A Day Trip To Payson, AZ

The title may be a bit deceiving.  As I read it, it implies that we really explored the area.  That's not exactly so.  The point in going was to visit with a high-school classmate of mine.  That, we did.  She also drove us around to see her favorite points in the area, but we were so busy talking, I didn't take any pictures.  The following are pictures of our drive up from Cottonwood to Payson.  They are mostly shots of trees.  After a few weeks in the desert area, I miss the green of the Pacific Northwest. I got a little carried away.

Going up to 6000 feet, we watched the landscape change.

We drove through two small towns.  If I had to guess, the industry in this area would be logging and tourism.  I'm pretty sure lots of people come up from the Phoenix area to camp in the summer to escape the heat.

And speaking of coming from the Phoenix area, I would do that next time I visit Payson.  I'm told that Highway 87 is a much easier drive than the way we came.  I have a tendency to get carsick on winding roads, so this is good for me to know.  The drive from Cottonwood on AZ Highway 260 (which incidentally our GPS calls aah-zee 260 - took us a while to figure that one out), which eventually hooks up with Highway 87, is a bit too much for me.  It was easier going back down that coming up, perhaps because I wasn't looking over the embankments.

Anyway, we went through the town of Strawberry - not much there, a few shops and probably a restaurant.  The photo of the street did not turn out, unfortunately.

And then through Pine, which is a bit larger.  If you are familiar with the Washington Coast, think Grayland.

We drove into Payson, and I was surprised at how big it was.  I'm not sure why, but I was.  There was a Super Walmart, a Big Lots, a Home Depot, Walgreens, lots of restaurants and shops, a Bashas (my favorite Arizona grocery store chain), a hospital.  It was fairly good sized - a large town/small city.

We caught up with my friend Debbie at her rig at the Ox Bow Estates RV Park.  This is a smaller park with some long term residents, but it appeared clean and well cared for.  There were restrooms and showers and a community center, but no pool or other "resort amenities".  I'm not sure big rigs would fit, but it was a nice little place out of town.

Debbie drove us around to see her favorite parts of the area, including a drive through the Houston Mesa Campground in the Tonto National Forrest.  They looked like very nice campsites.  I think they were all dry camping, and looked a little small for our rig, but it was lovely.

We opted to have lunch at Mazatzal Hotel and Casino  We decided on Friday's Fish Fry at the Cedar Ridge Buffet.  And as a bonus - we all qualified for the senior discount!  Kim and I had dinner plans with his aunt and uncle so we did not have time to play at the casino.  However, I did a walkabout and found many of the older reel to reel machines as well as newer video ones, and my favorite nickel and quarter keno/poker machines.  I will definitely make time to try my luck next time we are in Payson!

Soon it was time to head out.  I understand the cost of living is reduced in Payson as there are many retirees in the area.  We decided to fill up the truck as we found diesel at $3.81 per gallon at the local Circle K/Shell station.

The drive back down the mountain to Thousand Trails Verde Valley took about 90 minutes.  I waved goodbye to the trees.

Tomorrow, we are off to Old Town Cottonwood, and Jerome.

A Day At The Castles - Montezuma and Cliff

I think this is my third trip in this area around Sedona.  This is the first time we are really spending time doing something other than just experiencing the vortexes around Sedona.  Yesterday, Kim's aunt and uncle took us out to see Montezuma Castle.  We were half way there when Uncle Bill realized he'd left his wallet back at the rig - the wallet with the National Parks Senior Pass in it that would get us all in for free.  The good news was that it turns out that the "senior" means age 62, not 65, so Kim was able to now apply for the Senior Pass!  I've been waiting for this for quite a while.  So much more to explore when we are on a tight budget.

It was a short drive (maybe 20 minutes) from the Thousand Trails Verde Valley Preserve.

There is a ⅓ mile paved pathway down to the view points.  Very easily accessible for most everyone, wheelchairs and scooters included.

From the brochure:

"Southern Sinaqua farmers built this five-story 20 room dwelling sometime between 1100 and 1300.  It occupies a cliff recess 100 feet above the valley......Occupants found reliable water in the creek and fertile land on the nearby terrace."

The brochure mentions that Early American settlers marveled at the structure.  Heck, I'm in awe.

To think families lived in what is basically the side of a mountain.  They used ladders to access the rooms.  Multi-generational families lived together, and grandma was the boss!  I kind of like that dynamic.

I've become enamored of the shapes of trees.  Many of the photos I take are to help me remember how they look when I pull out my sketching pad or paints.

