How to Quartzsite: RV insider tips with Girl Camper Lesa McDermott
How to Quartzsite - insider tips and tricks with Girl Camper
We were interviewed about the Quartzsite experience by Lesa McDermott of Girl Camper. And, with her permission, we are sharing that interview with you. We also have an important warning for RVers. This week we share our insider tips, tricks and hacks for visiting Quartzsite, Arizona and the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show.
Other places to hear the podcast
If you’re confused about solar, battery power or just want to upgrade your RV we have found the solutions from ABC Upfitters are both reliable and exceptional.
We have a podcast episode and video where you can learn more here.
Automated transcript of StressLess Camping RV podcast episode 338
Peggy
This episode of the Stressless Camping RV podcast is inside out.
Tony
Whoa.
Tony
Yeah, we were interviewed about the quartzite experienced by our friend Lisa McDermott of Girl Camper.
Peggy
And with her permission, we're sharing that interview with you. So instead of us interviewing someone, we're being interviewed on this podcast episode.
Tony
Crazy. Oh, and we do have an important warning for our viewers.
Peggy
We have this week's podcast along with notes and and stories to go with this episode and deals, discounts, helpful tips and more at our home on the web at stresslesscamping.com Don't forget to like.
Tony
And share and thank you for joining us for Stressless Camping RV Podcast 338.
Peggy & Tony
Stressless Camping.
Tony
I'm Tony.
Peggy
I'm Peggy.
Tony
And we're two RV industry veterans who.
Peggy
Travel part time in a Rockwood Mini Lite.
Tony
Looking to share big adventures and help you with great tips.
Peggy
Tricks.
Tony
And discounts.
Peggy
We haven't been drinking, I promise.
Tony
Well, coffee.
Tony
Yeah, coffee.
Peggy
Maybe it's stronger today since I broke the coffee grinder and we had to use some prepackaged stuff.
Tony
Maybe. Tastes fine to me.
Peggy
We wanna share a couple of quick things with you before we get started. One is that I would love for our Christmas episode next week.
Peggy
Next week.
Tony
Oh, dear me.
Peggy
Next week is Christmas. I would love for it to be filled with pictures of your Christmas camping pictures. So if you would please, you can email me, peggy@stresslesscamping.com, use the contact us information on the website, go to the Stressless Campers Facebook group.
Peggy
I've asked for photos and just submit your photos. I really hope that you get them in by December 20th so I have time to get them all on our episode. If you have a video, I'll use about 10 seconds of it. So if you have a short video or one that I can clip, that's Perfectly acceptable.
Tony
Yes.
Tony
So thank you. Another thing, we have a good friend who's in the insurance business and he talked about a scam that's very prevalent now where basically people ask on a social media group, hey, what insurance company do you have? Then with that, knowing your name, they go and they look up your insurance company and file a claim against you.
Peggy
Yeah. Now it's not necessarily bad guys that are asking the question.
Peggy
It can be a very legitimate, innocent, person asking for assistance, but the bad guys are out there. And if they see that information, they can take it and use it in that way.
Tony
Yeah. So there's a full story about this at stresslesscamping.com along with some other kind of tips to avoid scams. We always have to be on the lookout.
Tony
It's kind of a bummer.
Peggy
Yeah. We're gonna go right into our interview with Lisa McDermott from Girl Camper. As we said, it's kind of inside out. Usually we ask questions to our guests, but this time our guests ask us questions.
Peggy
And we decided it was a really good topic. And so we are gonna tell Lisa, and now we're gonna tell you about our experience and what we know about Quartzsite, Arizona.
Tony
Hey, everyone.
Lesa McDermott
Welcome back to the Girl Camper podcast. And I am so excited to have our friends, Toni and Peggy Barthel from Stressless Camping back on our podcast.
Lesa McDermott
I just love visiting with them, and they are experts the about quartzite. This is something I am very curious about.
Tony
What is the big deal about quartzite.
Lesa McDermott
Arizona, especially in the winter? So, guys, let's dive right in.
Lesa McDermott
You two go to quartzite every year. What first drew you guys in and what keeps you coming back?
Tony
Well, what you just said was, especially in the winter, that's what draws me in. It's warm there. Yeah, it's not.
Tony
It's not like it is.
Peggy
Here.
Tony
We're in new, we are coming to you from New Mexico and Colorado at the moment. Both of those places are a little bit chilly.
Tony
Well, and you're farther north than we are, so, yeah, a little in South Dakota.
Tony
Yeah. So, yeah, one of the, one of the intriguing things that keeps us going back, I think, is it's a lot warmer there. It, you know, we're, we're kind of, sort of snowbirds ish.
Tony
Well, and at first it was like, oh, let's, you know, we, we keep hearing about it, like, everyone. And we were like, oh, we're gonna go down and look around. And of course, it's warmer, and there's the big tent show. And we love flea markets and carnivals anyway, so that kind of fit with us. And then, you know, the first year we're just down there by ourselves.
Tony
The second year was like, oh, we're starting to get to know people. And now I think we are as much drawn by the people who we go to see as anything. And Beer Belly's the adult daycare for people like me.
Tony
You know, I actually have been to Quartzsite several times before I met Tony because I'm a geologist. And so when the Gem and Mineral Show happens, which is like a week before or a week after or something, the RV show, my friends and I would just hop in the car and make a day trip to Quartzsite.
Tony
I, at that time, didn't even know that a big RV thing happened. I didn't know about all the camping because I lived so close. I only camped there like one time with another friend. So I had been to Quartzsite a lot and I'm still very interested in all the rock vendors and everything. But then, you know, the RV industry, the RV show is what really kind of drew us to start checking it out.
