Picacho Peak State Park

Mar 09     Mesa Spirit RV Resort - Picacho Peak State Park    71 miles     1 hr 35 min

Visitors traveling along I-10 in southern Arizona can't miss the prominent 1,500 foot peak of Picacho Peak State Park. The park and surrounding area are known for its unique geological significance, outstanding and varied desert growth, and historical importance. The unique shape has been used as a landmark by travelers since prehistoric times. One of first written records was in the 1700s by the Anza Expedition as it passed through the area.

View of Picacho Peak

We're on our way to Tucson and decided to make a stop here. Very nice state park. The sites here have only electric and it's $30 per night. We booked only 1 night.

Mar 10

We did a short hike this morning before leaving Picacho Peak State Park.

The Calloway Trail is 1.4 miles, rated moderate. Lots of uphill climbing. We ended up doing the Nature Trail also. The whole hike was about 1.6 miles.

Taking a break at the top

Towards the end of the hike, we saw a snake. It was right in the pathway. I must have stepped right over it because Joe was behind me and he saw it.

Don't know how I didn't see this snake

Desert blooms

Mesa

Mar 06     Lost Dutchman State Park - Mesa Spirit RV Resort      32 miles     1 hr

We are trying a 55+ RV resort for the first time. I called a few different places but a lot of them were sold out. The reason is baseball spring training and the snowbirds are still in town. Very expensive here, $198.00 for 3 nights. When we got to our site, we were very disappointed. We felt very closed in and claustrophobic.

Squeezed in

After we set up, we had lunch at Arby's then to Lee Lee's International Market for some food shopping. This place got all kinds of stuff. We spent an hour here just looking around. I finally found soba, bought some nori and more miso.

Lee Lee International Supermarket

In the late afternoon, we went to the pool. Very nice pool and hot tub, nice way to end the day.

Mar 07    FMCA Rally

We went to the FMCA Rally at the Rawhide Western Event Center in Chandler. Joe met a vendor at the last rally we went to in Phoenix who sells LED lights. The lights were 50% off, $11.00 per light, and we needed 20. So we found the vendor and bought what we needed. When we got home, Joe changed the lights and what a difference! It was worth it, besides, these lights are supposed to last something like 20 years.

Mar 08   San Francisco Giants vs Puerto Rico International Team

We made some spam musubis this morning and met Greg at the Scottsdale Stadium for the Giants vs Puerto Rico game. Spring training in this area is a big thing. Plenty people come out for these games. Tickets were $15.00 for lawn seats. This stadium is pretty good, they let us bring in our own food and drinks. Greg saved us a spot on the lawn under a tree with nice shade but as the game went on, the shade moved and it got real hot. Very good game, Giants won 6-5.

Nice field

We went walking around Old Town Scottsdale after the game, killing some time for traffic to die down. On the way home we had dinner at Whataburger. Pretty good.

When we got home, we hit the pool. Was about 630pm and just a couple of us enjoying the pool and hot tub. Around 800pm, people just started coming. I thought these old futs would be sleeping by then but it got pretty crowded. Still was a nice way to end the day.

Apache Junction

Mar 03     McDowell Mountain Regional Park - Lost Dutchman State Park    43 miles   1 hr 10 min

Our view for the next few days

Named after the fabled lost gold mine, Lost Dutchman State Park is located in Apache Junction in the Sonoran Desert, 40 miles east of Phoenix.

Very nice state park with an awesome view of the Superstition Mountain. Sites have electric and water with a separate dump station.















After getting settled into our campsite #87, we visited the Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman Museum. Toured the 15 acre museum grounds. One of the highlights was the stamp mill. An ore stamp mill is a large mechanical device used to crush ore that contained precious metals. It uses heavy metal stamps to pound and break apart the rock, pulverizing it so that the valuable metals can be extracted for further refining.

