The park plans to build 2 more
rows of park models and a road at some time, but for now there was nothing
between us and the golf course but dirt.
Pretty darned nice. Our neighbors, Barry and Diane came over and introduced themselves.
They were from just outside Portland, OR, so we had something in
common. We got set up, got out the
chairs and enjoyed the sunset.
Day 34, Tue 1/31: Yay! A
day of leisure. Not driving anywhere. Beautiful sunset over the golf course.
Day 35, Wed 2/1: Our trip so far had been really busy, so we
enjoyed today doing next to nothing.
Day 36, Thu
2/2: For the 2nd year in a row, we went
to the Phoenix Open. It’s been called
the “Mardi Gras” of golf…one big party for 3+ days. Many folks just go for the party and never
watch any golf. We saw women dressed to the nines and in spike heels. They obviously thought they were going to a fashion event rather than a day walking a golf course. We even saw one fellow carrying a girl down a grassy slope because she had on such high heeled shoes she couldn't walk. I must be getting old...I forgo fashion over function any day. Waste Management (the
sponsor) calls it the “Greatest Game on Grass”.
Thursday usually has lighter crowds than on the weekend. This day had record crowds (104,000), and we
were part of it.
The weather was sunny
and in the low 70s, so no jackets required.
We did a lot of walking (got to get those 10,000 steps in), but didn’t
see a lot of the big name players like we did at Torrey Pines. Though we had a good time, we decided we
didn’t appreciate the tournament as much because we’d just been to Torrey Pines
so recently. Not a bad day’s
entertainment for $36.00.
Day 38, Sat
2/4: After a leisurely
morning, we headed out for our first Arizona round of golf. Sun Village Golf Course in Surprise, was a
Par 3, 18-hole course with lots of water hazards (yup, lost a couple golf balls here). It was a nice course to start off and plenty
easy to walk. I definitely need some
practice time at the driving range!
Day 39, Sun
2/5: Can you tell
we’re relaxing? This won’t be as
interesting a blog as the last few.
We’ve been here so many times and done a lot of the touristy stuff, so we're taking a slower pace this year. Sat down to watch some golf before the Super Bowl. The final day at the Phoenix Open was pretty
exciting. Hideki Matsuyama won over Web
Simpson in a 4 hole playoff. Love those
close ones! Then there was the Super
Bowl:
Super Bowl LI
Super Bowl
Final/OT - Sunday, February 5, 4:30 PM
NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
|
I’m not a big football fan, but
watched the first half and the half-time show.
It wasn’t a very exciting first half, so I went off to read my book
while Dave continued to watch the game.
He turned off the game shortly thereafter, only to realize the next day
what a good game it would be later in the second half. Surprise, surprise.
Day 40, Mon 2/6: Dave
woke up with a cold, so another day of leisure😟.
Day 41, Tue 2/7: We made arrangements with a mobile RV wash/detail company and Romeo
and his crew arrived at 8:40am to wash our coach. They come with 4 guys, ladders, their own filtered water (the water here
is very hard and leaves horrible spots) and hoses. They pressure washed the roof, hand washed
the balance, including special attention to the front with all the squished
bugs. $79.99 and they were gone in a
little over an hour. We wash our coach
ourselves when we’re at home and we don’t do near as good a job. Because Dave still wasn't feeling well, we called our friends and
cancelled the BBQ at our place for today.
Unfortunately, I’d already started marinating the flat iron steak, so
guess what we had for dinner?
Day 42, Wed 2/8: Dave
was feeling cabin fever after spending 2 days laying around the coach. A visit to Quartzsite was on his bucket list
for this trip, so we decided it would be a good day for a non-stressful drive. He still wasn’t feeling 100%, so I drove both
ways (4 ½ hours round trip). Quartzsite is in western Arizona, about 20 miles east of the Colorado River on I-10 and 125 miles west of Phoenix. At this time of year, 2,000 vendors of rocks, gems, minerals and fossils make for one of the world's largest open air flea markets.
