Jailed in a Resort

Oh My god! Just arrived to our resort and I am still shaking from the shock. We have been to many different campgrounds but this is way above and beyond anything else. I can’t calm down. Unbelievable!

My way or the Highway

Thursday, February 24th 2011 – Moving day today. We want to get to the Phoenix area, and have a long ways to go. Patti found a campground on the other side of the city (You will hear about it shortly). After picking up and folding away, we are ready to go in the truck. Patti punches in the address and Tom Tom plans a Route. I am not even looking – Tom Tom has a soft spot for Interstate Freeways. Even if it needs to make you drive 200 Miles out of the way for a short span of 1000 yard on a major highway, it would. Got to be there.
OK, looking at the route – sure enough – it plans it through I-10. I don’t like taking those major highways unless we don’t care about the way and just need to get somewhere. But if we are driving around – I would prefer the smaller roads. Not narrow forgotten one lane dirt road with 4 digits on the name or some County HH road, but NM-78 sounds good to me.
Patti prefers highways. It is safer, she thinks. There are no narrow roads, low bridges steep slopes and sharp curves. You know that with out RV you can get where you need to go. She has a point there, but in my way of thinking, if you go exploring your country, then the way itself is a big part of where you need to go, and it is very important part of the trip itself.
We started climbing North, decided to take the shorter route this time, and avoid the freeway. Just before we had to turn to hwy 78 from hwy 180 I stopped for short break. When I came back to the truck, Patti pointed on a sign and said “See, that’s what I am talking about when I say I am scared of those side ways”. This sign warned from steep curves and sharp turns, and advised trucks to choose a different route.

So now what? Turn back? My way or the highway?
I was just about ready to turn the truck and go back to I-10 when Patti said – Let’s do it. Let’s try this way. Adventure!! OK! so we took NM-78 to 191 and all the way to 60 and to Phoenix. Since I am writing these lines that means we made it just fine! As a matter of fact the way was AMAZING! Driving through the mountains and forests, the first 30 miles we drove between 20 and 40 mph and if you trust your breaks – that’s not a problem.
The way would take you through Gila national forest, through cliffs and valleys and breathtaking views as you go down from the mountains. We stopped several times to take some pictures, and some were shot as we were droving. I need to clean my truck. I know.
My main concerns on those smaller roads is gasoline. With the gasoline vaporing at the astonishing rate of 10 miles for the gallon, that could be a problem. At the bottom of the hill, when 78 meets 191 we saw a small pump in the sand. No gas statin or sign. just a pump. We stopped by the pump and from a small shack a woman came out and filled the truck, Full service – what do you know?
With a full tank I felt much better when we climbed the big mountain on 191. The road was wider and in great condition, and the great views were still all around us. No traffic, no towns – just nature. Stop anywhere you want to enjoy or take a picture or a small break. Later on, we started to see the famous Saguaro cacti on the side of the road, Patti’s favorite plant on the planet.
What can I say? No regrets here – we loved the way to Phoenix, until we got there.

City is a City is a BIG City

By the time we got close to the big city it was around 5:00pm. Not sure if you know what it means, but we found out after a research we did, that this is the time people are done working and driving back home. Except that in a city, people from all around the area choose to work around the same place and time. This is a social phenomena that is still being researched and not quite fully understood yet, but it does cause some other gastronomical situations also known as Traffic Jams. The nutritional values of this jam are not the best. Not recommended. It took us over an hour to drive the last 20 miles but we finally got there.

The RIZORT RE/SORT Resort

As soon as we drove through the gate of this great Leaf Verde Resort my hands started shaking. 3 guys are standing ready for you and directing you to a one of the many marked parking lanes for registration. The office has 3-4 clerks serving the heavy traffic of people that are checking in and out. All with uniforms. The RV town has many streets and from each street there are endless number of paths going out, and each one has an endless number of RVs parked one on top of the other. So crowded that they are being parked Zigzagged. Door to door. We were assigned site E-16 and driver G guided us on his pioneer vehicle J-15. The lady gave us Key G to the western dog walk, and key L to Laundry and Bathroom facilities of our neighborhood.
On the way to the site, I managed to see hair salon, and from what I heard – Wal–Mart are considering opening a super center in the middle of this RV town.
The traffic engineer did some weird dances in front of my truck, not sure what dance it is, but it sure has  distracted me from parking. I parked. Got out of the car, and the engineer said – excellent job! –Thanks bud – you are a great dancer!, I replied.
We could not get to our home door without stepping over our neighbor’s carpet but they were all very polite and gathered all around us for a warm welcome from the hood.
I was still speechless. All I  could say is mumbling some unrecognized sounds that no one could understood except Patti. And she translated my mumble to the surrounding company: “Where can I find a smaller campground? MUCH smaller campground….”
We did not hook up. We did not even unhook the truck. Tomorrow morning we are going to hit the road again after we find a different place, even if it means driving 200 miles away. I am not staying here!!! If I want to live in a city I can rent an apartment.
That’s it for the night. I think I am heading to bed now, Another moving day tomorrow.
Hey – thanks for stopping by and reading all of that! Part of RV Life… Take care and see you next time!