![]() After the stage stopped running, it became a ghost town. Fort Tyson soon became a stopover on the Ehrenburg-to-Prescott stagecoach route eventually becoming known as Tyson’s Wells. In 1856, settler Charles Tyson built a fort at the present site of Quartzsite to protect his water supply from attacks by Native Americans. Quartzsite © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved But it appears that most people prefer to find an open space somewhere and just settle in. Of course, regular RV parks are in town, too, as are several Bureau of Land Management (BLM) locations. Numerous flags flutter high above the little settlements and handwritten signs point the direction to RV cadres, some with quirky names. Many RV groupings resemble old wagon train circles, others are in rectangular camps, and still, other vehicles are parked solo. Boondocking in Quartzsite © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved The term boondocking, also known to RV enthusiasts as dispersed camping, dry camping, or coyote camping, is used to describe camping in the midst of nature without the use of commercial campgrounds and hookups. It’s particularly popular with RV snowbirds that flock to its trade shows, numerous RV parks, and boondocking areas on federal lands surrounding the town. Quartzsite Flea Market © Rex Vogel, all rights reservedĮach winter, Quartzsite attracts more than a million visitors. June, July, August, and September temperatures are in the 100 plus ranges. ![]() Stores, shops, restaurants, theaters, and homes are air-conditioned year-round in Quartzsite. On average, it receives less than 4 inches of precipitation a year. Quartzsite has a classic low desert climate with extremely low relative humidity and very high summer temperatures. Quartzsite is a small town in the Sonoran Desert 130 miles west of Phoenix on Interstate 10 with a permanent population of roughly 3,700 people. Quartzsite Flea Market © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Related: Matching Your Snowbirds Destinations with Your Lifestyleįrom the purported largest RV gathering in the world to gem and mineral shows to a man known as the naked bookseller, here is the real-life story of Quartzsite. ![]() “In winter it is a gathering of the clan for recreational vehicle snowbirds, flea market enthusiasts, ham radio operators, off-road motorists, geo-cachers, and rockhounds.” “Quartzsite, Arizona, is a town and a meeting place,” traveler Thomas Farley wrote in Rock & Gem magazine in 2017. Quartzsite RV Show © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Those stores are just everywhere in Quartzsite,” she added. You could be walking into a store that has an ocean of gemstones. ![]() “Now, if you go every winter, you have the largest gem and mineral show in the country and also one of the largest RV shows. It’s “the place that nomads gather once a year-you really want to see what it’s like. Boondocking at Quartzsite © Rex Vogel, all rights reservedĭirector Chloe Zhao called Quartzsite “one of the wildest towns” she’s ever been to in a recent interview with Conde Nast Traveler. Quartzsite, Arizona, is one of the main filming locations for the Golden Globe best picture and a real-life nomads’ stomping ground. While Fern is a fictional character played by actress Frances McDormand, the places she visits and many of the people she meets exist in real life. Based on a 2017 book by Jessica Bruder, Nomadland follows the journey of Fern, a 61-year-old woman who turns to van life after she loses everything in the wake of the 2008 recession.
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