Palm Creek RV & Golf Resort: Financial Trouble In Paradise?

Whenever I mention I retired in June 2007 I am almost always asked if I miss work. The best answer I can give is both yes and no.

Yes, I miss the people, the interactions, the speed of business and the feeling of making a difference & of getting results. I miss helping people develop their skills , seeing them grow into stronger, more capable team members that make bigger and bigger contributions. And I miss seeing them (and myself) well paid for their efforts. Very rewarding and lots of fun.

And no, I do not miss the 'same stuff, different day' aspect of work where you know what you are doing based on the specific time of the year and month. The end of October, well it's closing business for the end of the fiscal year, working hard to get orders in by SAB cut-off dates for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, etc. Nor do I miss working on the same issues that you worked on previously that remain unresolved.

So as we travel around the country and see the inner workings of various businesses I can't help but evaluate what they could do better to make their business more efficient and more profitable. After all these years of being focused on results and constant improvement, it's just second nature.

So when I see the RV Resort we are staying in turn away business it makes me wonder what on earth they are thinking. Apparently a new manager has been brought in to make the park profitable, something it has been unable to do for the last several years.

Now, I won't pretend to understand all the in's & out's of this park's business (or any other park's business for that matter) however I do understand empty sites are missed opportunities to bring in revenue.

Just like the hotel business. Yes, they'd like to get $150/night/room however they are willing to settle for less rather than let the room go empty. Better to discount the room to $100 or even $75 dollars than have it be empty and bring in $0. Just basic economics.

Why do I bring all of this up you say?

Well, today, MLA went to the office to extend our stay here at Palm Creek for another week and had talked about making reservations for us to spend a couple of months here this winter. She had a coupon good for another week at a reduced rate. The resort is at best 50% full and yet they told her she could not use the discount coupon. Why, oh why would you turn business away even if it's not 'full' list price?

Mary Lynn, not being one to suffer fools (except me) or to have companies refuse to honor their word, went and made reservations at another park. So on Monday we move to another RV Resort rather than continue to spend money is this park. And she did not make the reservations for a couple of months this winter.

My only hope is that she is not so frustrated with this resort refusing to honor it's coupon that she decides we will be staying somewhere else this winter. I'd like to come back but MLA is hesitant to do business with organizations that don't do what they say they will do. Can't say I blame her... Like all of us she wants to feel she is being treated fairly and with respect.

We'll see; depends on how much she likes the park we are going to next week. A park that we never would have experienced if we had not been 'pushed' by Palm Creek RV & Golf Resort.

See Ya!

Casa Grande, AZ: Driving On Empty

Mary Lynn thinks I should share with you part of the fun we had the other evening on our drive back from Yuma.


Last Monday, after spending the afternoon in Mexico we went back through Yuma headed for Casa Grande, which is about 3 hours away.

We passed an RV dealer and noticed they carried Tiffin motor homes, so we stopped for about half an hour to look at the RV we want to get some time in the future. The Allegro Bus is a little longer than we have now however it seems a whole lot bigger on the inside. Very cool.

Anyhow, the sun went down as we were driving east leaving in its wake a beautifully clear night with almost no moon. Lots of stars visible as we traveled through the desert that is almost entirely empty. I mean really empty; 180 miles of open desert with only one or two small towns along the way.

MLA & I became totally engrossed in looking at and enjoying the stars as we discussed how different things are in Mexico. Next thing I know the car's fuel alarm lights up telling us we had 16 miles of gas left before we changed from a motorized vehicle into a very heavy paper weight.

Normally, if this happens you simply get fuel at the next exit, which according to our GPS was 14 miles away. Okay, 14 miles to go and 16 miles of fuel; close but doable. And that's what I confidently told MLA.

Except when we arrived at the exit 14 miles later, there was no gas station. According to the GPS we now had to go 5 miles to the next exit with the fuel range reading 2 miles of gas left. I had already slowed down from the posted speed limit of 75 to 60 mph. I now slowed down to 40 miles an hour, trying to make the gas last as long as possible. I put on the emergency blinkers to keep from being rear-ended by the (fortunately) sparse over-taking traffic.

Of course, Murphy's Law (anything that can go wrong will go wrong) continued to reveal itself. We finally make it to the following exit only to have the GPS tells us to turn right and follow that road for another 3 miles! And the mileage range is now showing 1 mile's worth of fuel left in the gas tank. This road was completely dark; not a street light anywhere in sight. Nor could we see any lights that might mark a gas station. Still, all we could do at this point was hope the GPS was correct about there being a gas station 3 miles down the road.

Oh, and by the way, the road was under construction. There was absolutely no place to pull over. I mean no place. The road bed next to us was at least 1 foot lower than the road bed we were on. Great.

