Arizona Adventure

 

            We left Washington on Jan 2^nd and headed south for a few months this winter in search of sunshine, fun, and adventure. Although written a few weeks into our adventure, one can see we have been busy. We have explored parts of California and Arizona that we seen before and also areas that are new to us.  Our first day of our trip, we met up with Gary and Jill on the road  and continued down 1-5 to our first destination.  It was a very nice park in  Sutherlin, Oregon called Hi-Way Haven RV Park.  It is a former drive in theatre that has been converted into a nice RV park.  They show movies on the weekend and you can view them in your RV or on a grassy hill.  We stayed there last year.  They have free wi-fi, movies you can check out, and you are given a bag of popcorn when you check in.

            We left the next day and headed up the mountains in southern Oregon to beat the snow.  As we went up the mountain pass from Ashland, Oregon we were not that lucky.  It started to snow, but we kept trekking on, hoping not to get caught up in the snowstorm and have to put chains on.  This could really have been the start of  ‘Our Excellent Adventure’.  As we descended the pass, the snow was letting up.  We passed Yreka, California with no snow on the ground.  We thought we had it made, but quickly signs on the road warned us of high wind warnings ahead. The wind started to blow and then started some little flakes.  As we got closer with the  to Weed, California we saw semis pulling to the side putting chains on.  We were stopped and told that we could continue on, but we would need to unhook our tow vehicle or put chains on.  We could then drive through the mountains of Mt. Shasta.  This was not an option for us.   Gary is legally blind and could not drive his Jeep and Nancy would not have done it either.  We headed back to Yreka where the roads were dry and found a nice RV park close to I-5.  We spent three days at the park. We found out that the roads south closed at times.   They had movies to check out and the management was very friendly and helpful.   It started to snow our second day there.   The park was on a hill overlooking the city.  Although it was cold, the snow covered hills were a pretty sight.  On our third day we decided after checking reports, we had a window to head South.  We had only a little bit of tricky driving at Black Butte summit.

 

 

 

Our next stop was near Williams, Calfornia.   Good Rv parks are hard to find along I-5 in California, and this park was just a stopover for the night.  The owner was in her 80’s, but friendly and gave us a nice calendar for spending the night.   The next night was spent in Bakersfield.  We spent the night there last year, but forgot the name.  As we pulled into the park we remembered this was the park that trains go by and you feel like they are right on top of you.  Their name and description of the park in Woodalls is really misleading.  It is called Bakersfield RV Resort. 

            The next day we left and headed into the Mohave Desert.   Soon it was lunch time.  Places to eat were far in between.  We turned off  a road with signs to eat, but were dismayed when nothing was found.  We found another sign, and luckily this one turned out to be something we did not expect.  The road turned out to be Route 66 and there was a small café on the side of the road called the Bagdad Café.   A movie had been made at this café.  Steve and Nancy went in to café to check it out.  There were two locals eating, who said it was good.   We went out to get Gary and Jill.  A few minutes later the owner, cook, and bottlewasher came out to see where we were.  We decided to go in.  The food was good and there was lots of old Route 66 decorations and pictures on the walls.  The owner had a guest book that she wanted us to sign with comments.  She had stacks of signed books from many years back near the counter.  When reading the book, one could see that people come from all over, especially France and Japan to visit this café.

  

 

Our next stop was Lake Havasu City.  We met up with friends from our boat club, Steve M. and Chris and Gary and Linda and stayed at the same park they were at.  It was called Havasu RV park.  It was a very nice park that was on a hill overlooking the lake below and the mountains in the distance.  Some lots had cement pads and others had park models and casitas built one them.  Gary and Jill stayed not too far from us in their park that was part of  Colorada River Adventures.  Steve and Nancy had never been to this part of Arizona.  We found it quite pretty, with a variety of things to do.  This is where the London Bridge is.  We golfed at a park which overlooked the Bridge.  Steve M. and Chris had stated in this area before so they were willing to show all of us around the area.  Besides golfing, we went to a flea market in the city, and went to a desert bar not too far from Parker. That was an experience, as there are no signs telling where to turn off for the bar.  People come to the bar by many modes of transportation. It is not uncommon to see people arriving by quads and jeeps.  The bar is very rustic.  One needed to go get their drinks and food.  They had a band.  The bar is only open on the weekend and full of people.  It was about 5 miles from the highway, so it seemed to be out in nowhere.