Tony
Yep.
Lesa McDermott
So the groundwork too, I guess we should back up a little bit. Where exactly is Quartzsite?
Tony
Quartzsite is a pimple on, it's a flea on an elephant in Arizona for most of the year because it gets bloody hot in the summer. And so there's something like 3,000 or 4,000 permanent residents in Quartzsite.
Tony
It's literally smack dab in the middle of the desert off the 10.
Tony
So it's very close to the California border. So Southern Arizona just outside of.
Peggy
The.
Tony
California border and a little south-ish, east-ish of Lake Havasu. I think that might be something that people, all the other towns, people are like, well, where's that? Yeah, that's between Lake Havasu and Palm Springs and Phoenix. I think it might be a dot kind of close in that circle.
Lesa McDermott
I'm just asking, like, how far from Phoenix is it? I remember seeing signs for it.
Tony
But I think it's like about 100 miles or so.
Lesa McDermott
Okay.
Tony
And if you go through not during when all the activity is happening and you blink, you will miss it.
Tony
And yeah, it's not much in the summer.
Lesa McDermott
So when does the activity really start to happen there, would you say?
Tony
I'd say now. It's now being November, October, November, people are starting to show up because one of the reasons people like to go is it's, as Peggy said, it's warm. And you get tons and tons and tons of snowbirds, people coming in their RV and basically staying there for winter. And picture the stereotypical desert, that's quartzite. But there's so much open land and it's not like sand that you would expect, like, like mountains of sand.
Tony
It's pretty hard packed. So maybe that's because all the RVs, but there are just RVs as far as you can see. So it's already started. And then what comes later is the big tent show and all of the other activities that I'm sure we'll talk about.
Lesa McDermott
So, For someone who has never been to Quartzsite, like myself, how would you describe it in one sentence?
Tony
A lot of RVs camping in open land and the desert. And a little town that this is more than a sentence, isn't it? A little town with half a million RVers surrounding it.
Peggy
Yeah.
Lesa McDermott
You know what's funny is you just described the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally.
Tony
I think there are a few of these kind of things happening throughout the year.
Lesa McDermott
Yeah, very small town with half a million people that show up, but ours at least is only for a couple of weeks.
Tony
Right, yeah, Quartzsite tends to be, like Tony said, kind of October when the weather starts to cool. You don't want to really, not very many people want to be there in the summer. It gets way over 100, right?
Tony
But when the weather starts to cool off and the snow starts in the north, that's when people start heading south. We're like birds, right? We're all going south for the winter. And from October until about April is when you'll see a lot, a lot, a lot of people there. And in the summer months, you know, like Toi said, maybe a thousand, couple thousand people live there year round.
Lesa McDermott
So during the high time of it, how big is it really? Do you think how big are they, you know, like between the crowds and the vendors and the rigs, can you kind paint a picture of the scale of quartzite?
Tony
Oh, let's see. I had some stats on that that I was gonna share.
Tony
You see if you can find those and I'll do it by heart, by feel.
Tony
I think there's, Tony will fix this, but close to like a million people. Now they're spread out all over and I think you have to kind of differentiate, are you talking about Quartzsite the Experience or Quartzsite the Town or later we'll talk about the Quartzsite Sports Vacation and RV Show which a lot of us just refer to as Quartzsite but there's a lot more to Quartzsite than just that show. And so a million people and then you're thinking well a million people and there's only seven buildings in town isn't very very crowded but a lot of people don't go really into town unless they have to so this million people is really dispersed for miles through the desert and some of them may never come into where there's public. They go there just to have that quiet aloneness in the desert for six months.
Tony
I know we'll talk about this later too, but one of the interesting things is because there is so much open land, people start revisiting the people that they come with.
Tony
So there are groups for anything you can imagine. There are groups specific to certain brands of RVs. There are groups to like FRVA, the Family RV Association, and Escapees have huge gatherings there. There are groups for people interested in stargazing or there's a whole group of school bus, schoolie builders. And there's even a camp of people who did not bring a lot of clothes because they don't need them.
Tony
So there is a group.
Tony
Yeah, there are almost any interest level.
Tony
Rainbow groups. There's just, if you have an interest, you will likely find a group of people with that interest. Wow.
Tony
Yes.
Lesa McDermott
How would you go about finding that?
Tony
Well, that's a good question. I think you'd have to almost look through courts, through Facebook or something, or ask around or something. Because I'm not sure, you know, how, like, maybe if you're a ham operator, you're on the radio one day and someone says, oh, I'm heading to quartzite.
Tony
And then you're like, I want to go. Can I join you?
Tony
A lot of it is, if you're already in a group of some sort, there may be a lot of talk about that, about quartzite and where they're meeting and things like that. I know, for example, there's a huge Grand Design Gathering because they occupy a space near where we have our gathering. So.
Tony
Right.
Lesa McDermott
So like for you guys, well in like grand design gatherings and you talk about their space. I mean, let's talk about the camping out there. Are you all boondocking? Is it kind of a boondocking paradise there?
Tony
It really is a boondocking paradise. There are some campgrounds in town with hookups. So if you're, if you really want to check this experience out and you're just not ready, the very first time we went, We weren't sure what to.
Peggy
Expect and so we booked a campground for the entire month.
Tony
We didn't stay the whole month but it turned out to be the same price to stay for two weeks as it was to stay for a month.
Tony
Because we just weren't sure and literally I had heard so many times like oh just camp anywhere. I'm like but where anywhere? That's a little too loosey goosey for me.
