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Post by rockhoundingwithkids on Jan 11, 2022 11:59:20 GMT -5
We're trying to figure out if this is feasible... or if it's absolutely nuts.
I haven't even checked hotel availability yet so I'm not sure what's available.
We can leave central CA on Wednesday ~6pm . Thinking of staying the night in Palm Springs Wednesday then we have Thursday afternoon and all of friday to explore and head back Saturday. We just need to be back home on Sunday so my husband can work Monday. 2/2-2/6
We have a 2 and 4yr old that have been on plenty of couple hour road trips and I drove by myself from NM with both of them so I think they'll be ok with the driving. That's lower on my list of concerns. I have a double jogger and a Keenz wagon.
What shows are worth going to for buying slabs/rough? Also interested in fossils.
I saw some of the shows require a retailer tag. Is that worth doing?
I know the kids will probably be sick of it after 2 hours so would like to be close by so one of us can sit in the hotel room with them (or in a pool) and the other goes and explores. I don't think we'd be able to use the shuttle services with the wagon or double jogger.
Show recs...
Kid recs...
Hotel recs...
Food recs...
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AzRockGeek
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2016
Posts: 702
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Post by AzRockGeek on Jan 11, 2022 12:34:50 GMT -5
Since you will be passing through Quartzite, I highly recommend stopping by Desert Gardens, there will still be a few venders setup and pricing will be much better then in Tucson.
As far as Tucson, I am only after lapidary rough, so I go to the Miners Co-op in Marana since it is on the way and right off the freeway. Then I head to the Kino Ball Park, great selection of rough.
Cannot help with the accommodations side, it is always a day trip for me.
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,957
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Post by Tommy on Jan 11, 2022 14:06:44 GMT -5
I will preface this by saying that I've never been to the Tucson shows but I've studied it many times and decided to pass in favor of doing Quartzsite instead. My observations have been that Tucson is an event that may or may not be fairly summarized as being geared towards gemstone buyers and or wholesale buyers of rocks. Of course there are individual shows that are open to the public but that brings me to my second point - the Tucson events are very widely spread out to the point of being overwhelming. We own a bit of property outside of Tucson near the Saguaro Nat Mon West. The address is Marana but the location is west of the Tucson mountains, southwest of Picture Rocks. When we visit it I'm always amazed by how far the drive is once we pull reach Marana and make the decision to either veer off to the west or continue south for what seems like another half hour and cut over on Speedway which is close to the main heart of the shows. My point in all of this is the Tucson show(s) are very spread out and as Tim alluded to above, he's going to a show in Marana and another 25 minutes south in Tucson. With limited time you might be better served by choosing a single show or two shows that are geared towards rockhounds and largely miss out on everything else going on there. Personally this is why I love the Quartzsite shows - and in particular the QIA club PowWow which runs at the same time that Desert Gardens and Tyson Wells are still in full swing. It's a rockhounds dream with three major public (vs. resellers) shows condensed into a two square mile radius joined by a major freeway - plus you'd get to attend the RTH BBQ at Tony's on Saturday night  |
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Post by rockhoundingwithkids on Jan 11, 2022 19:34:06 GMT -5
Yes that extra drive seems a bit overwhelming. I still don't understand the Quartzsite set up either... I was looking up vendor maps and hotel maps and panicked and booked a beach house in the opposite direction.  But reading that Tommy hasn't been makes me feel much better about that decision. I'm still open to suggestions on what to visit at either place. I'd like to have my ducks in a row for 2023. They're on the bucket list. When I was searching hotels saw a childrens museum right nearby so that would be awesome. |
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Post by Rockoonz on Jan 11, 2022 21:56:17 GMT -5
Definitely check lodging, going to be in short supply this close to the show. I will probably take a day trip there, but more interested in Quartzsite.
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller 
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,240
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Post by quartzilla on Jan 11, 2022 23:34:49 GMT -5
Yes that extra drive seems a bit overwhelming. I still don't understand the Quartzsite set up either... I was looking up vendor maps and hotel maps and panicked and booked a beach house in the opposite direction. But reading that Tommy hasn't been makes me feel much better about that decision. I'm still open to suggestions on what to visit at either place. I'd like to have my ducks in a row for 2023. They're on the bucket list. When I was searching hotels saw a childrens museum right nearby so that would be awesome. we always stay in Blythe, about 20 min west of Quartzite. Basically the shows/events run on the frontage roads along Interstate 10 on the north side ( Pow Wow ) and the south side ( Desert Gardens, Tyson Wells, Prospectors Panarama ). There are also multiple rock shops ( T-Rocks, Harding ) and little swap meet style sales going on everywhere and in between. Go on down to the the Rock Hounding Reports,Locations, etc topic; there is a thread with a lot of info for you pinned at the top. |
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Post by rockhoundingwithkids on Jan 12, 2022 11:38:56 GMT -5
Yes that extra drive seems a bit overwhelming. I still don't understand the Quartzsite set up either... I was looking up vendor maps and hotel maps and panicked and booked a beach house in the opposite direction.  But reading that Tommy hasn't been makes me feel much better about that decision. I'm still open to suggestions on what to visit at either place. I'd like to have my ducks in a row for 2023. They're on the bucket list. When I was searching hotels saw a childrens museum right nearby so that would be awesome. we always stay in Blythe, about 20 min west of Quartzite. Basically the shows/events run on the frontage roads along Interstate 10 on the north side ( Pow Wow ) and the south side ( Desert Gardens, Tyson Wells, Prospectors Panarama ). There are also multiple rock shops ( T-Rocks, Harding ) and little swap meet style sales going on everywhere and in between. Go on down to the the Rock Hounding Reports,Locations, etc topic; there is a thread with a lot of info for you pinned at the top. Thank You!!!! |
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