 

We also took a trip to Oatman, Arizona.  It was a town that was on Route 66, which now has basically become a tourist trap.  It was interesting.  As we neared the town bushes were decorated by the side of the road.  Wild burros come into town usually sometime during the day to feed on carrots and other food that they can find from the tourists.  After the experience in Oatman, we headed into the mountains on Route 66.  Beautiful scenery where which we were able to see Laughlin, Nevada in the distance.

 

 

 

 

After seven days we left Lake Havasu with Gary and Jill and traveled onward to Mesa, Arizona.  Adventures set for this city was to go to the car auction of Barrett-Jackson and later explore other areas around Mesa.  Steve and Nancy had been to the auction last year, but this was a first for Gary and Jill.  This televised auction held in Scottsdale, Arizona showcases beautiful classic and unique cars.  Some sell at a reasonable price and others are very expensive.  There are many vendors at the show.   Ford sponsors a demonstration of cars that drift and go at high speeds.  This event is a must to see at least once.

 

 

Another day Steve and Nancy wanted to take Gary and Jill on a road trip on the old Apache Trail.  This road goes up into the Superstition Mountains with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.  The road becomes a one way road for awhile and at a time one travels on 22 miles of dirt road.  It is a trip that can take most of the day, starting at the city of Apache Junction and making a full loop back to the city.  It is about 125 miles of travel.  Along the way we stopped at a replicated old west town called Goldfield.   We ate lunch at Tortilla Flats.  It is a unique experience,  again a café out in nowhere where quite a few folks go.  The walls are plastered with one dollars bills,  one can sit on saddles at the bar, and the food is quite good.   We chose to sit outside and eat and listen to a very good band.  This trip brought back memories for Gary as he was able to remember how big and how many cactus are out in the desert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                   

Our next place we stayed was Usery County Park which was in Mesa, Arizona. It was out in the desert and out of the hubbub of the busy city. Jill found out about this park from a friend and it was very pretty. This place gave the perfect opportunity to do some hiking.  We went on four hikes while we were there.  On the first night Steve and Nancy went on a hike sponsored by the park.  It was called the wolf moon hike.   It was a three mile hike with the full moon coming out in the night sky.  It was an experience hiking at night with 96 adults.  We did not see any animals on the hike, although the leaders had a sighting of a desert owl.  A few days later we hiked the Vista trail and the Cat Peaks trail with Gary and Jill.  Both hikes gave a good view of the desert surroundings.  We went to dinner one night at the mining camp.  It was a all you could eat dinner consisting of chicken, baby back ribs, ham, baked beans, coleslaw, potatoes, and a delious oatmeal raisin cookie.  Thi

 After traveling with us for almost a month, Gary and Jill left for Parker.  Steve and Nancy went hiking the next day to Wind Cave.  It was on a mountain that we could see from the campground.  It was a 3.5 mile hike that had a 800 foot elevation gain.  Once on top, we had spectacular view of the valley and the Superstition Mountains.

Steve near the final destination

Nancy at Wind Cave

 

A view of the hill we climbed to get to Wind Cave.  It is near the top.  Note the shadow near the top of the on the right hand side.  This is where Wind cave is located.  This picture was taken at our campsite.

 

We have also been exploring other activities around Mesa.  We have gone to the Mesa swap meet a couple of times, gone to a few movies, visited the Phoenix Zoo and  have gone to a dinner show in Apache Junction.  We went out to Glendale and we saw where the Superbowl was going to be played.  We have had both sun and rain while in this city.  Today as we were coming back from a movie, we could see snow was on top of the Superstition Mountains.  Today seemed to be a continual day of rain, but by the weekend they are forecasting 70 degrees.

 

Snow on the top of the Superstition Mountains.  Picture taken from a city street in Mesa.