Tony
We did get a campsite the first time until we figured out our way. And the second year that we went, we still hadn't been out there just camping anywhere. And that's when we joined escapees because we knew there was a group of escapees and we were welcome to camp near them if we were in their group. And so we did.
Peggy
And the telescope.
Tony
Yeah, yeah, telescope group. Now we're, of course, more comfortable and.
Tony
I think if you go by yourself, you don't know anyone, you're just going to go out there and you're going to boondock, the first thing to choose is like how long you're going to stay. If you're only staying less than two weeks, you can stay in the Bureau of Land Management BLM land. You can stay up for two weeks, up to two weeks for free. If you want to stay longer, there's these long-term visitor areas, I think it's called LTA. There's a fee for that.
Tony
You pay like a seasonal fee or a monthly fee or something. There's a little bit more, there's like a state arranger there. So they can, they're not going to give you probably advice on where to camp, but they're at least there in case you need help with something. And a lot of those have like a pit toilet and a dump station or whatever.
Tony
And trash.
Tony
Don't forget the trash.
Tony
And trash. So depending on where you, you know, what your, what your wants are, like if you're going to stay less than two weeks and you if you really want to boondock, my recommendation is, you know, drive out there, be in there during the day, early enough in the day that you can, there's no check in time, so go as early as you want. And I think if you drive, you know, kind of find on a map where you want to be, for example, we go to the Road Runner BLM area. We go into where it says, here's the Road Runner area, and we would drive around.
Tony
And when you see a flat spot, And what I think is, if you look around and you say, oh look, there's one rig, there's two rigs, there's one rig, there's one rig, and they're all X distance apart. I'm going to stay that distance from everybody because that seems to be what people do here. And I just think that that's until you're comfortable with it, maybe the best thing is to get a campsite for a couple of days and then go out and scope out a spot and then move from your camp spot out to your boondocking spot because you've had a chance to drive around and kind of see what's going on out there. Yeah, because it is. To me, it's very intimidating to just go where you want.
Tony
You know, like, what if where I want isn't really a good place? What's very important, I think, is don't go in a wash because flash flooding.
Tony
Is a real, real, real thing. Yeah, it's the desert.
Peggy
It's winter in the desert.
Tony
And so if it does rain, there can be water can show up and wash away RVs, but you'll see the washes. It's pretty obvious there.
Tony
Yeah, it's obvious where they are.
Tony
Yeah.
Lesa McDermott
Yeah.
Lesa McDermott
Well, and I think you made a good point there, Peggy, about the parking. Look around how far other people are parking. I noticed some posts on, from, not necessarily regarding quartz site, but on boondocking. And, you know, one person was talking about they had this, you know, lovely site. And sure enough, someone, you know, and then the area was huge.
Lesa McDermott
And, but someone pulled in while they were gone and literally parked, like, 10 feet away from them.
Tony
Yeah. You know, I think there's people who feel very different ways. I'm not saying either one is right or wrong, but there are people who don't, who, they go there because they don't want anyone around them. Right.
Tony
And so they try to get far enough away that nobody's going to be near them. There are also people who find a little bit of comfort in knowing if I can yell at the top of my voice and someone can hear me, that's a good distance in case I need help or something like that. And, you know, I think if there are people outside enjoying their campsite, maybe just pull up and ask like, Hey, what, you know, what, because also every location and every day you might get a different answer, right? If somebody else moves in there and last year you parked within 14 feet of this other camper, maybe this year those people aren't, you know, aren't those friendly people. So it's hard to, it really is intimidating, I think, and not scary, but just, intimidating.
Tony
There's miles and miles and miles and miles of open desert and yet I'm not sure where I can park.
Lesa McDermott
Yeah. So you mentioned the vault toilets in the garbage. Is that just on the long-term visitor areas or is that also on the BLM or a little bit of both?
Tony
Just in long term.
Tony
But there is a like a city transfer station in town and there are also places in town where you can You can go to one place and fill your propane, fill your water, and dump your tanks. There's a couple different places. One is the one that we go to is called the Pit Stop, and I wrote down the name of the other one, but I don't remember where. Yeah, I don't. We'll come to the notes eventually, I think.
Tony
But there's a couple different places where you can use all those services. There's a machine, one of those machines where you put in quarters and you can get water. A gallon at a time. So you're drinking water. Quartzite is the desert and while there is water available, if it comes out of a well in the ground, desert water tends to have a lot of minerals and a lot of hardness to it and it may not be something you are comfortable drinking.
Tony
But it's okay for, you know, doing the other showers and everything and then maybe you just, we do, we get.
Lesa McDermott
A separate drinking water vessel.
Tony
Hmm, that makes sense.
Lesa McDermott
Are there any other etiquette tips that you could give to someone? Like if they, you know, what if they're a van camper and they want to save their spot, but need to, you know, drive their van into town or whatever?
Lesa McDermott
How does that work?
Tony
We've done that and not van, but like when we take the trailer to dump and fill, we'll just leave like some lawn chairs and, you know, maybe a carpet or, you know, one of those outdoor rugs. So it's pretty obvious it's a campsite and people see seem to be pretty respectful of that. I have never had an issue where I came back and someone's like, hey, thanks for the carpet, dude.
Tony
Right.
Tony
I'm sure that it happens. Don't leave your, like, gun safe, but maybe leave a lawn chair.
Tony
Your e-bikes don't. I wouldn't just leave those out in the desert because.
Tony
But, yeah, don't leave your laptop laying on a table, but leave a rug and a chair that you can easily replace your laptop.
