We really enjoyed Tucson
and especially Justin’s Diamond RV Park, but once again we were itching to get
moving. Personal and mechanical maintenance had moved to the top of our
priority list, so we packed up and headed out on March 1st. We thought the
generator problem we discovered last summer had been fixed before we left but
it reoccurred when we dry camped in Quartzsite. Our first stop, then, was
Cummins Coach Care in Phoenix
where we spent a couple of fun days camped out in their parking lot and waiting
room while they worked on the generator. $1,000 later it looks like they fixed
it this time.
 |
| Las Algodones main street |
Our dental and vision insurance lapsed when I retired, so
like many, many others in the same boat we headed to Las Algodones, Mexico,
right across the border from Yuma. Las
Algodones (LA) exists solely to serve the health needs of American and
Canadian seniors. There must be 300 dentists, 100 optometrists, 50 plastic
surgeons and 25 pharmacies jammed into a area smaller than most malls. Mix in a
few hundred stalls selling belts, bags, blankets, jewelry, carved animals of
every species and several cantinas and bars, all within walking distance of the
border crossing and you can see why the place is packed when the snowbirds
arrive for their seasonal stay.
 |
| She hadn't had a root canal |
Getting to LA is easy, it has its own exit on I8, about 5
miles west of Yuma .
The actual border crossing point is on an Indian reservation and those
enterprising folks have a monopoly on parking in their lot that directly
connects to the border. You just walk across, right into downtown LA, where
dozens of shills immediately try to get you to follow them to the establishments
that they work for. They are humorous and very pushy, but not threatening. Just
smile and keep walking, you easily break through the scrum.
The big draw here is, of course, price. Routine dental care
is roughly 1/3 the US
cost, and implants and other complex procedures are even lower. It was my turn
this year and I had a root canal and three crowns done for the cost of a single
crown in Thousand Oaks .
I also had an eye exam and got new lenses for about 1/3 what I paid at
Lensecrafters a few years ago. As I write this 4 weeks later, I am completely
happy with the glasses and the dental work.
 |
| Best dog park we have ever seen |
We splurged a little and stayed at the Cocopah RV and Golf
Resort (CRV) on the Cocopah Indian reservation in Yuma . CRV is a big place with about 1,000
sites, a very nice golf course, restaurant, pool, spa, cable tv at every site
and one of the best dog parks we have ever seen. Schroeder and Lucy had a
couple of acres of green grass to run around on and dozens of other dogs to
hang with. Needless-to-say, we spent a lot of time there every day.
It took five trips to LA to get all of my work done, but in
between those we managed to see a couple of interesting places in Yuma : the notorious Yuma
Territorial Prison, and the Yuma Quartermaster Depot, at one time the Army
supply depot for most of the southwest.
 |
| Notorious felon |
Until we visited the Yuma Quartermaster Depot I had no idea
that Yuma was a
major river port. Before dams and irrigation completely altered its character,
steamboats plied the Colorado River from its mouth at the Sea
of Cortez to Yuma and beyond. The fort was the Army’s
supply depot for Arizona , New
Mexico , west Texas , and southern Utah and Nevada .
Ships would bring cargo to Port Isabel, Sonora ,
where it was offloaded onto river boats for delivery to the warehouses in Yuma . Until the railroads
arrived about 1880, very button, bullet and bean that the Army consumed in the
southwest arrived by mule train from Yuma .
In its heyday the fort used over 900 mules to keep supplies moving to the
outposts established to protect settlers from marauding bands of Indians.
Once the medical issues were resolved it was time to move
on. We had been hearing good things about SKP Saguaro, an Escapees Co-Op park
in  |
| It is amazing to see what people have done in 288 sq.' |
SKP Saguaro is the nicest RV park we have ever stayed in. I
can’t imagine what could top it. The facilities are flawless, there is
something going on every day at the big clubhouse and the people could not have
been nicer. This is our first experience with an Escapees co-op park, where
virtually everything is done by volunteers. In fact, the park itself was
conceived, designed and partially built by the original founders. We just
happened to arrive the week before their 25th anniversary
celebration. We quickly decided to stay the extra week and were immediately
pulled into the festivities.
What with happy hour every day, beading and other crafts
several times a week and breakfasts and dinners a couple of times a week there
is no reason to ever be bored! And those are some of the normal activities,
unrelated to the anniversary events, which included 3 dinner dances, a parade,
blind man’s bluff in golf carts and a tour of the little houses called casitas
that most sites have to supplement their RV’s accommodations.
 |
| These folks really know how to have fun! |
This place is so busy it has its own cable tv channel that is updated every day to keep people up to date. There are about 300 leased sites in the park and we are number 276 on the waiting list for a vacancy. With attrition in the current lease holders and the folks on the waiting list (all “old” folk, after all), we figure we’ll get our shot in 4 years or so. We’ll wait, it’s that good.
 |
| Mary, Kayeanne, me and Sam |
It was a real treat to get together with Sam and Mary Proia
while we were at Benson. Sam and Mary were visiting other friends in Tucson and the six of us spent the day touring Tombstone ’s legendary Boot
Hill and cruising the shops lining main street. While clearly a tourist
destination, Tombstone
has avoided becoming a total caricature. The grave markers in Boot Hill gave
mute testimony to how hard, short and brutal life on the frontier really was.
We had a great day, and it was hard to see them leave.
After spending all the money fixing the generator, we decided
we’d take a shot at dry camping on our own for a few days to see how we liked
it. We had dry camped in Quartzsite but were with a large group of folks
including our friends the Woznickis. All of the RV parks that we stay in have
electrical and water connections, and most also have sewer. Dry camping sites
have no services at individual sites, and may or may not have a sewer dump
station and/or access to fresh water. That means that we rely on the services
built into our coach for electricity, heat and air conditioning, fresh water
and waste containment.
Dry camping runs the gamut from just pulling off the road
into the desert or primitive campgrounds that might have trash barrels, all the way to ones that provide improved sites with some amenities like picnic tables and campfire rings. Kayeanne spotted Burro Creek, a BLM campground near Wikieup , AZ
 |
| Burro Creek campground through the coach windshield |
As dry campgrounds go, Burro Creek is pretty plush. Each of
the 20-odd sites has a picnic table with sun shade and fire pit with cooking
grate. There is a sewer dump station and fresh water spigots are sited around
the campground, it even has flush toilets but no showers. There is an on-site
camp host too, always a civilizing influence and a great
source of local knowledge. There is no cell or data service at all out here.
 |
| The dogs loved Burro Creek |
We were very pleased (relieved) that the systems in the
coach all performed as expected, and we had all the comforts of home living in
the desert. We needed it, too, because the temperatures exceeded 90 degrees in
the afternoon and plunged to mid-40’s overnight. Despite fresh water, grey
water and black water tanks that are somewhat smaller than I’d like, we were
able to get through 5 days by conserving water whenever we did use it. Paper
plates, cups and bowls really help cut down the water usage. The generator kept
the batteries charged up and allowed us to run the air conditioners during the
worst of the afternoon heat. It may be a dry heat, but it was still HOT.
On the 28th we pulled out of Burro Creek to
return back to North Ranch (see #7) for Bead Week. About 125 avid beaders
descended on the Escapees RV park near Wickenburg for an orgy of bead jewelry making. Kayeanne
got roped into teaching a class, and I signed up for several events planned for the
beading widowers. That’s it for now!
