Winter in Arizona

Desert Gardens RV Oasis is a 55 + RV Park.  Some of the lots are owned by the residents.  I must say it was not a real enjoyable experience.  I had a lot of daily contact with the lot owners and the people that were on site for the winter.  I did not socialize much because I did not want to appear to take sides in the constant bickering between the different sections of the park.  I tried my best to stay neutral!  We also had 3 different managers while I was there.  All I could do was stay out of the politics of the park and do the best job possible in the office.  I was determined not to get in the middle of the ongoing disputes.  The park is beautiful, for a desert RV Park.  A lot of money had been spent in recent years to upgrade the sites and facilities.  I had a really good site with a concrete patio.

My site # was D32, a corner lot with a drive thru parking spot.  You just could not get much better than that.

I also had really good neighbors.  Every evening after work I would take Ellie for a walk and she had to go by Butch and Marlys's for her daily massage from Butch.  On days they were not home when I got off work she was disappointed.  There was a hiking trail all the way around the perimeter of the park and we enjoyed the part nearest our site.  Ellie was a little old to go for long hikes and the desert has a lot of stickers that were not kind to her paws.

We also had a great crew working at the park.  I really enjoyed all the other workampers. Even though it was a difficult park to work, I still have fond memories of my time there.  I made a lot of good friends and I was able to do a lot of sight seeing in the area.   Desert Gardens is near Florence Arizona which is a very small town with a lot of prisons as it's main source of revenue. There is a Wal Mart in Coolidge Arizona which was only 11 miles from the RV park. This is where I did most of my shopping.  I did go into Mesa Arizona a couple of times.  My friends Wanda and Robert from my days in Yellowstone live in Mesa.  It sure was good to get to visit with them.  Also while I was there my friends Rosalee and Larry from my Adventureland days came through for a visit.  They spend the winter in Tucson every year.  It is always nice to reconnect with workamper friends.  One of my new friends at Desert Gardens was another lady that was there alone.  She is married and I got to meet her husband who came to visit several times.  Betty spends the winter in Arizona because the weather where she is from is just too harsh in the winter.  We took a number of day trips together.  It is always more fun to have someone to run around with.  We visited the Sonora Desert Museum on one of our trips and Bisbee Arizona on another.  We also visited a copper mine near Superior Arizona as well as the Casa Grande Ruins.  I really enjoyed getting to know Betty and had planned to go back so we could take in some more of the sights together but that just did not work out.  By the time I was suppose to return the park had been returned to the the original owners and they do not pay workampers.  Johnny and Carol came to see me in February.  They had just purchased a new 5th wheel and I was excited to see it as well as them.

Here they come!  I was so excited!  I got them the site right next to mine so all I had to do while they were there is look out the window and there they were.  It is always a blessing to have family close.  That is the one down side to my lifestyle....I love my family and just do not get to see them often enough.  But I do appreciate our times together more because of the distance most of the time.  We were going to have an adventure packed few days to explore.  That afternoon we managed to go to Coolidge to see the Casa Grande Ruins. 

I had been there before and knew they would find it interesting.  It is amazing that anyone could live out in this desert years ago...and Casa Grande was a thriving community of Indians.   There was an owl nest in the rafters of the cover over the ruins.  I found that interesting too.  I never did get a picture of the nest but I managed to get a good one of the owl.  I tend to take lots of pictures of wildlife and scenery when I travel. 
While Johnny and Carol were there my friend Bo came for a visit and then joined us on a sight seeing tour of Hwy 88 and the Tortilla Flat Area.  We stopped at a ghost town on the way to Tortilla Flat. 

