We stopped for the THING & the Quartzsite RV Show! e113

In this video, we share the last leg of the trip to Quartzsite, a thing, and some cool overnight stops then a quick look at the 2023 Quartzsite RV show!

WHERE WE STAYED🛻⛺:

City of Rocks State Park (Faywood, NM)

In this video we’re leaving this state park but it was worth mentioning again – this place has some amazingly unique camping spots if you can dry camp. Check out our last video where we tell you more about it!

Arizona Trust Land – off E Via Rancho Del Cielo (North of Vail, AZ)

This site was just east of Tucson and in a beautiful area right by Colossal Cave Mountain Park. This area looks like it has some very interesting stops, like the Pima Air & Space Museum, several falls that would be great hiking opportunities, and even Saguaro National Park (there’s an east AND west version of the park on each side of Tucson!). I definitely have a feeling we’ll be stopping back for a longer time to explore more here. But another day…

The area where we camped could be done without 4wd, but there were some portions of the road that might be difficult. Depending on the recent rains, 4wd may be required. Our camper was definitely rocking through portions of the road, but it was worth it- beautiful and quiet!

OH, and don’t forget – you do need an Arizona Land Trust permit. You can get it online and a family one is just $20 for the entire year.

Rice Ranch North (Quartzsite, AZ)

Note: On Google Maps, it looks like this place is on the south side of the street, but it’s actually down a little further on the road and on the left (north) side. I think Google has the “Rice Ranch” location but not the “Rice Ranch North”.

We stayed here for a few days so we could walk to the Quartzsite RV Show. In our minds, it was better to pay for a few days instead of having to pack up our rig every day and drive to the RV show. That, and we were a little concerned about parking availability.

The sites with electric and water are closer to Kuehn St. We stayed in the dry camping area, which was close to the highway (and all the highway noise, so be aware). It was $10 (+ taxes) per night which was reasonable based solely on the proximity to the RV show. And it worked well – we were able to go to the show over 3 days and scope things out (including the booths for the Gem and Mineral show which was also going on).

Tumbleweed RV Park – DUMP/WATER (Quartzsite, AZ)

While we didn’t stay here, we found that this was the best place to dump your tanks and get fresh water. For $15, we were able to do both, which was great! Make sure to have a hose for your black flush, though, since there’s not one provided.

The water at the dump tanks was also potable so we used those (after spraying with a little ISO alcohol) and the water was quite good!

Tumbleweed RV Park Dump & Water Stations in Quartzsite, A

Plomosa Road BLM Camping

We stayed here for about 3 days after heading into Parker to get Gary’s prescriptions. Lots of land, lots of campers but MUCH more space than any campground.

WHERE WE PLAYED:🐟🛶🚴‍♀️🥾

Bowlin’s The Thing Travel Center (Benson, AZ)

If you saw the video above, you can quickly see that Gary and I have slightly different opinions on quirky stops (I’m a HUGE fan!). But even if you’re not, you can stop and look at some of the trinkets as well as grab some ice cream at the Dairy Queen.

It does cost $5 to go through the “museum”, but it’s definitely worth it. They did an amazingly great job with the story. And you just have to go and see The THING!

Almost as much room as our truck camper!

Quartzsite RV Show (Quartzsite, AZ)

We were able to walk around the show for several days and had a good time. However, I was thinking that there would have been more parts vendors than we saw. Guess we didn’t really know what to expect. We ended up purchasing a few smaller items but no portable solar panel (yet!)

Plomosa Quartzsite Alignment Rock Hike (Quartzsite, AZ)

While we were at Plomosa, we decided to walk down to the Quartzsite Alignment rock. This was slightly hilly terrain since you were walking in between the washes.

There’s no specific trail – this is just the route we took. We saw lizards and a jackrabbit during our hike.

View of the portion of the rock alignment near Plomosa BLM

WHERE WE ATE: 🍽️🥩🍹🍺🍽️

Yeah, minus the ice cream we got at Bowlin’s, we’re sticking to our camper food!