Saturday - the Big Tent opens!

Today was the day that the Big Tent of the Quartzsite RV show was to open. http://quartzsitervshow.com/
We had decided that we wanted to get there to talk to the Roadmaster folks first thing about our tow bar, so we left the Blue Birds' nest at about 8am, planning to be there in plenty of time for a 9am opening. About 8:15am we were at the parking lot with a number of other folks who had heard that it was better to arrive early. We got a parking space, and then looked around to see if we could find the Roadmaster service area that we had heard was outside the big tent. We found it, and we weren't parked far from it - when we went there, they said that they were already open for inspections - so we drove the Jeep over there.

They took the tow bar and identified some issues that could be repaired with some replacement parts... but we indicated that we were thinking that we would like to replace the tow bar altogether. For the show, they run good deals (I had researched online what we could get the tow bar that we wanted for elsewhere), and they also take the old tow bar in on trade to give us a little more cost off. We also had the high-low hitch that we had ordered back in September that didn't work in our rig because it contacted the bumper before it got to the place where the hitch pin holes lined up - and they also took that back. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything that we thought would work to raise our receiver... we had brought a picture of the Blue Ox device that Jimmy had found. The Roadmaster guy was very impressed that Blue Ox had that and thought it would work well with the modifications that Jimmy had suggested.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006DS4R2U/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A32JMRLJAMEVOJ

So... later in the Big Tent, we went by the Blue Ox booth and asked if they happened to have that item on hand here in Quartzsite... they didn't, but offered to order and ship it for us. I had the printed out item from Amazon ($45 cheaper than their show price), and he offered to sell it to us for the Amazon price, with no tax, and free shipping! He was also quite impressed with what we had planned to do with it (brother Jimmy's recommendation) -- so, Jimmy --- "Incoming!!!" The shipment should come to you in a couple of weeks.

In the shadows you might be able to see a large group of people standing waiting to get into the gate when it opened at 9am.

The Blue Ox service tent was very close to where we were with Roadmaster - that is a long line of folks each with tow bars in front of them. I think that both of these vendors offer a free inspection of your tow bar here at the show.

The Jee-rage is in front of the Roadmaster tent.

They took off the parts from the old tow bar and put on parts from the new one (this is part-way through).

Roadmaster flag at their outside tent.

After the new components were installed on the Jeep (Jee-rage) we decided we'd see the Big Tent today (even though it was very crowded). The parking lot was all full by this point, so we drove off into a desert area that they had made into some remote parking area (bulldozed some areas and put down some gravel, but the recent rains had kept it from being fully accessible - we were glad to have 4-wheel drive). We had a good time seeing a lot of the vendors, visiting some friends we have who are working a booth with a friend, getting free stuff, and making some purchases.

Tonight back at the Blue Birds' nest was "Italian night" - it was supposed to be last night but it was cold, windy, and threatening rain, so it got postponed. We got to meet our nextdoor Blue Bird neighbors - they also have a 2000 LXi but it has a single slide in the living room area. They are the original owners and have been fulltime for 18 years (they had another RV when they first started).

Sunset as we were finishing dinner

The skies look pretty clear now, but there might be more rain by Sunday afternoon.