Casa Grande, AZ: Living The Good Life At The Pool

Today marked the first full day of our two week stay at Palm Creek RV & Golf Resort. First thing we did was explore the small town of Casa Grande. Nice place. Small enough to get around easily yet big enough to support 3-4 grocery stores: Safeway, Walmart Super center, Fry's, etc PLUS a shopping mall on the other side of the freeway with a couple of popular anchor stores. AND I found a sushi restaurant about ten minutes from here - most excellent.

MLA found one of those stores that combines all the ingredients you need for a meal you cook at home. You can assemble the ingredients yourself or simply grab a complete kit out of the refrigerator. She's happy -- super easy to put together and the price is reasonable.

We spent the afternoon doing laundry -- the laundry holds at least 20 machines and just happens to be next to the pool. To be more correct I should say MLA did laundry and I made sure the pool was working correctly. I did plan to help her fold however I was so engrossed in the book I was reading I didn't hear her say the clothes were dry. Is that a great book or what?

Weather has continued same as the last few weeks -- hot during the day and cool at night. Very nice.

We plan to do a few more activities tomorrow and I hope to get the RV washed (finally) sometime this week. Many places do not let you was the RV so I have been really wanting to get it clean and sparkling again. I'll have to work on one shady side at a time. Surface gets too hot otherwise not to mention it's too hot to work in the direct sun.

I mentioned Kasey and Jenna had been 'rear-ended' by a young diver on the way to the airport when they came out to see us two weeks ago. Well, Jenna's back has been giving her a fit. The Doctors say her muscles are so tense they have her spine in an "S" shape. They have given her muscle relaxers but so far no joy. The Doctor ordered a back brace which she will have to wear for a week. Of course, she won't be able to work for another week and she is worried about the impact on her job. With the economy you don't want your place of business to see they can 'get along' without out you.

She and all of our family and friends are in our prayers. We feel very blessed to be able to do what we are doing. I know we worked hard to get here however lots of people work hard and not all are able to enjoy travel the way we are.... Oh well, someone has to do it.

The toughest part is taking the first step of telling yourself you deserve it and then ignoring the 101 reasons why you shouldn't travel or it's not the perfect time to travel, etc. You simply have to leave home/your comfort zone, etc. and get started.

Hope to see you on the road...

See Ya!

Casa Grande, AZ: Luxury Living At Palm Creek RV Resort

On Monday we moved to Casa Grande. Mary Lynn found a "buy one week, get one week free' special at a very nice RV resort, The Palm Creek RV & Golf Resort. This is one of the places we are considering staying this winter so it gives us a chance to see what the resort is really like before committing for a couple of months.

Monday evening we had dinner with Newt W., who was my boss when I retired from HP. Newt's a great guy and it was a lot of fun getting caught up with him. He's pretty inquisitive by nature and we spent a ton of time discussing life on the road in an RV. In turn, he updated us on how things are going at HP.

Considering the economy, things are going pretty well. I let him know he and the rest of his extended HP team have 18 months to get the stock price back up to at least $50 per share. He told me he'd 'get right on it'. In any case, really great to see him and hear about his family.

On Friday we spent half the day at a huge open market in the Apache Junction area plus explored several RV campgrounds. The market calls itself a swap meet however everything is new. Absolutely huge; fours rows of stalls, each about a 1/4 mile long. It just went on forever.

On Saturday we drove to Casa Grande to see the resort where we are now located. Couple of great pools, spas, and every imaginable activity you can think of: Golf of course, tennis, pickle ball, lawn bowling, shuffleboard, all kinds of card games every night, bingo, and classes on silversmithing, lapidary, stained glass, computers. Plus lots of aerobics and water aerobics every morning. Organized trips, dances, parties, etc. And, there are a number of motorcycle owners in the park that frequently get together for rides around here and into the mountains. Too cool.

While in Casa Grande we have several trips/activities we would like to accomplish. A day trip to Yuma and Algodones, Mexico is a definite. Plus we'd like to explore the Arizona State Fair, the Case Grande Ruins, Tucson, and some local parks. Maybe even take a trip down to Rocky Point, Mexico, which is on the Sea of Cortez, about 3-4 hours away. I've never seen the Sea of Cortez so that would be really cool.

Wow! Lots to see and do, just the way we like it.

See Ya!

