Southern Arizona (April 3-April 12, 2021)
“A desert is a place without expectation.” - Nadine Gordimer
When we set out to plan this trip, our route was mostly based on temperatures (no point in heading directly to Montana in March) and our stops were largely based on travel distances and interesting places to see. With distances and attractions in mind, we sometimes had a small radius in which to find a campground and even fewer options with our preference for state and national parks. This means we don’t have super high expectations of our campgrounds if they sufficiently meet our other criteria. We haven’t been disappointed by a campground yet but once in a while a campground completely blows us away. Such was the case with Catalina State Park outside Tucson, Arizona. We had only planned to stay three nights but when we pulled in, we immediately knew we wanted to stay longer. Luckily we had some flexibility in our schedule and were able to book two additional nights at a different site within the park. Of course, this meant we had to move from one site to another but it actually worked out well because it gave us a completely different and even better view of the Santa Catalina Mountain range.
We had gotten somewhat used to the dry hot climate of the desert as we made our way through west Texas and New Mexico. I loved the warm days and cool nights but wasn’t keen on the fact that there was very little greenery. I expected more of that in Arizona but was pleasantly surprised at how much grass there actually was and trees that were turning or about to turn green. Temperatures were in the 90s every day that we were there and I now completely understand what people mean when they say “It’s a dry heat”. There really is very little if any humidity. You can somewhat escape the heat by staying in the shade but the sun is so intense by late morning that you really can’t even be out in it. It didn’t take us long to realize that we had to do our hiking early in the morning or late in the evening. With no shade on most of the hiking trails, hiking became unbearable in the middle of the day. The hiking trails were great though and we conquered a different one each day we were there. One of the other really cool things about this state park is that it feels secluded but is actually just on the outskirts of a very busy shopping area. I took advantage of our proximity to Walmart and got a haircut there one afternoon and of course, we were able to stock up on groceries, as much as we could with a small refrigerator and limited cupboard space.
We were at Catalina State Park Easter Sunday and since our internet worked so well we were able to video chat with our kids and parents. It was hard to be away for the holiday but I’m so happy that technology exists to make video chatting possible. Charley spent a good portion of that afternoon trying to help our neighbors get their RV started. He thought he had the problem diagnosed but it didn’t work out and they had to be towed. It’s unfortunate that this happened to them but we’re really glad to have met them. (He’s also a recently retired police lieutenant. How crazy is that!?). Later that evening, another neighbor invited us to their site to share a bottle of wine (another conversation started by our NY state plates). They are an older couple who have done a ton of international travel. I mean, they’ve been everywhere! During their stay that weekend they decided it would be their last weekend of RV camping. They planned to put their camper up for sale as soon as they returned home. We loved hearing about their travel adventures and felt honored that they were spending their last camping evening with us. They do plan to continue with their international travel this summer and have an African safari scheduled, Covid permitting.
We spent most of our time hiking and bird watching while we were at Catalina but we did take an afternoon trip to visit the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley AZ. The Titan Missile Museum is a National Historic Landmark and is home to the last of the 54 Titan Missile Sites, the underground silo that houses it, and the original launch facility. Charley already knew a lot about the Titan Missile program before we even arrived but the tour turned out to be another awesome history lesson for me. It was interesting and well worth the price of admission.
Our second stop in Arizona was at Quartzsite about 20 miles east of the California border. Quartzsite is a desert town with not a whole lot going for it except that it’s well known amongst RVers. During the winter months, the population of Quartzite swells from about 3000 to almost 2 million as people flock to town for the mild winter temperatures and cheap, even free, camping. Quartzsite is home to many RV parks but what is most interesting, and probably appealing to many, is that it’s surrounded by miles and miles of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. This means you can literally pull your camper into a spot in the desert and live there for very little ($180 for six months) or completely free for a limited amount of time. We initially planned to park in the free camping area (no electric, sewer, or water hookups) for a few days just for the experience but changed our minds when we discovered an RV resort in town that had some amenities that excited us – a pool, hot tub, library, car wash, and oil changing station. We swam in the pool almost daily, borrowed books from the library, washed the Excursion and Charley even changed the oil so Holiday Palms RV Resort was a good change of pace.
While in Quartzsite we decided to take a day trip to Parker AZ, about a 25 mile drive through the desert. Parker is separated from California by the Colorado River and is home to the Parker Dam, which spans the Colorado and claims to be the deepest dam in the world. The Parker Dam was built to tame the Colorado River and as a result, Lake Havasu was formed about 40 miles away. After we checked out the dam, Charley suggested that we keep driving and check out Lake Havasu as well. I’m so glad we decided to keep on driving because if we hadn’t we would have missed one of the most beautiful sights we’ve seen so far on this trip! Lake Havasu and the surrounding mountains are stunning! After spending several days in the desert it was wonderful to see water again (the lake and the river) and a beautiful shade of turquoise blue at that. Lake Havasu City is also home to London Bridge, a bridge that originally spanned the Thames River in London but was purchased and transported to Lake Havasu City in 1964 mainly as a tourist attraction. While we were there, we enjoyed lunch at the base of the bridge and took a nice walk along the lake’s inlet. Lake Havasu City wasn’t anywhere on our list of places to visit but I’m so glad we did, even just for a little while.
Our visit to Quartzsite was after the peak of the RV season and most snowbirds had left for the summer but we got a good sense of what the area is all about. Today we’ll make our way to California where we plan to spend some time at a few National Parks. Don’t worry though – we have plans to swing back through Arizona to visit that other big-hole-in-the-ground National Park.
