The Big Tent

Oh yeah .... it's a balmy 35 degrees this morning in lovely WARM Quartzsite!  Anyone staying more than three days has to pay for electricity.  I'm afraid ... VERY afraid!!  There are some downsides to having a parrot that needs to be kept at 75 degrees.  Oh well, it's only money!! 

And worth ever penny to get to go to the Big Tent extravaganza.  It's just amazing how many rigs have flooded this tiny town in the last two days.  On the other hand, the RV parks surrounding the tent seem to be only half full.

The very smart Canadians Patsy and Bill go very early in order to get a parking spot.  We were there by 8:06, parked in the already half full lot.  To pass the time, we wandered through the new Grand Design Solitudes, picking our favorite model.  Not that I would EVER try towing one of those beasts.  The floor plan in one was just perfect for Patsy though, with enough basement space to carry at least TWO of Bill's flying machines.  They run about $150,000 in case you were in the market.

We waited maybe five minutes at the gate before the crush began.  As with other rallies, the goody bag didn't hold much, but I picked up a handful of newspaper ads for Jonathan.  He loves reading about all the new RV gadgets.  He loves ripping it to pieces even more.

Every so often you would hit a pocket of few people.  Mostly you couldn't get past the log jam of people and dogs.  SO many dogs that didn't look the least bit happy to be there.

You can tell it's really early in the day since the Chairs of Vibration were not full.  I was however very tempted to sit down, hoping there was some HEAT in that red color.

What all did we see?  You know the answer to that ... the same stuff you saw 8-10 years ago, except for the battery and mini solar generator stuff.  The same guy, wearing the same robe, is selling those sheets that velcro to the comforter for your bed.  I didn't see much jewelry at all, which was a surprise.

THIS is new I think.  Headstones!!  Appropriate for all us old folks, right?  I didn't check to see how heavy they are, but they all look like rocks you can place in your garden, or at the entrance to your long driveway at your ranch in Yellowstone, or maybe at your cemetery plot.

And then you could do THIS!  It says Wine A Little ... Laugh A Lot.  Yup that's a bottle of wine stuck in the stop with a spigot in the middle.  Treat your friends to a party at your grave site, serving the wine (or whiskey as the case may be) from a headstone.  But WAIT ... to make it even better, there are THREE holes so you could serve THREE different flavors.  Kinda makes you wonder .........

After tasting 25 different flavors of dip with yummy pretzels, we headed outside.  I passed on the dips because they are the exact same ones I got at the rally in Indio.  Different people selling it though because mine were 5 for $20.  These were 3 for $20.  

Sadly you don't get to take your picture with Flo from Progressive this time around, nor spin the big wheel for a grand prize.  Patsy and I hit the tables for freebies though, and picked up notepads, chapstick and 10 pens, along with 8 jelly beans that were so hard you could barely eat them even after warming them in my microwave.

The barbecue guys were here making everything smell absolutely delicious, along with a few other food trucks.  The surprising part is that no one had prices on the menu that I could find.  What's up with that?

At the far end, Bill took notice of this beauty that is being raffled off.  $20 for a ticket, only 12,000 tickets sold.

Next to it was this Harley, with only a $10 per ticket price tag.  It all goes to benefit the Quartzsite Food Bank.  I passed since my luck at winning this kind of thing is non-existent.

Our last stop was at the same booth that's been there for years.  Patsy and Bill were looking for a nice table for their patio.  This one has a unique feature.  The top comes off and rolls up.  I'm going back today because I think I need this.  It's a perfect patio barbecue table.

Okay, I admit I got hooked on one item in the big tent.  After just having left my trailer where the mirror was so dirty I could hardly see my reflection, these two ladies sprayed butter on a mirror and cleaned it in seconds. How could that be?  Of course I was instantly sucked into buying these two cloths and a dust mitt.  

I haven't tried the mitt yet, but I have to admit these cleaned my mirror like magic.  Thinking I paid WAY too much, I checked out the prices online, to find they were about the same.  Now I just need to find someone to use them on my WINDOWS!!!

Back home I hit the clubhouse for some puzzling.  Remember this one that was spread out all over my coffee table?  In less than one day, they had it about 1/3 done.  Patsy and I worked on it for a few hours and finished it up.  I never thought I would see it all together.

Then it was on to FOOTBALL.  You're not going to believe it ... they actually had a commercial about Jesus and praying.  Funny how disrespectful they were about that in the past, and now they are showing advertisements on television?  

I don't have a pony in this horse race, but I did like seeing Kansas City winning with a quarterback that is so tough he limped through the entire last quarter, STILL making most of his throws.  The next Giants Eagles game was a trouncing by Philadelphia.  

I need to check my propane tanks this morning, since I've been using the heat most of the day and night, but you can bet I'll be watching the 49'ers game this afternoon.  Oh ... and the grocery store. It appears Cooper and I are out of everything but eggs and cheese.  And maybe ... just MAYBE I'll sneak back to the big tent.