#41 – Coveys Great Adventure – Jan. 2018 – SKP Saguaro Co-op, Benson AZ

Jan. 2018 – SKP Saguaro Co-op, Benson AZ

As we rolled down the long hill from the I10 freeway into Benson, it felt like we were returning home. The plan is to stay here for two months before heading east. We look forward to returning to the SKP Saguaro Co-op all year.

This is our fourth year here and everything is now familiar enough that we immediately notice the small differences as we pass through town. A couple restaurants have closed, a new car wash (lousy) has been built and the neon pricing sign at Benson Fuels is still broken. Maybe you really can come home? As we approach the park turn off the new electric sign really jumps out, especially because of all the brush and trees that I helped clear out along the road last year.

The Saguaro totems viewed thru the windshield at site 9

As the economy improves more people have taken up RV’ing, making it harder to get space in the best parks like Saguaro. Reservations are not accepted here, so I’ve been nervous about arriving after New Years and getting a vacant lot. As I feared, no lots were available when we pulled in on January 2nd, so we had to dry-camp until one opened up. Dry camping means we were assigned a space in a large parking area without any utility hookups. That isn’t an issue with our coach, so we set up, walked the dogs and, it being Tuesday, went to Bingo at the clubhouse.

Lucy and Schroeder clearly share our feelings about this place. They were up and alert as soon as we hit the driveway and couldn’t wait to get going on their walk after we set up. As I’ve described before, Saguaro is surrounded by desert that is crisscrossed with miles of trails that are used extensively by the park dogs and the native wildlife. Lucy and Schroeder wanted to sniff it all, and pee on most of it, right now!

We were pleasantly surprised when one of the office team knocked on the door

Lot 9: home, sweet home, we hope

the next morning to ask if we were ready to move onto a lot. You betcha!  An hour later we were set up on lot 298 and connected to water, power, sewer and cable TV, all the comforts of home. We were there about 10 days when the office staff again told us we had to move because 298 was going to be transferred to a new lessee. A couple of days later we settled into #9, one of the nicest lots in the park, with a terrific view of the mountains. I hope we can stay here until we leave on March 2. The lot holders have to give the park seven days notice if they plan to return, so we'll have a week to find another site if we have to move again.

Saguaro, like all the cooperative parks, owes its existence to volunteers. Volunteers conceived of the park, and designed and built most of it. 28 years later the park still thrives because volunteers continue to shoulder most of the tasks required to maintain the infrastructure and make improvements. There are only four paid staff, so volunteers put in thousands of hours every year. I work on the landscaping and facilities crews, and Kayeanne volunteers on the clubhouse and Bingo teams.

It is certainly nice to see so many familiar faces. After four years, it seems we are now  recognized as part of the community. That’s a good feeling. Weekly dinners, Bingo, movies, entertainment and lots of activities and nice people make us look forward to coming back every  year.

We plan to leave here in early March. After a short detour to Phoenix to visit old friends and a slight backtrack to Yuma for a couple of days, we will head to Florida to see Kayeanne’s brother and cousins.

More soon,

Bob