Next stop was the Goldfield Ghost Town. In the 1890's Goldfield was a boomtown with 50 working mines in the district. Today, Goldfield features unique shops, a steak house and saloon, general store, two museums, horseback riding, and jeep tours. We stopped at the Mother Lode Mercantile and bought some fudge.

Joe with his fudge

Mar 04   Arizona Renaissance Festival

Today we drove out to Gold Canyon for the Arizona Renaissance Festival. This festival is held every year from February through April, on the weekends. The traffic to this event started 6 miles out. This is a very big deal. Lots and lots of people, many dressed in costume. Entrance was $24 each and many vendors selling all kinds of stuff. Lots of different things to eat and lots of entertainment.

Stew in a bread bowl & turkey leg for lunch

Mar 05   Apache Trail

This morning we drove part of the Apache Trail. A rich vein of history runs through this region. The Apache Trail once served as a stage coach and freight wagon route from Mesa to Globe. Indians, cowboys, and miners have all roamed the mysterious Superstition Mountains. Jacob Waltz's Lost Dutchman Mine is still waiting to be discovered in a hidden canyon.

Nice drive with breathtaking scenery

We went only 2 miles more once the road changed to dirt

Approaching Tortilla Flat, road was flooded

Thought our car was going to drown

The highlight on this trail is the famous authentic Stagecoach stop of Tortilla Flat. The Tortilla Flat Superstition Saloon has been serving adventurous travelers for over 100 years. We had lunch here and the food was excellent. We got there about 11am and got in right away but when we were done, there was a lot of people waiting to get in.

Tortilla Flat Superstition Saloon

At the bar, seats are saddles

Bathroom was very colorful

This afternoon we did a hike. According to our trail map, Treasure Loop Trail is a moderate 2.4 mile loop, elevation change of 500 feet. We started from our campsite so I thought probably 3 miles total...perfect for us. We huffed and puffed all the way up. According to my fitbit, we went over 4.5 miles. Was kind of steep so we had to stop and rest several times. Took us 2 hours to complete. Joe wasn't very happy....motrin tonight!

Kind of steep

Usery & McDowell Mountain Regional Parks

Feb 27     Phoenix Raceway - Usery Mountain Regional Park      60 miles   1 hr

We pulled into this park and after 5 days of dry camping, the first thing we had to do was dump our tanks. Our gray and black tanks were full.

We're at the Buckhorn Family Campground at Usery Mountain Regional Park. This is a very nice park, we have reservations for two nights. I had to book ahead of time. I've learned that parks in Southern Arizona is very busy this time of the year. Sites are $30 per night, if you make reservations online, there is an $8 fee. The sites here have water and electric hookups and a separate dump station. Our site #53 is on the inner circle and is really nice but the best sights is on the outside of the circle.We finally can watch TV....we didn't realize how much we missed it.

Today is kind of rainy and cold so no hiking today. It cleared up a little in the late afternoon so we took a short walk around the campground.

Feb 28

This was a very lazy day. Was raining all night and this morning still rainy and dark. Flash flood warning for Maricopa County flashed all day. Later in the afternoon, it cleared up so we went for a walk around the campground and walked the Buckhorn Campground Nature Trail.

Cactus flower

Saguaro Cactus

Funny looking cactus

We normally shower in our RV because campground showers are not normally the cleanest. We actually used the showers at this park. Was pretty nice. Big private showers and very clean.

Sunset at Usery Mountain Regional Park

Mar 01    Usery Mountain - McDowell Mountain Regional Park       35 miles       1hr

Before leaving Usery, we went on a short hike. The last two days have been rainy so was nice to see sunshine this morning.

Early morning hike

Then off to our next stop.....McDowell Mountain Regional Park is northeast of Scottsdale in the lower Verde Basin. This 21,099 acre Sonoran Desert park is one of Maricopa County's largest. Elevation ranges from 1,550 to 3,100 feet.

We have a really nice site. It's electric and water with a separate dump station. $30 per night and again, I had to make reservations ahead of time and could only get two nights.