Quite frankly, Quarztsite was not worth driving that far to visit. We’ve driven through it before, but not stopped to explore (explore is probably not the right word because there’s nothing in Quartzsite to explore unless you’re into dirt, sand and rocks). We drove around the “town”, had lunch at Subway, went out to the desert to see where people were boondocking (camping without hookups of any kind) and came home. The attraction of Quartzsite is that it’s cheap living for snowbirds. It claims to be the boondocking capital of the world, you can boondock for free or a nominal BLM fee. Trucks come by with water and will pump your black and graywater tanks, but there’s no electricity unless you’re generating your own. Ah yes, just you and nature (and the blowing sand, rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, etc.). In the peak months of January and February, you can see thousands of campers for miles out in the desert, parked on a dirt plot next to a mesquite bush. Sorry, not for us.
Day 43, Thu 2/9: Dave
was feeling better today, so agreed to go to the driving range at Sun City South with me. He spent his time on the putting green while
I worked on the driving range. Hmmm..still
need more practice.
Day 44, Fri 2/10: Flank
steak marinating in the refrigerator, we rescheduled our BBQ for today. It was our warmest day so far with temps in
the 80s, so a great day for a BBQ. Our
former neighbors at Trilogy, Larry and Ruth Magnan, were in the Phoenix area
for a couple weeks so our BBQ was an opportunity to visit (though they’ve moved
from Trilogy and live just a few miles from us, we don’t seem to get together
except when we’re in Arizona). Because
they travel in a Tiffin Motorhome too, we always enjoy comparing notes on vehicles,
contacts and travels. It was a nice day
with good friends, good wine and good food.
Day 45, Sat 2/11: We’d been out to Del Webb’s Sun City Festival Community in Buckeye, when it was first built 7 or 8 years ago, and decided it would be a good day to re-explore and stop for lunch. Sun City Festival is an age restricted community with a beautiful 18-hole golf course called Copper Canyon that winds through the development. Once we left civilization, it was about a 15 minute drive into the secluded and undeveloped desert to reach Festival. Because the setting is in the middle of the desert, many of the residents have sooped-up dune buggies that look like they'd be pretty handy for riding the desert trails around Festival.
We had a nice lunch at Indigo Grill and then went for a hike through the neighborhoods around the golf course. The home prices started around $200,000 and we saw many resales in a very affordable price (no, we're not moving to Arizona...just curious).
Day 46, Sun 2/12: Another day of leisure!
Day 47, Mon 2/13: And another day of leisure! (of course there's always still chores to do like laundry, cleaning and shopping)
Day 48, Tue 2/14: Happy Valentines Day! Like last year, we decided to beat the crowds and do a Valentines lunch instead of dinner. It was a nice sunny day and we drove north of Scottsdale to Grayhawk Golf Club.
After a delicious lunch on the patio we wandered next door to take a look at Phil's Grill - named for PGA champion, Phil Mickelson. The bar/grill's walls were covered in Phil memorabilia spanning his long career - from when he was a junior golfer all the way to his major championships. Pretty cool!
We continued our afternoon by driving further north to The Boulders, an exclusive golf resort community literally nestled into huge boulders. We stopped at the restaurant overlooking the golf course for a beer. We had the whole place to ourselves. A really nice day!
Next stop was Robson Ranch at Pebble Creek in Goodyear. We stopped here last year for lunch one day, but didn't take the time to wander through the model homes. They're very nice with lots of amenities and outside living spaces. This too was a 55+ master planned community built by Robson. They have 6 communities in Arizona and 1 in Texas, so they're quite well known in the area. We really liked these models and many had an option of a front detached casita that makes a really nice guest room, studio or den. There are 2 golf courses at this location and because we'd already been to the Pebble Creek, we went across the street to Eagles Nest Golf Club for a beer and to check out the older half of the development. Also very nice. Fun day of exploring.
