Sedona, Arizona

November 2-6, 2015

Sedona is a place to relax, rejuvenate and there are plenty of hiking and mountain biking trails to explore.  Sedona's main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations and if you catch them in the early morning or at sunset the photos can be amazing. Many people believe that Sedona has several vortexes or power spots, making it a highly sought-after spiritual and metaphysical destination.



Rancho Sedona RV Park entrance

 We stayed at Rancho Sedona RV Park, http://ranchosedona.com/  a highly rated, quiet park, right in the Sedona area. Well- maintained but pricey for the lack of any special amenities. They have excellent cable, Wi-Fi, showers and laundry but no pool. Our site #78 was large and backed up to Oak Creek, a nice bonus because you could easily hear the sounds of the creek but they charge extra for these spaces.  Not all of sites can accommodate large coaches so I would recommend calling ahead or making reservations. I wasn't overly impressed with the park because we recently stayed at some very nice parks in Cottonwood and the Verde Valley that were a better value and within 30 minutes of Sedona, an easy day trip. My  overall rating would be 3.5/5 because of the price but if you want to be right in the Sedona area this place would be worth the splurge.
 

Large, shaded site

After we arrived and settled in we went into Sedona for happy hour at 89Agave and had an excellent dinner at the Silver Saddle Room at the Cowboy Club.

Weather came in which eliminated any chances of getting out for a hike but it was nice just to relax and enjoy the rain and the cooler temperatures.  I did sneak out before the rain and visited Tlaquepaque http://www.tlaq.com/.  It was even close enough to our RV park that I walked there. Tlaquepaque is an arts and crafts village with restaurants and upscale shops selling local art, jewelry and unique items. 


Outdoor art -Tlaquepaque

Iron Art Display at Tlaquepaque



The 2 days of rain and cold temperatures left a light dusting of snow on the higher elevations around Sedona.

Finally we were able to get out and check out some trails. We decided on a short, easy trail called Huckaby Trail.

Mike is still tentative with his knee, especially with our ski season approaching, so we had to choose a conservative hike but it still had scenic views and even some elevation change to challenge our heart rate.

The nights were cold by Arizona standards, it even dipped down to the mid 30's the night before we left so we were able to use the furnace and fully test the Aqua Hot system using diesel. Everything worked as it should which was a relief since we will surely need it on our trip to Utah at the end of the month.

We are settling in nicely to the RV life and with some of the new equipment we installed, things are looking good. I should mention some of the upgrades made so far since Mike, the chief engineer, has been working hard and spending a lot of time over the last few months to get these done before we leave.

-Inverter upgrade: Magnum MSH3012-  Our previous inverter was ok but had older technology and was coming up on 10 years old. We knew when we bought the coach we would eventually have to replace it and rather then wait until it failed and have to replace it on the road at probably twice the cost, we decided to upgrade it now with the new technology. Mike found what he wanted at a great price and installed it himself.

-External Tank Sensors: SeeLevel 709-   The black tank sensor wasn't working when we bought the coach but then on a 10 year old coach it's not a surprise. The tanks on RV's come with internal sensors and over time they get dirty and eventually don't work and are difficult to replace.  Most people learn to manage without a black tank sensor but when our grey tank sensor recently failed we decided to remedy it once and for all with external sensors. Mike installed external sensors on all the tanks, mounted the new monitor in the bathroom and we now get excellent, reliable readings on all our tanks. No guessing anymore when we need to dump.

- Installed a Winegard Rayzar Automatic antenna: This 1st piece allows us to  pick up any local digital channels in the area and when we get to Utah we will set up the 2nd part which is the Dish satellite. We tested the antenna on our Verde Valley trip and got excellent channels but not so good in Sedona. Our site had a lot of trees which probably blocked our access to good signals. Our neighbor was having a hard time picking up anything on his satellite because of the trees. The park included cable so it wasn't an issue on this trip but having the antenna and satellite set up will be more useful to us when  boondocking and traveling.