So I immediately began my defensive strategy. I told MLA I forgave her. To say she was shocked is an incredible understatement. When she finally recovered her ability to speak she asked me why I was forgiving her. I explained she was the navigator and as such, she was responsible for the directions AND for keeping track of our fuel situation. Amazingly, she did not hit me or yell at me...

By now the gas gauge showed empty and the mileage range had been on zero for over two miles. We still had a mile to go. Both of us were sweating bullets with the vision of running out of gas and blocking the only travel lane on a pitch black road. Yee Haw!

Of course, as we got closer to the intersection we could see the gas station on the other side of the street once you went through the light. And of course the light turned red well before we arrived at the intersection. Our car's engine stuttered a few times just to make it interesting however the stoplight turned green and I was able to coast into the gas station.

Our CR-V has a 16 gallon fuel tank and I put 16.4 gallons into the car. Don't ask me how we made it, I don't know. I do know that MLA forgave me immediately for 'forgiving' her when it wasn't her fault. What a gal!

In any event, we are talking now and MLA is taking her responsibilities as navigator much more seriously. And I'm helping her with those responsibilities, nice guy that I am...

See Ya!

Casa Grande, Arizona: Trip Planning And Cost Vs Comfort

While continuing to enjoy sunny 90 degree weather in Arizona, Mary Lynn and I have begun planning our return to the East Coast. We are planning on spending the holidays in Maryland with three of our four children. Distance from Casa Grande to Maryland is approximately 2500 miles.


There are several options for travelling to Maryland, staying for six weeks, and then returning to Arizona right after Christmas. Travel with our dog is one complication, so is the fact that the RV is now our home and has everything we need to live & travel comfortably.

Option A is fly to Maryland, rent a car for six weeks, and then fly back to Arizona. On the plus side:

1. travel time is minimized
2. less expensive than driving RV.

On the negative side:

1. pay to store our RV, car & motorcycle here in Arizona
2. rent a car for six weeks - $$$
3. limit what we take from our home (our RV) back to Maryland
4. unable to stop and see our son & daughter-in-law in Tulsa
5. cannot get RV serviced at factory in Alabama

Option B is to drive our car back to Maryland. On the plus side:

1. have our own car while back in Maryland
2. less expensive than driving RV since car gets better mileage
3. able to take a little more 'stuff' on trip to Maryland
4. can see son & daughter-in-law in Tulsa for a few days

The negatives are:

1. pay to store RV & Motorcycle in Arizona
2. a lot of time 'cooped up' in car
3. pay for hotel room every night
4. have to eat all meals out
5. cannot get RV serviced at factory in Alabama

Option C is to drive the RV to Maryland. On the plus side:

1. stay in our own house
2. eat most meals in RV
3. have our own bathroom/bedroom while traveling
4. all of our 'stuff' is with us
5. can see son & daughter-in-law in Tulsa
6. can get RV serviced at factory in Georgia

On the negative side:

1. diesel more expensive than gasoline
2. RV gets lower mileage
3. must 'winterize' RV while in Maryland

Estimated costs are:

1. Option A: $2000 (airfare, car rental, vehicle storage, meals)
2. Option B: $1800 (Gasoline, vehicle storage, meals, hotel)
3. Option C: $3000 (Diesel, winterize RV)

All in all, we could save $1200 if we drive the car, if we are willing to be 'cooped up' in the car for 4-5 days each way.

Another way to put this is it will cost us $1200 to travel in our RV home, with all of the comforts with which we are accustomed. That works out to $120/day to have our own bed each night, our meals in our own kitchen, and anytime access to our own bathroom.

So far our experience with travelling by RV has shown that just about everything involves trade-offs. Which RV you buy, what type of RV, how far you travel, where you travel, etc. all involve trade-offs involving time, comfort and money. Trip planning is no different.

So now Mary Lynn and I have to weigh the trade-offs and make a decision with the normal trade-offs of money, time, and comfort.

All that being said, we are really looking forward to seeing our friends and relatives when we get back East.

Until next time - See Ya!

Gasa Grande, AZ: Yuma Explorations Completed

Yesterday we explored several possible RV Parks in Yuma where we might spend the winter. Yuma is usually a few degrees warmer than anywhere else in Arizona during the winter so it has been on our list from the beginning.


The US Army's Yuma Proving Grounds are also located there. This is where the Army tests their weapons systems including tanks and big artillery. We passed through this facility on our way to check out an RV resort which is located at a dam site on the Colorado River.

There was a display of tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery pieces along the road. I figured I would examine them and get a few pictures on the way back from checking out the RV park. Great plan except MLA wanted to go a different route on the way back. And now you and I have to suffer without having pictures of dusty Army equipment siting in the desert. Just because MLA wanted to see different scenery on our trip back to Yuma.

It pains me to admit the alternate route she had us take was very nice, taking us through a variety of date farms. Dates grow in certain varieties of palm trees. They hand down on long stalks just under the canopy.

