The "Mother" Of All Shows...

For 10 days every January, the Tyson Wells group hosts an RV and Travel Show under massive tents, in the southern area of the town of

Quartzsite. There are certainly well over 100 vendors set up inside the huge tent, and another couple dozen outside. The atmosphere is energized with music and the usual food offerings. Parking is special in that the desert is the parking lot, an insane free-for-all. And make no mistake, a four-wheel drive vehicle is not an option when driving in the desert; it is a necessity!

(In order to get this picture at the entrance to the tent, Marc stood on tippy-toe, held the camera in the air and shot.)

We made the mistake of attending on opening day. Not a good idea. We inched our way inside, shoulder to shoulder with some 5 to 6 tourists on either side of us. Some especially bright people even brought their dogs! We made it to perhaps one fifth of the way in then turned around and headed home. We could not imagine how anyone could actually see anything with such overcrowding.   We shudder to think what would happen in an emergency evacuation situation! The only positive is we were able to renew our membership to Passport America while we were there. One of the vendors recommended we return in a few days when the crowds are guaranteed to be thinned out. Good idea!