#42 – Coveys Great Adventure – Feb 2018 – Arizona

Feb 2018 – SKP Saguaro Co-op, Benson, Queen Creek and Yuma AZ

I never get tired of the desert

Well, we got another call from the office. The owners of lot 9 decided to return early, so we had to move, again. Our friends think we are the park gypsies; they aren’t sure where we will pop up next. We were happy to learn that lot 280 would open up before our deadline to leave 9, and we were assured that we wouldn’t have to move again.

We spent two months in lot 280 last winter and liked it. It is across the driveway from the dry camping area where folks are rotating through all the time. It is handy to the shop where I made the drawers last year, and it is close to several access points to the desert trails for the dogs. About half the traffic in the park goes by 280, so the view through the windshield is constantly changing. That said, there is no view of the mountains, something Kayeanne really liked about #9. The sunsets on lot 9 were pretty spectacular, too. 

A howling gale broke out for about 30 minutes

One day it snowed. In the desert. On the cactus. For a few minutes we had blizzard conditions with snow, hail and a howling wind. Nothing stuck for long, but the mountains were very pretty the next morning. 

We love this place but it can certainly wear you out. There is so much to do and so many activities to get involved in. Kayeanne volunteers on the Bingo, club house and Helping Hands committees, and regularly goes to beading, yoga and polymer clay workshops. I volunteer on the landscape and facilities committees, and occasionally wash dishes after dinners in the clubhouse. We are taking dancing lessons, too. When you add the dinners every week, movie night, entertainment every Saturday night, and lunches and dinners and card games with friends the schedule can get a little hectic. Retirement is certainly not for the lazy.

Ugly old bald guy really scored!

One Saturday turned out to be the annual Prom Night, complete with lavish decorations that Kayeanne helped design and install. Fancy dress-up and a good, loud band that played too much Motown and bebop, but did squeeze in some real R&R really made it a good time. Way too many old folks stayed up much too late trying to recapture what they really never had several decades ago. Everyone certainly seemed to have a good time, and we had a ball. I had a LOT more fun than I ever had at school proms! I was also amazed that the only suit I own and haven’t worn for five years actually fit, sort of. Kayeanne was a knockout in her skinny blue dress and designer shades.

Kayeanne flew to California to spend a few days with our very old friends, Karen Mohr and Patty Nash, in Kernville. All reports indicate a great time was had by all. The dogs and I managed to get along without her, but we were happy to see her come home.

Best RV park in Queen Creek

When we pulled into the Co-op a couple of months ago it seemed like we were there for a long stay. Time certainly flew by and on March 2^nd, we packed the coach, hitched up the car and drove north to Queen Creek near Phoenix to see close friends Cheryl and Chet Baffa. With their usual foresight and flair for timing, they just moved from Colorado to a lovely house in Queen Creek that has a side yard that easily fit the coach. For two days they overfed us while we caught up on almost two years since we last saw them. We stayed just two days and that wasn’t long enough. I hope this is the first of many visits.

Dental, optical and
limitless tourist junk

Sunday morning we found our way to I8 and headed west, back to Yuma to finish up some dental work begun in December. Once again, we camped out at the glamorous facilities in the  dirt parking lot of the Paradise Casino. Monday morning we crossed the border into Los Algodones, the mecca for snowbird dental, optical and plastic surgery. While there, we loaded up on inexpensive drugs and Kahlua. We hoped we would be finished on Tuesday, but had to return on Wednesday morning, too. We returned to the coach, loaded up and got on the road by 11:30. We rolled back into Benson just before the office closed. No sites were available so we moved into one of the dry camping spots; the next morning lot 191 opened up and we moved in and hooked up.

Monroe Crossing

We originally planned to spend just one night in Benson to rendezvous with important mail forwarded from the Escapees mail room in Texas, but the shipment didn’t occur as planned. Since the town post office is closed on Saturday, we had to delay departure until Monday. That wasn’t unwelcome news because we got to see Monroe Crossing, a great bluegrass group, and to spend more time with our friends who, sadly, we won't see until next year.

More soon,

Bob