GOING HOME? YES!

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21

Today is my Mom’s birthday.  Had she lived she’d be 98.  I’ve observed both parents’ birthdays during this 3-month trip.  I arrived in Iowa on August 1, Dad’s birthday, and today I’m in Arizona.  When I started traveling in the truck camper in 2006 both Mom and Dad had already passed on.  I often wonder what they would think, how they would react, if they were reading my blogs.  They might worry, as parents are prone to do, even when their children are middle-age adults.  But I think, since we were a “nomadic” family, Dad being in the Navy, they would reminisce about their own road travels as we moved around and went on family vacations.  Anyways, here’s to you, Mom!

Last night (Sunday) was my second night at the Sonora Rancho RV Park and Inn, near Florence, AZ.  After posting Blog #13 around 3:30 p.m. I decided to check out the swimming pool.  Although I knew the pool wasn’t heated I was not prepared for how cold the water was – 68 degrees, according to the pool thermostat!  The jump-in-quick-and-get-it-over-with strategy doesn’t work with me so I immersed myself in the water v-e-r-y slowly until I finally was ready to dunk my head.  Ah, nice!  Then I went to the hot tub – 15 minutes in that 100 degree water, directly from the pool was blissful.  There was nobody else around.  The folks who stayed at the inn had left and the RV snowbirds haven’t arrived in droves yet.

So, this morning, with my next destination about an hour’s drive away, I simply relaxed and took my time getting ready to leave.  On my way at noon I got back on Rt. 79 and drove north to Florence, got fuel, and then from there the highway took me through the desert to Florence Junction where I then got on Rt. 60W.  This four-lane highway became a bit more congested as I approached and took an exit towards Apache Junction.  Following the signs I got on Rt. 88E and soon arrived at the Lost Dutchman State Park, located at the base of the Superstition Mountains.  From Wikipedia - 

“The Superstition Mountains (Yavapai: Wi:kchsawa), popularly called ‘The Superstitions’ is a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination for residents of the Phoenix, Arizona area.”

“The Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine (also known by similar names) is, according to legend, a rich gold mine hidden in the southwestern United States. The location is generally believed to be in the Superstition Mountains, near Apache Junction, east of Phoenix, Arizona. There have been many stories about how to find the mine, and each year people search for the mine. Some have died on the search.”

“The mine is named after German immigrant Jacob Waltz (c. 1810–1891), who purportedly discovered it in the 19th century and kept its location a secret. Before the unification of Germany, the demonym "Dutch" was used for people from the Netherlands and Germans alike."  

From my reserved pull-through loop campsite, and through my dinette slide-out windows, I have a great view of the picturesque rugged cliff of Superstition Mountain.  Around late afternoon I took a walk and marveled at the colors the setting sun cast on the cliff.  The bright orange sun slowly dipped behind saguaro and other desert plants while I was still on my walk.  Soon as I made it back to the camper I kept the rear door open and stood there watching the band of sky at the western horizon gradually change color from orange to dark orange to red to a darker red and finally fading out to a darkened sky.

From my loop site this is the view of the rugged cliff of

Superstition Mountain.

I noticed this clearing as I was walking around the campground just before the sun set. 

The colors caught my eye, the two trees framing the cliff in the background, and the way

the yellow strands of grass intermingled with the rocks.  Fortunately, I was able to get my

shadow out of the way!

Superstition Mountain just before sunset.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22

The sun had already risen when I woke up but I couldn’t tell because the sun was blocked by the commanding height of the Superstition Mountain.  I stepped outside and, looking up at this majestic and revered cliff, I waited…I waited for the sun to rise a little higher and make its appearance between the jagged rocks at the top of the mountain.  It took millions of years for this mountain to form and the sun, for eons, has risen at that same jagged edge.  Keeps me humble…

This being an unexpected extra week of travel, I decided I would just spend my time in relaxation mode.  Right outside the driver side of my camper (no slideout) is a sandy clearing with scattered rocks, some small cacti, and other dense shrubbery.  It was shady on that side so I sat out there with my book and observed the Gambel’s Quails and other desert birds going about their morning activites.  The Gambel’s, with the plumes on their heads, are entertaining to watch.  They can fly but they prefer to run…and they sure do run fast on those little legs.  Movement of other critters that caught my eye included lizards, a chipmunk, and a couple of rabbits.

