Bathtub Full of Boomers!

Hi Blog!

Every January, our RV club, the Escapees - Boomers, gets together in the desert near Quartzsite, Arizona, for two weeks of fun.  During those two weeks, anyone can suggest an activity or lead a discussion group. While it's fun to sit around the campfire and talk about our trips to Alaska or volunteering for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, what really brings us to Quartzsite is the desert hiking. So, being good Boomers, we put on the schedule a short hike from Old Boomerville to a very unique desert landmark known as "The Bathtub."

On Friday, January 24, 2020, we agreed to meet anyone who wanted to come on this modest 2.2 mile hike at the entrance to Old Boomerville, which is about 15 miles from New Boomerville. As the time for the hike approached, we gathered our 14 participants for a trailhead photo. Just as we were about to leave for the hike, three more vehicles appeared and 10 more joined our merry band of Boomer bathers.

Since the hike was only just over two miles, we encouraged folks to take their time. No need to race across the desert. The slower you go the more you notice. Ann certainly embraced that idea.

Using the waypoint for the bathrub and a hand-held GPS, the group walked in the correct direction more or less. All we had to do was keep the group walking toward that lumpy hump.

Of course, there were plenty of opportunities for rock hounding, bird watching and cactus photos.

In the desert, it is best not to follow a trail. By spreading out, we lessen our impact on the fragile soil. We also did our best to pick up any trash we found. However, this led to an interesting discussion between what is trash and what is an artifact of historic mining and military training exercises.

One by one the group slowly approached our destination. We have tried for several years to learn what exactly this concrete tub was used for, but we were not able to find a real answer. Some have speculated that it was a watering hole for cattle, or a sluice basin for gold mining, or perhaps a water cache for army maneuvers. For now, it is a desert mystery.

Now you might wonder how we were able to get this many Boomers to pose for a photo.

It was actually easy. We bribed them with bubbly and dark chocolate!

Everyone got comfy on the rim of the tub and enjoyed their picnic lunch.

We did have a few misadventures. A pair of sunglasses and a fork ended up in the bottom of the tub. You'll be happy to know they were rescued.

There once was a Geocache hidden in this drainage tube. However, after several attempts by several different Boomers, we concluded that the cache is not longer there. Judging by the amount of packrat debris in the area, it was probably stolen by some dirty rat.

After lunch, we began our meander back to the trailhead. Goodbye Old Boomerville!