There are still lots of items on the to-do list, but the chief engineer says everything looks good and we are on schedule for our drive north to Utah after Thanksgiving.

October: Cottonwood/Jerome/Verde Valley

Our time in Arizona is winding down. The house is up for sale and we will make our move to Utah right after Thanksgiving where the coach will go into hibernation until April. With our remaining 2 months in Arizona I wanted to see parts of Arizona that we had not been to before and may not get to visit in our future travels. These practice runs also allow us to test the new equipment we installed on the coach before we travel to Utah. We decided on Cottonwood, Jerome and the Verde Valley. Sedona we will do in the 1st week of November. Hopefully, Sedona will get cold enough at night so we can test the important Aqua Hot system and furnace before our drive to Utah.

October 5-9th: Verde Valley RV Resort & Campground, Cottonwood AZ

I chose Verde Valley RV Resort http://ttverdevalley.com/ because it had good ratings and reviews on RV Park Reviews http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/arizona/cottonwood/verde-valley-rv-camping-resort-thousand-trails. It was off the main highway giving it a remote feel and would be close to Jerome and Cottonwood. Check out Gone With the Wynns blog http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/verde-valley about their adventure to the Verde Valley area and stay at TT Verde Valley RV park.  It is also close to Sedona, but we will be visiting Sedona in November so we didn't spend any time there on this trip. This property is a Thousand Trails/Encore property so if you have a Thousand Trails membership you can stay here a lot less than the non-member rate. It's still reasonable for full hook-ups and all the amenities. My only complaint is they charge a $2.00 per person per day resort fee for non-members in addition to their daily rate. Not all sites are 50 amps, it is recommended that you call and reserve a 50 amp site which has a surcharge of $3, $4 or $5 depending on the site. You also can not pick a specific site, they are  assigned by management just before or at your arrival. We arrived at TT Verde Valley RV Park at the check in time of 12noon. I  had called the day before our arrival to confirm the reservation and the agent said we were assigned a 50 amp site in the H section but when we arrived the gate attendant said the site we were pre-assigned was not going to accommodate our size RV. I told him that I did give our size at the time I made the reservation. He said not a problem and moved us to a better suited 50 amp site in section A. It was perfect for us being a large pull-through in a quiet section of the park. I was told the A section is usually reserved for TT members but will be used for non-members if no TT member has reserved it. The park has 4 sections, H section is the 1st you come to as you enter the park and is located by the Activities Center where they have evening activities like Bingo and Karaoke. The restaurant is in H section and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday.

H Section with lots of trees.

H Section

The next sections you come to are B and C and are located another half mile into the park near the pool and family center. Section A is just a little further. Here is a picture of our coach in A-Section. Large pull-through with grass.

Our site A-68



Another view

Entrance to Section A

We took a trip to Jerome, considered "America's most vertical city and largest ghost town". Jerome sits on the hillside at a 5000 foot elevation and being a cold and rainy day on our visit it was a little chilly walking around town. Didn't help that we left our jackets at the coach not realizing how cold it was going to be with the rain. We adjusted and when it started to rain we stopped in a wine tasting room (Caduceus Cellars) to warm ourselves, sample, and buy some wine.  Jerome was an old mining town in its day and is now home to a large artistic community with shopping, art studios, restaurants and wine tasting rooms.  Historically, there is a state park and local museum devoted to its mining history. Definitely worth a stop if in this area.



Some artifacts from the mining days

Caduceus Cellars Wine tasting room



Main street-Jerome, AZ

Cottonwood has 2 areas, the newer part of Cottonwood has the major stores, Fry's and Home Depot and Old  Town Cottonwood which is the touristy section with antique stores and restaurants. We stopped at a brewery, called That Brewery which had a tasting room in the newer section of Cottonwood.

That Brewery

A little beer sampling

We had a great dinner at a restaurant in old town called Nic's Italian Steak and Crab House  http://www.nicsaz.com/.

