LTVA Quartzite
Obviously, we had to move. At this point, we discovered the wonders of the BLM's LTVA's (Long Term Visitor Areas). These are clustered down south in California and Arizona, and they allow snowbirds to stay in LTVA's from 9/15 through 4/15 by paying a modest fee. We moved right in with all the other snowbirds. The place was more crowded than I prefer (since I prefer to see nobody), but it was nice not to have to move every couple of weeks. The fact is, there are not that many places that are suitable for camping in Dec. and Jan. Most of the National Forest is too high in elevation and too cold. So we settled in to wait for good weather in March or April.
The town of Quartzite is the strangest place I've ever seen. It has a population of about 2,000 in the summer, and in the winter, 300,000. Much of the town consists of tent 'shopping malls', even including a discount grocery store. I intended to check out the grocery store, but my Associate Navigator tried to pee on the floor, so I had to leave.
As for permanent shops, there are very few except for RV dealers. Only one, small grocery store has fresh produce. That's the only option unless you wish to drive to Blythe, CA, 20+ miles away. It does have bunches of places to buy rocks, though. I don't know how many people actually NEED rocks, but if you do want some rocks, I highly recommend checking out Quartzite.
We weren't really in the market for rocks, so there wasn't much to interest us in Quartzite.
All my life, I've been trying to capture the effect of the sunset on the mountains and failing. This, however, is pretty darn close. The RVs are, of course, my neighbors, who parked right between me and the mountains.
In between neighbors