2023 Quartzsite Rally Report
January 19th – January 22, 2023
Hello & Greetings from the NWTFC! This is my first newsletter and we are on the road slowly heading home from our annual destination of Quartzsite, AZ for the Safari Trek Gathering.
We left Lakebay, Washington on December 16th, and travelled south on I-5 stopping in Eugene, Redding, and then over to Tehachapi where we stayed with friends for a night. Onward to Kingman AZ at a friend’s place, then Holbrook AZ, slowly making our way to Sandia Park NM (outside Albuquerque) for Christmas with our grandkids for 10 days. We travelled with jugs of antifreeze and water to prevent frozen pipes until January 1st when we reached Las Cruces, NM for 10 days.
This year’s Trek Gathering was a huge success. We had a new, fantastic campsite with plenty of space. We were among the first 5 Treks to arrive, and it was fun to watch the camp take shape. All told, we had 37 Treks, 2 Safari’s, and 4 SOB’s there with us. And it was a huge display of 9 early Trek Diesel 2400’s. Also, some statistics: first there was 1 and by the time we all left there were 6 Starlink devices, several of which were delivered to Quiet Times in Quartzsite. 5 Treks got their snakey-foggy windows fixed at Lake Havasu Glass by Janeen and her husband. 2 Treks got new Victron 3000 Inverters, one got a new 1000 inverter, and a couple more were getting Victron 250’s. And, Roy from Medford sold his Trek 2001 2830 Slopey to Mike from Canada (travelling in a SOB) who was joining NWTFC as a new member! Speaking of which, I was talking up our club and recommending lapsed members rejoin as well as encouraging others to become new members.
Redlands RV came by Thursday afternoon 1/19 to talk about Shocks, Tires and air valve extenders and the many wonderful products they sell and install before our kickoff Appetizer & drinks social with 4 boxes of wine (which lasted for several days after!). Friday noon 1/20 our own experts shared on topics like solar and hydro boosts. Friday evening at our social gathering we had a surprise visit from Dennis & Marty Martin, NWA FMCA President. Saturday 1/21 had the usual bunch who ran up to Parker for the desert bar lunch while many went to the Big Tent. Saturday evening was our wonderful potluck with tables filled with wonderful food and many participating. Sunday morning 1/22 saw folks wandering about to see what was available for swap or purchase, and there was a display of Toads to view. Although a lot of folks left, we still had 11 Trek’s with us on the 31st, and 8 as of yesterday 2/03, when we left.
Our next event is our Armitage Park Pre-Rally in Albany Oregon June 3-6 and reservations are open to book now on our website. June 6 we will caravan to Linn County Fairgrounds for the FMCA NW Area Rally which is June 7 – 11. At Quartzsite, we discussed looking for BLM or State Campgrounds in Oregon or Washington (alternative to RV Parks which can get pricey) to book a lower cost event later in the season. Our group is still looking for a Rally-Master to make sure we have more events this year and beyond.
I’m including some pictures here of the 2023 Gathering.
Kathleen Walczak
NWTFC Secretary
Lakebay, Washington