The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Big Quartzsite RV Show

Okay, so the big deal here at Quartzsite is the RV show taking place this week. We're here partly because Sherman needs some repair and maintenance items and this seemed to be a good place to get them, and at a decent price.

Overall, I'm a little disappointed so far.

But we're also here to visit with friends, both old and new! So our friends Geoff and Fran came over and picked us up for breakfast.

Fran, Geoff, Ruth, and Kevin.
 Oh, and Molson under the table!

We lingered a bit after breakfast, so it was after 10:30am by the time we drove over to the big tent for the RV show. Just to explain, there are a lot of vendors set up throughout town, not just in the big tent. And, there are a couple of regular RV dealers who make Quartzsite their full time home. And RV solar places etc. But the big tent is kind of the main venue for the show.

Never seen so many RVs!

It was pretty busy inside the big tent.

As I said, I was a little disappointed though. I expected the vendors to be all related to RV'ing. But they're not...many of them are related to old people! I know that the vast majority of the people attending the show are over 60 years old, but man...pain relief vendors, electric scooters, age cream, that sort of thing!

Very little representation from parts manufacturers. For example, I was looking for a universal Dinosaur control board for our water heater. I expected Dinosaur Electronics to have a booth there, but not that I could find. 

And I want to buy one of those Mr.Buddy propane heaters. They're very popular with RV'ers, yet I couldn't find anybody selling one, and no representation from the company. Doesn't make any sense to me.

But you could buy pots and pans, and weight loss pills!

We bought a box of cereal, a nail file, a shoehorn, and three rolls of amazingly versatile silicon "rescue" tape that every RV'er should have for emergencies.

We are going to go back on Sunday and pick up a couple of other things that we spotted now that we've shopped around a bit and compared prices.

So, Geoff said there was a good RV dealer in town that has a well stocked parts department. We decided to head over there.

If we could get out of the traffic! A little congested here, but it really didn't take us very long because we were heading out, not in.

At the RV dealer, we did pick up a few things. And yes, very well stocked.

Bought a new burner assembly for our fridge, and at $27.71 ($34.64 CDN), a very reasonable price. Also a new electrode, and some grommets for our stove grill.

They had the Dinosaur board I wanted, but at $96, but I can buy it from Amazon.com for $81, and they wouldn't match the price...


Anyway, enjoyed the day. We then said goodbye to Geoff and Fran, and took Sherman for a drive. We were parked in an area that requires a two week permit for $40 ($50 CDN) and we didn't want to buy one just yet. So we drove about 9 miles (15 kms) north to a free camping area. 

Sherman, parked all by himself.

But, there are lots of RV's, not that far away. All packed in together. With all this open space, I guess they just like listening to each other's generator noise.

Sherman, as the sun is setting.

Lot of people around, but Sherman likes his space!

Today, we're going to the Quartzsite "Blogger Fest". This is a get together for people who operate blogs, or people who want to operate blogs, or people who want to meet people who operate blogs!

Should be fun, and we're looking forward to meeting some of the people who read our blog, and some whose blog we read!


18 comments:

  1. Have fun at Blogger Fest.
    Imagine trying to explain that concept to one of your now dead relatives. By that I mean, I sometimes wonder how I would explain something like the internet to my Dad, who passed away over 25 years ago. Or say, a computer? Where would you begin?
    I've been to a couple "shows" over the years. Cars shows. Boat shows. I don't bother any more. It's usually a disappointment I find. A bit odd that Quartzite wouldn't have the things you were looking for. A lost opportunity for those particular vendors I'd say.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To be totally honest the RV show didn't impress us much They didn't have enough parts vendors thefe and too much stuff that didn't have to do with RVing at all but we are still happy that we went and being able to meet up with lots of other bloggers and readers made the whole event worthwhile.

      Delete
  2. We agree with the bIg tent, much prefer getting deals at the other vendors in town, and we always enjoy Tyson wells with their ever changing vendors. When the tent is going for that week it also brings in lots of other vendors to the area., next week the crowds diminish and we enjoy that much more.
    Have fun at the Bloggerfest, wish we ere there too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To us the big tent was a big disappointment. We didn't buy a thing in there. We did buy a number of thing in Tyson Wells and have to admit that, that was a little more interesting. The crowds didn't bother us at all in fact we thought it would have been more crowded than it was.

      Wish you could have been there to join in the fun at the Bloggerfest but we know you were there in spirit!

      Delete
  3. Would love to be there for the blogger fest. Looking forward to hearing how it went.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wishing you could have been there too! One day our paths will cross.

      Delete
  4. When we went there we did exactly the same thing...looked for places to park as far away as possible from everyone else! We don't really understand people's need to congregate...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neither do we, although some congregate because they are there with a group of some sort. We certainly saw lots of signs indicating where groups were gathered. I think though, even if we were with a group we would go and park far enough away but close enough to walk to the group. We really don't enjoy listening to the drone of generators.

      Delete
  5. Absolutely love meeting the two of you! If you need a repair man, you might want to try Brian Boone. He does a bang up job at a surprisingly low price. 406-270-4820. Brian's hourly rate is only $40/hr. Can't beat that unless you do the repairs yourself.

    Sure enjoyed checking out our Tilley clothing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Loved meeting up with you as well Nan. Thanks for the info about a repair guy but what needs to be done to the RV is something that Kevin is able to work on himself, it is just the parts that we are needing.

      If you have any questions at all about the Tilley clothing just ask away, we are more the happy to answer them for you if we can.

      Delete
  6. We didn't get to talk to you personally but it was very nice to put a name to your faces in person when you introduced your selves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry that we didn't have a chance to talk with you as well. It seems that 2 hours is just not enough time to be able to go around and meet with everyone. There were a number of people that we didn't get to talk to or if we did it was a quick hello. Perhaps our paths will cross once more down the road and we will an opportunity to chat and for a longer time.

      Delete
  7. I only came for the blogger fest. Did the Q thing in 2006. Once was enough for me. Best thing I found was one of those rubber lid openers at the Social Security stand. It has now worn out, and I wish I had another one. :( Great meeting both of you today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think if we came this way again it would solely be for the purpose to meet up with folks. The show was really a bit of a dud for us, although we did mange to find a few deals on things we have been looking for.

      Hope to see you again shortly at the wildlife reserve.

      Delete
  8. I have been reading all the excitement on a lot of bloggers sites about going to Q...and I think "The Yellow Ballon" get together was a hit and everyone had a good time....it's funny being here in Australia and reading all the blogs - like being there in spirit. Was surprised All (Bayfield Bunch ) was there? I bet he only went for the Bloggers get-together. ....cheers lesalp.blogspot.com.au

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was definitely a big hit. I think that if they do a follow up with it next year they need to allow more time for meeting and greeting. There were a number of people that we never got a good chat with and even a few that we missed. :-( We were very happy that Al and Kelly came, we really enjoyed meeting up with them and Pheebs of course.

      Delete
  9. yep amazing that there is so little here at the Q for RV's... good to finally get t meet the two of you after all these years of near misses... we leave today otherwise we would have tried to get over for a chat but that too will have to wait till the next time

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We will be in the Arizona/California area for the next little while so if you see that we are close by let us know or we will let you know and maybe we can meet up once again because we certainly didn't have enough time for a chit chat.

      Delete

There are more comments on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TravelwithKevinAndRuth

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.