Wickenburg and SKP North Ranch

 

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in the fruit salad.

 

Wednesday we took yet another drive.  This time we were in the Jeep and headed north.  The problem with our location and every place we want to go is that we’re on the wrong side of the city of Phoenix.  Getting through it adds about 70 miles to any trip we think we might want to take.  Needless to say, it took us a while to get through the traffic and through the city.

Wickenburg is a little town (population about 6500) with a very colorful past.  The town itself looks like it’s right out of the Wild, Wild West.  Well, maybe that’s because it really is.  There were constant conflicts between the the settlers in the area and the hostile Indian bands.  Gold brought the settlers here and gold kept them coming for many years.  There are many mines in the area as well as ghost towns. . 

The streets of the town even remind you of that era.  You’d think you were in cowboy-ville and we’d certainly like to check the town out a little bit more.  However, this day we didn’t have time to do a lot of that.  It was just a trip to scope the area out.

We also made a stop at the SKP North Ranch RV Park.  We’ve visited quite a few of the SKP parks but this was our first time here.  We were a little amazed to discover that many of the “homes” at the back end of this Escapee park were on deeded property.  There were a few for sale signs and we checked out the price.  They weren’t cheap.  We were thinking that perhaps the folks didn’t realize  Arizona had just gone through a major slump in real estate prices.

Terry stopped by the office to pick up some information.  Normally the SKP parks and their volunteers are just about the friendliest ever.  Not so in this case.  She was professional and cool but friendly is not a word that Terry used.  We were told she was ”having a bad day.”

There were also RV lots and an area for short term stays.  We stopped and talked to several who were parked on the rental lots.  Parks like this are so unlike the parks where snowbirds return year after year after year. The neighborhood changes constantly. Every newcomer to a SKP park is looked at like a future potential friend.

Another thing about this park we liked is that it borders BLM land and has a gate at the back of the park for ATVs to enter and exit.  One fella even gave us a trail map of interesting things to see on the trails.  He encouraged us to spend a while at the park riding the ATVs and especially to the old ghost town of Stanton.  However, he did indicate that one would have to go up Suicide Hill on their ATV to get there.  Now do you think I was excited about doing that?  NOT!!  The name certainly didn’t make that trip sound inviting.  I’d like to do the ghost town but not if Suicide Hill is the only way to get there.  He said it wasn’t that bad but bad to him and bad to me probably are two different things!!  The park has Verizon and ATT service.  We always check that out because cell service is important to us.

We had originally planned on meeting Sandie and Jim at Superstition Skies for another evening  of entertainment with Brant and Kerry.  Jim was fishing at Canyon Lake and he didn’t quite make it back in time.  We’re letting Jim take the blame for none of us being able to go.  However, secretly we were happy (but don’t tell him that ‘cuz we want him to feel guilty).  After our drive of the day we were pretty zonked so we were a little relieved our outing had been delayed for one more night.

<<----- Sunning on a picnic table – hadn’t seen this before and would NEVER do it.

Another little outing in our future is – Quartzsite!  Okay, we’ve been there before and actually done quite a bit of boondocking in the area.  We’ve also stayed at one of the local parks.  In January this little hole-in-the-wall town bursts at the seams with thousands of RVs for the annual RV show.  People congregate in groups there from all over and it’s quite an exciting adventure.

We already planned on meeting a group in January at Quartzsite.  However, we’re in search of a secure place to park over the holidays.  We had originally thought we would just fly to Washington over the Christmas holiday but now we’re thinking we might just drive.  Flying would be cheaper, of course, but if we drive, we have our car and we can come and go as we please. By moving down the road a bit, we save a couple hundred miles each way by traveling from “Q” over traveling from “G”.  We’re thinking why not just park there in December. Who knows what we’ll do until we do it.  Anyway …. in a few days we might make this little trip to check it out. 

In the meantime on Thursday …. we’re going to relax and ride the quads – perhaps.

‘Tis life on the road.

Traveling Back and Forth

Remember the other day I mentioned that Terry had to hop on another airplane to head down to Phoenix for a dental appointment.  It was actually supposed to be the end of his dental work being done.  Two appointments were schedule.  One was on Wednesday and the other on Thursday.  This was easy …. right?

