Grand Canyon, AZ

The Grand Canyon was strikingly unique but very windy during our visit. We stayed in the Trailer Village on the South Rim. We took one day to walk the rim from Mather Point to the Kolb Studio, which is about 3-1/2 miles. We spent three nights at the South Rim and it even snowed one night.

Sedona, AZ

We have arrived in Red Rock Country!

The RV park is Rancho Sedona RV Park, which is small but very nice and the only RV park in town. Our cat, Chloe is so glad when we stop for the day because she does not like riding in the car. Chloe has learned how to walk us on a leash.

Apache Junction, AZ

The Sunrise RV Resort has wonderful facilities as you can see by the swimming pool and hot tub area. We spent the morning doing laundry, touring the resort and the afternoon playing in the pool and hot tub. It was very relaxing. Then we went out to dinner at Chili's.

Apache Junction, AZ

We spent part of the first day buying a new camera. We got a really good deal on a Panasonic Lumix at Costco and the staff at the Gilbert, AZ Costco were very helpful. Then we stopped in Mesa to visit friends. The second day we went on a drive on the Apache Trail. We stopped at the Superstition Mountain and Lost Dutchman Museum and then drove out to Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flat. Tortilla Flat was a stagecoach stop and the saloon has been serving travelers for over 100 years. On the way back into Apache Junction we stopped at the Goldfield Ghost Town which was a boom town in the 1890's, with 50 working mines in the district.

Apache Junction, AZ

Today we arrived at the Sunrise RV Resort in Apache Junction, AZ. The Sunrise RV Resort is a 55 or older, gated park with a combination of park models and RV spaces. It is sunny and warm, which is what we were looking for in Arizona.

St. David, Arizona

Our next stop was St. David, AZ, which is 55 miles south of Tucson, to visit friends. This area is has a higher elevation and has more green vegetation. We visited Tombstone and Bisbee while we were here. Tombstone is famous for the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The Tombstone Courthouse is a State Historic Park, which contains a museum. We stayed at the Apache Mobile Park while we were in St. David--very clean and included cable TV.

Tonopah, Arizona

The eastern half of Joshua Tree National Park, which is below 3,000 feet above sea level, lies within the Colorado Desert. Creosote dominates this sun-baked bowl, punctuated here and there by spidery ocotillo, green-barked palo verde, and patches of jumping cholla cactus. We traveled southeast through the park and then went east on I10 into Arizona. We stopped for the night at the Saddle Mountain RV Park, which was full of palm trees. What an amazing oasis in the desert, with a beautiful sunset.

Joshua Tree National Park

This is a Joshua tree. To me it looks like something from a Dr. Suess book. We were lucky enough to be there when the Joshua trees were blooming. The tallest Joshua tree in the park looms a whopping forty feet high and is estimated to be about 300 years old. The Joshua tree is a member of the lily family.

Joshua Tree National Park

The Oasis Visitor Center was at the north entrance to the park. We hiked the half mile loop of the Oasis if Mara and ran across a roadrunner. The western half of the park, at elevations above 3,000 feet, is Mojave Desert habitat. Amid the boulder stacks are Joshua tree, pinyon pines, junipers, scrub oaks, Mojave yuccas, and Mojave prickly pear cacti.

Twenty Nine Palms, CA

Here I am with our cat, Chloe. She is a good traveler but she likes the trailer more than the car. There was not a problem at any of the RV parks with pets as long as they were kept on a leash. This RV park was Twenty Nine Palms Resort, which had friendly personnel, level pads but with some road noise.

Hemet, CA

We stopped in Hemet, CA for a few days to visit friends. They let us park in their driveway. This is a saguaro cactus in their neighbor's yard. I was impressed, it is really big and the first one we have seen on this trip. The temperature is now up in the low 80's. Warmth at last!

Lost Hills, CA

This is Gary at Lost Hills, CA. At the time I did not notice that my camera was starting to fail. (notice the green color dripping from Gary's hat and the green color on the top of the car) Anyway our longest day on the road so far was yesterday (402 miles) from Redding, CA to Lost Hills, CA. NO WIND made it possible. RV park is all sand - no gravel or grass.

Redding, CA

This is our fourth day on the road. So far this is the first sunshine we have seen. We are in Redding, CA. at the Redding RV Park(nice RV Park). The wind has been a real problem but we have also encountered snow, dust storm, rain, sleet, wind and cold weather. Getting to the warm states in March is our first problem. Gary does all the driving so he is tired. We have covered about 500 miles in the last three days. Our Mercury Mountaineer is an amazing towing vehicle. We bought it with a factory towing package included and it works well.

Klamath Falls, OR

Gary and I have always wanted to go south for the winter but we had many questions regarding where to go, cost, driving so far, weather, what is the best route, etc.... So we decided that unless we just took the plunge and went we would never know. So we decided to try six weeks as a starting off point. We have a 28 foot trailer and we pull it with a Mercury Mountaineer. So we hit the road on March 10, 2010. The first night we stayed at the KOA at Redmond, OR and the second night at the KOA at Klamath Falls. Both parks were as advertised. Clean, friendly and LEVEL.