BOOMERVILLE!

Strawberry lemonade. Yum!

BOOMERVILLE! Current location:  33.649956,-114.151274   No longer an empty part of the desert, it is currently a hive of activity with over 100 RVs of various sizes and types:  The Boomers are a “Birds of a Feather” (BOF) group of the Escapees RV Club. When they have a gathering, they call it Boomerville! We heard about them at Jojoba and were invited to join them here at Quartzsite, AZ. Every year at this time, thousands of RVers flock to Quartzsite to hang out in the desert, shop at the HUGE RV and Recreation Show big tent (this week only), the several swap meets, or the ongoing Rock and Gem shows. It is quite an experience. We had planned to ‘Do Quartzsite’ anyway (“everyone should at least once…”) and check out a few BOF groups who typically gather here. So far we have only been hanging with the Boomers, they are a laid back and fun group and we seem to fit right in. Several of the people we met at Jojoba Hills are here, too, so we have already seen some familiar faces.

    Every day there are different activities that various people volunteer to host or lead. Each day’s activities are written on a white board at “Headquarters” (a pop-up with tables and information) and you can choose to join whichever interests you.  We quickly discovered that no one starves in Boomerville, as Boomers have bountiful potlucks, free pancake breakfasts, and chili cook-offs with all the trimmings.

    4:00 daily is Happy Hour whose main purpose is for everyone to gather to hear announcements, greet newcomers; find out what activities are coming up, or any things that the group needs to know about. Activities have included potlucks, stargazing with someone who knows the names (the stars are spectacular here!), yoga or walking in the morning, “Boondocking 101” where we picked up a few good ideas of how to make resources last longer, TV shows (Downton Abbey) or pictures of travels (Albuquerque Balloon Festival) shown on the side of someone’s RV. The list goes on! I got in on a gathering of crafters, all making things and showing what they were working on. I took my card weaving which was quite a novelty. The lady hosting it has a toy hauler filled with lapidary equipment and thousands of beads! She does beautiful metal and bead/gem work.

Bottling the kombucha in my RV.

   Also a couple of times a week, several people with pickups volunteer to collect everyone’s trash and make a dump-run. Someone else coordinates to have a holding-tank pumping truck come in for those who need it, as well as fresh water refills. This place is like an instant little city where things get taken care of and people look out for each other. It’s fun to talk to experienced RVers and those who have boondocked for years and hear their tricks and tips, some of which we’ve already discovered.

My gallon jars with kombucha SCOBYs in new tea/sugar solution, ready to sit and do its thing.

Newly bottled kombucha.

    It’s not all been desert and socializing. I have also been making kombucha (bottling every 8 - 9 days) as well as kefir (daily) and cultured veggies (every couple of weeks). I am delighted to be able to continue my ferments as we travel. Mainly I’m motivated by wanting to have them always available since I love having some every day and certainly reap the benefits. It has taken a bit of planning and finding space, but it is working. They all seem to like the winter desert.

   We’ve been gone 3 weeks now and it seems like a blink of the eye! Fulltimers have told us that the 10 years they’ve been traveling seem like nothing and that the times goes by so fast. There always seems to be something to do, something to see, another place to visit, people to meet…