Day 53, Sun 2/19: The sun came out and we ventured out through the puddles to the Wigwam Festival of Fine Arts in Litchfield. This is an annual event held at the historic Wigwam Resort and Spa and features fine artists set up under tents on the front lawn. Unfortunately, with all the rain the previous day and the recurring showers today, much of the lawn was under water and pretty muddy. It was really a shame, because there were some very talented artists showcasing drawing, print making, painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, glass, wood metal, mixed media, fiber, jewelry, etc. There were food vendors, wine tastings and Indian music and dancing. The clouds would periodically dump on the festivities and everyone would take cover as the artists tried to close off their tents from the elements. More mud. Had to wash shoes when we got home they were so bad (I take that back, Dave said his shoes were just fine to wear covered in mud)...they got washed anyway.
Day 54, Mon 2/20: Today we golfed at Ocotillo Golf Resort in Chandler with our Trilogy neighbors, Jim and Ivene Morris. This was an absolutely beautiful course with huge mansions sitting on a series of lakes surrounding the course. There was tons of water on this course so we brought lots of water balls. What a challenging round and the scenery was spectacular. It was really fun and surprisingly, we didn't loose as many balls as we thought we would. Jim and Ivene had played the course before, so gave us lots of direction on how to maneuver through the fairways. Really fun day with some good friends.
Day 55, Tue 2/21: Today was a sightseeing day. The weather was supposed to be near 80 in Phoenix, so we decided to head north to the historic old mining town of Jerome located at 5,200 feet between Prescott and Flagstaff. It was once known as the wickedest town in the west and was a copper mining camp that mushroomed into a mining community. Jerome sits above what was the largest copper mine in Arizona that produced 3 million pounds of copper per month. During it's peak, Jerome was the fourth largest city in the Arizona Territory with a population of 15,000 in the 1920s. Today the mines are abandoned and Jerome has become the largest ghost town in America. We began our visit at the Douglas Mansion State Park. Once a private mansion, the home is now a museum which exhibits photographs, artifacts, minerals and videos of the life and times in Jerome. There is even a 3-D model of the underground tunnels under the town.
We spent quite a bit of time at the museum getting acquainted with the stories behind the people who settled and mined the area. Jerome's personality has changed dramatically in the past 30 years. Once a thriving mining camp between the late 1880s and early 1950s, Jerome now relies heavily on the bustling tourist market. An artistic community with a population of about 450 has taken over the old crumbling buildings and turned the town into a destination featuring artists, craft people, musicians, writers, bed and breakfast owners, brewers and vintners, and even some hermits that enjoy the remote unpopulated quiet of the mountainside community.
We set out on foot to walk the narrow streets and explore the variety of artists shops and galleries. Many of the buildings have been restored and some were mere shells because the town was built on a 30-degree incline of the mountainside and gravity has pulled a number of the buildings down the slope. Those still standing reflect cracks and irregularities that have been patched and reinforced over the years. It's quite interesting architecture.
Stopped on our way home for a walk around the city square in Prescott. Once the territorial capital of the state, Prescott is rich in history, especially around it's world famous Whiskey Row. Whiskey Row, located on the square in downtown Prescott, boasts many historical buildings, including The Palace, Arizona's oldest restaurant and bar.
Day 58, Fri 2/24: I have a 20-something year old Schwinn bike that needed a tune-up. We got an estimate for a basic tune-up: $50. We thought maybe for a few dollars more, we could purchase a new bike with better safety features. We went searching. Most bikes were for men, or too tall, or too expensive. We took the bike to Play It Again Sports, thinking we could either trade it or sell it. Their used bikes were really expensive and they didn't even want mine. We finally decided we'd spend the $50 on my bike worth nothing (but a Goodwill donation). Off to the repair shop.
Day 47, Mon 2/13: And another day of leisure! (of course there's always still chores to do like laundry, cleaning and shopping)
Day 48, Tue 2/14: Happy Valentines Day! Like last year, we decided to beat the crowds and do a Valentines lunch instead of dinner. It was a nice sunny day and we drove north of Scottsdale to Grayhawk Golf Club.
