Arizona desert and the art of boondocking
During our long trip through Canada and the USA my in-laws kept talking about boondocking which is essentially camping without any facilities. My introduction to boondocking was in the Arizona desert. Essentially, you drive into the desert and set up your RV using just generator power and what water you have on board. The place to boondock in Arizona is near Quartzite. The town of Quartzite is on the junction of Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 95 in the Sonoran Desert and the Colorado River is 18 miles to the west of the town. The town gets 2 million visitors annually and can probably claim to be the boondocking capital of the world. The town is devoted to RVs with annual fairs, shops and a huge flea market selling everything you want as well as some tasty food.
Thousands of RVs descend on to this town between the months of November and March. We were there in January and it was overflowing. The best part of it was relaxing and enjoying the sunsets and stories around the camp fire.
Desert sunset
I imagined boondocking with no one around us and the silence of the desert. I am sure there are places like that but Quartzite is not one of them. I enjoyed my boondocking experience and hope one day to do it again if only for the sunsets and open fires at night. We met with a group of Joe and Inga’s friends and shared dinners and wine. One gentleman, Gerry was 92 years old and still RVing so for those of you who think you’re too old to RV, it is never too late.
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- Enjoying a beverage or two
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- Setting up camp in the desert
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- Joe and Gerry with 164 years between them not all RVing
Given the thousands that do this every year it is amazingly well organised and people do clean up after themselves. It is a great experience and if you ever get the opportunity do give the Arizona desert and the art of boondocking a go.
