RV Park Mini-Reviews - January 2018

We wrapped up our stay at Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes in Menifee, CA.  This park will be on my repeat list for sure.  It's laid back.  Sites are generous in size.  Good shopping is close by.  Husband likes the pool tournaments.  Plenty to do and see should I care to venture away from the rig. And best of all, friends nearby!

River Breeze RV - Ehrenburg, AZ:  This is one of my favorite parks.  It is conveniently located and well maintained.  It is right on the river.  There is an even distribution of long term residents and monthly/weekly transients.  They have a clubhouse type room, a laundromat, boat ramp, and good management.  The only drawback is the lack of shopping.  You do need to go into Blythe, CA for groceries, and even in Blythe, there isn't much of anything.  We drove out to the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, and did a run to Quartzsite to check things out.

River Breeze RV Resort - Ehrenburg, AZ

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge - Cibola, AZ

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge - Cibola, AZ

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge-Cibola, AZ

Boondockers in Quarztsite, AZ before the big rush of the annual RV shows

Pioneer RV Park - Wellton, AZ:  This is a 55+ park, well kept with lots of activities.  I would guess that 75% are long term/extended stay residents.  It is about 20 miles east of Yuma, on I-8.  There is one small grocery for essentials in Wellton, otherwise the main shopping is in Yuma.  It's an easy drive, although on the return, you have to go through the Border Guard check point each time.  It's no big deal and we were waved through most of the time, but you never know how long the line will be in front of you.  My other complaint was the train noise and whistles.  Nothing the park could have done, but if you are a light sleeper, it can be annoying.  If you choose to stay in Yuma, then you deal with the noise from the airport or I-8, as most RV parks are either in the flight path or bordering on the freeway.  There is a great Fry's store in the Foothills area of Yuma, and a more than decent Walmart.  Lots of good restaurants.  A regular type mall in west Yuma was appealing.  We found a small portable humidifier that uses simple plastic water bottles at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  This was a godsend as I was zapping everything I touched with all this dry weather. Our primary reason for stopping in Yuma was to see some good friends who spend their winters in Yuma.  We had also intended to go to Los Algodones, Mexico for some dental work, but unfortunately that didn't happen - chalk it up to poor planning on our part.  While in Yuma, the only other excursion we did was a visit to the West Wetlands Park.  I had hoped for some photos in the butterfly and hummingbird gardens, and along the trails.  This has not been my trip for wildlife photos so far.....other than water fowl.

Not a stellar picture, but this was a sunrise shot from the back window of our rig while camping in Wellton, AZ

West Wetlands Park - Yuma AZ

Blue Heron at West Wetlands Park in Yuma

There is an RV park across the river from West Wetlands Park - looks like my kinda place to enjoy the morning coffee!

Butterfield RV Resort - Benson, AZ:  Let's start with the good - This has got to have been one of the cleanest, most well maintained parks we've ever been in.  The maintenance guys patrol the park all day, even taking time to sweep away stray gravel on the blacktopped roads.  The staff was fabulous.  There were plenty of activities.  I would guess there was a distribution of one-third full time residents in park models, one-third seasonal residents (there for the winter) and one-third weekly/monthly transients exploring the area.  They have an observatory onsite and offer free programs to guests each evening by the local astronomer, with a chance to look through the telescope.  We didn't get a chance to do this unfortunately (cloud cover one night, and temps in the 20s on the clear nights - and someone didn't bring his heavy coat on this trip) but our neighbors said it was wonderful, and they hoped to do it again before they left.  Another plus, at least in this bad flu season, was the hospital one block away.

The bad parts - and none of these should reflect on the park itself - there are train tracks two blocks away, and there must be a safety reason that the conductor blows the whistle multiple times when going through Benson.  It's bad enough during the day, but if you are a light sleeper, it is miserable.  The only grocery options are Safeway (next door to the park) and a small Walmart.  There is very little to do in Benson itself.  The Karshner Caverns have a Benson address, but they are actually closer to Sierra Vista.  We didn't get a chance to see the living caves because it was pretty cold while we were there, and there was the whole warm coat issue as mentioned above.  However, we will come back to do this as I've heard this is well worth it.  Like I said, there is really nothing in Benson - a golf course if you play but we don't.  We did drive to Tombstone (and saw a cheesy re-enactment of the Shoot Out at OK Corral.  We had lunch at Big Nosed Kate's Saloon.  We won't need to do either of those things again.  We drove done to Bisbee, mostly because I wanted to get a sense of the area as it is the setting of the Johanna Brady mystery series by J A Jance.  I wish we had allowed more time.  It wasn't at all what I expected.  A bit like a trip to Jerome, AZ but bigger.  Lots of shops, galleries, restaurants, which really is not our thing, but even the husband said we needed to come back and explore the area.  We stopped in Sierra Vista on the way back to Benson.  It makes a loop of sorts, taking Hwy 80 from Benson to Bisbee, and then Hwy 90 back through Sierra Vista.  There is major shopping in Sierra Vista (Frys, Target, Staples, etc) probably due to Fort Huachuca (US Army Intelligence base and school).  When we come back to explore the area, we will probably stay in Sierra Vista instead of Benson, and hope there are no issues with the train whistles there.