Around 3:00 p.m. I took a 25-minute walk on a nearby interpretative trail.  Turning around to head back to my campground I encountered a middle-aged husband/wife couple who were the exact replica of each other -- long pants, light blue long-sleeved shirts, wide brimmed hats, and carrying long-lens digital cameras.  When I realized they were speaking to me I let them know I was Deaf.  The lady, bless her heart, started to flap her arms to tell me they were looking for birds to photograph.  I asked them if they were at site #45, directly across from me, because I had noticed earlier that the fellow at that site had a long-lens camera.  No, they’re at a different campground.  I admired their cameras and cracked a little joke about doing my best with my little iPhone.

Sitting outside again, observing, again, the colors of the setting sun on the cliff, I saw this same couple – no mistaking their identical outfits - walking towards me.  I did the two-arm wave and they waved back.  I think they actually looked for me at my site to show me the incredible pictures they had taken today.  The lady showed me other pictures she took elsewhere, including a series of continuous auto shots of a hawk, in Florida, snatching a water bird from the water and flying off with it in its talons.  I was amazed at the details in her photos, not to mention the look on that poor bird’s face.  They said they easily take hundreds of pictures in one day, go through hours of a deletion process, and save and identify/record the pictures they keep.  I wanted to learn more but the sun had set and they needed to walk back to their campground.  Gosh, RV folks, no matter how fleeting the encounter, are the most fascinating and the best people we can hope to meet!

The morning sun, working its way up and above Superstition Mountain…

…and shining upon my truck camper.

The scene from my walk on the trail. 

Another sunset scene on this, my second evening at Lost

Dutchman State Park – my last state park of the trip.

Good night!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23

Whether or not there’s gold here in the vicinity of the Superstition Mountains, I found myself $11.00 richer early this morning when I spotted a $10 and a $1 on the ground near the restroom facility.  Seeing nobody around who might have lost those bills I put them in my pocket, returned to the camper, and got ready to leave.

Inasmuch as I’ve been looking forward to going home I am so very glad I spent two days at this state park.  Totally unexpected because of the extra travel week, this is now definitely the last state park of my journey.  I got back on Rt. 60W, drove through a part of Phoenix on Rt. 87S, connected to I-10E and arrived at the Las Colinas RV Park near Eloy/Casa Grande, AZ.  Moving on tomorrow…

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24

The drive to my next destination, Salome, AZ, took less than three hours.  To bypass the I-10 that goes through Phoenix I took I-8W and then connected to I-10W by way of Rt. 85N.  Taking Exit 81 I turned northwest on Salome Rd., a 30-mile two-lane road through the desert that turned out to be, because of the many dips on the road, quite fun to drive on.  There were many posted caution signs along the road with two messages: to not drive on the road when it is flooded, especially at those dips; and, since it was “open range” at my right, to watch for cattle.  They even painted on the pavement, in large block letters, “Watch for Cattle” (and “Watch for Cows” when I crossed into the next county).

Salome, a small unincorporated community, is located within the Sonoran Desert “…in the beautiful Mc Mullen Valley, between the Harquahala and Harcuvar Mountain Ranges on Hwy 60 between Wickenburg and Quartzsite.”  There are several RV Resorts, including a KOA, in this area and the KOA is my home for today and tomorrow.  This KOA has over 100 RV sites but most of those sites are empty.  Won’t be long, though, before the place is bustling with snowbirds and winter RV travelers.

After setting up the camper at my reserved site I went inside the clubhouse to look around.  The manager, when I registered, told me that they have a TV in the clubhouse and another one in the nearby game room and both buildings are open 24 hours for KOA guests.  That information prompted me to inquire about the closed captions and he said I was welcome to use the remote and turn them on.  There were two people in the clubhouse when I went in and as I greeted them I looked up at the TV and was surprised to see the captions already on.  The lady told me that the manager had just stopped in and activated the captions “…for you,” she said.  I checked later and found the captions were also activated on the other TV.  I made sure to go back to the office and thanked the manager for doing that for me.

