Apache Junction & Florence, AZ
Florence, AZ - Mar. 15 - 20, 2009
On March 15th we said adios to our friends at Rincon Village and trekked 80 miles north to Desert Gardens RV Oasis in Florence. As an owner-occupied RV community, Desert Gardens was offering a five-day free stay to entice potential buyers to tour their facility - an offer we didn't refuse.
Frankly, unless one is looking for a prison, the town of Florence has very little to offer. However, we wanted to visit George and Claudia, folks we met during our 2008 summer travel in the Northwest. They recently bought a home on the golf course in a beautiful Del Webb development north of Florence.
For an added and totally unexpected treat our Sacramento friends, Sheri and Allen, decided to take in a Giants spring training game in Scottsdale and joined us for a couple of nights at Desert Gardens. Sadly, the Giants lost to the Dodgers, but we had a great time watching the game, getting a tad sunburned and simply sharing each other's company.
We had a spare day before meeting up with Claudia and George so we visited the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument about 10 miles away in Coolidge, AZ. Casa Grande was built by the Hohokam Indians over 700 years ago and has been preserved as a national monument since 1918. The Hohokam, an O'odham word meaning "Those Who Are Gone", lived and farmed along the Gila River for over a thousand years, building cities and complex irrigation systems. For unknown reasons they abandoned the area in about 1450. The four story ruin with its 4.5 foot thick walls is indeed 'grand' and we recommend it to those visiting the area.
We also drove to the beautiful Palm Creek RV Resort in the town of Casa Grande to visit Rick and Orinda, folks we met in Indiana in 2007. Rick and Orinda are one of our many 'neighbors' in Madison, South Dakota - but unlike most of our My Dakota Address mail service neighbors, they actually lived in Madison.
On Friday, we visited Claudia and George at their new home and toured the Del Webb facilities. We had a great time getting reacquainted and were very impressed with the facilities. We were tempted to invest in a Del Webb home just for the fabulous pool and fitness facilities. The four of us planned to get together again when we are in Apache Junction, about 20 miles north of their home.
The next day our five-day free stay expired so we took the short 35-miles journey to Apache Junction.
Apache Junction, AZ - Mar. 21 - Apr. 13, 2009
Upon arriving at Apache Junction (AJ) we located at Sierra del Saguaro RV Park, a no frills mobile home park with large RV sites. We opted to stay in AJ because we wanted to hike in the nearby Superstition Mountains. As it turned out, that didn't happen. The spring of 2009 turned out to be extremely windy in the Southwest, which discouraged these prima donnas from biking or hiking.
The Phoenix metropolitan area is huge. At over 4.3 million population it is the fifth largest city in the USA, and sprawls over 9,000 square miles. It is one of the nations fastest growing cities, experiencing a phenomenal 24% population increase in the first six years of the 21st Century. Since AJ is the city's eastern most suburb, any excursion into the Phoenix/Tempe/Scottsdale area entailed a considerable commute.
Susan was scheduled to fly back to Sacramento to meet her buddies for their annual Bodega Bay Adventure a few days after our arrival, but before she left we visited Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. William Boyce Thompson, a mining magnate, founded the 323-acre arboretum in the 1920s. The park, located in Superior, Arizona, includes old homesteads, an Australian sheep station replica, varied cacti habitats, mountain views, a desert oasis and canyon gardens. We highly recommend the arboretum as a great place to spend the day.
Sacramento hiatus - Mar 24 - Apr 2, 2009
On Tuesday Susan flew to Sacramento. The green of northern California was extremely welcomed after five months in the desert, and Sacramento in springtime is eye-popping lush.
Susan spent the first couple of days with Claire, and then it was off to Roelina's to prepare for the annual Bodega Bay adventure. Once again the 'Usual Suspects' had a comfortable home with fabulous views of the beautiful Pacific and perfect weather. Each morning we were visited by deer, rabbits, quail and wild turkeys and in the afternoon our sunny, enclosed garden attracted hummingbirds and butterflies. We enjoyed four days of rest, relaxation, fabulous food, a few games, a little shopping and oodles of friendship before returning to Sacramento.
Claire was off cruising Mexico's western shores but graciously left Susan her car keys enabling her to visit friends and family before returning to the husband she'd abandoned in Arizona.
Apache Junction - continued
Meanwhile, back in the desert Bill was taking care of business - getting the Beast serviced, installing a wireless router antenna and basically enjoying the peace and quiet of having our mobile hovel to himself. All that tranquility came to an abrupt end upon the return of the whip-wielding tour guide.
Our first expedition was to join Claudia and George for a Canyon Lake dinner cruise aboard the Dolly Steamboat. Canyon Lake is located in the Superstition Mountains and is billed as Arizona's Junior Grand Canyon. It is surrounded by dramatic red cliffs, which were beautifully illuminated by the setting sun, followed by a beautiful twilight and then a star studded night sky. On our scenic cruise we saw big horn sheep, bald eagles, hawks, and bats.