(Apparently, I did not take any pictures of the Butterfield RV Resort.  But there are pictures on their website - they cycle through photo at the top of the page.)

Boothill Cemetery

Boothill Cemetery

Tombstone, AZ

The Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday - Shoot Out at the OK Corral re-enactment

The Shoot Out re-enactment

Catalina State Park - Tucson, AZ: I love, love, love this park.  The sites are huge.  They do have water and electric only at their two main campgrounds - Section B has 50amp and Section A has 30amp, with dumpsites in the park.  The roads and sites are paved.  The restrooms and showers were very nice.  There is an overflow dry camping area as well.  We enjoyed hiking in the park, and just kicking back and relaxing.  There is great shopping in the area - anything you could want within about 10 miles.  Right across the highway is a good sized complex with restaurants, theaters, Walmart.  Groceries including Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Sprouts, Frys - all within 5 miles.  We will definitely return here.

Section B at Catalina State Park

A Coyote came to visit

Birding Trail at Catalina State Park

We didn't do much of anything while in Tucson, but we did go out to the Sonora Arizona Desert Museum.  The day we were was windy, and they did not have the Raptor Experience, so we will have to return.  I really enjoyed the hummingbird exhibit.  I will post pictures in a separate entry.

Stops planned in February - Phoenix, AZ.  Parker Dam, CA.  Wilderness Lakes/Menifee, CA.

Favorite Pictures From Our Journeys in November and December 2017

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua  Tree National Park

Had never seen a pomegranate tree before. Shoshone, CA

Sunrise - Palm Springs 

Salvation Mountain - Slab City, CA

Wish I could turn my head that far around! Lake Havasu State Park, AZ

Yucaipa Regional Park-Yucaipa, CA

Joshua Tree National Park

Birding in November and December 2017

I am a beginner when it comes to photography.  I have a Nikon D3300.  I'm still using auto-focus as I get used to this camera.  Wildlife, flowers and landscapes are my favorite things to capture (aside from my grandsons).

Black Phoebe - Lake Havasu, AZ

Black Billed Magpie - San Benito Thousand Trails Park

Gambel's Quail - San Benito Thousand Trails Park

Great Blue Heron - Lake Havasu

Killdeer - Lake Havasu

Great Egret - Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails

American Coot - Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails

Immature Black-Crowned Night-Heron (?) - Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails

American White Pelican - Salton Sea

Hummingbird - the light was not good enough to tell what kind - Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails

Rock Wren - Joshua Tree National Park

RV Park Mini-Reviews for December 2017

During December, we went from Nevada to Arizona to California.

After leaving Bullhead City, AZ, we drove to Pahrump, Nevada.

Pahrump, NV - Wine Ridge RV Park:  This is a nice, well kept RV Park, with great amenities and lots of activities.  We are not activity people, but there is plenty to do if you like that sort of thing.  Bonus points for the winery that is attached to the park! We spent our time in Pahrump relaxing and just driving around, checking things out.  I won $50 at Irene's Casino, which is a little hole in the wall place with a good restaurant, a bar and about 250 machines.  We also drove out to Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge, an oasis in the desert and worth the trip - we were only gone a few hours.  They have a nice visitors center and well informed rangers.

Las Vegas, NV - Thousand Trails Las Vegas:  There were a couple reasons we stopped here for a few days.  First was just to check it out.  People either love or hate this park, or they admit that it is primarily about location, location, location, plus a free place to park the rig if you are a Thousand Trails member.  I will say this is not my favorite, or even close to favorite park, but what it does have going for it, aside from the location aspect and as a base camp for exploring LV, is the staff.  All the rangers and staff we met were very friendly, helpful and on the job.  The spaces are tight, and it is basically a gravel parking lot, and not the type of campground where you sit outside and visit with people walking by.  

The other reason was to see our niece who lives in Summerlin, and whose sister was also visiting from Washington, so two nieces in one trip, and a wonderful late breakfast at the Peppermill.  That alone made the stay at this campground worthwhile!

