Scavenger Hunt – Next Exit Quartzsite – Part 4

I offered to organize a scavenger hunt where teams look for a variety of items within their RVs. Some items will be quite specific to receive the points, or to earn bonus points. For example–20 points for a deck of animal themed playing cards, or 20 points for any ball, but 20 additional bonus points if the ball is a pickleball!

When Barry and I attended “The RV Thing” near Tampa, FL, in Jan 2020, “The Motorhome Experiment” and “Vegan RV”, hosted a scavenger hunt similar to the ones some cruise ships do. Oh my gosh! It was SO much fun. People really got into it. It was quite competitive, which I loved! For that scavenger hunt people brought to the pavilion items they thought MIGHT be called for. Some brought more than others. As an item was asked for, only the first team to get to the stage with that item received points for it. While the speed factor created additional excitement, I thought it would be better for our group at Quartzsite to receive a pre-printed list, and a time limit to retrieve as many items listed as possible.

I wasn’t sure how the people attending the Quartzsite Rally would initially respond to the scavenger hunt idea, but I was willing to give it a shot. I was fairly confident those choosing to participate would have fun. I was pleasantly surprised to hear people were looking forward to it. 43 people signed up forming six 6-person teams, and one 7-person team. Awesome!

TIME TO MEET FOR THE SCAVENGER HUNT!
Once all teams were accounted for, I announced that each team would be given ONE list with items of varying point values. They would have 30 minutes to “organize” and retrieve as many items as possible. They may want to designate a chair or area for their collected items. There was to be no stealing items from another team’s stash. When time is called no more adding of items is permitted. Each team would then add up their points. I would then verify items and total points.

AND…GO!!!
Teams huddle to check out the item list and form their strategy.

What fun it was for me to watch people take off in all directions to get as many items within the allotted time!

First team to go for a selfie with Pearl:

Another selfie with Pearl!

E-bikes came in handy!

When I noticed a couple of teams had an entire set of dominoes in their collection, I reminded everyone that the item was NOT a set of Double Twelve Dominoes, but just a single domino with bonus points if it was the double twelve domino. Therefore, the double twelve must be separate, and OUT OF THE BOX. Likewise, the “Ace of Hearts” playing card must also be separate from the entire deck of cards!

As I gave a 3-minute warning, I saw Roger take off at top speed on his e-bike toward his rv to retrieve an item his wife told him they had. His competitive spirit reminded me of myself. Roger made it back just in time! His team cheered as he returned. They were so excited! But alas, he didn’t have the item. He couldn’t find it. They obviously didn’t get the points for whatever it was, but they got an “A” for effort in my book!

After announcing time was up I had to remind people a couple times that “time is up” meant you CANNOT add anything more to your collection.  I couldn’t take time to truly verify every item, so I did it more like exiting Sam’s Club, where they give a cursory look at the items in your cart and then scan a few items against your receipt. I asked to see items that MIGHT not be quite right, like the CBD oil or CBD cream, DOUBLE 12 domino OUT of the box, or purple underwear. A few items were disqualified. Maroon/Burgundy, and hot pink underwear do not count as PURPLE. Nice try. A ViAir for a traditional bike pump was disqualified. That group began to argue, but lost to the judge (me). I believe it was the same group that took the cowboy hat from the team the wife was on. They are lucky they didn’t get a penalty flag for a personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct.  Hmmm…Idea for next year.

The wonderful thing was that everyone had a GREAT time. Thanks to Bob & Pearl’s support for this event, every participant received a ticket for the drawings on Saturday for valuable items such as 2 different battery power packs, and a Milwaukee Tool Kit.  Those on the first-place team received two additional tickets. Second and third place team members each got one additional ticket.

The scavenger hunt was a huge success–then they all went back to their RV’s and discovered what a mess they created inside. I had to laugh because I knew very well what that was like! If there is a Next Exit Quartzsite Rally 2023, I’m pretty sure there will be another scavenger hunt.