Living the Dream...: Steve's Blog Review

2012 Blog Review Part 1 of 4

If you missed my 2010- 2011 Blog Reviews go to the header at the top of the page

McDowell Mountain Regional Park Fort McDowell, AZ is a fabulous park with large sites that are very nicely spaced out from one another. Even though you're close to civilization you feel like you are way out in the middle of nowhere. There's lots of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

I took this photo from the site next to us...

Desert scenery on one of our hikes...

Eric and Linda stopped by for a happy hour. When we first hit the road as full-timers our first stop was in Anacortes, WA and Eric was the very first person we met and shared a happy hour with while Linda was away in Costa Rica...

We got quite the workout riding 13.8 miles on the trails. It felt like we spent almost 3 hours on an exercise bike with the drag on! It was no wonder why though... just about everyone we met along the trail were riding in the opposite direction...gradually downhill.

How's this for a campground view...

We did a day trip to Saguaro Lake which is a reservoir created by the construction of the Stewart Mountain Dam...it`s very scenic as you drive down to lake....

January 10th-17th

Usery Mountain Regional Park Mesa, AZ is a beautiful park with much more foliage than McDowell Mountain due to a fire years ago. The sites are closer together and the only negative was the noisy gun range in the area.

While in the area we got permits to ride our ATV's on the Bulldog Canyon trail...

We had many visits at our site by non native Peachy Faced Lovebirds...

Dianne's brother Dennis and sister in-law Suzanne stopped by for a visit. They were staying at Val Vista Villa RV Resort in Mesa.

January 18th-26th

La Posa South LTVA, Quartzsite,AZ

Although we passed by Q last year this was our very first boondocking stay there. We wanted to see what this area was all about and attend the Quartzsite Sport, Vacation and RV Show. We arrived at probably the worst time...just prior to the show so the area was packed and after driving around for an hour we finally found what we thought was a spot. It just so happened that fellow Canadian Earl, also from Vancouver Island was camped nearby. He and Allison were kind enough to take us under their wing during our visit and we have become lifelong friends...

We rode our quads into Q and checked out the many vendors...

Had our very first beer at Beer Belly's Adult Daycare. It was much smaller back then...

Our first sunset in Q...

Earl and Allison led us on our first ATV tour of the area...

Dripping Springs...

One of many petroglyphs there...

Apache Chief Cabin...

One of many mines that dot the desert...

We rode our quads into town to check out the show in the big tent...

ATV Ride Album #1

ATV Ride Album #2

Note to self...NEVER attend the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show on opening day!! With that lesson learned we now usually attend no earlier than Thursday before it ends on Sunday. Some say there are better deals to be had towards the end of the show...

One of many Q happy hours then, and the start of many more to come in the years ahead...

Our last beautiful sunrise in Q...

January 27th- February 12th

We managed to get a spot behind Dennis and Suzanne at Val Vista Village RV Resort, in Mesa, AZ. This was our first time in a huge RV Resort. The reason for our stop here was that I had an appointment to get graphics painted on our truck. It also gave us more time to visit and explore the area.

One of the many pools here. If you're bored at one of these resorts it's your own fault as there are many activities available. At this time the crowd here was much older than us so we weren't quite ready for this type of winter stay location :)

We attended one of the Canada dinners put on by the resort. We felt like we were at the kids table...LOL!

We toured around Goldfield Ghost Town in Apache Junction...

Then onto Tortilla Flat...

The pavement ended and we drove 22 miles on a narrow, winding, but very scenic gravel road to the Roosevelt Dam...

Web Album of stops and scenic drive to Roosevelt Dam

We picked up our truck from Lucky Luciano Custom Paint. We were very pleased with our new look that matched up with the graphics on our Montana! He does custom paint jobs and some of his work has been featured at Barrett-Jackson and the Sema Show...

February 13th-26th

Catalina State Park, Tucson, AZ

This is our favourite place to stay when in Tucson. Lots of great hiking trails, biking, and they even have an equestrian area if you have horses...

We visited Old Tucson Studios which has been the setting for more than 300 movies and TV productions. We watched a performance of The Quick and the Dead as portrayed in the 1995 film shot here...

Web Album

Gunfight by the gallows...

One of many hikes in Catalina State Park...

We drove 17 miles north to explore Biosphere 2. It's now run by the University of Arizona and is a fascinating place to visit. Biosphere 2 was opened to the public in 1990. “This engineering marvel was created to better understand how natural environments create habitable conditions for human sustainability. It is a unique facility that can be used to understand the role of life on Earth and the effects of climate change. Biosphere 2 contains recreations of five of Earth’s biomes, plus a human habitat and a large ecological experiment facility.” Eight people lived within this facility for 2 years without physical contact with the outside world and had to be totally self sufficient. Apparently they didn't leave as friends when the experiment ended.

Another hike in the park...

The campground in the distance...we've come a long way!

We checked out the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We were pleasantly surprised at what we got to see and experience there.

Javelina...

Bighorn Sheep...

Desert Museum Web Album

We were surprised to learn that there was a ski hill in the desert, so we did a day trip taking the 27 mile sky island scenic byway up to Mount Lemmon. The mountain is usually 30 degrees cooler than Tucson and is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains, located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona. It's 9,157 feet (2,791 m) above sea-level, and receives approximately 180 inches of snow annually.

The road we travelled on in the distance below. The views are stunning all the way up. There are lots of view points, hiking trails, and campgrounds. Not a road I'd tow our trailer on but surprisingly we saw lots of bicycle riders!