Before we left the area we joined Claudia and George again for dinner at Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill in Tempe, and the British farce "Charley's Aunt" at the Hale Center Theater in Gilbert. The restaurant was very good and the play, while somewhat dated, was fun. Susan played 'Kitty' in a Little Theater production of the play several decades ago, so she probably enjoyed it more than the rest of our party.
While in Apache Junction we experienced one of those 'small world' occurrences. Jay, a Point 'n Surf client from the previous year, was also staying in AJ. We were able to reconnect for a satellite dish pointing refresher course and a visit over lunch. This summer Jay may be traveling in the same area as us and perhaps our paths will cross again soon.
We were very fortunate to be in Phoenix during the Dale Chihuly "Nature of Glass" exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens. This was a spectacular exhibit that included row boats filled with glass, glass ice cubes floating on a desert pool, dramatic hanging glass sculptures and colorful shapes reflecting the desert flora. As the sun set some of the installation burst into light adding a new dimension to the artistic creations. We were so dazzled by the glass exhibition we really didn't appreciate the gardens as much as we should. I guess it calls for a return visit.
We also visited the Phoenix Art Museum which was exhibiting the modernist American artist Ernest L Blumenschein's work. Blumenschein was instrumental in founding the Taos Society of Artists and promoting the splendor of New Mexico. We really enjoyed the exhibit and will visit his Taos home, now a National Historic Landmark, when we visit in May.
The Museum also had several pieces by Robert Arneson, one of Susan's favorite funk artists. She is always amused by his irreverent self-portraits in clay.
Just before we left the Valley of the Sun we took the Beast to Robert Crist RV in Mesa for some repair work, including reinforcing one of the bedroom slides. This required us to spend our last night at a hotel, which made us appreciate our home even more.
The Robert Crist team did a very good job in diagnosing and performing the repairs. They were professional, worked with the manufacturers to resolve any warranty issues, and were able to solve problems we tried (unsucessfully) to have fixed in the past. We highly recommend them.
In Route to Albuquerque April 14 - 15, 2009 - Or -
Susan and Bill's Trials and Tribulations
On April 14th it was time for us to make our way to Albuquerque for the annual Good Sam Rally, and, hopefully, some cooler weather (this comes under the heading of 'be careful what you wish for'). Very high winds were projected for the afternoon, so we were eager to get out of town before the winds made driving hazardous.
We picked up the Beast at Robert Crist and headed north. We hadn't even got out of Phoenix when Susan noticed a crack snaking up the windshield. We got off the freeway and found a place to park our 65' caravan, watching the crack grow with every bump and flex. We accessed the Internet (thank you Verizon Air Card), and after a few calls we found a glass repair service that would make a roadside repair. It was so hot and dry the repairman's sealant would solidify before he could get it into the crack. After some creative problem solving and several hours the crack was sealed.
Finally, we were back on the road heading for the Meteor RV Park about 40 miles east of Flagstaff. Shortly after we transitioned on to I-40 Bill swerved to miss some road debris - then the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) started screaming that the Honda's left, front tire had no pressure.
Amazingly, Bill got us off the road without doing any harm to the Honda. We proceeded to disconnect the Honda, remove the bikes from their carrier to enable us to access the spare, and change the tire in the waning light, freezing winds and rapidly approaching storm. By the time we got the 'donut' on the car it was dark and starting to snow.
Note: We were very thankful that we had the Pressure Pro TPMS that monitors the pressure on the six coach and four car tires. When towing, we cannot feel the Honda's presence. Consequently, we could have towed the car until we caused permanent damage to the Honda or the tires caught fire. At that point we could see the problem in the rear camera, but it would be too late.
Susan drove the Honda the remaining 35 miles to the RV Park at 50 mph with the emergency flashers blinking away. We limped into the Meteor RV and found a place to park in the pitch dark. It was a moonless night and there was only one 40-watt light in the whole park - it was cave dark. We couldn't tell if we were on the road or in a site. We finally found an available site and parked the rig.
The winds continued to howl throughout the morning and into the afternoon. They were so bad we couldn't put out our slides without the wind actually pushing them back in. About mid-morning the highway patrol closed I-40 for 6 hours due to high winds, and blowing sand. We could see the freeway through a red haze and the solid line of cars and trucks backed up to Flagstaff in one direction and Winslow in the other. We were quite happy to be in our cramped home with heat, electricity and indoor plumbing.
Bill called several tire shops seeking the specialized tire size for the Honda before hitting pay dirt at Future Tire in Holbrook. So the next day we were off to Holbrook, separately, driving 50 mph for 55 miles while the rest of the traffic was speeding along at 75+ mph. We finally cruised into Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta Park shortly after 5:00 PM, just before they closed the gates.