Of course, over the years these palm trees get quite tall. Apparently workers cover these branches of dates with white bags so you end up with huge groves of tall palm trees that look as if someone has hung up their laundry, albeit only their white laundry.

When you are in the desert and get near a source of water, such as the Colorado River, you are presented with some beautiful and sometimes unbelievable sights.

You travel for miles in the desert, surrounded by sand, rocks, cactus, and scrub brush. You round a corner and suddenly you are presented with an incredible sight: large plots of lush and dark green lands growing all manner of crops. Long, neat, perfectly formed rows of earth berms, plants on top of the berm and water trickling in the low area between the berms. Beautiful.

All of these crops only made possible by large quantities of water provided y many small dams along the river.

When we drove to Yuma on Monday the wind was blowing and a layer of sand obscured the view of distant mountains. Dust devils visible here and there. Along the highway we saw a number of Saguaro cactus that appear to be dieing, the lower portions look like they have been eaten away either by animals or disease. Never did figure it out however it's painful to see these magnificent cactus being destroyed -- not all of them but certainly a large number of them.

All in all, a fun day in Yuma and in Mexico. Did we make any decisions about an RV Park for the winter? Well, we didn't find any park in Yuma that beats where we are currently staying. We'll keep looking however I'm leaning to return to the park we are staying in right now.

See Ya!

Algodones, Mexico: Put Some Ohmm-paw Back in Gran-paw -- Viagra Sold Here

I was told you could buy any dental, optical, or medicine just over the border in Algodones, Mexico, and they weren't kidding. Everywhere you go in a four block area you are bombarded with hawkers trying to get you to buy their wares or willing to recommend someone else.

It started with us driving just over 3 hours from Casa Grande to Yuma. Then you go one exit into California, turn South and two miles later you are at the border. We parked on the US side and walked over.

You should have seen the look on Mary Lynn's face when I parked the car and said get out; we're walking over the border into Mexico. It took awhile for me to convince her it was a lot easier than driving into Mexico, fighting for non-existent parking spots, and then taking the car back through US Customs. Basically this is because vehicles have many 'nooks & crannies' to inspect. Consequently a car is subject to a much longer inspection. This means the line of cars waiting to re-enter the US is quite long. Not to mention you need special insurance for driving in Mexico.

I finally convinced her and we were across the border and into Algodones within two minutes.

This border town specializes in meeting the medical, dental, and optical needs of US seniors. Many of these seniors are on fixed budgets and have little/no insurance. Heck, even with insurance some medicines are obscenely over priced.

Even before you are across the border you see the sides of the buildings in Mexico advertising complete offerings of dental services at unbelievably low prices. Many of the dentists are US trained; some live in the US and commute over the border to take advantage of the lower operating/insurance costs.

It seemed that every dentist office also hosted an optician on-site who could sell you glasses that would be ready for pick-up within an hour or so, including an eye exam. Lowest price we found was $40 for basic frames. They'd even recommend a restaurant to grab lunch in while you waited.

MLA does not particularly like the verbal assault that takes place as you walk down the streets. Several times I had to remind her that she was in charge and could simply say "No, I'm not interested". And as good a bargain hunter that she is, I had to keep reminding her that no one pays the first or second price offered by the vendor; every thing's negotiable. In fact, it's expected and built into the pricing. She likes to comparison shop based on price and that's tough to do when nothing is marked.

That said, the pharmacies were pretty well run. All you had to say is what medicine you were interested in and they would quickly produce both the medicine and the prescription for that medicine, all at a very low price. I've talked with several people staying at various RV parks here in Arizona that have purchased medicines in Mexico and have found the medicine to be effective as well as extremely low priced.

MLA & I get almost all of our prescriptions mailed to us (by US companies) at a great price. With us travelling all over it's easier than moving prescriptions from town to town. However I do have one medicine which is incredibly expensive -- in the US. In Mexico it was less than 20% of the cost in the US. Wow!

Also available over the border is low cost alcohol. MLA and I don't drink much however about once a month MLA likes to enjoy a margarita so we picked up a bottle of Tequila and a bottle of Grand Marnier. That's almost a year's supply for MLA unless she invites the neighbors over...

The best was hearing a few of the hawkers out front of the pharmacies trying to lure the tourists in by saying something to the effect of "Put some ohmm-paw back in gran-paw -- Viagra sold here". Too funny.

In addition their are vendors selling jewelry, leather goods, straw goods, stained glass windows, and a huge variety of gaudy lawn ornaments, usually some form of pottery that's been hand painted in bright colors. Everything you can imagine. Unbelievably (to me) people were buying this stuff like crazy and then lugging it back across the border.

I saw one women struggling to carry a huge turtle about the size of a kitchen trash can as we started through US Customs. Turns out she had several of her friends carrying other pieces of pottery across the border for her.

Not our thing however she was ecstatic with her 'bargains'.

See Ya!