Travels of Sheila & Ted Summer of 2014: Mesa, Surprise to Lake Havasu City

November 11, 2014

We drove to Mesa this morning and while Ted went to check in at Good Life RV Resort, I sat and listened to a really nice Veteran's Day ceremony on the other side of the fence. After we had parked the motorhome, we drove back to the central facilities to look around. As we backed the car out, there was a woman on a bicycle waiting for us. When we got to the pool/activity area she rode up and said "hello neighbor". She lived in the park model next to where we were parked and was very friendly. We walked around and looked at the facilities and everywhere we went people said hello and were really friendly. In the quilting room, I chatted with the woman for quite awhile and really got a good feeling about being here. There is a lap pool as well as a pool where they do exercises and play water polo and a nice woodworking shop for Ted.

We drove around Mesa and checked out three more resorts. Most of them are really nice with similar facilities but we were finding that the nicer ones either didn't have any more space for the time we want to be here or only had a couple spaces left. We knew we had to make a decision soon or not get a place at all.

November 12, 2014

Ted went for an early morning walk this morning and he said that every single person he met said hello to him. It does seem like a friendly place and has what we had on our wish list. It is not quite as new as some of them and the landscaping is not quite as spectacular as some but the people all seem nice and we are close to shopping and not too far from some lakes and mountains. There is a space in the Good Live RV Resort that is near the activity center and faces toward the west which we prefer. After talking it over, we decided to put a deposit on it. We would only lose $25 if we decided to cancel and we were at least assured a place to stay.

We only had one more place to check out and that was in Surprise which is on the western side of Phoenix. A couple we met in Jasper, Alberta this summer stayed there and highly recommended it so we wanted to at least check it out. On our way out of town we stopped at a Quick Trip for gas and paid $2.65/gal. We think that is the least we have paid since we left Wiscasset in October 2007. We drove over for the night. It was a lovely park with wider streets and all the amenities. We were checking it out when we heard a huge noise. A fighter jet was flying over and they continued to do so way into the evening. I have always loved watching the fighter jets, especially the Blue Angels when they used to come to Brunswick for the air show but I don't think I want a steady diet of them all winter long. It made our decision easier and we are both comfortable with our choice. We will only be there three and a half months so even if it is not all we thought it would be, we can stand it for that long.

November 13, 2014

We went to Costco to get memberships and returned just a little late to check out. We drove from Surprise to Lake Havasu City. Most of the trip west was on I-10. The scenery was mostly flat and brown with a few mountains along the way. We decided to take the longer route and drive through Quartzsite which we have heard so much about. In January as many as a quarter million RVs come here for an RV show and park in the desert. Ted wants to do it but I say, no way. We at least got to see the town and there were people dry camping helter-skelter out in the desert in areas owned by the BLM.

Heading West on I-10

Quartzite

Off the Grid

From Quartzsite, the road turned north to Parker on the Colorado River and across the river from California. From there, we were up in the mountains beside the river and caught brief glimpses of it from the road. There were four or five state parks with camping on the river but Ted had already picked out a campground in Lake Havasu City so we continued on to there. The day is overcast, the first in awhile. The site we have has no view but from the edge of the campground, you can look down into Lake Havasu. There was a spectacular sunset over the mountains this evening.