Winter Quarters

Since we have been pretty stationary as far as location is concerned for February and most of March, I thought I would give you a "snapshot" of where we are and what we see. We have been staying at a Thousand Trails preserve in north-central Arizona in between Cottonwood and Camp Verde. This preserve is over 425 acres and located in the "high desert"..... high meaning an altitude of about 3200 feet.

Here are some pictures of the area... the recreation center and RV areas. The majority of the preserve is in it's natural state and there are many areas to hike and climb. The views are great where ever you look.

The staff here have an activity schedule that changes monthly. Some of the activities scheduled are: WII bowling, many different card games, pool - as in use a stick to send the ball in the pocket, golf, casino night - at the local casino run by Apaches, theme dinner parties, seminars geared to those on the road, craft fairs, pie and ice cream socials... just to name a few. You could be very busy if you wanted to. In addition there is a complete recreation facility with a pool and hot tub as well as all the other sports.... like tennis, basketball, vollyball and so on. And all that's here on the preserve.... the surrounding towns offer their own things too.

We have met many different people, from all over.

Our Quartzsite Experience

Every RVer we have spoken to told us that we must spend time in Quartzsite Arizona. It is THE PLACE TO BE if you RV during the winter months... January and February. So off we go to Quartzsite to join our friends Ray and Millie Surrette from Massachusettes, that we met in Texas. When we arrived, Ray had already been here for several weeks with his friend Mike Phelps....  this one looks different in a speedo. They were kind enough to share their piece of desert land with us. We are on the left with the white car, Ray and Millie are the dark RV and Mike and Sherry are the light RV with the white jeep. We had a campfire circle in the center and had some great communal pot luck dinners.
Here in Arizona there are large parcells of land designated as BLM land, owned by the Bureau of Land Management. Anyone is permitted to camp on the land for 14 consecutive days without a fee... but a permit is required.  You have to be "self-contained".... in other words you have your own water and sewer storage. We spent 7 days in the desert and still had water left in our tank. We were proud of how we did for our first extended dry docking experience. Our on board generator gave us electricity to run the convection oven and micrwave. It also recharged the batteries we used to power our lights.
Quartzsite has a population between 400 and 500 during the summer months but at this time of year it swells to over 10,000.... all RVer's. Because of this population boom, there are various "shows" here ranging from antique cars,  jewelry, rocks and minerals, to RV dealers and parts. Supporting these shows are Flea Markets and Swap Meets. You could shop for 8 hours per day for 30 days and still not see everything. It is amazing.
However... we experienced a few days of RAIN. I didn't know it rained so much in the desert. I have been told that this weather is highly unusual. One night we had gale force winds... needless to say I was rocked to sleep. There was flooding in various places but we stayed high and dry.

Our trip back to Cottonwood, we decided to travel through the moutain range and were treated to a sight we haven't seen  yet this winter....SNOW. It appears the rain we experienced at the 1720 foot elevation of Quartzsite was snow at the 7100 foot elevation of the Prescott area. It was beautiful to look at, but I was glad we were JUST PASSING THROUGH.

Arizona... 4 wheeling

We met up with friends we spent time with in Texas and did some 4 wheeling in the Arizona country side between Cotonwood and Sedona. Pictured here are some pictographs painted by the Sinagua natives prior to 1425. The second picture is some ruins of their dwellings.

The landscape is so different here. It has given me a whole new respect for the native american's who lived here and our early settlers who crossed through and settled this nation.

Our plans are to stay in Arizona until March. There is plenty to keep us busy and the weather is just perfect. Most of the time the day's are in the mid 60's to 70 and the nights are in the low 40's to mid 30's. We've had a few cloudy days but the vast majority are sunny.

Year's End Thoughts..

Just a few points of information and thoughts as we begin a new year.
We experienced some major events this past year: retirement & life style changes
So far we have visited 15 states, traveled 4,572 miles and spent $1,405. for gas (our bigest expense). We spent 20 nights in WalMart parking lots for free and averaged $5.91/night at various RV parks. We have learned some tricks of the trade along the way and have decreased this expense considerably.
Our entertainment expenses have been less than we anticipated due to our Federal Parks Pass. We don't eat out as much as other RVer's, so that keeps expenses down. We have taken over a thousand pictures to remember and share with our friends and family.  I can hear you groaning from here...
All in all, we are able to stay within the budget we established without hardship or feeling deprived.  We both LOVE the lifestyle. We have met some really neat people from all over the country and Canada.  We have never regreted our decisions and look forward to continued journeys.

Merry Chrisrmas from Arizona

Merry Christmas everyone. We are in a Thousand Trails preserve in Cottonwood Arizona. We started our Christmas morning with church services and just returned from Christmas dinner with approximately 75 fellow RVer's. I have to share with you some pistures. This first one is the view we see from our front window every day. If you look closely there is a red clay structure in the center of the photo This is the ruins of a "Kiva" or ceremonial-type dwelling inhabited by the Sinaqua Indians and dates back to around 1300 to 1400 A.D.

Next is a photo of the red rocks of Sedona just a few miles away. This is the most beautiful area we have seen yet. The views are spectacular everywhere you go.
Yesterday we went 4 wheeling in a jeep with friends, Dale and Linda Francis, through the Prescott National Forest. We were on all dirt and rock roads that meandered through the hills. In Linda's words.."How can anyone see this, and not believe in a God". And what a better way to celebrate his son's birth than by admiring and sharing his handywork.

We wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas.

Texas Route 90 drive

We spent a week traveling along route 90 enjoying beautiful scenery. We spent a few days in Alpine,Texas. From there we traveled in several directions.
I hope you can read the inscription on this stone about the mysterious Marfa Lights. We watched these lights come and go... up and down. We saw red, blue and white ones. 

                                                                                  We visited the McDonald Observatory which is run by the University of Texas and Penn State. It houses the 5th largest telescope in the world. We were able to go right into the dome, see, touch and manuver the telescope. It is housed outside of Fort Davis Texas, which is the highest point in Texas. Beautiful views and scenery.    We also went to the Fort which defended this area from Indian attacks and raids from the Mexicans prior to the civil war.

Eventually route 90 rejoins interstate 10, so we left Texas and spent a night in New Mexico. Las Cruses to be specific. Nice community and growing. we are due in Cottonwood, Arizona on the 20th to meet up with friends for Christmas and New Year's, so we didn't spend time here. Maybe next year..... I want to go to Roswel

SanAntonio..... a rose

We went with some friends into San Antonio. We visited the Alamo, the old mission, had lunch at a deli and did the river walk. It was a very plesant day and we both enjoyed ourselves. It was a cool (low 50's) day.

Our time at Medina Lake seemed to fly by. We were busy every day taking scenic drives and learning more about Texas history and culture. The state is so big and rich in our nation's history that it is impossible to do and see everything in one visit. We will definately be returning to Texas to spend more time. But for now we bid a temporary good-by to new found friends and headed out for the mid-South region.

Unfortunately John drove a little too far to the right on the way out of the park, so we will need to shop for another antenna (Number 3)...soon.