Precious Memories: Colorful Dinosaurs and Empty Quartzsite

34-Day Cross Country RV Trip + 7-Day Caribbean Cruise 2022

Day 1: Los Angeles, California to Quartzsite, Arizona

April 28, 2022

We came back home after a month-long RV trip to Florida last week. While on the road, I did not have time to do any posting on this blog or uploading video on YouTube. We were so busy visiting new places and enjoying our time traveling that we were tired at the end of the day. I have to say that we had an amazing trip from one coast to the other across this great country of ours. With the medical condition that MOR had on the last trip, I honestly had this shadow over me but we thank God that we were completely safe and came home in one piece. Everything worked out as planned and even better. We will have this epic trip in our memories for as long as we live.

The starting day is usually difficult. Making sure everything runs accordingly and that we have packed all we needed for the trip can be daunting. That was why we planned a shorter traveling day today. The RV had been sitting idle in the last eight months other than out on local drives to get new tires and also the smog test done. We were just hoping it will not give us any problems as we go on this long, long journey.

I was so busy with other things that I did not even have time to take more photos on this day and now realized that only have a few pictures to share. I promise that it will get better as we go along and you are welcome to check out our YouTube channel for a complete record of this trip. Here is the link.

Cabazon Dinosaurs

About an hour or so away from our house is a very popular outlet. Most people called it the Palm Springs outlet because people come here on their way to or from Palm Springs. It is actually in a little place called Cabazon. Other than the shopping outlet and the big casino near I-10, the Cabazon dinosaurs is also one of the places families like to stop by for their kids. We've never been here before and I really wanted to check this place out and seemed like a good place to stop for a quick lunch.

Other than being extremely windy, it was a fun stop here. There's good parking space and a couple of colorful dinosaurs outside for photo op. We did not go inside the Dinosaur park, maybe some day.

Cabazon Dinosaurs

Quartzsite

After a short break at the Cabazon dinosaurs, we continued our drive to Quartzsite, which seems to be the Mecca for RVers. Quartzsite is not far after crossing the state line into Arizona. It used to be a water-hole called Tysons Wells years ago. Snowbirds flock here every winter between November and March because there are plenty of RV campgrounds here with many BLM (Bureau of Land Management) campgrounds that are cheap or free (for certain number of days,) There is also the Big Tent Show with some other gems or rocks shows in the month of January that attracts over a million visitors each year. Many RVers come for the big gathering, meeting friends, and join the fun. After March, the town becomes deserted with many snowbirds going home or heading north somewhere else. Temperature can get as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 50 degrees centigrade, which means it's not going to be pleasant here in the summer. We decided to come here at this time since it's going to be nice and quiet with good weather.

Hi Jolly Cemetery

There aren't that many significant sights in Quartzsite but one place that means a lot to this town is the Last Camp of Hi Jolly on the west end of town. You may want to read this sign for the story behind it.

That is why camels is the symbol for Quartzsite, I suppose.

This town is not that big. From one end of Main Street to the opposite end only takes about five minutes to drive through town. There are many RV parks along the way and business gear towards RVers. During busy season, the tiny post office is one of the world's busiest. While we were there, the place was quiet with very few cars on the road.

Quartzsite RV Resort or Riggles RV & Event Center

There are a few RV campgrounds in Quartzsite that are affiliated with Passport America, a campground membership group that we are lifetime members of. As PA members, we can stay at any of these campgrounds for half price. There are blackout dates or limitations for each of these campgrounds but so far we have been making good use of these campgrounds that we are already getting our moneys worth.

This campground is not far from I-10, which makes it quite convenient, on the east end of town. It's a newer campground that has good reviews. Looked nice and clean on the website and that was why we picked this one. For these PA campgrounds, we usually called the day of, and so far have not had any problems as long as it's a day that they are available for members. Actually, the one next door is also a PA campground but we felt good staying at this one. There weren't that many campers there on this day so we were far enough away from other people, making it a lot nicer. The only thing is during the night, there were trucks parked in the empty lot across the street, in and out at different hours making it a little noisy for a quiet night.