Last Updated on December 25, 2021
“Every January something happens that is hard to believe unless you have seen it! According to the Arizona Highway Department, as many as 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, mostly in RV’s, converge on this sleepy little desert town, located just 20 miles east of the California border on Interstate 10, for the rock, gem and mineral shows, plus numerous flea markets and the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show. This phenomenon started over 40 years ago and is now billed as “The Largest Gathering Of RVers in the World”…“
Xscapers Convergence 2017
OMG, I had such an awesome time boondocking in the Arizona desert with about two hundred others. I am a member of the Xscapers, a younger generation of full-time RVers. Xscapers is only two years old, it’s part of the Texas-based Escapees group. Escapees is one of the largest RV communities offering mail services, events, and rallies for people who full time on the road. The Xscapers’ is for a younger generation, their website has job opportunities and other services for the working-age full-timers.
I really had lots of fun socializing and meeting like-minded. Most of the people were couples but I met a few awesome solos as well. The event was two-weeks-long, we had events planned for each day. The weather was not great, some of the events had to be postponed. It was raining, then windy, then cold for days, which made it harder to be outside.
Two weeks is great. It’s like a summer camp. Even though there were hundreds of people in our group we got to talk to many. If you are more introverted and you don’t have the need for it doesn’t have to socialize that much.
But what did we do?
We had smart educating discussions on photography, solar power, internet connectivity, drones, and cooking. We had celebrated Australia’s birthday with tasting. There was hiking, motorcycle riding, dog walking, potluck, and brunch. We’ve visited the famous Desert Bar, which was more than an hour’s drive away, closer to Lake Havasu. We had fires, games, or movie nights going on each night.
Annual Sports, Vacation, and RV Show
This was my first time boondocking more than two days in a row. No hookups, nothing. If we needed something, we had to drive into town which is about 5 miles away. There is an RV pit stop in Quartzsite which made it easier. Water, propane, dumpsite, everything is available there. This time of year Quartzsite is the happening place if you own an RV. You see thousands of RVs everywhere. The annual Sports, Vacation and RV show is being held each year here. They claim that this is the largest RV Show on Earth. I believe it!
I visited the show a couple of times, it is free to get in, but I found most of the things overpriced and stuff I didn’t need. It is fun though. Just be careful buying something from the show, see it online first, you will usually find it way cheaper there.
Internet Connectivity In Quartzsite AZ
The internet is OK on the Verizon network in the desert. There is a lot of latency, things are slow. I had to use my hotspot, which was the only available service. Sprint is non-existent in this area and I was told T-Mobile is also not working. I had to drive into town a couple of times to get some quality work done.
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