The day started off with rain and was overcast and cold. After a hearty breakfast, I took off on foot through the La Posa BLM area, crossed the wash, and climbed up the bank to the Big Tent area. That is how most folks in the La Posa West Long Term Visitors area get to the show so they don’t have to deal with parking. I found a wider opening between vendor rigs and passed through. I met a very nice woman from the Redlands company who offered me a cookie as I passed her RV. Redlands has their own large tents here where they are doing all manner of RV repairs, upgrades, new tires, etc. for folks and they do have rigs lined up to get in.
Into the tent, I headed to the middle to C & C Insurance’s booth. They are wonderful agents who will hold your hand through an accident and make sure you are taken care of so they are also my agents. Stop by and have a chat with Chris and Chuck Yust on your insurance needs. They saved me a good bit of money and now they are promoting a new emergency road service that they tell me is much better than most others. I may be switching myself when my current service runs out.
My next visit was to the Escapees booth to get my hug for the day. Escapees are huggers. They also run a wonderful camping club with great discounts on camping all over the country, their own excellent campgrounds, and a mail service in three states that is capable of providing residency status for those states if you need it. As a full-timer and someone who works in Texas, I needed residency status but did not have a permanent address I could use to get a drivers license, register vehicles, vote, etc. since I move around a lot. Escapees to the rescue! Personally, I get far more out of it than Good Sam. Anyway, hug hug and on to the show.
There are no empty booths this year at the show. There are plenty of vendors and I believe more attendees than last year. As always, there are several workamping booths with job opportunities for those looking to work their way across the country. I’ll get into more detail in another post. My personal favorite, the dip booth is there handing out pretzels to taste their wares. I love the spinach dip and cheesecake dip the best. I finally gave in and bought the garlic and cheese grater plate this year at another booth. With my new experiments in cooking, it looks like it might come in handy. Cleaning products, mops, and magic brooms are available as well as all manner of T-shirts, other clothing,jewelry, leather wallets and purses, pet gear, pain relievers, flagpoles, cookware, silicone lids, new fangled chip clips, and toys including big boy toys (flying remote control planes, saucers, etc.).
For those strictly looking for RVer items, several campgrounds are well represented in the Big Tent as are solar panels, LED lights, mobility scooters, beds, pillows, and more specific RV parts and upgrades. Passport America is available to sign up or renew for the best value in camping discounts and if you signup at the show, they not only add some free months but also give you a hard copy of their directory and let you spin their wheel for a prize. The Alaska team are back to show you how to get there and what to see. There are 2 RV caravan tour booths in the Big Tent. Should I mention the nudist camp booth is here again? LOL To each his own.
I stopped by the Digest-It booth to check out their product. I have been hearing rave reviews about it as a holding tank additive to stop the smell, breakdown the contents more fully, clean the sensors, lubricate the seals, and it doesn’t contain formaldehyde. I didn’t know they also have a Super Digest-It to remove blockages. Nice! They gave me a small bottle to try out and evaluate for them so I will be posting that review after I get home to my own RV. You may want to stop by their booth yourself for more information and to see what other products they have come up with to help us with our least favorite chore.
There are some older vendors missing and some new vendors this year. I didn’t see as many LED light booths as before but there are still some here. A new booth (to me at least) is the Truck Claw device guaranteed to get you out of snow or mud. A set of two straps on to your wheels and bites into the muck with specially designed large aluminum pieces which can also have a wider extension added if needed and out you go. Stop by and watch their video of a truck in one heck of a mud bog easily get around in it.
For lunch I had the half a roasted chicken with beans and coleslaw found outside at the East end of the tent. It was very good for $10 and one of the better food deals.
Outside the Big Tent, you can find Honda, Yamaha, and Champion generators for sale as well as flags, wood signs, RV stabilizers, RV parts and upgrades, more workamping opportunities, and my favorite booth of all, the Progressive Insurance booth. They don’t have the golf game this year but you can spin their wheel for prizes and they are great prizes. So far I have won a T-shirt and an aluminum water bottle. I will be going back today for another shot at it. LOL. You can also do one of 4 or 5 different videos against a green screen and get a picture of it which includes Flo. I went with being chased by a bear.
For your afternoon snack, how about some ice cream? The Thrifty ice cream booth outside is there again as well as the gourmet ice cream booth as you walk into Tyson Wells from the Big Tent. Another option is candy from the candy booth in the Big Tent or from the Grocery Outlet store in the South Tyson Wells shopping area.
Are you looking to get a concealed carry license that is good in 30-36 states? There are two booths here for that and one does the class needed if you are not a veteran, renewal, or other exempted person.
KB Tools north of the Big Tent is busy and crowded as ever. That’s always a good place to look for whatever you need and the best place to find the materials to erect a strong wind-resistant shelter of tarps.
Ta ta from Quartzsite till the next post. I’ll get this week’s events up soon.
