Only one day.
Each year I tell myself I’m not going to the RTR anymore and then I end up going. If it were just for the seminars and shear madness of many thousands of people, I know I would skip it. The problem is that I get a text from an old friend asking me to come see him at the festival.
Todd and I hung out together for several days and endured many repetitive talks about surviving in an economically challenged society. Most of the people that enjoy the seminars are newly retired, usually living on a fixed income of SSI, and don’t have enough savings to stay in a house or senior living home. The rest of the group that flocked to the desert were mostly young people that don’t want to work or are trying to make money on the road. There must have been a dozen YouTube entrepreneurs milling about.
Todd likes the idea of travel but he cannot be away from his house for very long. He has a good pension from the Yuma Fire Department, a nice house, and lots of money in the bank. He said it is too boring to be out on the road all alone for more than a few weeks. He asked me why I’m not bored living in my RV and I replied that I can do everything in my RV that I could do in a house.
Except for the loud music at night, I enjoyed hanging out and meeting new people. I feel sorry for some of the newbies that are just starting out in this lifestyle. They will make mistakes just like I did and still do, but if they stick with it they will all learn what works for them.
I’m now at the LTVA in Quartzsite. I went to town yesterday to see the Big Tent carnival. Each year the booths in the tent are filled more and more with “barkers” selling mops, bag closures, jewelry, massage devices, slicers and dicers, and every other bobble or bangle you can think of, many not even related to RV living. There were a couple new places selling Lithium battery systems but they were not very knowledgeable. I walked around outside for a bit, avoiding the food that smelled so good, and left shortly after peeking inside a couple new, six figure RVs.
I think I will go back down to Yuma for a while. I have a couple projects I want to work on than require a Home Depot. Who knows? I might even ride for a date shake and a movie.
Your home works for you and you don’t need anything more. Folks should not question that. Sounds like I didn’t miss anything at the Tent this year. Same as last year … not many RV related things of interest.
The RTR sounds like fun, at least to visit once. Even for a non-RV’er like me, there’s probably lots to see and do and eat.
One year I’ll try to out there, even just for one day.
Daryl you should go to the Big Tent someday. It is fun to do one time. You would get nothing from the RTR though. The RTR is completely opposite from anything you have ever done, so unless you just want to see how the other side lives, it would be like walking through the ghetto in NYC for you.
OK, not clear on all the terminology, but it sounds like the Big Tent is what I want. I guess the RTR is just like a boy scout jamboree, with hundreds or thousands crowded together, living their lives…?
Yes Daryl. RTR stands for Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, a gathering of people living on the road, professing to be minimalists, and quite eager to tell you how happy they are to choose freedom over a conventional life of poverty and servitude. Some of the true believers border on cultism that would like to roam the land like our hunter-gatherer ancestors did.
Hi Dale sounds like you were able to take in the RTR with out acquiring the flu. I rode my motorcycle down to Quartzsite one day but it was so crazy I grabbed lunch and headed back. Still camping at Big River. The WIN group decided to Camp all around me so I had to change sights. I’m at the last sight before you head out into the desert. I’m liking it out here better