Travel Recap #15: We’re Back! In Arizona

 

“The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.”

~ Charles Dickens ~

Friends and Family!!! It’s been forever since I’ve updated, I KNOW!! Life!! I’ll mention more about it in another post, and the videos are going to be few and far between (sorry, sorry), but let’s at least get back to the memories for now - it’s been a full year and a FULL year since I last recorded our adventures, so let’s see… where were we?

Oh, yes. Wonderful, warm and sunny Arizona!! We crossed over from California, passing through Yuma (where a great many snowbirds and seniors stay in the colder months) and heading north on Hwy 95. We landed in a remote and beautiful site outside Palm Canyon and the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. It was just perfect dispersed camping on what seemed like hard-packed volcanic rock, surrounded by cactus plants and a whole lot of open, uninhabited desert wilderness. The sunsets were amazing and we had a sweet view of the Kofa Mountains to the east. What an awesome week.

The kids had an absolute blast playing outside among the native desert plants, seeking diverse cacti and identifying other spiny bushes. They of course had their own “homes” among the dry trees, complete with bedrooms, a workout area, and a backyard. We rode bikes along the dirt road a bunch, then took the family one day to hike into the Palm Canyon. It was fun for the kids and fairly short, ending with the fun surprise of seeing quite literally a steep, narrow, shaded crevice lined with palm trees that were nowhere else to be found in the area. It was also amazing to be on an elevated “platform” (the base of the Canyon), surrounded on three sides by high walls like a giant bowl, then turning to find yet another fantastic view of the valley below where our RV was parked. It was definitely worth the price of admission ;)

Another day, we ventured to drive up a different dirt road (Kofa Queen Canyon Road, among others), but after a few miles the sand became soft and the brush and rock narrowed the way too much to continue, and Justin was forced to back out or scratch the paint. I enjoyed jogging the rocky road ahead of the truck as long as they were forced to go snail-speed, but we eventually made it back. Another night, we realized we had visitors and Justin went outside to find our trash bags scattered and what were probably kit foxes roaming about. They were small with fluffy tails, almost cute (if they weren’t so naughty) and didn’t seem all that scared of the flashlight and shooing. (Yes, I said “shooing” people, not shooting. Calm down.) Needless to say, we didn’t leave even hanging bags of trash outside after that. 

We decided to see what all the buzz about Quartzsite was, and so booked a few nights at a small campground in order to dump, refill our water, and check out the area. There we met new friends!! Emma, David, and Grace are all close in age to our kids, so of course everyone clicked right away and we had a ton of fun playing Uno Attack and doing puzzles in the game room together. We also enjoyed seeing their family’s setup (they full-time RV as well) and the kids were allowed one crazy afternoon sesh of running Mario races in the living room to Brain Break YouTube videos. It was a short but very sweet time, and we’ve kept in touch with the family since then!

It was back to dispersed desert camping after Quartzsite, so we headed east toward Phoenix and stopped on a rugged patch outside of Tonopah, far enough away from the other few boon-dockers to feel private. It was more of the same; kids playing outside a lot, claiming territories and constructing very elaborate rock-lined paths (and warming my mama heart by working together nicely). Plus a family hike to the hilly range beyond the camping area. We ventured into Phoenix to go shopping (Justin’s birthday was coming up) and to see my Aunt visiting her summer home, where we shipped a bunch of Amazon boxes and an enormous warranty part for the RV (it was a thin wood sheet but so large that Justin had to cut it down before it would fit on the back of the truck for transport). We’ll have to plan to stay longer next time when the family is together for a visit!! Wink, wink!! Wink!! You know who you are...

After Phoenix, I didn’t tell Justin where he was driving to; just gave him directions along the way so he could be surprised. I had booked a stay at Goldfield Ghost Town in Apache Junction as a little bday celebration for him (and, of course, the kids). We went on the narrow-gauge railroad around town and heard stories of men striking gold in the area, along with the quick rise-and-fall of the town due to the flooding of the mines. The nearby Superstition Mountains were also the subject of several tales during the ride. We then toured a replica of the mines underground, which was really neat and also, no thanks to that profession. The Mystery Shack was fun, one of those eccentric buildings with slanted rooms, uphill-flowing water and other bizarre brain-teasers. The town was also fun to explore with an old church at the top of the hill, fancy gift shops lining the street and a two-story saloon with tasty treats. It was a neat way to experience some old cowboy culture from the prospectin’ days, but the Wild West fun wasn’t over just yet…