Anniversary Dinner at Nic's, Cottonwood, AZ

We visited Alcantara Winery http://alcantaravineyard.com/ which is right next store to the RV park, not walking distance but a short drive on a dirt road off the main road just outside the resort.



Alcantara Vineyard

Inside wine tasting area



More wine tasting-outside patio

Vineyard

 

Overall, we enjoyed this resort a lot and would recommend it. Lots of wildlife in the area; we saw javelinas in our section at night when walking the dogs. They seem to frequent the area and should leave you alone but I wouldn't want to get too close and provoke them. I rate the park a 4.5 out of 5. My only complaints are the resort fee, and that you don't get to reserve your actual site# ahead of time.




Bowie and Cooper just chillin'

October 15-19: Distant Drums RV Resort-Verde Valley http://ddrvresort.com/

We decided to sneak another trip in October and I was able to get one of the last large rig sites at this popular RV resort. We didn't have plans to do any siteseeing other then maybe a trip to the nearby casino but just relax and enjoy their facilities. This is more of a parking lot style RV park run by the Yavapai Apache Nation and is close to their casino Cliff Castle Casino. http://www.cliffcastlecasinohotel.com/  It is right off of I-17 in the Verde Valley, all sites are 50 amp and full-hookups and can accommodate large rigs.  They have a basic Pool/Jacuzzi area, a well outfitted exercise room, and shower and laundry facilities. Everything is spotless and well maintained. Wi-Fi is adequate at your site although it was slow. Faster Wi-Fi is in the main office area. We did get cable here but used our antennae which picked up a good supply of HD channels with better image quality then the cable. Distant Drums is also close to exploring the Cottonwood, Jerome and Sedona  and they offer a free shuttle to and from the casino. I did venture over to the casino where they were having the Taste of the Verde Valley Wine Harvest Celebration  outside with wine tasting, food and music.
It was fun and I did sample and buy a bottle of wine. The entrance fee included $10 of free slot play in the casino. After the wine tasting and to burn off the buzz from wine tasting, I decided to go into the casino and try my luck at the slots. Not my 1st choice in gaming but if they are going to give me some money to play, why not. Lady Luck delivered, I won $51 on my 1st spin and ended up covering the wine tasting entrance fee and the bottle of wine. Not bad......

Local music



Wine bought from the tasting

Main office-Check in

Our site  #7

Street view

I rate this resort a 4.5 out of 5 because sites are a little closer together than I would like.


I plan on using the crock pot a lot and have found a number of recipes to make while traveling.
This was a Chicken Marsala recipe I found on Pinterest. http://simple-nourished-living.com/2014/11/slow-cooker-chicken-marsala/



RV staple- the Crock Pot



Dinner- Chicken Marsala

I found a great social site for RVers called RVillage http://www.rvillage.com/. The site gives you the opportunity to connect with other RVers to socialize or exchange ideas. When you arrive at your destination and check-in your location with RVillage it will let you know what members are at the RV Park and when members check-in. The day before our departure, when we were walking our dogs, we ran into a couple (Eric and Sandy) and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (Hayden) who had just arrived and were registering in at the main office area. We saw besides being owners of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel they also owned a Newmar RV. RVillage notified me when they checked in their location on the RVillage website. I messaged them and we got together that evening for happy hour, shared our RV stories, and made 2 new friends. It was a wonderful evening on our last night and they took a great photo of us and our fur-kids.

Us and the fur-kids



Great end to a perfect day





Show Low, AZ: Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area

August 30, 2015

Fool Hollow Lake

What a nice break from the 105 degree, muggy weather in Phoenix. The area is approximately 170 miles north of Phoenix on the Mogollon rim at 6,300 feet elevation. The Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area is an Arizona State Park, located beside a quiet lake and home to majestic great blue herons.

Blue Heron

There are plenty of opportunities to fish from the shoreline, a small 10 HP max gasoline engine boat or any non-motorized watercraft. There is a 1.5 mile walking trail that runs along the south and west sides of the lake. The nearby White Mountain Trail System consists of 11 loop trails offering over 103 miles of hiking on the adjacent Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.

