BY BILL (& Frances) RICHENS
Our truck and 5th wheel at
Dutchmen Park.
Store on the outskirts of nearby Tucson. We met up with our youngsters, Curt,
A TRIP to Remember
We
leſt our home in Osoyoos BC Canada on the 6th December. T e truck
of
was crunching through four inches of frozen snow as I backed up to the fi ſt h wheel. Soon Frances and I were on our way heading south, destination Tuscon Arizona where we would spend Christmas with our children. T e trip down was, for the most part,
fairly uneventful. We has some qualms about the Siskyou Pass but it turned out to be bare and dry, and the V10 Dodge walked right up the grade with no problems, our 26-ſt fi ſt h wheel off ering little resistance. On we traveled down through
Bakerfi eld California. By now the sun was beginning to break through a hazy sky. We marveled at the scenery that was so diff erent from the countryside we leſt behind. Someone said that it is not the destination that matters, it is the journey that counts, and that was so true for us. A plane trip would have had us there earlier but we would have missed great scenery. A couple of days later we arrived at Cactus Country RV Park in Arizona, a quiet, friendly park down a short access road from the main highway, yet only fi ve miles or so from a Fry’s Department
18 RVT 140 • MARCH/APRIL 2011
his wife Toni (actually Antonia), and grandson Will. T ey had previously sold their house and fl ower store business and bought a 40-ſt diesel pusher to go full-timing in. Will was being home schooled, and that 15 year old enjoys it completely, making better grades now than the days when he was in the conventional school system. I am something of a nature fanatic,
another reason to own an RV. I was soon examining the many diff erent birds, the huge Saguaro cacti that are everywhere, and even a small herd of wild pigs that would sneak along the edges of the camp aſt er dark. A curved bill T rasher would sit in a tree and sing to us and we even saw a bright red Cardinal one morning. One fellow that I really enjoyed was a Road Runner who walked right up to me as I sat beside the trailer. It cocked its head to one side and stared me in the face. Apparently this bird is a local character that goes around begging for hamburger meat. We visited all the sights to be seen in the area, and there are many. We took a side trip to Tombstone. It
was 26 years ago when we last visited. Boothill has a certain morbid plus historical fascination. Vandals have stolen many of the old grave markers since our last visit, and the markers have been replaced by small white crosses. We visited the wildlife museum, a must see when in Tuscon. One month later we reluctantly leſt
Cactus Country RV Park and since this is one of our favourite destination, I am sure we will return. Our next stop was in the Superstition Mountain State Park out of Apache
Junction, Arizona. We were simply astounded by the sheer magnifi cence of the mountain, the site of the legendary “Lost Dutchman” mine. T e mountain rises straight up from the valley fl oor in a sheer wall. We had forgotten our binoculars back at home and will never do that again! Even with just the naked eye, it is simply astounding. T e park is situated close to the old mining camp of Goldfi eld. T ere is a little train that puff s around the site of the old mine, passing the old relics of a bygone age, while the engineer explains all the machinery and its previous usage. Don’t miss the train ride before exploring the museum pieces in the old buildings nearby. At this point we parted company with
Curt and Toni. T ey headed southeast towards Gulfport Mississippi, while Frances and I traveled on to Quartzsite. We had intended to stay in the area but as all the campsites were full and we do not own a generator for dry camping, we stopped instead in a park in Blythe before proceeding further to the Fountain of Youth Spa and Trailer Park just above the Salton Sea in Niland, California. From the town of Coachella through the date orchards, it is a roller coaster ride along the narrow road to the park. Later we found we could have accessed it by the freeway and avoided much of the roadway, except we hate missing the scenery only visible from the side roads. We were simply delighted with the reception at the front desk at the Fountain of Youth Spa. T e staff went out of their way to make us feel welcome! We signed for a week but soon discovered that by signing up for one month, the last week is free. T e rates are very reasonable and all hookups, including power, are included. Although
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