 It was interesting, but then I love all things old!  That is good since I am getting older by the minute!  It was a pretty drive up to Tortilla Flat.  I had been told by a number of people that the drive was spectacular.  So far I had found it pretty but nothing really special.  We stopped at Tortilla Flat and looked around a little then returned to the car.  Hmmm there was water over a low spot in the road just ahead.  What to do!  I am not much of a risk taker and was a little concerned about driving through the water.  After watching several cars go through we decided to go for it.  I eased into the water and across with no trouble.  Well, the road turned into a dirt road in short order.  I was prepared for this as I had been told it was dirt but well worth it.  What no one had told me was that it was a high road with lots of curves!  I enjoyed it(well as much as I could).  Carol was freaked out!  She does not like high roads and the fact that it was dirt just made it worse.  Bless her heart I would never have taken her there if I knew it was that high!  The views were wonderful but I did not stop to take pictures because I did not want to cause Carol any more distress!  After we got out of the canyon we stopped for a picnic lunch near the Roosevelt Dam.  The rest of the day was beautiful and Carol forgave me! 

We also took a trip down to Tucson to the Saguaro National Park and Davis Monthian AFB to the bone yard.  We managed to take in both parts of the National Park (East and West) and the Bone yard all in one day.  Wow, it is amazing the number and different kinds of aircraft that are parked out in the desert!  We took a very informative bus tour that began at the Pima Air and Space Museum. 

We all enjoyed the tour.  Johnny and Carol were also fascinated by the Saguaro in the National Park.  Well, I must admit I find them pretty myself! 

It had been another beautiful day in the desert and we enjoyed the trip to Tucson.  It is always fun seeing the sights where ever I am.  I appreciate God's handiwork the most!  I sure did enjoy Johnny and Carol's visit and look forward to them visiting me again!  It was sad to see them head out headed home.

I had another visitor before my time at Desert Gardens was over.  My cousin Janice came an spent a couple of days with me.  We also were able to do a little sight seeing.  I also had several friends I had made on the Internet visit. Susan and Waylon were at Desert Gardens for the winter.  They were really nice to include me in some of their sightseeing trips. 

All in all it was not a bad winter.  Arizona is not my favorite place but it was nice to see things I would never have seen just passing through!  I am still searching for the best place to spend my winters.

I was thrilled that before I left Arizona some of the Saguaro were beginning to bloom!  It was a little early for them so I enjoyed the few I got to see!

The sun was setting on my time at Desert Gardens but the memories go with me!



Arizona here I come!