The campground allows you to make reservations for the sites, although you don't need to. Any site not reserved can be used on a night by night basis; I would recommend reservations for the weekends. We were there during the week, before the Labor Day weekend, and there were plenty of available sites. When you go online to make reservations all sites are listed with site length and amp/sewer specifications. There are also pictures of the sites so you can get a sense about low branches and side obstacles before choosing your site. Overall this was probably one of the cleanest, well-maintained state parks; I give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5. All sites are cleaned when you leave and the grounds equally well kept. If you need them, the shower and bathroom facilities were always clean. We had no problem with noise and everyone there during our stay were quiet and those with pets were very considerate. I didn't give it a 5 because many of the sites are not level and they don't all have sewer at the site but I would definitely stay here again. With the coach it was my style of camping, a chance to enjoy nature without having to sleep in a tent or a sleeping bag.

The RV area has 4 loops and a total of 92 sites with 30amp(some 50amp available). All sites have  electric and water hookups but only the Mallard and Redhead Loops have sewer but there is an easily accessible, well maintained dump station.   We stayed in the Ruddy Duck Loop, site #6 with water, 50amps, but no sewer. It had a picnic bench and a fire pit. You can buy wood from the ranger and use it in the fire pits. I didn't think the nights were all that cold to try our campfire technique.  Our site overlooked the lake, was well shaded and long enough for our 45 foot coach and the toad.

Everything began smoothly on this trip, especially our 1st trip driving with the toad attached. We were hoping that was a good sign, but when we backed into the site and began setting up camp and starting the leveling process, all jacks came down but the last one. We both said,"not something else", but we thought it through and with 3 of the 4 jacks down we could still put all the slides out except the one over the jack that didn't come down. That would only affect the space in the front of the coach but even with only one slide out there was still more than enough room. Mike reviewed the manual and figured it could be a lubrication issue, nothing a little WD40 couldn't fix when we got home and/or a leveling problem. There was a noticeable slope to our site that could cause the last jack not to lower; Mike would explore that when we got home.

Dogs were set up nicely and we enjoyed doing a little grilling on our new electric grill.

We didn't have a sewer hookup so half way into our stay we had to dump our gray and black tanks. More practice bringing slides in, jacks up and drive to the dump station, then back to our site, back in (we need to practice that a lot more), jacks down, slides out. After all that I was very ready for Happy Hour, it was a lot of work.  We chose this site for the view and it had 50amp but no sewer, I think having a site with sewer would have been much easier.

Weather was in the low 80's during the day and got to the 60's at night. We had some early evening rain one night and lots of moody clouds making for some great sunsets. We took the dogs out for lots of walks, and Mike and I checked out the hike around the lake.  We saw lots of Blue Herons and hawk like birds flying in the air, I heard there were osprey and bald eagles in the area but couldn't get a close enough view to identify. We saw lots of squirrels which kept our dogs entertained.  One night we were outside with a glass of wine enjoying the sunset when Mike saw something white moving in the campsite next to us, we got our flashlight and saw it was a skunk. I had never seen one, it was impressive, we kept our distance and watched him for awhile.



Trail on the hike

Squirrels all over the place



Blue Heron in flight

The drive home went smooth. Mike worked on the jacks, which ended up needing a lot of lubing and  got them all to function properly on the more level parking area where we store the coach. In his research, he found if there is a lot of slope in your site it is not uncommon to have the last jack not lower. I think this was handy to understand now then later, Mike has now put jack maintenance on his to do list. These early trips have been helpful for us to work through the education process of RV ownership. Everyday we learn a little bit more and are definitely getting more comfortable with the whole process.

Our next trip is to the Verde Valley area in early October to an RV park next to Alcantara Winery. We plan on doing a little wine tasting and exploring the town of Jerome. In early November we have a trip planned to Sedona.

Beautiful wildflowers across from our site.