And I few additional shots from around the area.

We spent a few minutes checking out the gift shop and then on to lunch.

My father-in-law always talked about the Cliff Castle Casino and how much he enjoyed it.  We decided to stop there for lunch.  It's a smaller casino.  The smoke level was not too bad.  Our choices for food were Johnny Rocket's (hamburgers) or the buffet.  We decided to try the buffet.  $11 for lunch.  It was pretty good.  I thought the chicken-fried steak was especially good.

After lunch, we decided to test our luck.   I found a keno machine I liked, and I had good luck with my grandkids birthdays.  I left the casino up $20!  A good day, all in all.

Thousand Trails Verde Valley, Arizona

When we first drove in  here, I was a little skeptical.  Many of the spots looked very close together.  We were looking for two spots side by side, as Kim's aunt and uncle were going to be camping with us.  But this was a little too close. 

As it turned out, we found two spaces side by side with some grassy space in between.

Here is the laundry room.  The machines do use the dreaded laundry cards that you have to buy at the store.  I think we will be visiting the laundromat in Cottonwood instead, although these are pretty clean looking, newer machines.

This is the main lodge with pool tables, pingpong, card tables, jigsaw puzzles, and TV.

They have a nice putt putt golf course.

There are lots of places to walk your dog around here; this is the only off leash area though.

Here is one of the rental cabins.  There is a big porch/deck off the back with a great view.

And the pool area.

The restrooms by the pool area.

This is a picture of Section A and the parking lot for the pool and family lodge.

We've been here two days now, and the park is growing on me.  It is very quiet. With the set up between our two rigs, we have plenty of shade in the afternoon.  And we've been enjoying the afternoon breeze, especially with the temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s. 

 Here is Betsy and Kim's Aunt Maria enjoying happy hour this evening.

AZ 303 - How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Ways

Well, really there is only one.  No traffic!  We left Destiny Phoenix RV Resort at about 11:15am.  Turned left out of the park, and followed the N. Citrus Avenue detour route a few miles and right on to 303.  If you can tolerate the reduced speeds of 35mph and 45mph in certain spots, the rest of the road is completed and wide open.  I really do not like the traffic (or rather the drivers) in and around Phoenix.  I grew up in Seattle, and traffic itself is not a big deal for me, but the aggressiveness and rudeness and inattention of the people behind the wheel of vehicles drives me nuts.  This was such a nice and easy drive.  It connects right up to I-17 at about the Carefree Highway.  Easy peasy.

The drive up I-17 to Camp Verde wasn't bad.  There are a few portions of that freeway where you are climbing up and traffic gets snarled with slow moving trucks, but all in all, it was good.   We arrived at Thousand Trails Verde Valley about 1:15pm.

If you are not familiar with Thousand Trails parks, you make your reservation ahead of time, but when you arrive at the park, you drive around, pick a spot and then let the office know which spot you chose.  This park is very spread out with 5 sections of camp spots, called A, B, C, H and M.  Why they skipped D, E, F, and G, and then I, J, K and L, I do not know.  Future planned camp sites would be my guess, but it could be the same reasoning my 4 year old grandson uses when he counts - he doesn't like 4, 5 and 6, and will often just skip from 3 to 7.  Go figure.  At any rate, we drove through the park twice looking at spots.  I'm not a big fan of the lay out of camp sites.  There are many sites that are very close together.  They share a power/utility pole so the slides on the non-entry side of one rig is less than 3 feet from the slides on the non-entry side of the next rig.

We found a single spot, not sharing a pole, and we have a nice grassy (Arizona desert grassy) spot between us and the next rig.  We are facing south to north, so in the morning, we have shade outside our door.  In the evening, the shade is on the other side.  Yesterday afternoon, we drug our chairs around the far side and enjoyed the shade in this 90 degree weather.  Granted, sitting near our sewer connection wasn't my first pick, but I turned my chair so it was behind me.  I had a nice view, peaking through the rigs across the road from us, of the trees and beyond.  I'm enjoying all the hummingbirds flitting about.

Our neighbors in the site next to us took off this morning.  They were headed to San Diego County.  I was telling them about the 303, and how they could easily take that, and then catch the highway in Buckeye, AZ that would take them down to I-8/Yuma.  He said he planned to take I-17 down to the 101 in Phoenix, and on to Gila Bend to pick up I-8.  I'm not sure why, with 303 available, one would choose to go through Phoenix, but to each his/her own.  At any rate, Kim's aunt and uncle are on their way here today, and fingers crossed, this site next to us will still be available.  No saving sites - darn it!