 

Portland airport

You might guess that nothing … and, I do mean, nothing … turns out as planned.  The dentist canceled the Thursday appointment and scheduled him for the following Tuesday and Wednesday!!  Now what would you do?  My guess is that it’s not what Terry did.  He hopped an airplane and returned to Portland with the intent of just hopping another one back to Phoenix on Monday!!  What ???!!!   I’ll certainly be glad when this going back and forth for appointments is over with.  If we’re going to fly someplace, let’s fly someplace fun!!

Speaking of which ….. we were hoping to have a chance to do just that and fly someplace fun once we arrived in Washington.  After all, we have a place to park the motorhome and even a dog sitter.  However, right now it looks like we have so many things going on that it’s going to take real planning to find a few empty days while we’re in the right location.  There are always places we want to visit while in this area (it’s that Memory Lane thing) and we’ve got to do that too.  We had originally figured we’d head out in August so that we could travel to Hannibal, Missouri (Terry’s hometown) but now may just extend our stay in order to do everything we hope to do.  

Since we’ve also thought we would spend next winter in Texas instead of Arizona, another idea was going to Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival.  We know several who have visited in the past and loved it.  However, the HOP really jumped in price from last year.  Didn’t it??    I’m not sure I’m interested in putting down $1100 for boondocking for four nights with a chance we might not make it but we’ll see.   You know how often we change our plans!!  

In the meantime, while Terry’s been spending most of his time flying back and forth, I’ve been busy unloading the motorhome.  You may think these little things on wheels can’t hold much.  Let me tell you …. they certainly can.  Our space under the bed, in the cabinets, in the basement and every other nook and cranny we have has been sorted, cleaned out and unnecessary items taken to the storage shed.  This was my project with Terry being gone.  Maybe I should be glad he’s returned but sometimes it’s easier for one person to sort and throw out than two.

Sorting through our odds and ends I was reminded of a post not long ago about only having 100 items.  I’m sure I disposed of way more than 100 items because we certainly lightened the coach by several hundred pounds.  I’m hoping our motorhome stays underweight at least for a while.  The problem is that this now opens up space to accumulate new junk.  One thing I tend to accumulate is travel books. They certainly aren’t light.  Terry accumulates food and …. just about everything else.  However, with the Hyders in Utah, he doesn’t have Jerry to shop with!  (That’s a joke, Jerry)  The good thing though is if either of us go shopping, we at least have a place to put the new-found stuff while we’re in Washington  …. our storage shed.

Winter Leaves A Mess

Winter time takes a toll on many things.  We notice that many times just driving down the highways.  The roads become “weathered” with pot holes and settling.  The yards and gardens need maintenance when spring comes.  Then, to top all of that off, if you’ve been sitting in the deserts of the Southwest during the winter, you’ve accumulated more than what you feel is your share of dust and dirt.  However, until you’re actually out of there, you can’t do much.

Another place I’ve discovered that winter takes it’s toll is on us.  We become so accustomed to eating and eating and more eating that the pounds start coming back on.  Spring and summer usually means cutting back on some of the eating out because most of the RVing friends have headed in other directions.

Even our summer home base took a beating this last winter.  We have a little cabin (very little cabin) at an elevation of about 1400’.  That’s not very high but it’s high enough in the state of Washington that it gets a bit of snow.  This last winter the snow and ice brought down some pretty heavy branches and even cracked a tree in half.  Some of the branches nestled into the deck and the property we have.  The part of the tree that cracked away …. fell onto the roof and then down the side of the cabin.  The gaping hole isn’t large but it’s there and needs to be replaced.  

So now we have lots of cleaning up to do.  One nice thing is that some of the grass we had thrown around last summer is showing through where we had a second RV site dug out.  Hopefully, it’ll keep on spreading and keep on growing to help keep the mud and slides out.  We can’t plant much else there or the deer would have a frenzy with the fresh vegetation.

Speaking of deer we did spot a few grazing.  Their winter coats are starting to give way to the summer coat but not quite yet.  It won’t be long though until we get to meet all the mothers introducing their  new babies.  I guess we probably need to stock up again with the wet cob we feed them.

