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5/1/10

There Is An Arizona

The Burning Man for Snowbirds...


"You go follow the Sun"

Every winter in the middle of the desert, 20 miles east of the Colorado River, millions of snowbirds trek to the usually desolate Town of Quartzite. The town becomes a haven of unique older snowbirds living in anything that could be called an RV.

Quartzite hosts multiple activities called "shows," that cover a wide variety of gatherings from November through April, with the real kickoff in early December with the Christmas Light Parade. The Main Event is in January when there are dozens of rock, gem, mineral, arts, crafts, sports, vacation, classic car and RV shows during the month of January.  This is followed in February by continued swapmeeting, Pow Wow and an ATV Parade and Bluegrass Festival. These seniors are rock and rollers who are a fun and animated crowd.

Quartzite.com calls it "the ideal place for anyone who drives an RV." As you view it from I-10 if you're just driving through, it appears to be a parched desert but on closer inspection, you would find off the highway it is a unique scenic desert. Palm Canyon, in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, is a unique canyon where naturally occurring California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera) trees, that have survived since the last glacial period, are in the cleft. The Palm Canyon Trail is a great hike to see the only known native palm trees in Arizona.

The winter migration began in 1965 with the Pow Wow Rock, Gem and Mineral show and the rockhounders have been coming annually in the millions since then.


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This video is by Ackerman Gruber Images and depicts the lively activity of the bustling older visitors.


Migrating South: Snowbirds in Quartzsite from Ackerman Gruber Images on Vimeo.
http://www.vimeo.com/9433820