“I want to spend a night in the middle of the desert under a blanket of stars.”

My husband’s request unnerves me.  I am ok with living in the RV, hooked up to all amenities, but the idea of spending a night off the grid, in the middle of who knows where does not appeal to my practicing princess self.

“Find something you’d be comfortable with then.”

So I book us into the Black Rock Rv Resort in Salome, just fourteen miles outside of Quartzsite.  It’s a beautiful spot nestled in amongst the black mountains and backing onto BLM land with hiking and off-road trails.  The people here are friendly and our site is a 100 foot long pull through, so there is plenty of room to stretch out.  At $38 a night, it seems like a bargain.

We arrive early afternoon and after setting up, head to the ‘famous’ town of Quartzsite.  I say this tongue-in-cheek, because I know nothing about the town, having left all the major planning to Ric.

“You’ll love it,” our new neighbours tell me.  “Although most of the exhibitors have pulled out by now.”

Exhibitors? I wonder.  What is this place?

“There’s a naked book store,” Ric tells me as we approach the town.

Surely, he’s pulling my leg.

It is apparent by the number of RVs and RV related businesses that this is some kind of mecca.  All along the highway there are areas designating for boon docking, with a sporadic array of RVs parked haphazardly.  Boon docking is basically free or has a minimal charge of a couple of dollars.  Campers must be self-reliant.  I’ve never seen anything like it.

On our way to find a restaurant that looks reasonable, we pass many shops selling rocks and gems, or jewelry, and other undefined bargains.  The place definitely has character.

In the Three Times Family restaurant, the waitress throws down the menus and asks if we’re ready to order.  When I point out that we’ve only just arrived, she huffs off and then makes us wait before taking our order.

“Are the taco shells corn or wheat?”  I ask.

“As far as I’m concerned the only way to do tacos is with corn.”

“I’ll have those then.  I need to be gluten-free.”

“I have no idea what that means,” she snarls.  “I eat whatever I feel like.”

Where have we landed? I wonder.

Despite the waitress’ attitude, the meal is excellent.

“So where do you want to go from here?” Ric asks me.

Browsing through the shops does not appeal to me, and it looks like that is most of what this town offers.  I pull out my cellphone and google points of interest in the area.

“This place looks nice, but it’s over an hour away,” I say passing the phone to Ric.

“Right!  Let’s go there!”

Within minutes we see the waters of the Colorado river – deep blue against the cerulean sky.  The scenery is breathtaking.

“Just another postcard day!”

The sun is setting as we arrive at our destination, but now we know what we’ll be doing tomorrow.

Stay tuned.  Here’s a sneak peak.  

Note:  I did not get any photos of Quartzsite, nor did we visit the naked bookstore.  Sorry to disappoint.