Good one Margi. I've stayed out of the fray since it no longer matters to us where it will be held, as we probably won't make any more QZ rallies. As you said, all one has to do to start a rally is pick a place and say this is it. Like it or not! Come when you can, leave when you must. That's what we did for years, and each year more came then the year before. It is the experience of desert living that we loved. The beauty of the sun moving around the area all day long, changing the scenery with its lights and shadows as it moves across the mountains. Jim's essay still says it all and it is still as true today as the day he wrote it. Especially for those who have never been to the desert or experience dry camping.
The original rallies were just as Margi stated, and we planned them mainly around the greatest GEM show ever, NOT the RV show, which came in on the Gem show coattails. Fred and I had gotten interested in the gems and some of the craftmanship of the designs was something we thoroughly marveled at. The BIG TENT was then held where the large laundry on East Main street is now, (near the bakery) and was even then outgrowing its space. Parking was a real snag.
When they moved to the place it is now, the whole atmosphere changed, as did the town. They had to put in traffic lights, of all things. ;D
However, years go by, new people come to enjoy, ideas are put forth, and changes are made. We had our time, and certainly enjoyed each and every minute of them. I still love the desert and always will. And now we have our memories. They will never fade, until we do.
The main thing about the QZ rallies or any of the rallies for that matter, are for people to come, meet the people face to face that you've only talked to on-line. See the expressions and fun in their souls, so that when they post messages you'll be able to put their facial expressions together with their on-line thoughts. And absolutely the bottom line is to have fun, fun, fun. I have always looked at QZ as a grown up persons carnival. A celebration of mostly RVers that brings a lot of them all together in one place at one time of the year. And I think every RVer owes it to himself to see this desert with about 1/2 million rvs scattered around 11,000 acres of land. It is one of the most unbelievable sights we have ever seen.
I have to add the following! We picked the place we did, because we had to move to a place with more room as we had outgrown our previous site and were no longer welcome there. There is a "sort of" protocol in the desert. Mostly it is a "first come, first serve" sort of thing as far as picking your space goes. BUT, it is also "consideration". Those that have been coming for several years know that others have parked in specific areas with their groups. If "strangers" happen to park in that spot they are "politely" asked to join the 10 or 15 or ? other rvers who will be showing up and hopefully will enjoy their company as well. The "strangers" generally move on if they are not feeling comfortable with that much company. The fact that the forum rally is held during "show time" generally means you will have to stake out your area very early in the season with someone coming into a chosen spot in late Dec. early Jan. to act as "governor". And then hope to hold on to it for as long as it takes others to show up. Another consideration, is for those who enjoy boondocking and want to come in for a longer spell, will have to leave the area frequently for dumping and water. Those places will have to be mapped out ahead of time with the best times and places to be there. Also trash is another consideration, as others have already mentioned. Just food for thought while searching for a new site.
Daisy
