r
January found us on the road again. After several months in California we decided a road trip was needed and since we may winter in the southwest in the future we decided to check out southern Arizona.
We left on December 30th and spent New Years in Sky Valley RV Resort. This is a large RV resort that is mostly park models. It has several large man made pools that are fed by the wonderful natural hot springs that are in this area. We spent New Years Eve soaking in several of these pools.
Next we traveled to Quartzsite, AZ. We had committed to spend a week or so at Quartzsite during the RV show at the end of the month so we wanted to check out the area before everything got so busy. We spent several days parked out on the desert at the La Posa North BLM area. The desert is amazing and beautiful, because of all the rain they have received this year the flowers on the were in full bloom. After several days we headed out and moved over to Casa Grande via I10, Highway 85 and I8.
We set up at the Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande. Now, this is one RV Resort that deserves the title "Resort". They currently have 1600 spots open and another 800 are under development. This park is built around a 9 hole golf course for you duffers. For the non-duffer there are so many activities available that no one should be bored. The Resort provides dedicated areas for the following activities: woodworking, pottery, ceramics, stained glass, billiards, a very nice library, rock polishing (lapidary), jeweler making and many others. If you can't find something to do here you need to get a job. After a week here we decided to head south.
Our next stop was the Pueblo Del Sol RV Resort in Sierra Vista, AZ. This resort is nice but not yet on par with Palm Creek. We based here for a few days while site seeing in the surrounding communities.
Bisbee, AZ is a small community that is located south-east of Sierra Vista. It was built up around several mines however today none of the mines are in production and the town has transitioned to an art community that is well worth the trip. The downtown district is full of art and antique shops that focus on local artists. One tour we took was the Queen Mine Tour. The Queen Mine was a deep, gold mine when in production that is open for tours. Visitors ride a small train into the mine for a fascinating guided tour of the different aspects of mining gold.
Our next stop was Tombstone, AZ. This small western town has been called "The Town too Tough to Die". The downtown area is loaded with restaurants, gift shops and several museums.
We then traveled up to Tucson, AZ and checked into the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base FAMCAMP. A FAMCAMP is a campground set up for the use by current or retired members of the armed services. I retired from the Navy in 1990 and Joan and I have just recently started to use these facilities when we are traveling near a military base. The FAMCAMP at Davis-Monthan has new, concrete, landscaped facilities that are located on base. When we checked in the park was full so we spent one night dry camping in the overflow area. The next morning we checked into our spot and spent several days camped in Tucson
One of our side trips was to Oracle, AZ to see the Biosphere 2. The is the facility that the movie Biodome was loosely based on. However, there is nothing comical about what they attempted when they built this place. Biosphere 2 is located on a 140 acre campus that is part of a 1200 plus acre property. The facility tour takes visitors inside the sealed building that contains several unique eco systems that where designed to be self supporting. If you are ever in the area we highly recommend the tour.
Saguaro National Park is just west of Tucson and is another nice side trip. The scenery is wonderful. On the way to Saguaro NM don't miss Old Tucson This is where many western movies have been made and is open daily for visitors. It is still used by movie producers today so you may see some action being filmed when you visit.
After several days in Tucson it was time to return to Quartzsite for the RV Show and Sale. Since we had stopped there earlier in the month we knew where we wanted to stay. I was a little concerned about getting caught up in the traffic I had heard about so we decided to come into town from the south. We left Tucson and traveled north on I10 then west on I8 to Yuma where we picked up Highway 95 and followed it north to Quartzsite My fears about the traffic did not come true and we where able to check into the La Posa North BLM area without any delay. We set up about a half mile from the entrance (if you've ever been here the directions where, go to the dumpster's, turn right and follow the middle track until you see us). We where not close enough to walk into town but we did drive out to the highway and park at the north edge of the La Posa area and walk in from there. We probably could have walked in but lugging all the goodies we bought back to our site would have been a workout. After five days off walking and shopping it was time to hit the road again.
For several years while Joan and I where dreaming of the full timing lifestyle I had kept track of several couples who where living the lifestyle and posting their experiences on their web sites. One of those couples was Kirk and Pam Wood. Before leaving California I had checked their site and found they where spending the winter at the Imperial Wildlife Refuge just north of Yuma, AZ. We headed south from Quartzsite and located Kirk and Pam at their rig in the refuge. It was really nice to meet this couple who I had been reading so much about for several years. We spent the afternoon talking about the lifestyle and some of the places they have visited. We will continue to follow Kirk and Pam and hope to meet up with them on the road somewhere.