Tony
Your laptop, a jackery. Your Starlink dish.
Lesa McDermott
Yeah. And you've been safe.
Tony
Just to be on the safe side.
Tony
I mean, most people, you know, most people are out there because they want that lifestyle and they understand and they're helpful. And if there is a problem, you can probably walk over to the next camp and ask for help. But jerks are everywhere, right? You can't get away from that.
Tony
That's true.
Lesa McDermott
That is true. Tony, did you find your statistics on.
Tony
How big Court site, it kind of is. Like a half a million people at any given time. That's the Chamber of Commerce guesstimate.
Tony
But since a lot of people are, they're just there, right? There's no real telling, but based on market sales and that kind of stuff.
Lesa McDermott
We do that too for the motorcycle rally. I think they look at statistics like garbage. Yeah, garbage is always a predictor.
Peggy
Yeah, it's kind of always interesting.
Lesa McDermott
What is the vibe like? Is it, is it, you know, like a bustling marketplace, a festival, social gathering, all of the above? Sounds like all the above, actually.
Tony
Well, it kind of is all the above.
Tony
And marketplace in, I think you have to kind of define marketplace as in flea marketplace, not Marketplace, as in City Mall. Right? Like, I actually read, and I don't know who to credit with this because it was written on Facebook. And then people were saying, oh, that's AI. I don't know if it is, but I thought this was a great.
Tony
It says the people quartzite folks are like a mix of desert philosophers, DIY Engineers. And wandering comedians. You never know if the next person you meet will teach you life wisdom or how to fix a water leak with duct tape and faith. It's hard to describe because any description you can ask, the answer will be yes. Everybody's out there.
Tony
Yeah, and it depends on where you are. Certain camps have certain vibes. There's a lot of bonfires at night. That schoolie camp has all kinds of music going on. Kind of like a school bus.
Tony
Like in town, there's this place called Beer Bellies, which I've already mentioned. It is a pop-up bar. There's like a shipping container, refrigerator, and a fence, and there's always music and all these like patio tables. And people just, it's a regular thing. It's become, and a lot of people go there for gathering.
Tony
There's a yacht club, believe it or not. And by the way, be very careful about ringing the bell when you go in there, because I did buy the entire house around.
Tony
We'll be full story, full disclosure. He always wanted to do that sort of thing. And this is not, and I think that's what the bell is in any bar, right?
Tony
If you ring it, you buy a round. This is not buy a round for the people sitting at the bar. This is buy a round for every person in the building, employees included. And so we went in to meet some people for dinner one time and we went fairly early so it wouldn't be too crowded. And there were, I don't know, a handful of people in the building.
Tony
And Tony said, I want to ring the bell. And I said, this is the one and only time I'll let you ring the bell because it can't cost more than a hundred bucks.
Tony
It was like 35 bucks. It wasn't that much.
Tony
Yeah, maybe 50.
Tony
But he finally got to do it. He's all excited. We had met someone who was a vendor a couple of years ago. We were chatting with him and he said he did it. He rang the bell and everyone got so excited that he rang the bell again.
Tony
And then he found out he spent like $4,000 buying every place to drink.
Tony
Yeah, when he did it. And there's a lot of, not a lot, there are several places like the Yacht Club and Beer Belly's where there's music every night. And just kind of a party atmosphere that's, it's actually pretty fun. If you want something like gem and mineral, this is the place to get it because there are hundreds of vendors, different vendors of various sizes for that.
Tony
If anyone tells you it's a food desert, they haven't been because it's not. There's two smaller, but local markets that are there, grocery stores that are there. And they're not horrible. I mean, it's not the cheapest ever because you're out in the desert, but there's those two stores. And then there's also like a pop-up tent growth.
Tony
There's a lot of pop-up tent stuff there.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
And so there's this tent grocery store and it's a lot of can, there's no refrigerator section. I don't think there's a refrigerator section. I think it's non-perishable yeah, non-perishable goods and canned goods.
Tony
Yeah. So there's, you can get, you know, you can get edible bananas, you can get fruit and vegetables. As Tony said, they might be more expensive, they might be not as fresh as you can get at whole paycheck at home. But there is food. The very first time, that's what we heard, and we took every bit of food we thought we would need.
Tony
And how do you take that much milk, right? Like if you're going to stay for a month, you can't take enough milk that's going to stay fresh for a month. Unless it comes in a box. But we didn't go that far. But we also found out we were really kind of over prepared.
Tony
It was a lot of people who.
Tony
Said, oh, it's a food desert. There's nothing there. And that's not true.
Tony
And again, it's only about an hour to get to Blythe, California, which I believe has a Walmart chain grocery stores, Parker, Arizona has grocery stores.
Tony
So if you're willing to drive, if you're there for a long enough time, it's worth it to drive an hour to stock up. Do it. If it's not worth it, you go to one of the, the Road Runner or the coyote Market.
Tony
Yep.
Lesa McDermott
And these markets are there longer than just the sports and vacation RV show is.
Tony
Those are permanent. Those are there all year round. Okay.
Tony
There's also now a DG, what do they call it? DG grocery or whatever, Dollar General.
Tony
Okay. I like supporting the local folks and they do a good job. And they have baked goods and they have pretty decent meat too. And then there's a number of, like there's no fine dining, but there are some pretty great like silly owl's pizza. And I forgot, what's the name of that Mexican place we go like two or three times?
Tony
Oh, that's right.
Tony
There's a few places to go as well.
Tony
There's a couple fast food, like there's a Carl's Jr. or something.
Lesa McDermott
Okay.