Gold Valley, Arizona: At Home In The Wild, Wild, West

Busy day today in the Wild, Wild, West. Not sure why I feel like it's the Wild, Wild, West. At least not in this day and age. Previously, 100 years or more ago? Absolutely, this was the epi-center of the Wild, Wild, West.

We are still camped in the Usery Mountain Regional Park at the base of Usery Mountain. The mountain's nickname is "Scarface" due to an exposed rock wall visible for mile around. Apparently a portion of the earth slipped/dropped exposing a section of rock 100 feet tall and half a mile long. Very distinctive look which you can just make out in the photo above.

Ever wonder how places get their names? I do. Sometimes a place/mountain is named for someone as a honor or after the person who 'found' it. I put that in quotes because it is almost always an insult to the Native Americans who had lived in the area for generations and never realized the place was lost. Or that it needed a name other than what they had called the place/mountain for centuries.

In any case, white settlers did rename this mountain and the story of how this mountain came to be called Usery Mountain is a little strange. Turns out Usery Mountain is named for King Usery. No, he was not a real king, that was just his first name. King Usery was cattleman in the 1870's who was a having a tough time making ends meet just by raising cattle. So he and a buddy named Blevins decided to supplement their income by robbing the Globe-Mesa stagecoach. The take? Two bars of silver.

When the stagecoach driver reported the robbery, was able to identify both the the robbers as Usery & Blevins. Someone else had seen King Usery digging near a swampy area. The silver was soon recovered and Usery & Blevins arrested. Usery was sentenced to seven years in jail. After serving two years he was pardoned by the Governor of Arizona. Who knows why he was pardoned.

Even stranger than a pardon after two years was the fact that the mountain was named Usery Mountain after King Usery. Maybe naming mountains after stage coach robbers was a tradition of the Wild, Wild, West. I don't know. In any case, it makes for an interesting story.

Last night, securely camped at the base of Usery Mountain, we slept with the windows open and were rewarded with caresses of cool air all night long. Cool and warm at the same time. You need to run the air conditioners all day to stay cool as the temperatures reach the mid-nineties. They can call it a dry heat however it's still hot....

In the evenings we turn off the air conditioning to take advantage of the quickly dropping temperatures. The air here is fresh and clean -- really delightful. Last night that fresh air swept through the RV replacing the air that had been conditioned all day. I imagine that's what the air is like in heaven -- cool, gentle and refreshing.

Today we looked at several possible RV Resorts in the Apache Junction area and found one we really like. So if we decide to stay in the Phoenix area this winter, we will probably stay in the Apache Junction section. Apache Junction is the eastern most part of Phoenix (at least for now); about 35 miles from the Phoenix airport. Phoenix just keeps growing and growing.

We also want to look at two other parts of Arizona: Case Grande, Arizona is about an hour south of Phoenix and Yuma, Arizona, which is about three hours southwest. Yuma s very close to the border of Mexico. In fact its only about ten miles from Yuma to the town of Algodones, Mexico.

Algodones specializing in providing goods and services to Americans at extremely low prices. Many retirees cross over the border to buy prescriptions, eyeglasses, and have dental work performed for prices that border on unbelievable. All you need is a passport. Drive over in the morning, do your shopping and you are back in the states later that afternoon.

Some of my prescriptions, even with insurance are expensive and the insurance company only lets me get enough for 30 days at a time. Of course, with all of our travels, every thirty days we are not only in a new location, it's usually a different state as well. That means getting the 'new' pharmacy to call the 'old' pharmacy to have the prescription transferred to the 'new' location. Which of course becomes the 'old' location thirty days later. Takes forever and the pharmacies are continuously making mistakes.

So, being able to buy a years worth of prescriptions at better prices than I pay with insurance sure sounds appealing. And yes, I know the pharmaceutical companies in Mexico are not regulated by the FDA. However, after the meltdown of the financial systems/markets, having US Government oversight is not quite as reassuring as it once was. And many people have had their Mexican supplied pharmaceuticals tested and they passed with flying colors.

In any case, we'll check out Yuma and Case Grande. There are a couple of nice resorts in each location. Then we'll have to decide where we want to spend January through April.

But you know, compared to the snow and ice back east, it's hard to go wrong with any of these choices.....

See Ya!

