Headed West in Search of Warmth....

We did just that yesterday - Sunday!  We closed up and we're rolling by 9:30 am.  Our destination was Yuma, AZ.

Waxing and Polishing

In our previous blog I mentioned our decision to spend one more day in Benson.  It was a good decision.  We caught up on some chores.  Mine was to begin the wax and polish of our home on wheels.  I did manage to finish one quarter of the job.  

Shining up the fiver.

We did not work too hard but, to just hang out, on a reasonably nice day, was welcomed after so many busy days touring this great countryside.  

Sunday morning.

Sunday presented a mix of sun and cloud.  We read from some RVers who will not travel on weekend days.  We don't know why because our experience has always been favourable when traveling on a Saturday or Sunday. 

Rolling through Tucson @ 10:30 am.

Traffic was quite light - relatively speaking.  The normally high volume of transport trucks was at 50% of the norm.  I-10 is an endless truck transportation corridor - heading to and from New Mexico and Texas - on weekdays.  It's slightly less busy on weekend days.

Here is an example of truck traffic through Tucson.  Why truckers feel the need to hog every lane is ludicrous.  Time is money, I guess! Oh....and selfishness plays a huge part too!  This was a 45 mph construction site and trucks are passing us going 55 mph + in all lanes.

There should be a fine for truckers who hog the inside fast lanes and hold back traffic.  We witnessed so much of this in these parts.  That is rarely experienced on California, Oregon and Washington interstates.

Heading on I-10 west towards I-8, the views are most pleasant.

By the time we rolled off I-10 and on to I-8, the clouds were behind us and the sun was bright.  The temperature on our dashboard continued to rise. The maximum high achieved was 60 degrees as we closed in on Yuma.  

The desert landscaped changed and we were back in Saguaro cacti country.  Nice!

By 2:40 pm, we were approaching the last mountain range that would take us over and into the Yuma valley.

At a paved, pull through site in Fortuna De Oro RV Park in Yuma.

We arrived at the Cal-Am Resort (well, resort is slightly overstated here).  It is an OK park.  The facilities are fine and there is a 9 hole golf course on site - that I have yet to see.  I don't know if it is a short pitch'n putt or a full length 9 hole course. 

We chose to roll into this park based on our good Gold Canyon experience at the Canyon Vista Resort.  Well......this RV park is fine but to call it a resort doesn't fit our definition. There are 1200 sites here.  The folks we met are very, very friendly.

RANT:
We rolled in to this discombobulated RV facility, with poor (actually no) signage.  Like....where is the registration office?  No sign!  Where does one park a big rig to register?  No sign!  We drove into a narrow lane, parked and looked around for someone who could direct us to the registration office.  We learned that no one works the office on Sundays.  Really?  Hard to fathom!  Oh...we eventually found an office sign.  The sign size is about 5 inches by 6 inches....and almost impossible to read. It reads....'Guest Services'.

A fellow British Columbian, who winters in this park, saw us looking around and informed us that no one was available to assist.  He rolled his eyes!  He offered to drive me around the park and to show me where the pull through sites were.  Once back, Jeanette blocked traffic on the road, I backed our rig... then drove to the right (unmarked) entrance to lead us to the pull through sites.

Cal-Am run some very good RV parks in the Phoenix area.  We've been in two of them. I am told that the company acquired this park, some time back, and has been busy revitalizing it.  The evidence is clear that money is being spent here.  But....to not have anyone in the RV office to welcome clients is ridiculous at best.  How they can run businesses without personal service?  It defies logic.  I am certain the management could find an RVer, or two, who could man the office on Sundays, in exchange for a break on the RV rental site(s) they occupy.

Two days back, we emailed this RV park to secure a long pull through. They have a limited number of those.  Cal-Am has a central registration email for all of its parks.  I clearly wrote that we were rolling into Yuma.  A return email asked us which park we were requesting.  I re-read my email believing I may have not mentioned the only Yuma RV park.  Well.....I had written that we wanted the Yuma park....and they only have one in Yuma!!!!    I replied to the email but never did get a reply.  To then arrive and find no one to guide us in is proof that Cal-Am has some serious 'systems' problems to overcome.  I will drop them a line about our experience.
OK... Rant over!!!!

The night time view from our picture window.

The spirit of Christmas is alive and well here.  The decorations are wonderful.....so much so that it got us out for a night time walk around the park.  Good on these winter RVers who decorated their semi-permanent sites.

Very nice.....

Jeanette is about to lock up before our evening walk around the park.

Once this blog is posted, I will walk over to the unmarked office to register.  We're here for seven days and we'll decide whether we stay in this pull through or move to the newer gravel sites.  We'll decide on what will serve us best.

It was very windy here, this early morning, but the flags flattened for a bit before the gale force winds reared up. Phew!  It should otherwise be a reasonably nice day out.  It is sunny and the temperatures are forecast to warm up in the days ahead.  Can't wait!!!!

We did call my brother and SIL, last night, to plan a get together with them today. We look forward to that.  Their lovely place, in a great RV park, is where they have made their winter home for several years.

Thanks for dropping by.