Tony
Yep.
Lesa McDermott
So let's talk about the big RV show, the Quartzsite Sports Vacation and RV Show that happens. Tell us a little bit about that. Is that and what should first time visitors expect when they go to that?
Tony
It is. Okay, let me look.
Tony
I'll give you the exact dates of when it's happening. The Quartzsite Sports Vacation and RV Show.
Lesa McDermott
It was right after Tampa.
Tony
Yeah, I know. Darn it.
Lesa McDermott
Florida Super Show, which is why I usually can't make it to Quartzsite, but you never know.
Tony
It's January 17th through the 25th.
Tony
Okay.
Peggy
And it's always that same week, right?
Tony
It's not those same days, but it always opens on that Saturday and ends on the following Sunday.
Tony
So a total of nine or ten days. Yeah.
Lesa McDermott
So tell us about that. What is it?
Tony
It is a ludicrously enormous tent.
Tony
I think it varies in size depending on the year, but it's this ludicrously huge tent.
Tony
And it's, imagine going to your local county fair and all of the vendors that you might see, like in the various booths and exhibits, but then throw in a whole bunch of RV related vendors as well. And it's, you know, everything from those zip bag closing things to jewelry cleaners. And, but then there's a ton of RV related stuff and some of the big RV companies, not the RV manufacturers, but like Eric Sell, who makes the Coleman Mach air conditioner, and RV Super Bag, and B&W Hitches, and Roadmaster, and all these different companies show up there too. So you can literally go in and have buy hitches, you can have all kinds, there's Redlands RV, which is a big RV repair place. You can go in and have all kinds of updates and upgrades done.
Tony
They actually build service base, so they have like six or eight service base. So you can schedule to come in and have some fairly major repair work done. And I think that is one of the things that also draws people to Quartzsite is if you, especially if you're planning to put on solar, there are so many solar and lithium vendors and seminars in the seminar tent. That's like a big, hot topic. The tent, Tony said, is enormous.
Tony
It depends on the year, but 60,000 to 70,000 square feet. That's full of vendor booths, like the 10 by 10 booth or whatever. Then the whole outside of the tent is the midway, and there's all sorts of vendors outside on the midway as well.
Tony
Yeah, and seminars. That's what we actually are, the ones that managed the seminar.
Tony
So that's its own little tent outside the big tent. And then there's, there's tons of carnival food vendors, but one of the ones that's our favorite is that Steve's smoking ass barbecue is really good. They're, they're out there barbecuing all day, and it's like, man, I just smelling it. And then there's the Philly cheesesteak lady.
Tony
And such. So there's lots of, whoa, there's lots.
Tony
Of interesting stuff there.
Tony
So it's, yeah, it's a carnival. It's an RV carnival is what it is.
Tony
And there's times where there's music like the border hookups play. So it's pretty cool.
Tony
Now some people have said that there are And again, it's all perception. Too many, quote unquote, too many vendors that are not RV related. Like there's always a wig lady and there's the people who will sell you things to fill in your worry lines and jewelry cleaners and stuff like that.
Tony
But here's what I say. If you live in your RV, everything you might want to buy like, for your home is RV related. I mean, it's. There are people. If those people weren't selling wigs, they wouldn't come back every year.
Tony
So just gonna say that some specific person might complain that there's too much non-RV stuff, but I think that's relative.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
Right, right.
Tony
Yeah. Now, one of the things that some people might assume is that it's an RV show of RVs, and there are.
Tony
RVs for sale there mostly like larger fifth wheels and motorhomes very few smaller travel trailers and vans although there are some there but there's basically one dealer there and it's you know like Tampa it's all the manufacturers show up or Hershey all the manufacturers show up. That's not what the website is about. One dealer with a lot of larger RVs so.
Tony
So that is not, well, unless, I mean, they get trade-ins, you.
Tony
Know, that they've been going there for years, so there's obviously incentive for them to return. But if you're going to- You can't.
Tony
Buy an RV there. It's just a majority of people aren't going there to buy an RV.
Tony
They're going to buy things for their RV or their life. Yeah.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
Right.
Tony
And again, if there's an RV service you need performed, it's either at the.
Tony
Big tent or there's a vendor somewhere.
Tony
In the town, multiple vendors who will do that service. And especially as Peggy said, solar is like because it's a mecca for people wanting to do solar installs and such.
Tony
Yeah, yeah, makes sense.
Lesa McDermott
Makes sense.
Lesa McDermott
We've talked a little bit about, you know, that it is out in the desert. You know, it's going to be warmer than where we are for the winter. But what are some things that people should be prepared for regarding the weather? You know, dust, wind and, like, nighttime temperatures.
Tony
All of the above, definitely.
Tony
Yeah. There are days when I can wear shorts because it's more than 70 degrees. But when the sun goes down, that sun creates a lot of the warmth. It's not in the air, it's in the sun somehow. And it gets really cool at night.
Tony
It can definitely be terribly windy, you know, and so much that it not blows the dust, it blows the sand. Like, literally, you know, sand blows around. And when it rains, it doesn't sprinkle. Like, it does. It's.
Tony
It's, like, not very rainy, but when it decides to rain, it means it. And so we've had some pretty heavy downpours, but they're not really that long lasting. You know, maybe an hour or two and then things dry up and everything goes back to normal. But you want to be prepared for those kind of things. You know, you don't want to just assume that you're going to a place that's going to be 70 degrees all the time.
Tony
It's just not. It's very cold at night and in the morning, you know, until it really warms up. But it's not snowing.
Tony
Yeah, that's true. There's no snow that I've ever seen there.
