I was writing a blog post in Yucca Valley, California a few months ago as part of our boring-but-more-fun-when-in-the-sun errands list mentioned in the previous post. At that point, our plan was to visit Slab City, NOT get stuck in any sand, and then head down to the Mexicali border and over into the Baja.
But as usual, our plans were no match for Greater Travel Forces.
Andy decided to use my blogging time to make a Home Depot run—don’t worry, he did ask if I would feel left out if he went alone, but I said I’d just go on tomorrow’s Home Depot run and skip this one.
While he stood on top of the Turtle in the Home Depot parking lot, a group of guys came over to find out what in the world the Turtle was, and asked if Andy was on his way to the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. He was as confused as you may be right now at the perplexing name, but he asked for further information, and when he rejoined me at the coffee shop he had this information to share:
Rubber Tramp Rendezvous—or RTR for those in the know—is a yearly meet-up for vandwellers, RVers, and road travelers of all kinds held in Quartzite, Arizona out on a huge acreage of BLM land just outside of town. It’s been going on for seven years, and each year the attendance grows exponentially. The guy who organizes it has written books and has a popular YouTube channel aimed at helping people live the full-time van life. For the two week duration of the event he puts together a schedule of seminars, and people who specialize in certain aspects of van building, traveling, solar, or living in small spaces, for example, hold informal outdoor conversations about their area of expertise and answer questions. It’s also a place where a whole bunch of travelers come together to talk travel and give tours of their vans.
We decided instantly that we needed to go check this thing out.
After making our way out of the Slab City quicksand, we took the 2-hour detour east to Arizona and added the Turtle to the group of about 4,000 vehicles scattered around the desert in semi-organized clusters. We thought that before we tried find a place to park we should find the main camp so that we’d have a general sense of the lay of the land. We drove past countless vehicles and signs pointing down dirt roads for various sub-groups meeting one another until we saw a tiny yellow arrow pointing to the right that said “RTR”. We drove in, but the path directly to the main camp was lost among the braided roads created by the vans and RVs, so we just started driving, asking directions, and trying again.
Everyone looked like they were having such a great time, chatting with one another, setting up chairs in small circles, sharing food, riding bikes, and playing music. There were people of every imaginable walk of life and ages ranging from early 20’s to octogenarians. We kept driving and guessing at our route until we reached a dead end at a cul-de-sac created by a circle of vehicles around a huge campfire ring and a sign in front that said “Camp Slow Dust.” A cheerful group of people sat around a table and waved at us as we passed. We stopped and asked them where we’d gone wrong in our search for the main camp, and they pointed to the next path over but said not to bother; we could just camp with them!
We thought that sounded great and backed into a spot around the perimeter of the camp. (Photos below were taken on our last day when almost everyone had left. I’m not sure how I failed to take better camp photos. Living in the moment, I guess.)
Most of the group had met each other at a van build about a year ago and have been traveling together or meeting up periodically on the road with one another ever since. They were all so much fun, and Andy and I kept saying how happy we were to have landed in that camp. We’d originally thought we’d stay for a day or two, and ended up having so much fun that we stayed until the end of RTR six days later!
The beauty of meeting people in the context of a van meet-up is that no explanation is necessary regarding each person’s individual lifestyle rhythms. Everyone comes and goes as they please, spending time in small groups, sometimes the small groups becoming large groups, taking walks, taking naps, fixing vans, helping others fix vans, sitting outside to read, giving van tours, and on and on. It’s like summer camp.
During our stay with Camp Slow Dust we became friends with Wayne, Jeff, Cheryl, Gio, Greg, Jordan, Boom, Victor and Winter. Every night Wayne and Cheryl made a big family dinner for the camp, utilizing contributions from the group to add to the meal. We’d all sit around the fire on benches the guys made from huge planks they brought in, and as the week progressed the benches got shorter as the wood was tossed into the campfire.
On any given day you could find Andy next to someone’s van, so blissed out by the availability of people who wanted to talk about solar, wiring, engines, ProFlex, stainless steel hardware, tires . . . and everyone there loved to talk shop as much as we do. It was a lot of fun swapping ideas, and everyone there had a project going on. Greg has a Ford van just like the Turtle, but minus the shell, and after he and Andy had been chatting for a bit, Greg went to town and picked up a couple of cake pans just as Andy had done earlier this year. Soon his van looked like this:
On any given day you would find me enjoying standing in the sun and chatting up new friends in the camp while I threw the frisbee for Scout. I thought I’d go see more seminars and wander the desert more often, but all the fun seemed to happen in the small loop of Camp Slow Dust.
There was always something fun going down right outside our door!
I helped Wayne and Victor install power locks in Wayne’s van. (Wait, I was going to take full credit for that job. Oh well.) I loved hanging out with Wayne, who cares so much for the people in his tribe and welcomed everyone passing Camp Slow Dust to join us at the fire and share food, drinks, and stories. He leaves no one behind. We’ll definitely be meeting up with him down the road.
I also got to babysit Wayne’s little kittens, which was a position I was highly qualified for.
I spent a bunch of time chatting with Cheryl and mining her knowledge of plants and herbs and cooking on the road. That woman is a treasure trove of ideas! She wastes nothing, and one of my favorite tips is to cut up the green carrot tops to add to salads or dry for seasonings. They taste just like carrots and are good for you too. Cheryl gave us a tour of the main camp right when we arrived which made us feel very welcomed, and another day she walked me out to see the labyrinth someone had made.
We drove into town with Winter and wandered around the bustling town of Quartzite, admiring the myriad piles of rocks and minerals for sale under all the tents, as well as the weirdest/best grocery market.
Everyone at Camp Slow Dust made us feel so welcome and we were so happy we turned onto the wrong road on the way in. RTR was our first van meet-up, and it was eye-opening to see how many fellow travelers we’re surrounded by as we move around the continent.
Andy and Jordan talked extensively about solar, which was to come up later in our travels. In the meantime, you can start getting to know Jordan better through his charming and hilarious documentation of his travels from Seattle to the southern tip of South America.
I daily admired Greg’s lovely rock balancing and natural sculptures, which I’m told he does to beautify every campsite he stays in. He’s a world traveler full of love, and he has a YouTube channel and Instagram account documenting his travels, which you can follow here:
Jeff took Andy and I out for a ride in his side car, and he even got to ride in his own side car for the first time. Of course he made it look way cooler than we did.
On the last night of RTR, they had a campfire at main camp and a little ritual they call Burning Van. Afterwards, we had our own, much more impressive, sendoff—The Burning of the Benches!
Gio and I made sure the kittens weren’t left out of the fun.
When we turned in for the evening, Andy made sure Gracie got her fair share of snuggles too. I love these little buddies.
What a week. It was our first van meetup, and will definitely not be the last. We both felt so at home among the thousands of other travelers, surrounded by likeminded people who understand us and why we’ve chosen this crazy lifestyle. And just like summer camp, we said our goodbyes knowing that in one short year we’ll all be back sharing new stories around the Camp Slow Dust fire again.
Blue Turtle Crossing 