After a delicious lunch on the patio we wandered next door to take a look at Phil's Grill - named for PGA champion, Phil Mickelson. The bar/grill's walls were covered in Phil memorabilia spanning his long career - from when he was a junior golfer all the way to his major championships. Pretty cool!We continued our afternoon by driving further north to The Boulders, an exclusive golf resort community literally nestled into huge boulders. We stopped at the restaurant overlooking the golf course for a beer. We had the whole place to ourselves. A really nice day!
 |
| Pool at the Boulders Resort & Spa |
Day 49, Wed 2/15: Dave reinjured his shoulder, so we haven't been playing much golf. Today he felt up to it, so we went out in the afternoon to one of Sun City's many courses, Riverview. Built in 1970, the 18-hole Par 72 course is one of the oldest in the Sun City collection. The course was renovated in 2015 and in good shape, but quite crowded. It claims to be the most difficult of the Sun City Courses and it's probably because of the undulating greens...they were toughies. Many of the homes on the course are of the 1970 vintage as well, but it appeared that a good number have been remodeled and upgraded.
Day 50, Thu 2/16: After a day of running a few errands, we had some friends over for drinks that belong to our Trilogy RV Club at home. Dennis and Kathy Oelrich were staying at Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort too. We ran into them last year when we were here, so we were excited to hear they would be back this year as well. It was a nice warm evening and we sat out visiting, watching the golfers, drinking wine and telling stories. It was fun getting to know them better.
Day 51, Fri 2/17: Looking for a somewhat relaxing day, we decided to explore the senior housing market in western Phoenix. First, we headed to CantaMia at Estrella...way down south at the base of the Estrella Mountains. It's a 55+ master planned community developed at the end of long road in the Sonoran Desert. Don't get me wrong, we aren't planning to move here any time soon, but we're always curious what's being built for seniors and the styles and amenities offered. We wandered through the models. They were OK, but the development wasn't quite as nice as others offered in the area. One feature they had that was quite impressive was the community center and pool. Wow!
Next stop was Robson Ranch at Pebble Creek in Goodyear. We stopped here last year for lunch one day, but didn't take the time to wander through the model homes. They're very nice with lots of amenities and outside living spaces. This too was a 55+ master planned community built by Robson. They have 6 communities in Arizona and 1 in Texas, so they're quite well known in the area. We really liked these models and many had an option of a front detached casita that makes a really nice guest room, studio or den. There are 2 golf courses at this location and because we'd already been to the Pebble Creek, we went across the street to Eagles Nest Golf Club for a beer and to check out the older half of the development. Also very nice. Fun day of exploring.
Day 52, Sat 2/18: Uck! A full day of rain...and heavy rain too.
Day 53, Sun 2/19: The sun came out and we ventured out through the puddles to the Wigwam Festival of Fine Arts in Litchfield. This is an annual event held at the historic Wigwam Resort and Spa and features fine artists set up under tents on the front lawn. Unfortunately, with all the rain the previous day and the recurring showers today, much of the lawn was under water and pretty muddy. It was really a shame, because there were some very talented artists showcasing drawing, print making, painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, glass, wood metal, mixed media, fiber, jewelry, etc. There were food vendors, wine tastings and Indian music and dancing. The clouds would periodically dump on the festivities and everyone would take cover as the artists tried to close off their tents from the elements. More mud. Had to wash shoes when we got home they were so bad (I take that back, Dave said his shoes were just fine to wear covered in mud)...they got washed anyway. 
Day 54, Mon 2/20: Today we golfed at Ocotillo Golf Resort in Chandler with our Trilogy neighbors, Jim and Ivene Morris. This was an absolutely beautiful course with huge mansions sitting on a series of lakes surrounding the course. There was tons of water on this course so we brought lots of water balls. What a challenging round and the scenery was spectacular. It was really fun and surprisingly, we didn't loose as many balls as we thought we would. Jim and Ivene had played the course before, so gave us lots of direction on how to maneuver through the fairways. Really fun day with some good friends.