Tony
But yeah, when it rains, it's like the weather's like, Heaven's saving up and I got something for you. Which is why you don't camp in the washes.
Tony
Right. Yeah.
Tony
Yeah.
Lesa McDermott
So what about like Wi-Fi and cell service? What is that like out there? And should people plan for limited connectivity?
Tony
Have you ever heard the term forget about it?
Tony
That's pretty much the, because again, it's a town of 3,000 people, 3,000, 4,000 people. The cell service is at best lousy. And so sometimes, so here's a weird thing. The cell companies will bring in temporary towers to help alleviate some of the stress on the systems. But if there's some big natural disaster, that's where those temporary towers are going instead.
Tony
There was a year that there were no towers because because of fires in LA or whatever it was, they just didn't have the towers to spare. And so they didn't come to court site. Sometimes they do. But again, if the tower is in town and you decide to camp four miles out of town, I don't know if that tower reaches you.
Tony
Yeah, so there's no real Wi-Fi infrastructure, I can say it.
Tony
But I found Starlink works pretty well.
Peggy
Although again, you look, you know, like.
Tony
All these RVs and it's like a Starling Forest out there.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
Because everybody's got one.
Tony
So, yeah, one of the big sponsors of the big show, the tent, the big tent, I guess I call it the big tent to differentiate it from, quote unquote, the town. But one of the big sponsors is Progressive and they try to bring in Wi-Fi. I'm not exactly sure how they do it. But you got to figure if there's 100,000 people milling around this area and they're all trying to get on Progressive's Wi-Fi, I wouldn't try to record a video or upload a video with it.
Tony
One of the companies that has been there for the past few years is this company called InstyConnect.
Tony
And they have proprietary antenna and they seem to do well.
Peggy
I have been tempted by their solution.
Tony
Multiple times because they always show off like they're the guy who runs it has teenage kids and they're playing games and stuff and showing video. But for the most part, Starlink is really the answer out there. We shall see.
Tony
We're trying out something new, but I have low expectations.
Lesa McDermott
Yeah, it's cell-based so.
Tony
Yeah. Yeah.
Peggy
Hard to compete with.
Tony
With starlink.
Lesa McDermott
I I tested out a cellular based hot spot this summer, you know, because we have so many dead areas up here in the Black Hills, and it didn't work for me. But I'm excited. I finally got starlink this fall, and I cannot wait to take it on the road in 2026, because that really. 2025 kept me really grounded to my.
Tony
Office with a lot of work that.
Lesa McDermott
I couldn't, I needed to get done and I didn't feel like I could go on the road. So I'm excited about having Starlink. But I do wish there was some competition out there, though.
Tony
Well, there's Jeff Bezos and his band of peeps have that Kuiper that they're coming out with, but it ain't out yet.
Tony
But we've been using for the past six months a cell-based program and we've.
Tony
Been very pleased, but we're not getting rid of our Starlink dish.
Tony
It's paused because there have been times where it's like, oh, it's not working.
Tony
Yeah. If you absolutely need to stay connected at this point, I think it'd be wise to show up with Starlink.
Lesa McDermott
Yeah, makes sense. Yeah. Or make friends with the person next to you who has Starlink.
Tony
Who has it, yeah.
Tony
Right, yeah.
Lesa McDermott
And offer them.
Tony
When you are gathering, there's like a.
Tony
Ring of starlings that you can.
Tony
Yeah.
Lesa McDermott
And offer to give them a little cash to help pay for that.
Tony
There you go.
Tony
Bring something extra to my potlucks and I'll give you my password.
Lesa McDermott
There you go. What do you guys think are some of the biggest pros of going to court site and why do so many RVers, you know, just consider it a bucket list?
Tony
Experience.
Peggy
I mean, I know I do.
Tony
I really want to get down there.
Tony
Yeah, we want you to come camp with us, but it's camaraderie would be, I would say, seeing people, you know, this seeing friends that either you've made there or just from your RVing life is probably a big thing. And it's just, it's nice because it's mostly decent weather. And it's not, you know, you're not.
Tony
Worried about how far you open your.
Tony
Awning because you're going to hit someone else's camper.
Lesa McDermott
Yeah, that makes sense. But then on the flip side of that, what are some of the honest cons that you see and, you know, what frustrates people or catches first time people that are down there off guard?
Tony
I think people, and, and I think, you know, hopefully they listen to this first and they know this is not Metropolis.
Tony
This is not a big city in any way. There may be a million people, but they're temporary and there's no Starbucks and there's no Target and there's no Whole Foods. There's Dollar General and local groceries. People who are into not having those things are probably going to be disappointed. Now, if they want it, you know, if you go in with your eyes open and you know that those things aren't going to be I think you're gonna have a lot better experience if you don't think about it and you must drive through Starbucks every day.
Tony
This is not gonna happen for you. Even grocery shopping takes a little bit of getting used to. I think that if you are willing to be okay with that for a few days, I think it's a great experience. But I think that Going to quartzite, experiencing quartzite is something that it's so different for every person. You know, it takes the personality and the mindset and the, you know, where you are in life and what you want out of life and what you want out of your day.
Tony
It's like I could see pictures and videos and hear descriptions and people could talk my ear off about what the Grand Canyon was, but until I went to the Grand Canyon, you can't experience this by someone else telling you. And I think that's true about quartzite, too. Like, I grew up in the desert in Southern California. Like, this is like going home to me. This is a. I love being in the desert.