This lady in the clubroom, in her mid-70s maybe, had helped spot me as I backed the truck camper into my site.  She knew already at that point I was Deaf (because of the captions) so here in the clubhouse we introduced ourselves.  Jan then, catching me by surprise, asked if I liked spaghetti.  To make sure I got that right I repeated “Spaghetti?”  She accompanied her smile with a nod of her head.  Kinda figuring out the purpose of her question I replied “Um, now and then.”  And then it came.  She was making spaghetti for dinner and invited me to join her and James (the other person in the room) and several other people, here in the clubroom at 6:30.  Feeling a little awkward now, but wanting to be as honest and gracious as I could, I told her communication would be problematic for me.  She surprised me again when she said “But, you still have to eat.”  I smiled at that, thanked her for the kind invitation, shook my head a little bit, and left it at that.  She did ask again later in the day and when I again declined we then changed the subject and I learned that she lives in Alaska and will spend the winter months here at the KOA.  The social life of snowbirds!  No doubt this KOA will see lots of spaghetti dinners, potlucks, pancake breakfasts, pool parties, and the like until spring!

Before going to bed I went back to the game room, which is also a library, to check out the TV there.  The TV was on but nobody was in the room.  The remote was on the table and the list of channels (gosh, they have a lot of channels!) was posted on the wall.  I found and changed the channel to CNN and watched for a little while.  From there I went to the now empty clubhouse and changed the channel on that TV to CNN.  Come morning, let’s see what’s airing on both TVs.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25

After watching the sun rise from the cabover window, I got up and took a walk around the perimeter of this very nice and spacious KOA.  I went inside the game room and saw that CNN was still on.  Oh, the funeral service for the Honorable Rep. Elijah Cummings was happening - I sat down to watch that for a short while.  At the clubhouse the channel had been changed to Fox News.  Alrighty, since I think the game room isn’t used much by the folks currently here, it will be my go-to “TV space.”

Today was a nice day, nothing but a cloudless blue sky and warm temps.  In full “relaxation mode” I did some updating on the laptop, then spent some time with my book at the pool/spa, then went to my unoccupied “go-to” for an hour, then sat outside checking stuff on my iPad, then had a salad for supper.  Moving on tomorrow…

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26

Seeing me prepare the camper for departure Jan came by to say good-bye.  She reached out to give me a hug and I took this opportunity to thank her again for the dinner invitation and to wish her a pleasant winter’s stay.  Such a nice lady!

On my way just before 11:00 a.m. I took Rt. 60W to Quartzsite [AZ], connected to I-10W, crossed the Colorado River into California, and made my way to the Hidden Beaches River Resort in Blythe.  This RV Park is situated on a slight rise above the Colorado River and, from my windows, I can see a portion of the river.  I walked down to the small beach section and thought to myself – “Well, MAPPIE, you didn’t plan this but you’ve come full circle.”  My first night in the camper, on July 21^st, was at the Cattail Cove State Park in Arizona, situated right at the Colorado River.  And here, on the California side of the Colorado River, I’m spending my last two nights in the camper.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I will be bagging up everything that has sustained me inside and around the camper throughout this three month journey.

Monday morning I will dump the black, grey, and water tanks – the final essential camper task of all – and go home.

Tuesday morning I will take the camper back to Galaxy Campers, in Ontario, CA, for storage.  There it will remain until……..

JOURNEY TO THE MIDWEST - IOWA & KANSAS (July 21-October 28, 2019)

From Palm Springs to Iowa (via CA-AZ-UT-CO-NE) -

July 21-31 (11 days)

Total miles: 1,775 (approx.)

Travel around Iowa -

Aug 1-Sept 3 (34 days)

Total miles: 2,000 (approx.)

Driving through Missouri to Kansas -

Sept 4 (1 overnight)

Total miles: 350 (approx.)

Travel around Kansas -

Sept 5-Oct 6 (32 days)

Total miles: 1,750 (approx.)

Travel to Palm Springs through the Southwest (via OK-TX-NM-AZ-CA) -

Oct 7-28 (22 days)

Total miles: 1,686 (approx.)

Total Days of Travel: 100

Total Miles of Travel: 7,561 (based on start/end odometer readings)