Day 55, Tue 2/21: Today was a sightseeing day. The weather was supposed to be near 80 in Phoenix, so we decided to head north to the historic old mining town of Jerome located at 5,200 feet between Prescott and Flagstaff. It was once known as the wickedest town in the west and was a copper mining camp that mushroomed into a mining community. Jerome sits above what was the largest copper mine in Arizona that produced 3 million pounds of copper per month. During it's peak, Jerome was the fourth largest city in the Arizona Territory with a population of 15,000 in the 1920s. Today the mines are abandoned and Jerome has become the largest ghost town in America. We began our visit at the Douglas Mansion State Park. Once a private mansion, the home is now a museum which exhibits photographs, artifacts, minerals and videos of the life and times in Jerome. There is even a 3-D model of the underground tunnels under the town.  |
| Abandoned Copper Mine |
We spent quite a bit of time at the museum getting acquainted with the stories behind the people who settled and mined the area. Jerome's personality has changed dramatically in the past 30 years. Once a thriving mining camp between the late 1880s and early 1950s, Jerome now relies heavily on the bustling tourist market. An artistic community with a population of about 450 has taken over the old crumbling buildings and turned the town into a destination featuring artists, craft people, musicians, writers, bed and breakfast owners, brewers and vintners, and even some hermits that enjoy the remote unpopulated quiet of the mountainside community.
 |
| Little Daisy Hotel-now a private residence |
 |
| Bordello Restaurant |
 |
| Bordello Restaurant |
 |
| View Toward Sedona |
 |
| Lunch with a view |
It is still the oldest frontier saloon in Arizona. Many of the other buildings on Whiskey Row have been converted to boutiques, art galleries, bookstores and restaurants. Many cowboys, including Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, spent time in Prescott enroute to Tombstone. These famous and not-so-famous personalities made the saloons of Prescott landmarks in history.
Day 56, Wed 2/22: Today we went to Happy Trails RV Resort to have dinner with our friends Tom and Cheryl Rodewald. Tom and Cheryl are friends from our golf group at home and stayed in our RV park last year. This year they're exploring new territory and Happy Trails is their home for the winter. Their site had a covered patio with attached casita housing a washer/dryer, refrigerator, bathroom, and lots of storage. Lots of room for Costco runs! We got in the car for a tour of this large RV Resort (about 2000 sites) surrounding Great Eagle Golf Course. Pretty much need a map to find your way around. Drinks and dinner were great, but spending the evening with friends was the best (oops..forgot to take a picture).
Day 57, Thu 2/23: Like true RVers, we headed off today to attend the Good Sam RV Rally at Phoenix International Raceway. Not only does the rally provide an opportunity to see (and purchase) new and used RVs, but also attend informative seminars and purchase accessories and supplies. After trudging through many motorhomes, trailers and fifth-wheels, we stopped for lunch and then headed into 2 seminars (1.5hrs each). One seminar was on estimating usage and installing solar and the other was titled "Inner Workings of RVs". Both were very interesting and Dave took notes, especially at the second seminar as the presenter was referencing products for safety, time-saving and convenience. We spent a good long day at the rally and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves without spending a dime (except lunch).
Day 59, Sat 2/25: Day of leisure!
Day 60, Sun 2/26: Day of leisure!
Day 61, Mon 2/27: Another soppy rainy day. Some more friends, Jerry & Judy Karwhite, from our golf club at home arrived at our park. Cocktail hour! Only true Northwesterners would show up in long pants and rain gear. We got them dried out and visited for a few hours. Dave gave them a ride back to their space as it will still raining heavily. What is with this rain???
Day 62, Tue 2/28: Still raining this AM. Good day to catch up on chores.
That does it for February!!!
