When not strolling the tables of the plethora of vendors, or sampling the treats of restaurantuers, what do Quartzsite visitors do?
For some, yard art. We certainly hope the artist here had help in obtaining the bottles required to create this huge field of bottle art. Must have, how could you stand up long enough to make the art if you’d consumed the contents of the containers?
Last fall we posted an item about a power plant proposal that could pop-up near Quartzsite.nWhile the plant would be constructed on land nearly 10 miles north of the RV snowbird capital, a local paper says, ‘watch out!’ If the terms of the plant are fulfilled, you’ll probably be able to see at least a portion of it from your RV, even when parked in Quartzsite.
As we reported, the developer, EnviroMission, plan is to build two chimneys, 2,400 feet tall each, and surround them with a solar heat collection field nearly two miles in circumference. As the sun’s heat is gathered in the collector field, it would be redirected up the chimney, driving the turbines.
Taking the figures for the height of the chimneys into account, and adding that these stacks would be 1000 feet higher than the Empire State Building, the Parker Pioneer has published an artist’s conception of what the new plant might look like. We reproduce it here for your consideration.
Quartzsite town fathers are readily in favor of the proposed plant, and it would appear to be environmentally friendly, and “desert wise,” as unlike other solar power plants, would not utilize water for generating steam. For a fuller description of the project, check back on our earlier post, “Quartzsite area could host hot air project.”
There are pros and cons aplenty floating about in the community view. If nothing else, the project–if realized–would certainly be one more thing for winter visitors to take a look at. Even if they didn’t have to leave town to do it.
photo courtesy parkerliveonline.com
A “readers talk back” web site had the question posted: What are the different kinds of lines? Nominated by peers as the “best answer,” one contributor wrote this: “You can have a curve line, an s-curve line, a multiple curve line, a periodically curved line like a Sine curve, you can have an exponential line, a logarithmic line, a parabolic line, hyperbolic line, elliptical line and circle line, .. etc.” Well, for Quartzsite visitors, this man needs to think out of the box.
At this time of year, forget all about curved lines and parabolics, think more in terms of LONG lines. Where do you find long lines in Quartziste:
The first choice of our readers? “The post office!” Sure enough, the lines at the Main Street post office are still curling well out of the counters, back through the lobby door, snaking their way east across the lobby, and then making a sharp turn and back down into the row of postal boxes, stretching as our friend Loyal would say, “Down yonder.” Happily, the postmistress (who probably isn’t paid enough to be anyone’s mistress) is smart–her counter folks are keeping the lines running at a pretty good clip. Count on about a 15 minute wait, maybe 20, at peak hour.
What other lines do you cope with in Quartzsite? For all you Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA) folks, you know the morning and early afternoon brings huge lines and backups at the dump station. Since there’s only one dump station for the four LTVAs in Quarzsite, it’s a long wait. Our rule of thumb? We count the number of rigs backed up, divide it by 2, and add a zero to the result. That gives the approximate wait time for the last guy in the lineup. Big hint: If you’re just dumping a “blue boy,” and can stand a bit of stink, take your blue boy down to the “No RVs” dump spot close to the guard shack at the LaPosa South LTVA. For all you others? Our best dump time is around 5:00 when everybody else is home watching the evening news.
There are also long lines of parked cars on Highway 95, just south of Kuehn Road–in the vicinity of Rice Ranch. Here’s a tip: Don’t be one of them! Quartzsite Police write BIG parking tickets to folks who park there–right under the funny little white signs that say “No Parking.” You’ve been warned.
Friday nights have their own lines: Most of the local eateries specialize in Friday Night Fish Night, and it seems desert dwellers are filling up on their yen for piscatorial stuff. You’ll find some of the longest fish lines at The Grub Stake, that infamous bar and grill on Highway 95, so popular would local police responding to noise complaints.
And finally, traffic lines. This time of year the best product not bottled, and not sold anywhere in Quartzsite (the place where you can buy just about anything) is patience. Yep, just take a deep breath, keep your foot off the gas and near the brake, and smile at all the folks who probably got their driver license at K-Mart.
We certify that all of the above is true, Honest to Pete. Unless of course we’re demonstrating another one of those series of points that are strung together. In essence: Feeding you a line.
If the estimates of a million or more RVers coming to Quartzsite during the season are anywhere near true, then the vast majority must boondock out on the desert–there just aren’t enough available spots in local RV parks. And if you’re going to successfully boondock, you’ll need some way of generating electrical power. Perhaps this is what makes QZ such a great place to buy solar equipment for your rig–everybody wants it.
There are two “established” solar equipment retailers in Quartzsite. That is, they have established, fixed locations that they open every year. And there are plenty of temporary solar vendors that set up shop out of tents and off the backs of pickup trucks. We did a comparison shopping trip last week to see just what prices are like on typical components and labor. Here’s what we found:
Mind you, there are a few things to keep close in mind while shopping. Arizona law allows the waiving of state sales tax on solar equipment–provided the seller has a valid exemption from the state. Local sales tax will still be charged–but that doesn’t amount to a whole lot. Not everyone that sells solar equipment has that waiver, however, and what may at first look “cheap!” when tacking on 8% or more for Arizona sales tax can suddenly not be so inexpensive.
Next, if you need to have someone install the system, be sure to inquire if the quote for installation is a firm, flat rate quote, of if the old, “Well, it may cost more once we get into it . . .” story applies. The rate quotes listed above from Discount Solar are fixed–they won’t “stick it to you” once they get up on the roof.
New solar panels come with a factory warranty. Typically this means if a panel goes sour, you’ll deal directly with the manufacturer to get a replacement–not having to drive back to Quartzsite to hash it out with the dealer. Be sure to get everything spelled out in writing.