Tony
Not everybody loves, you know, there's limited water. You're going to get Dusty and dirty, and things are going to have dust everywhere. And if you are too much of a clean person, you know, to no dust on my surfaces, it's going to be difficult because it's hard to keep it clean and you don't want to waste your water doing it. So it's just a mindset, I think, that you have to know what you're getting into.
Lesa McDermott
That makes sense.
Tony
It's the desert.
Lesa McDermott
Yeah, it is the desert. Like I said, I hope to get there. Sometime in the near future. Now, for you guys, where can people find you guys at?
Lesa McDermott
And are you guys doing anything at quartzite that you want to tell people about?
Tony
Two things. Yeah.
Tony
Yeah. Oh, go ahead.
Tony
So you can find us at stresslesscamping.com. you can find us on any podcast app. We have a weekly podcast, as does Girl Camper. We are Thursday morning podcast, stressless camping.
Tony
And YouTube channel. I always forget that because it still kind of feels new to us even though it's a couple years that we've been doing it. But you can do well, you can find all those things through the website. So stresslesscamping.com at the quartzite sports vacation and RV show. Tony always says it like pirate.
Tony
RV show.
Tony
We worked with the producer Kim King and a few years ago and said, hey, wouldn't it be cool to have seminars? And she said, well, my dad stopped seminars years ago, but we've brought them back. We've helped her bring them back. And the seminars are very, you know, variable and, and wonderful, of course. And we will be teaching at least probably one seminar a day.
Tony
I don't know. Our schedule just kind of fills in where we don't fill with somebody else. So we will be teaching seminars, and if we're not teaching, we're listening to a seminar. So if you're looking for us specifically, You'll find us in the tent, in the seminar tent.
Tony
The seminar tent.
Tony
Or shopping in the big tent. And on Saturday, the opening day, and I wrote the date down, but it's the 17th, is it? Saturday the 17th from 4 until 6 is a content creator gathering. So if you know that your favorite content creator, Stress Less Camping, or whoever, is going to be at Quartzsite, you.
Tony
Can go there to meet them.
Tony
It'll be open to the public a little bit later than the tent is usually open. They're letting us keep letting people stay in a little bit longer. But if you want to come and meet your favorite content creator, they will be at, hopefully they will be at that gathering from 4 to 6 on Saturday, January 17th, if you want to find us anytime in that seminar tent for the most part. And then night, 29th, I think after the last day of the big show, when the tent closes down, we go out to the Roadrunner BLM area and we spend a week kind of decompressing from the show and just having our own gathering. And I always schedule a potluck and we have 10.
Tony
So if you're into potlucks, I'm your guy.
Tony
If you're into potlucks, I'm your guy. Yeah, if you want to find us, we'll be at the seminar tent. And the seminar tent is pretty well marked within the grounds of the big tent. So we're on the outside.
Tony
And we do have also a couple of videos and articles about our experiences in quartzite.
Tony
So if there's questions that we haven't answered today, maybe it's something we happen.
Tony
To write that we didn't think to talk about today. One thing to know, the big tent getting into the Quartzsite Sports Vacation and RV Show is free, as are all the seminars, as is the content creator meet and greet on Saturday, January 17th.
Lesa McDermott
Very good to know.
Tony
Yeah, there's no charge for parking, although- Pretty limited.
Tony
Yeah, well, there's a lot of parking, but there's a whole lot of folks. Right. And Arizona in general, like if you have an ATV, you can drive around on the street. There's a lot of people who get around on bikes and e-bikes. So it's very bike and e-bike and ATV friendly.
Tony
So you don't necessarily have to drive a big Class A diesel pusher and try to park that. It's pretty, the rules are kind of fast and loose, let's just say it's like that. Hey, if it's got wheels, come on down.
Tony
Yeah.
Lesa McDermott
How fun, cool.
Lesa McDermott
Well guys, thank you so much for coming on today. Really appreciate it. It's always a pleasure to talk to you both. And this just makes me feel like all the more I want to get down to Quartzsite.
Tony
Heck yeah.
Tony
We would love to have you there. And perhaps we could even have, you know, not this year, but next, seminars from Girl Camper because that would be great. And you could, we could do a joint camp out after the big show of Girl Campers and Stress is Camping, which would be a whole lot of fun. It's a, our little gathering is pretty inclusive and it's just cool people. So if you're a cool people, that, that's your invitation right there.
Tony
And it's still fairly small. We get, you know, yeah, 10-15 depending on the year. RVs and so it's not, you know, a big intimidating, like I feel weird going to big events, big gatherings because then I still don't know anybody and then I feel like too shy to go up and but this is a very small gathering. We want it to grow of course but I don't think it's going to get out of control any year soon and so if you if you want to come to Quartzsite and you're still pretty intimidated, come that last week of January, get in touch with us, we'll tell you where where we are, you can come join our group and then that'll give you a good feel for what goes on out there.
Lesa McDermott
Perfect.
Lesa McDermott
All on the camping website.
Tony
Yep. Yeah.
Tony
And just quick thing, before the Quartzsite Sports Vacation and RV Show, Bob Wells, well now it's Cheap RV Living, or it's a different organization, but they do a rubber tramp rendezvous, which is all manner of folks, including people who live in RVs and such, go And then there's a women's rubber tramp rendezvous before specifically for girl campers who want to participate. And it's only girl, it's only women.
Tony
It's only women who allow the women's rubber tramp rendezvous. So if you're, you know, if you're thinking, oh, I should go to Quartzite, how am I going to meet people? Obviously, you're listening to the Girl Camper podcast and that is It is a.
Tony
Way to go and make new friends. And it's a very friendly environment.
