2017 QUARTZSITE RALLY INFORMATION

[mmgeol]

2017 12TH ANNUAL CIRCLING OF THE MONTANA'S
QUARTZSITE, AZ
JANUARY 17 - 25

Our regular Circle site has been secured and the location is described below.


Planning for the 2017 Circling of the Montana's rally is now underway and hope to have another fun adventure. For first timers and others who are thinking about attending, we try to keep the rally relaxing while having enough events scheduled to have fun and maybe learn something new. Here is information assembled by former wagon masters and myself to assist you in making the rally a success. More information will be forthcoming as we get closer to rally. A sign-up notice for the rally will be posted in a couple of weeks.

This year is the 12th anniversary, and plans are to include everyone who wants to be in the circle, regardless of brand of RV. Of course, the hardest part of setting the rally up is balancing the amount of units with the available space. We are trying to expand the "circle" to include as many as possible.

We want to try and include everyone in the happy hours and campfire in order to make new friends and get to socialize with more folks, especially the newbies.

As always, we cannot wait to see old friends and make new ones.



DATES

Official start is Tuesday January 17, 2017 with the last night of the rally being Tuesday the 24th of January. Wednesday the 25th is the departure day except for those whom want to stay.


LOCATION

Quartzsite, AZ; camping on Plomosa Road.

The camping on Plomosa Road is on BLM land and is in the "NO FEE" area which means it is absolutely free!!! There is a 14 day stay limit in the no fee area where we will be camped (14 nights out on the 15th day) so plan accordingly.You will need to sign in with the BLM volunteer at the entrance to Plomosa Rd. and get your 14 day sticker. If you have questions or concerns about camping on the BLM land, please do not contact the BLM Office or the rangers directly as this has caused problems for our group in the past. Instead, try to find the information on line or PM us and we will do our best to get the answer for you.

We will have a MOC sign posted on Plomosa Road to show you where to turn off the road to get to the gathering area (pictures and directions will be in a separate post after we arrive and know exactly where we will be).


DIRECTIONS TO OUR SITE

We anticipate having the same site as the last few years.

Plomosa Road is about 6 miles NORTH of the intersection of Main Street and AZ-95 in downtown Quartzsite.

From Quartzsite drive NORTH on AZ-95 past mile marker 114, turn RIGHT (EAST) onto Plomosa Road.

Drive 2.8 miles, turn LEFT at Montana Sign onto BLM land.

Turn LEFT again in about 75 yards (there will be a 2nd sign).....look for lots of Montana's and flags....about 1/4 mile WEST.


We are hoping for another large turnout this year and we will be assigning spaces early based on arrival/departure dates, but if you want to be located next to or close to a specific member/rig in the circle, let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. Also, if you have solar we will position your rig to take full advantage of the abundant sunshine we hope to have.

The camping in the Plomosa Rd. area is "Dry Camping",but please do not let that discourage you from attending if you haven't dry camped before. This is just another aspect of the RVing experience and there is plenty of expertise that can be tapped into from your fellow MOC Members and with all the great people, you will not even miss any of the amenities.


WEATHER

The weather at this time of year is relatively mild with daytime temperatures hovering around 70 and nighttime temperatures dropping into the 50's-40's.


QUIET HOURS

For the purposes of this rally and our group, we will observe Quiet Hours" between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. daily.


OTHER INFORMATION

There are no electric hookups: QUIET generators are required for power. We have had issues with loud generators in the past, so for the peace of all, please do not use a contractor type or any open frame generator. IF YOU HAVE A LOUD GENERATOR YOU WILL BE ASKED TO SET UP RESIDENCE OUTSIDE OF THE CIRCLE....PERIOD.

There is cell phone service and internet access via your air card or phone if you have those services.

There is no cable TV: Satellite reception is great because of the lack of trees and "over- the- air" digital TV can be received from Yuma and Phoenix.


GARBAGE

Garbage is to be taken to the waste transfer station on Hwy. 95 between Plomosa Rd. and Quartzsite (Sunday-Wednesday, 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM). Waste Management does not make calls to the desert. Some of our good-hearted souls will pull their truck in the center circle for a dump run. If you are going to Quartzsite or to the transfer station, please volunteer to take some trash and save on trips. If you are placing trash in someone else's truck, make sure bag is properly sealed and not leaking.


WATER AND SEWER

When you arrive at the Circle, you should have a full tank of water, and empty black and gray tanks.

There are no water hookups: However, several of us have 40-gallon water bladders and 12-volt pumps, all available for you to use to acquire water. Cost of filling the bladder in Quartzsite is 5-cents per gallon, $2.00 total, for well- filtered water at the “Pit Stop.” If you want city water (better quality, less minerals, but still not very drinkable) it runs around $6.00 per bladder from “Rose’s). You will find most people use RO (reverse-osmosis filtered) water for their drinking water available in stores or fill your own jugs for $.25 per gallon.

There are no sewage dumps at the campsite: When you need sewer service, you will need to call the honey wagon service. We will provide you with the name of a service later. They will come out to the area and take care of your rig on site. Historically, we have scheduled two visits during the rally when they are in the area. I think the rates were $35 last year.

We will also need firewood, and lots of it, for our nightly visits around the camp fire. For 2016 we were able to purchase firewood locally and will plan to do the same again this year. Last year, thanks to the efforts of all, we had roaring fires each night.

We will be asking for a $10 donation when you arrive to help pay for the wood and various office and printing expenditures.

And, I should mention FLAGS. At each rally it appears we outdo all other groups in having the most flags mounted on our rigs. If you don’t have one, you may want to consider one as to not being left out. They are also available at the big tent during the RV Show that starts Jan 21th and runs for 9 days.

For those of you that have not attended or for rally veterans, here are a couple of web-sites you can visit and see what the territory looks like.

2015 rally

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soDCUracav0

Quartzsite during the rally

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcG3ua5oY2g

Quartzsite from another angle
https://vimeo.com/87973648



Thank you and we really look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones!

Curtis Matthews
mmgeol
10293

[DQDick]

Thanks for taking this on! Are you wanting us to signup? If so, we'll be there and have solar.

[mmgeol]

Sign-up post will be out in a couple of weeks.