question about dust at Quartzsite

[henkelphoto]

Hi guys!

A friend of mine is planning on staying in Q for about 4-6 weeks and I am going to bring my TT down for a week to attend some of the activities with him.

So I was reading up on Q a bit and one person mentioned that you need to put ac filters over all your vents and cover everything that could let dust into your camper. Is the dust really that bad at Q? It sounds like the same precautions that you have to take if you attend Burning Man on the playa in Northern Nevada.

Any other suggestions?

[john owens]

Others will chime in but we have camped at Q probably 15 times plus over the last 10 years..never had a problem with wind or dust. Someone's over reacting I would say. love the Q!!!!
 

[ArdraF]

It really depends on how much rain there has been in any given year.  When it rains the dust becomes a solid "coat" until the crust is broken when someone drives or walks on it.  That's why places like Arches N.P. don't permit off-trail walking.  The crust is what keep the delicate terrain from blowing off in the breeze.  As to Quartzsite, once vehicles start driving on roads after a rain the dust kicks up.  It's not bad unless the winds also pick up.  I would say it's best to park a bit off the roads.  The closer you are to them, the more dust will penetrate.  We like parking on rocks that hold the dust down.  I generally give the inside of the motorhome a good annual cleaning AFTER our Quartzsite rally.  We don't have any special A/C filters.  Your car also will get really dusty on the outside.  Please drive slowly on the dirt roads to control the dust.  Your neighbors will appreciate it.

ArdraF

[Lou Schneider]

Quartsite's LTVAs can be dusty, but it's nothing like Burning Man.  The LTVAs are covered by Desert Pavement, small rocks and stones that the eons of wind have left behind to form an unbroken hard shell top..  They don't generate much dust, what there is comes mostly from cars travelling too fast down dirt roads where repeated traffic has broken through the "pavement" to expose the fine dirt underneath.

Burning Man doesn't have the pavement layer, the entire playa is one giant dust bowl.

[Utclmjmpr]

 When parked off the Plamosa Road approximately one mile east of S95 and 5 miles north of "Q",, you will find no or VERY little dust.. The top crust is small volcanic rock that lets rain thru so no mud or dust problems.. Been camping there off and on for over 22 years.>>>Dan

[henkelphoto]

Okay, thanks for the responses. Living in Las Vegas, we are well aware of the dust that the wind kicks up. And I do know about driving slow on dirt roads around campers, I'm always telling my wife to slow down (she doesn't react well to that!!) when she's driving on dirt.

[QZ]

It's just part of being in the desert. When it gets bad you can see the dust storms  approaching from a distance. There are rocky areas, sandy areas and fine talc like dirt areas. When the wind is bad it will carry waves or ribbons of dirt. It started to do it north of town yesterday. It's the first time I have seen it in the Q. I have seen it a few times in socal just west of Yuma when you couldn't see a 1/4 mile and there were waves of dirt flying by. The Imperial dunes and cargo mountains were completely blocked out.  I put my panels down but didn't bring our slide in. I have also seen it like that in the Big River BLM area west of Parker and watched it approach. The Q probably gets it's bad wind storms but after doing this for 4 years I know the Q isn't as bad as socal. I have also been on Snowbird mesa near overton NV when it was so bad that I thought the fw was going to blow over. Old timer buddies laughed at me and said it ain't bad.

You will be fine in the Q. Here's a picture after yesterdays wind and being dusted 3 days ago. Maybe our rig "leaks" a lot compared to others but we are always wiping off the range vent or stove top or television. Stove top was cleaned 3 days ago.

[sunfighter]

I've never seen any dust storms at Q like the ones that seem to hit Imperial dam LTVA.

[QZ]

Maybe I should have stayed in the Q. I'm now near Tumco ghost town in Socal. I went out at 2:30 to put the panels down and back out shortly after to fasten a ratchet strap from the top of my slide down to my utility trailer to keep the wind   from lifting the slide! The air looks pretty clear but my eyes still have dirt in the corners and tearing. Come on down the sun is shining and the weather is great.

[Tom]

The wind and driven vehicles both cause a lot of dust at QZ. If you decide to go off road, all bets are off. It's not unusual to see mini twisters come through the rally area. QZ dust seems to get everywhere, and we've found it in crevices in the car and coach long (2-3 years) after leaving QZ and multiple vacuum cleanups. We always get sinus infections there, so we haven't stayed at QZ for a number of years.

[UTTransplant]

We always get sinus infections there, so we haven't stayed at QZ for a number of years.

I get sinus infections in the desert if I don’t use a steam inhaler. When I use it two or three times a day I am ok. I have even considered running a humidifier, if I can find one to run off a small inverter.

[henkelphoto]

Living in Las Vegas, I'm used to the dry air, but I always advise people coming from a more humid area to use a saline nasal spray. Many people experience bloody noses when in the dry air after coming from more humid areas. And drink lots of water!

[ArdraF]

Excellent advice for those who aren't used to the dry desert air.  I'm never without saline spray, Chapstick and hand lotion.  Desert humidity is frequently below 10 percent.

ArdraF