Tony
So it's not up at a year, anything like that. The whole place is pretty chill.
Tony
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Lesa McDermott
Because I think we're all looking for community these days.
Tony
Sure.
Lesa McDermott
You know, so well, great. Thank you guys. Really appreciate it.
Lesa McDermott
And happy holidays.
Tony
Same to you. And it's always a pleasure to be here, be permitted to be part of the Girl Camper podcast.
Tony
And absolutely.
Tony
To see you.
Tony
Thanks, guys.
Tony
Hopefully you enjoyed that. You may have also heard it on the girl camper podcast because they had the same interview there. Are we gonna see you in quartzite? We plan to be there. And of course, one of the ways that we enjoy camping is completely off the grid.
Tony
And that's where our Master Vault power system system installed by ABC Upfitters comes into play.
Peggy
Yeah, we really give the system a good test. It's not really a test because the system is so great that it doesn't feel tested at all. But we do spend at least a week completely off grid. And our ABC Upfitters outfit has been Flawless.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
And that's something we like. ABC Upfitters uses master volt components, and those come out of the marine industry where there's really no tolerance for failure. And Master Volt, that company makes the connectors, the wires, the. All the components and all of that.
Tony
So if there's any hint of a issue, it's not like, oh, well, they built this and they built that. No, it's one person, one installer, one phone call, and you get your questions answered. And so if that's the kind of reliability and quality. That would appeal to you.
Tony
So you're camping wherever you're camping and.
Tony
Just enjoying the experience rather than troubleshooting the solar and lithium system. Our friends at ABC Upfitters are the ones to call. And you can do that by ringing 574-333-32-25.
Peggy
That is 574-333-3225 or use the QR code seen somewhere on this screen.
Tony
For links to our website where we have more information about ABC Upfitters.
Tony
Yeah, we really love the fact that their systems just work.
Peggy
Well, our question of the week, this week is a little bit of a request instead of a question. And I would like to ask of you, if you are now or coming up before December 20th or ever camped and decorated your campsite for Christmas, I would love to add your photo.
Tony
To.
Peggy
Our Christmas episode, which is coming up in a week.
Tony
Oh my God.
Peggy
I can't even believe Christmas is here. But please, if you would like to share, use the question that I wrote on the Stressless Campers Facebook group.
Peggy
Or you can use our contact information on our website. Or you can email me, peggy@stresslesscamping.com. get those in by December 20th and I will add them to our video for our Christmas episode. Whatever that may sound like.
Tony
My gosh, yes.
Tony
Well, we had promised last week that we were giving away a keyless entry system, and if you are a newsletter subscriber, you will know who the winner has been. We got a lot of entries.
Peggy
We got a lot of entries.
Tony
And that means people are enjoying the newsletter, or at least we hope you are, or at least reading it. So thank you, and if you would like to get our weekly no spam newsletter, Just pretty much visit any page.
Tony
On the website and there's a signup.
Tony
Form for the newsletter. We also embedded in the articles and all of that. But know that we only send one email a week. It's completely spam free unless we visit the spam museum again, which maple spam.
Peggy
But it also gives you an opportunity to win things that we are giving away. We do that through the newsletter.
Tony
That's our bribe.
Peggy
Yeah. And also if you if you ever.
Tony
Want to try to camp with us.
Peggy
And you want to know where we're.
Lesa McDermott
Going to be, we put that information.
Peggy
On a secret calendar that you can access through the newsletter.
Tony
Check it out.
Tony
Well, you'll also find the show notes for this episode, episode 338, on the podcast page at stressescamping.com, which is where.
Peggy
You'Ll also find our favorite RV products and services page for that last last minute Christmas shopping, a really last minute Christmas shopping, but also, you know, all kinds of deals and specials and discounts and all the things that you'll need to make your stressless camping, no, to make your camping more stressless. It's written right there.
Tony
Okay.
Peggy
Your stressless camping adventure.
Tony
Yeah, there you go. And you know that we are in all the social places, but you can start@stresslesscamping.com and from there, if you're wasting time on social media, probably so are we. So come waste some time with us if you would like to.
Peggy
Audio listeners, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any episodes of the Stress Less Camping Audio Podcast. It is free and it is on all the podcast apps and we are saving you a seat around our virtual campfire.
Tony
Of course, if you're watching this on YouTube.
Peggy
I hope you've enjoyed all the photos I add.
Tony
Yeah, and we really appreciate if you.
Tony
Click that like button and subscribe to the channel.
Tony
Hopefully we are able to serve you with cool stuff. And thank you, by the way, for being here with us.
Peggy
And of course, if you found something on the podcast or the YouTube channel or our website that you really enjoyed and you know someone else who someone else who would enjoy it, we really, really, really, really appreciate when you share that information. It's really easy to do you know.
Tony
Just a couple of clicks away, and you can tell all your friends about Stressless Camping. It'll make you look smarter, better looking, beautiful hair, smiley smile. Okay, none of that, but at least we appreciate you sharing.
Peggy
Maybe the smiley smile.
Tony
Maybe.
Tony
Well, with that, that's what we have for you.
Peggy
I think we should get away from these people. They're gonna stop listening.
Tony
So, enjoy the last week before Christmas.
Peggy
We will see you on Christmas and in the meantime, stress less camping.
Mark Ferrell
We hope you learned a lot and had some fun and got some tips for your next stress less camping adventure. We're honored by your reviews on Apple podcasts, which helps others find us too. Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss out on the adventure and we look forward to your joining us next week.
Tony
This week.
Tony
Until then, happy camping. That was fun.