Apache Junction, AZ: Just Blowing in the Wind

Last night we dropped Kasey & Jenna off at Sky Harbor for their flight back to Maryland. They had a 'red-eye' flight leaving at 11:55 pm which, after a transfer in Atlanta, put them into BWI around 9:30 am.

After such a great week of having the girls here and taking them to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and camping in the Sonoran Desert, it was really sad too see them leave. However, all good things must come to an end, at least until retirement ;) .

Today we took it easy, transforming the RV back to 2 person living. The RV can easily sleep 4 (or more) people however it really is best suited for two. The temperatures have started to climb here and today we got to a high of about 95. That said, it was very comfortable in the shade, especially since there was a slight breeze blowing.

OMG. Last night I thought the wind was going to blow the RV over onto its side. It started around 11 pm and just got stronger and stronger. It woke me up around 2:30 am and I sat up for a while, trying to figure out if there was something I could/should do to help the RV 'weather the storm'. It sounded like the wind was going to rip the covers off of the slide outs or blow the air conditioners off the roof. I did lower the TV antenna however everything else was as buttoned down as I could make it.

So, after listening to the wind for about an hour, I went back to bed. This morning everything was fine and no damage to the RV. A couple of chairs overturned outside was the total extent of the damage...

Today, MLA and I relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of the desert. The campground we are in is mostly deserted, only about 25% of the sites are occupied. People are normally pretty careful when selecting a site to pick one away from people who are already set-up.

Tomorrow we will begin our search/evaluation of a campground/RV resort to spend the winter. There are many, many RV resorts here however most are mobile home parks that keep a few sites set aside for RV's. Apparently there is a tax break/advantage if you rent space to RV's. Many only pay lip service to the RV rentals, shunting them aside in the less desirable sections.

Some RV resorts really are oriented to RV'ers. So the challenge is to find an RV Resort that welcomes RV's, has lots of activities, great amenities, warm weather and is not in an area with lots of traffic. We have narrowed down our search to about 18 resorts, mostly in Mesa, Casa Grande, and Yuma.

We'll explore the one here in the Phoenix area first, then move to Case Grande, about an hour away, followed by a move to Yuma, which is another two hours away. Wow! I'm exhausted just thinking about it all....

See Ya!

Usery Mountain Regional Park, Arizona: Camping With The Snakes & Scorpions

Before we left Camp Verde this morning we drove over to Montezuma's Castle, which is a Federal Monument. Once again our $80 National Park Annual Pass let the four of us in without additional charge. Saved another $20 on this trip. That's over $100 dollars in savings on this trip. Wow - what a bargain if you are traveling and planning to visit just a few national parks and/or monuments.

Montezuma's Castle was originally thought by early settlers to be of Aztec origins, hence the name Montezuma's Castle. Even though it was soon proven that the Aztec's had nothing to do with it's construction, the name stuck.

Today it's a very well preserved example of the cliff dwellings built by the Sinagua. It's essentially a 20 room, four level apartment building that was built in stages. Built high on a south facing cliff, under a large under hang, it could only be entered via a series of ladders. These ladders could be quickly pulled up into the dwelling for protection.

The Sinagua were a farming based culture, using water from nearby Beaver Creek to irrigate their crops on small patches of level land. There were several of these buildings in the area. One of them was about 300 yards further west along the cliff however it was destroyed by fire right around the time the Sinagua abandoned the area around 1500 AD.

No one is sure why they left: Drought? Disease? Enemies? We'll never know for sure. What we are sure of is these people were skilled builders and farmers who clearly planned to be here for a long time to come and built the dwellings accordingly.

All in all, very cool.

After exploring Montezuma's Castle we headed south to Phoenix and, 2.5 hours later, arrived at Usery Mountain Regional Park. This is a county camping facility with the campsites spread throughout a high mountain desert location. We have water and electric however there is no septic so we'll have to move the RV every 3-4 days and dump the gray & black tanks. Small price to pay for such a beautiful location.



It's about 30 miles from downtown Phoenix and Sky Harbor Airport. Late tomorrow evening the girls leave to go back to Maryland. It has been so much fun having them with us for the last week. We have seen and done so much, laughing our way across many of Arizona's best known sights.

Can't tell you how much we will miss them...



Tomorrow we plan to go Indoor Sky Diving. Hopefully we can get in a few 'jumps'.

See Ya!