Park pictures in the next posting.

Look Grandma, It's Snowing!

This is 18 month old Torren, caught in the act of making it "snow".  I have a similar picture of his uncle with a box of tissues.

Look Torren, it's sunshine and 90 here in Goodyear, AZ.  And I put Grandpa to work picking fruit here at Destiny Phoenix RV Resort.

Oranges

Grapefruit

The "girls" (Kim's mom, Kim's aunt and myself) are off for pedicures today.  The "boys" (Kim's uncle, Kim's brothers, and himself) are going to do who knows what...as long as they stay out of trouble, we are good.  Then another family dinner as this is our last night in Goodyear.  With any luck, I will remember to take pictures!

Odds and Ends: Pedicures, Outside TVs, And Other Random Thoughts

I've read a number of blogs where people new to the RV lifestyle ask about how their lives will be different.  Part of it always seems to be wishful thinking (i.e. I'll be able to do this and this and this) and part of it is fear based thinking (the dreaded what-ifs).  While I still consider myself a virgin in the world of RVing, I do have some experience.  This is our second long trip (greater than 7 weeks) and we did live full time in our rig (for 15 months) while it was parked in our driveway and later at a local park, because our daughter and her family were renting our home.  The thing I have learned is that what you do in your own home, you will do in your RV.  You might be just a tad bit more adventurous; you might be a little more lax in your housekeeping; you might sleep in a bit or stay up later than usual; however, if you are a couch potato, you will stay a couch potato; if you are someone who loves to be out doing things, you will find things to be out doing.

I'm a couch potato.  I love to read, watch TV, watch movies.  I sketch and I paint, not well, mind you, but I enjoy doing it.  I don't hike. I don't ride bikes. I don't go sightseeing (I probably would but this is one of the things my husband HATES to do, so I have let it slide and realized I will most likely never been one of those that window shops, visits little boutiques or art galleries.  I can occasionally squeeze in a Visitors Center somewhere, or maybe one little shop but it will be the kind of store that will have at least one thing my husband will find somewhat interesting.

Under the heading of wishful thinking:  I always intend to head off on these road trips planning to find "the place" where I will be inspired to write.  I have been working on a mystery novel for years.  I don't find time to write at home, why do I think I will find time or inspiration to write on the road?  I read all the blogs that show great photographs of very cool looking hikes that I make note of, but honestly, if I could find my way to a paved half-mile trail with a view of something, I'd be in 7th heaven.  More than a half mile on flat pavement, and I'm probably not going to do that.  I don't do it in Washington (and I have the book on easy hikes in my area), why do I think I will do it anywhere else?  Riding bikes at a leisurely pace always looks so much but I have never found a bicycle seat that was anywhere close to comfortable.  I do manage to meet up with long time friends who are spread out around the country, and we do manage to eat some great food and laugh up a storm, but that is something I would do at home.  One of my goals at some point is to attempt to boondock.  I'm working my way up to it.  So far I've experienced a few nights without a sewer hook up.  That's as far as I've gotten.  I know the next step will be to do without electricity and water.

Which brings us to fear based thinking.  What, no TV, no internet?  My husband assures me that I can learn to go without a shower every day.  He's pretty sure we can plan meals that will not require using every pot and pan we own (which would then require washing).  He even says our generator will provide enough electricity to run the TV and the computers.  I think he is lying.  Eventually, I will have to give it a try.  How can I know I won't like it, if I don't try it.  I never thought I'd like living in an RV or staying in RV Parks, etc., but here we are.  And trust me, if I didn't like it, I would not be doing it.

And speaking of TVs, I always thought those rigs that had the TVs outside were so cool.  In my mind, I pictured watching football or baseball games while sitting outside....like tailgate party with all the comforts of home.  I didn't think about people sitting outside watching TV at night, with the volume turned up pretty loud.  Yes, we are parked next to someone who does that.  If I had not experienced this, I would not have known how annoying it is.  I could easily see myself doing the same thing.  And I'm a TV addict.  I watch all sorts of crap along with the good stuff.  OMG, how awful it would be to be camped next to me, if I had an outside TV.  No fears, dear readers, the outside TV is now off my wish-list for our next rig.  I am holding out for one with two toilets though.....and wouldn't a dishwasher be nice?  I have one with two legs, and he does a very nice job, but for him, I'd wish for an automatic one.  So much for boondocking......it was a nice thought.