We checked out the the village of Summerhaven before continuing onto Ski Valley Ski Hill where we had lunch at the Iron Door Restaurant...

Back at camp while having breakfast one day Wiley coyote strolled past our rig...

February 27th-March 4th

The site we had reserved at Lake Pleasant Regional Park didn't work out so we were directed to Pleasant Harbor Marina and RV Resort, Peoria, AZ. We chose a site in the overflow/temporary section next to a grassy area. Theses sites are power and water only, and have great lake and marina views which the main campground doesn't have.

Our rig in the distance...

The Marina also has a nice restaurant and bar...

View of the campground on our hike to the hilltop. We are in the grassy area...

Hot air ballooning is very popular here...

March 5th-13th

Constellation Park, near Wickenburg, AZ

The campground is across the road from the rodeo grounds and allows for us to ride our ATV's from here to explore the area.

View from our site...

We explored the historic town of Wickenburg. The "Jail Tree"... a 200 year old mesquite tree that once served as the town jail. From 1863 to 1890 outlaws were chained to this tree...

A miner leading his mule...depicting the importance of early mining in the area. There was lots to see and do in this interesting town...

We were invited to tag along on an ATV ride with others that knew the area. Dianne is way up ahead. They took us to an old mine site and cemetery...

Hassayampa River...

This is where the water enters the Box Canyon...

Our tour guides...

We joined Earl, Allison and Bob and Sue for a few great days of riding...

We rode to Castle Hot Springs which enjoys a rich and lengthy history reaching back to the pre-settlement Apaches who gave healing powers to the hot, clear water that poured out from the canyon rock. It wasn't operating at the time of our visit but I see it has since reopened in 2019 and looks fabulous! Castle Hot Springs Resort also served as the first territorial capital of Arizona as well as a retreat for many wealthy businessmen, politicians, and even presidents of the United States.

After a long days ride we went to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Sue, Dianne, Allison Earl, me and Bob...

As we left on another ride we noticed the rodeo grounds were busy...

We learned all about geocaching on this ride...

We spotted a bees nest high up on this cliff wall...

Saw our first Gila Monster, haven't seen one since...

Discovered a very stinky bat cave...

Dianne. This is a very scenic area to ride and explore!

March 14th

We met Dennis and Suzanne in Laughlin, Nevada for one night. We boondocked in the very hot

Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort and Casino parking lot. Dennis and Suzanne were staying at a Casino campground nearby. We checked out some of the Casino's, got stuffed at the buffet and did the river walk along the Colorado River before heading to Vegas...

View from our rig...

March 15th-18th

The four of us headed to Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall campground in Las Vegas, NV for a few days. It's not on the strip but you can take the casino shuttle there and back...

We did a day trip to the Hoover Dam then had lunch at a brew pub in Boulder City, a town that was built to house construction workers building the dam...

View from the bridge with Lake Mead behind the dam...

Dennis and Dianne admiring the Sam's Town indoor courtyard which is very impressive...

We checked out Freemont Street and the Viva Vision Canopy and Light Show featuring 12 million LED modules and a 555,000 watt sound system! (Note: No shuttle to this location)

It's amazing what you'll see at Freemont St. Is that Jack Nicholson and Kiss?!

We checked out the strip, many of the Casino's and played some slots...

Bellagio water show...

March 19th-30th

With our 6 months nearly up the four of us worked our way north to Canada. Suzanne took this picture of us just south of Salt Lake City...

This was the year I learned about tires. When we pulled into our overnight stop in Mountain Home, Idaho I saw this! Our Montana came with Good Year Marathon tires, better known in the world of RV'ers as China bombs. When we were in Wickenburg I had to replace a bulging tire. At every stop I do a walk around and must have parked on this part of the tire every time as I never noticed the exposed steel cord! We replaced all 4 tires with the only brand they had available, Power King Tow Max which I later learned were not the greatest. I did eventually get a partial reimbursement under warranty.

Nearing Pendleton, Oregon we start our decent down the very long, and steep infamous Deadman Pass, also known as Cabbage Patch Hill or Emigrant Hill to the valley below.

The name, "Deadman's Pass", was the result of an accident during the Bannock War when a teamster driving a wagon through the pass was killed by renegade Indians from the nearby Indian agency.

Dennis and Suzanne in the lead heading down...

We pulled into the Wild Horse Casino campground in Pendleton. We later learned they have free RV parking on the other side of the casino. This was our last night together. Dennis and Suzanne were headed home to Kelowna, BC. We headed to the buffet then hit the slots. Some of us won a little and others not so much. We really enjoy our Casino stops but wish the American casino's would get with the 21st century and follow Canadian casino's ban on indoor smoking!

We parted ways in the morning and we headed west towards Portland. Mount Hood in the distance as we near the John Day Dam on the Columbia River in Oregon...

One of our stops was at Memaloose State Park along the Columbia River. The negatives were the train tracks below us next to the river and the I-84 highway above us. The views and river activity were great though...

March 31st-April 28th

Back in Canada and all set up in our favourite site C1 at Fort Camping at Brae Island Regional Park, Fort Langley on the Fraser River...

At the Fort Pub with Steve's sister Nadine and husband Mike visiting from Victoria and our son Chris...

The lower mainland and the Vancouver area is Hollywood north so there always seems to be something being filmed here. This is one of the location sets of "The Christmas Consultant" with David Hasselhoff and Caroline Rhea...