Lunch was really good

After we settled at our camp site, we drove into town, Fountain Hills. It's very nice here, wide open bike paths all over, nice shopping areas...just very clean.

We had lunch at Senor Taco. Excellent food here and very reasonable. Our lunch was very, very good. They have restaurants all over Arizona.

We went food shopping at Basha's and bought our first lottery ticket. I'm so lucky Joe is so handy. He replaced our porch light this afternoon. That's part of owning an RV...things always breaking down.

Mr Fix It

Mar 02

Last night was pretty cold, got our electric blankets and portable heater going. I got up around 5am to use the bathroom and it was 41 degrees outside. At 7am it was 47.

We went on a three mile hike this morning. When we started it was still pretty cold but it warmed up real fast.

Pretty cactus flowers

I checked my lottery ticket online and thought I won something. We went back to Basha's to check and found out I was mistaken. I guess I shouldn't buy tickets if I don't know how to play.

Dinner was pork chops & stuffed jalapeno with bacon

Quartzsite, Phoenix International Raceway

Feb 22    Buckskin Mountain State Park - Quartzsite     51 miles      1 hr 15 min

Pulled into Quartzsite and took our time finding a boondocking site on Dome Rock Road, this is all BLM land. Boondocking or dry camping refers to staying in an RV in a remote location without being hooked up to water, power, or sewer.

BLM stands for Bureau of Land Management, the agency that controls millions of acres of federally owned public land throughout the Southwest. Use of BLM land is free of charge. We should take more advantage of BLM land to boondock but Joe and I don't feel it's totally safe.

Quartzsite is a little different. It's one big flea market area after another. Stalls to sell everything and anything are all under tents with many attached to RVs. Every year in January and February, the population of this town swells from just 1,900 people to an estimated 75,000. In those two months, more than 1.2 million RVers pass through Quartzsite. There's an annual RV show and many come for the largest gem and mineral shows on the continent.

After we picked our camping spot, we went to see the vendors down the road. Yes, it's one big flea market and they sell everything.

The wind really kicked up tonight. Had to pull in the slides because we didn't want the awning ripped with all the wind.

Got pretty rocks here

Feb 23    Quartzsite - Phoenix International Raceway    

We arrived at the Phonix International Raceway in Goodyear and got our camping spot for the next four nights. This is the reason for coming to Arizona. The Good Sam RV Super Show. Lots of RV's to see along with vendors selling all kinds of RV stuff and lots of exhibits. Also got different seminars where you can learn different things. Plenty people here and lots to see.

Dry camping for the next 4 days filling up fast

Feb 24

Spent the whole day at the RV show. We both went to different seminars and picked up some tips. Little disappointed with the seminars because the two rooms they use are not big enough to accommodate all the people that are interested in attending. We looked at a lot of RVs. Wish we had money to upgrade to a nice rig......

Got to watch people practicing on the track

Feb 25

Spent the morning at the RV show then in the afternoon we went to a baseball game. It was the opening day game for spring training at Goodyear Park. This park is the home field for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. So for opening day, they played each other. We left about the 7th inning but the Indians were up 4-2.

Tonight we went to a concert at the rally. Was an oldies band and was fun to see all the old futs get up and start dancing. There was a fireworks show after the concert to end the night. 

Feb 26

Last day for this RV show. I signed up for a motor home driving lesson. I got to drive a motorhome and had an awesome instructor. Ralph Miller works at Camping World in Chattanooga, Tennessee and said if we're ever in that area, we can camp for free at their campground and I can sign up for more free lessons if I wanted to. Normally, I don't do much driving. Joe likes to drive and I don't think he trust me anyway!!

We also bought a membership for FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association). We were thinking about joining for awhile now, since they were at the show, we just signed up. We found out FMCA is having their rally near here next week. We might still be in the area and might go.

This is the last night camping here at Phoenix International Raceway. We'll be heading out to Usery Mountain Regional Park in the morning.

Last sunset here

Everyone clearing out