite Quartzsite locations

Tuesday when we got set up, and Tony took our propane tanks to the RV Pit Stop to fill them up. We recorded a review of our 2025 Rockwood Mini Lite 2506FK, so we could share our new home-away-from-home on our podcast. Then, because it was Taco Tuesday, we met Cindy at Taco Mio for dinner. I wanted tacos, but also love their fish and chips, so I had the fish taco plate. Best of both worlds!

Wednesday I met my goal of staying out of the way, by sitting right here at our dinette and editing the video. I know a lot of activity was going on at the midway and I managed to miss it all.

Thursday, unfortunately I woke with the Quartzsite Crud. I had a really bad cough and a bit of a fever. I had no energy at all, but I did walk with Tony to the Tyson Wells store and the pop-up grocery. We drove over to the Town Park to check out the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, but I didn’t have a lot of energy so we soon left. We met friends at Taco Mio for lunch.

Other than that, I slept on and off all of Thursday and Friday. By Friday the fever was gone, but I was still so tired that I could only stay awake for a few hours at a time.

Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, and RV Show

Saturday morning the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, and RV Show opened at 9:00. Normally, I like to be on the midway, cheering the opening. This year, I watched the crowd line up at the gate outside my window. I gave a little cheer, then went back to bed. We were scheduled to lead a seminar on staying safe on the road, which Tony had to handle alone. Not only did I not have the energy, I really didn’t want to infect anyone if I was contagious.

Saturday afternoon I dragged myself into the shower and put some clothes on, and took a walk around the midway. I knew that Tony was stuck in the seminar tent, and I knew that our friends Dave and Jacquline from The Border Hookups were playing music. So I braved the crowd and went over to give them a wave. And that’s about all I had in me. Back to the trailer I headed.

By Sunday I was starting to feel a bit better. Our seminar at 10:00 was titled “Our Favorite Travel Apps.” This one is sort of “my seminar.” When we travel, 95% of the time Tony is driving and I am navigating, so I use the apps all the time. I finished the seminar, and then went back to the trailer. I was feeling better, but not completely back to normal.

Tuesday, the apps seminar was scheduled again, and I asked Tony to cover it for me. Though I was no longer sleeping all day, it was tough to be up and about by 10:00. Tuesday evening we ventured out again, for groceries and to fill our water bottles. We are currently carrying nine, one-gallon bottles for drinking water. We learned that the machine filled a generous gallon for a quarter, so we gathered up our bottled and went to fill them up.

I finally got rested up, so by Wednesday morning I was able to lead the seminar, then finish the podcast editing. Thursday I even watched over the tent for a few hours so Tony could catch up on some work.

Friday afternoon, Tony had scheduled a content-creator gathering at the seminar tent. It was so well-attended! I had gone inside the tent to pick up a few things, and when I came out the door, I was shocked to see the midway full of people! Tony had ordered BBQ pork from midway food vendor Steve’s Smokin’ BBQ all the way from Traverse City Michigan! After that, we met up with Matt and Kim from Liquified Black Tent Treatment for dinner at the Quartzsite Yacht Club.

The whole show was attended by fewer people overall, but the vendors that we spoke to when I finally wandered thought the tent, seemed mostly happy with their booths.

Sunday the show was open until 3:00. There were no seminars, so Tony and I spent the day doing some more shopping, and packing up the trailer so we could move out to the meetup site. Just like that, the last day of the Big Tent came and went. I found myself remembering my theater days when we would work so hard for opening night, then through a show’s run, and leading up to the last show we would be so tired and ready to be done. Then, as the curtain closed, we’d be so sad that it was over and talking about our next show. It’s funny how those two emotions can be so strong at practically the same time!

StressLess Campers Meetup in Quartzsite Arizona

After 3:00, we waited our turn to exit the midway, and headed south to where several of our friends had found a place to camp for an informal meetup. The site was really close to where we camped last year, and we had a What3Words location, so we found our group easily and get settled in for a week of boondocking. Then we promptly decided to go to Silly Al’s and have pizza for dinner.

Monday we recorded the podcast with our friends, then had a potluck dinner. As usual, there was plenty of terrific food and we all ate to our heart’s content. Tuesday I edited, and we had another potluck. Wednesday (today) we fought the internet and finally got the podcast uploaded, then I did laundry in town. Now, I need to wrap this up because - you guessed it - potluck time!

Annual Traditions

We sure do enjoy our visits to Quartzsite Arizona for the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, and RV Show, and our boondocking meetup. If you ever want to know where we will be in January, this is the answer! Plus, it was fully 20 degrees warmer here today, than it was at home!