Desert Bar - The Solar Bar

Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use.

A very popular outing from Quartzsite is the Desert Bar.  You buy one of their t-shirts while there and you’ll be surprised how many comments you'll get when wearing it from folks wherever you travel the rest of the year.  Folks recognize this very popular and fun place.  Actually, it’s a bar but it’s much more than that.  It’s a place to congregate in the middle of nowhere where there are no power poles, no telephone either by cell or otherwise and absolutely no electricity other than what’s provided through solar panels.

The Desert Bar is located five miles north of Parker and about five miles down a dirt unmaintained road from there.  Obviously the last five miles are twisty, with lots of turns and bumps.  The place is open during snowbird season on the weekends only.  The crowds pack into the place to listen to the bands or just experience a unique outing with friends. The bar is fully functional.  Long lines form at the food vendors. 

Our group was no exception.  We had been there before but that didn’t mean we couldn’t go again.  And, that we did.  We piled into different cars and headed north to the Desert Bar.  On the way back we stopped at the Wal-Mart in Parker.  With all the activity and RVs in the area, many of their shelves were empty.  Much of the meat was gone, paper plates were gone and just about everything we went there for.  You could certainly tell the snowbirds were back.

The band is in the background.

The wind was blowing pretty strong when we pulled out of Quartzsite.  When we got back we noticed our little tacky cabin was no longer up.  Evidently while we were gone our cabin took the brunt of the blast from the gusts.  Thus, it has been rolled up and put away to be used at another time in another place.   That's one thing we do notice in this area occasionally .... the wind.  However, the winds of Saturday are now gone and we don't expect them to return until Wednesday again.  I guess once a week is nothing to complain about especially if the sun shines the rest of the time.  However, we may even see a sprinkle or two of rain.  We shouldn't complain really because other places are getting more than their share of snow and at least we aren't shoveling that stuff.

This is a silly group but it's our group with some of the nicest people you'll ever meet!

The crowds are here.  Over the last few days it seems the RVs around the area have certainly doubled.  We had hoped to have another group dinner together at one of the local restaurants.  However, we’ve come to the conclusion that this absolutely will not work.  There are just too many people in town to be able to book a group at one of the local restaurants.  Oh well ….. we still have lots of wood to feed the campfire.  We can sit around the campfire and eat instead.

This has been one of the largest gatherings our group has had.  Now not everyone has been able to come at the same time but everyone still gets counted. We've met a lot of new folks this year and reunited with others. As of today we will have 15 RVs parked kinda in our circle. I'm saying "kinda" because we don't really have a circle.  It's a partial circle with two rows in spots and even three rows in other spots.  In addition to the 15 here, we have had six others visit and move on to other places.   Maybe next year our goal can be to see if we can put those wagons in a real circle.  However, I think everyone has to arrive at about the same time to do that.  We have also learned that Quartzsite is definitely the place for the reunions.  This one has been the best ever.

Sunday ….. we’re off to the Big Tent.  Then, we'll take next week one day at a time .....  will we be here or will we be someplace else?  Heck, we don't even know that.



‘Tis life on the road.
    

Yesterday's Castle Dome Ghost Town blog.