Elks RV parking  - St. Helens, OR

Terry left on Tuesday for a couple dental appointments in Phoenix.  Moving doctors and dentists around when you’re on the road can be a little challenging.  First we had to move them from Texas where we lived to Arizona where we resided for a short time.  Now we have all the doctors in Portland but still have the dentist in Phoenix.  That’ll get changed next.

We took a ride across the bridge from Longview, WA to Rainier, OR and then drove south to St. Helens on Hwy 30. We didn’t go far. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive. We love the cute little town of St. Helens. It’s small, has everything one would need, close to the river, little traffic and is a bedroom community to Portland. If we were ready to settle down, it would certainly be a place of interest.

RV park on the Columbia River in Goble, OR – usually fills up with fishermen

There are several places right on the Columbia River where RV parking is available.  The private little marinas are still pretty empty but with fishing season and summer just around the corner, they won’t be that way long.

Fishing at Trojan Lake – close to Rainier, OR

Leaving Reno and into Oregon

The forecast for Friday was good. The winds were on their way east and only left a slight breeze in the area. This was good news for us. Our plans were to hightail it out of there! And, that’s just what we did. Terry is not normally an early morning person but he usually is on travel days. And, of course, that means we’re often pulling out during morning work traffic. Again, that’s what we ended up doing in Reno. However, there was definitely a difference between the work traffic in Phoenix, the work traffic in Las Vegas and the work traffic in Reno. We also pulled through other towns during the evening rush hour traffic but didn’t even notice it. There certainly is a lot to be said in favor of driving through these small towns over the larger towns.

Up until Friday morning we weren’t sure which way we were going to head. Well, we knew we’d be taking Hwy 395 as far as Susanville but from there we weren’t quite sure.

Cousin Wally had taken Hwy 44 on to I-5. He said it was a good route. It was a good route but I’m sure our mpg dropped to below 3 taking this route. Hindsight is good for so many things. It’s just too bad we don’t have it. Now that we’ve done that route I’d sure like someone to compare the same route going via Klamath Falls. That was our alternative.

The roads were good. Perhaps, they were windy but they were good. I don’t remember seeing one …. not one .. other RV taking the same route we did. We climbed up to 5800 feet several times. We saw lots of snow. Some of it was fairly fresh and in other places not so fresh. The scenery was beautiful. This definitely would not be the route for someone who does not keep tabs on current weather conditions. During much of the year the elevation could bring more snow to the area. If the snow isn’t enough, icy roads could be another hazard. In some places the trees shaded the roadway and sunlight never peeked through. There were areas where signs were posted warning of high wind gusts.

The day we went through it was perfect. I can’t say we were lucky but I can say we certainly knew that the day was to be clear, wind would be gone and the temperatures were high enough to melt any overnight ice.

The terrain continued to change the more the road headed west and then as it turned north. The deserts and scrub were left behind for the green grass, spring flowers and tall, tall trees. Mountains in the distant were absolutely breathtaking.

Our first tentative overnight location was to be around Phoenix. That is Phoenix, Oregon and not Phoenix, Arizona…. been there, done that. However, we still had lots of hours of daylight left when we got there. Thus, we set a second tentative over night location. This was to be the SKP park in Sutherlin, Oregon. That’s right. That’s where we were heading. (OREGON – pronounced OR-Y-GUN and not OR-E- GONE).

I had downloaded GPS coordinates for the SKP parks. Needless to say, whoever figured those coordinates out, didn’t do a very good job. We ended up at the post office in the center of Sutherlin. Instead of wasting time looking for it, we trudged on down Interstate 5 towards Eugene and spent the night in a déjà vu location.

If you travel through Oregon, notice the weigh stations. Many are closed but the scales still work. You can drive through and weigh your rig. The weight will be on the LED screen in front of the driver.

The Monaco RV Service Center and Cummins Service Centers are located just north of Eugene in Coburg. Both of these facilities have RV hookups on their service lot. We know. We stopped there last fall. That’s where we pulled in, plugged in the electricity and passed out for the night. There are several parking areas by the buildings too so if the RV parking spaces were full, we could have just spent the night and not hooked up.

It was a long 475 mile day. Terry swears all the traveling was uphill and then more uphill. The next leg of this journey is on pretty level ground with no more mountains to cross. Only 140 miles to go …. at least for now.

Travel safe.