Lake Havasu City, AZ - Lake Havasu State Park:  This park had been recommended to us over and over again.  Let's get the bad news out of the way first.  These sites are W and E only.  There is a dump station in the park.  Inconvenient, yes, but certainly doable.  We had a river front site, and the boats were loud.  I can't imagine what it is like during the summer.  Those are really minor gripes.  The big sites, the beautiful views, the trails, everything else - I loved this park and would highly recommend it.

Palm Desert, CA - Thousand Trails Palm Springs RV Resort:  Truth be told, we came to this resort expecting to just hate it.  It pretty much borders on a busy section of I-10 (there is a frontage road between the resort and the freeway).  Many reviews of this park were not good.  You will hear that the spaces are tight, it's too loud, there are trains at all hours, etc., etc., etc.  However, you will also hear the people that love it at this resort.  We decided to check it out for ourselves.  We were surprised how much we did like it.  There is a 50 amp section, which is tight - most spaces are between palm trees.  There is also a 30 amp section, where spots are much wider and bigger.  This is where we stayed.  There are lots of activities, again if you like that kind of thing.  While we were there, we encountered many friendly campers and people to chat with.  Kim joined in on the daily pool tournaments, and he really enjoyed that.  There are so many things to do and see around this area, even if you are not the touristy type - which describes us.  We did drive out to the Salton Sea, Slab City, East Jesus and through Joshua Tree National Park.  We will be going back because there was still so much we didn't do or see.  As Kim often reminds me, we are not on vacation.  We are full timing.  We don't have to do and see everything the first time there.  We know we will be back.

Menifee, CA - Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes:  This is a park where we had stayed about 7 years before.  At that time, there was a big dairy farm nearby, and you could smell it.  The dairy farm closed down but the property has remained agricultural, minus the smell.  We like this park.  The site spaces are big.  It is low key, but close to shopping.  Hemet, Temecula and Lake Elsinore are just 10-20 miles away plus you could easily make a visit to San Diego in a day trip.   This park also has plenty of activities, plus a separate family and adults only pool.  Kim enjoyed the daily pool tournaments here as well.  We have a number of friends in the area which is why we continue to come back.

RV Park Mini-Reviews for November 2017

Here are the parks where in stayed in November 2017.

Chehalis, WA - Thousand Trails:  Nice rural, forested park.  Space sites were good.

Creswell, OR - Meadowlark RV:  Right off I-5.  Traffic noise.  Employees with a great sense of humor.  Nothing special.

Grant's Pass, OR - Bridgeview RV:  Overnight spots are right on the river.  Other side of the river is the freeway, so there was noise.  Very nice and friendly owners/managers.  Easy on and off from freeway.  This was our view!

Redding, CA - JGW Park:  Stayed there before.  On the river.  Nice clean park.  Good laundry.  Easy on and off the freeway. With another great view!

Lodi, CA - Flag City RV:  Right off the freeway.  Nice clean park.  Manicured sites with cement pads.

Paicines, CA - San Benito Thousand Trails:  This park is out in the middle of nowhere -  about 15 miles from Hollister where there is major shopping, and then another 10 miles north is Gilroy.  What I loved about this park was the wildlife.  There are deer, fox, birds, and my favorite - the resident bobcat family!

Santa Barbara, CA - Rancho Oso Thousand Trails:  This Thousand Trails Park is also a working horse ranch, so one of the perks they offer is guided trail rides.  It is a rather nerve racking mile long drive into the park on a one lane road (once you turn off onto the park property from Paradise Road).  People either love or hate this park.  I was in the latter group, but that was mostly because cell, wifi and satellite service was iffy.  And the drive in terrified me.  That road is the reason there is an 11am check out and a 12pm check in time.

 Acton, CA - Soledad Canyon Thousand Trails:  Another rural park.  We were there during a time when it was warm and dry .... really dry and dusty.  Depending on where your site is within the park, you may or may not get cell, wifi or satellite.  Commuter trains and an occasional freight train run daily.  The park is showing its age, but the sales office and check in area have been updated.  The pool and clubhouse were fine.

Bullhead City, AZ - Mirage RV Park:  This is a nice residential park, with a few open spots for travelers.  The spaces are good sized, and paved.  Park residents are friendly.  We enjoyed our stay.  Lots of restaurant and shopping in Bullhead City.  We especially liked the Smith's Store for groceries.  Laughlin, NV with gambling and entertainment is on the other side of the Colorado River.  We took a side excursion to Oatman, AZ - about 40 miles.  This is an old ghost town where wild mules wander the streets.  It's a tourist thing, but worth the visit.