And pedicures - are you wondering what I have to share about those?  I saw a sign in the window of a rig a few weeks ago advertising pedicures for $10 and manicures for $15.  The manicures I can understand, but pedicures?  I'm wondering if this gal (and I just assumed it was a gal) had one of those vibrating massage chairs with the foot basins in her rig, or if it was just a rubbermaid bucket of warm soapy water?  The price was right, that's for sure.  I think if we go back to that park, I will check it out.

We are off to the in-laws for some extended visiting.  Thank God my DirecTV DVR will be doing it's thing, recording all those wonderful shows for me to watch when we get back.  Lord I love FHUs!

Goodyear, AZ - How Time Flies

I'm not quite sure how it got to be Friday already.  But I've looked at my computer, my iPhone, and the paper calendar on the wall, and they all assure me that it is indeed Friday.  I may need to turn on the TV and check with Facebook to be sure, but it looks like I just lost about 3 days.

Well, technically, I didn't loose them.  Kim and I have been doing "stuff" that is hardly interesting to anyone but those involved.

I first want to take the time to say again how much I love, love, love the River Breeze RV Resort in Ehrenburg, AZ.  It is one of those jewel of a park things.  I reviewed in on rvparkreviews and was really hesitant to do so as I wanted to keep it all to myself.  I have been looking for "the" park for us to winter in, and this is definitely one that will be on the top of my list.  We are still a few years from making a long term commitment to being away from the grandkids for a whole season, and I have other places to investigate.  Now granted we were only there for two days, and as I understand it, many of the snowbirds had already left to head north again, but the park was quiet and green and peaceful.  There were a few boats on the river, and I could see how in the summer the noise from all the partying may be bothersome, but it wasn't a problem while we were there.  While the weather was summer perfect for those of us from the PNW, I'm sure the longtime Arizona folk considered it at least sweater weather, if not coats and uggs weather.  We were in shorts and enjoying the sunshine.  While I didn't use any of the facilities at the park, they did have a pool and hot tub (which they keep covered when not in use - conserving the heat and keeping it clean).  The laundry had 6 washers ($1.25) and 6 dryers ($1.00).  There was a Rec Room with a pool table, a ping-pong table, and folding tables for cards or jigsaw puzzles, along with a kitchen for potlucks and parties.  Everything was clean and well maintained.  I just loved the energy here. The nearest shopping is in Blythe, CA, across the border.  I'm already looking at when we can return later in the year.

The 2.5 hour drive to Goodyear (just west of Phoenix) was uneventful.  Not my favorite stretch of highway, but then I'm not the one doing the driving.  I'm just the one looking out the window.  I think Kim appreciates the cruise control factor more than I do.  We stopped at the Bouse Wash Rest Area for a pit stop and lunch break.

I believe there is such a thing as too many options.  Between the new GPS, Google Maps, a regular map and instructions on a website, we had 4 different ways to get to Destiny Phoenix RV Park.  Because we knew there was construction on I-10 here, new on and off ramps, and revision of other on and off ramps, we elected to follow the website directions instead of the others.  Glad we did.  The others would have had us pulling the rig all over the area.  We came off the Citrus Avenue off ramp, turned right and drove about ½ mile, and voila!

A nice park, as far as I can tell.  We haven't spent much time here - although it has been 3 days apparently.  Kim's mother and brothers live here, so we have been visiting with them.  We had breakfast with a high-school classmate of mine that I had not seen in at least 35 years.  I hope she doesn't mind my sharing our picture.

Today we are back over at my mother-in-laws for a bit, and then off to do some shopping.  I will say one thing for Goodyear, Avondale, Litchfield Park and all the surrounding areas east of Phoenix, there is no want for shopping opportunities, that's for sure!  Tomorrow, we are meeting up with some other friends for breakfast.  Sunday, more relatives arrive.  Who knows from there.  And then we leave for Verde Valley on Tuesday!

As I said, not much of interest to report this week.  Here are a few pictures of our site at Destiny Phoenix RV Resort.  With any luck, I may convince Kim to go up to Estrella County Park to check things out.  I'm not holding my breath though.  I'm trying to remember that this week is about seeing friends and his family, and not just about what Betsy wants to do.  I have 51 weeks a year for that.... wink-wink-wink.  In my dreams......

And this is an empty spot next to us.  Love having the orange trees around us!

More resort pictures to follow in the next few days....unless time continues to fly.