I headed out on a Sunday morning for Arizona.  It was my first trip with the motor home and to say I faced it with a lot of prayer is putting it mildly!  It was a beautiful fall day!  Johnny and Carol were there to see me off.  They were dressed for church so I had to do the dirty work without help but I appreciated the moral support!  They checked to make sure all my lights were working properly after I hooked up the car! I eased away from the curb and off we went!  My little dog Ellie was not sure about this new home on wheels.  That was okay I was not too confident with it either!  I had planned my route to avoid any heavy traffic, until I at least had some serious practice behind me.  I had also planned to take a route that I was fairly familiar with.  I hoped to get beyond Abilene on my first day.  As it was Sunday traffic was pretty light.  I took highway 84 west out of Mexia.  When I got to Waco I took the loop around it and hit highway 6 heading north west!  So far so good!  It was a little windy but not too bad!  About 60 miles out of Waco an alarm started going off!  My heart nearly jumped out of my chest!  Whoa, what in the world was that?  Everything seemed to be running okay!  It turned out to be my jack alarm going off!  I had to pull over to the shoulder of the road, put the gear shift in Park, set the emergency brake and then turn on the Jacks.  All I had to do then was hit the store button and the alarm immediately went off.  Whew, nothing major but still scary!  I was back on the road in short order. I hit interstate 20 at Eastland.  Shortly after that Ellie and I stopped for a break at a roadside park.  She enjoyed the walk and I needed the down time! I took the loop north around Abilene.  Traffic was not too heavy and I was beginning to get a little more comfortable with the drive.  By keeping the car in the middle of the lane I knew I was keeping the motor home in the lane!  I love my rear view camera!  I was planning to look for a campground on the west side of Abilene.  I did not want to push too hard on my first day.  Besides when you get out into west Texas those RV parks get fewer and farther between.  I stopped at the Rolling Plains RV park in Sweetwater.  As I turned on my turn signal to get off the interstate I noticed that my indicator was not working!  Hmmm...if it is not working most likely my turn signal is not working either.  I went ahead and continued to the RV park.  This is not an RV park that I would recommend for Class A motor homes.  The trees make it a little hard to negotiate.  I found the person running it very friendly and helpful but I probably won't return because I don't want to risk scratching my motor home.  It is handy to the interstate and should be great for anything smaller than a Class A. After I pulled in to my site I checked and sure enough my turn signals were not working.  I raised the dash to get to the fuse panel and replaced the blown fuse.  I was glad I had those extra fuses!  Ellie and I had a good night after a busy day! 
The next morning I got ready early for another day of driving.  After I unhooked and got ready to go I checked my turn signals and they blew again!  I knew I could not continue with out some help fixing the problem.  I went up to the office and asked if there was a place nearby where I could get some assistance.  The lady suggested the RV dealer back down the interstate about a mile.  They had a nice big parking lot so it was easy to get in.  I asked them if they could help me and they said no that they did not work on Motor homes.  They suggested I try the Chevrolet dealer across the interstate.  I must say I was pleasantly surprised that the Chevrolet dealer was willing to work me in on a Monday morning.   They were great!  before 9 o'clock they had my RV pulled around to a back door and were working on tracing the problem.  After much head scratching and even checking the wiring on the car all the way back to the tail lights they discovered the short!  It was right where the wiring connector is on the back of the motor home!  At 11 o'clock I was back on the interstate headed west!  I felt the dealership in Sweetwater was more than fair.  They only charged me for one hour of service! 
Ellie and I had a delay in the start of our trip that day but things were looking up!  Not much traffic on interstate 20 west of Sweetwater!  I was pretty much able to put the cruise on and sit back and keep it between the lines!  I had almost 300 miles ahead of me and a late start!  Ellie and I pulled over once so she could have a short walk and I could grab a snack.  We managed to pull into the Van Horn KOA before dark.  I was tired after a long day but it was not too bad. I discovered that they have a little cafe on site!  I was thrilled to be able to get something to eat and not have to cook!  All was good in my world!  I was a little nervous about going through El Paso the next day but I was not going to let it ruin my evening!  I try to take things as they come and not borrow trouble!  Believe me if i was going to let worries of what could happen enter my mind and spirit I would never leave my brother's driveway! 
Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear!  A beautiful day for a new challenge. I was on interstate 10 and would be on it all the way to Tucson. I stopped and filled my gas tank just as i got into the edge of El Paso at a Flying  J I grabbed the lane next to the center and stayed there all the way through El Paso.  Traffic was heavy in El Paso, as it always is, but I stayed calm and set the cruise to the speed limit and let everyone go around me.  I was so proud to get through!  New Mexico here I am!  On this trip I got to add New Mexico and Arizona to my map!  Just south of Las Cruses my jack alarm went off again!  This time I was not as shocked!  I pulled over and went through the store route and it went off! Both times it did this on the trip I had gone over some really rough road.  Not a fun thing but it could be worse!  I made Lordsburg early in the afternoon.  It was a little over 300 miles and while it was not a difficult drive I was ready to stop.  This is a nice RV park in a very bad neighborhood!  The site I was assigned was very spacious and easy to get in and out of.  As a new class A owner towing a car I was thrilled!  My next stop would be Desert Gardens RV park near Florence Arizona my home for the winter. 
Traffic as I left Lordsburg was not bad.  The closer I got to Tucson the heavier it got.  I was concerned about going into Tucson because I knew there was construction in the area.  A lot of the exits were closed!  Oh dear!  Of course the exit I had planned to take was one of the closed ones!  I ended up taking Orange Grove over to highway 77.  North of town I turned left onto highway 79. It was a very pretty drive with lots of Saguaro cactus.  Wow, what a change of scenery.  I arrived at Desert Gardens and was welcomed with open arms.  Carolin, one of the ladies from the office went with me to help guide me into my back in site!  She was great and I was able to back into my winter home easily with her guidance.
Ellie and I had made our first trip with the motor home!