Sunday, March 7, 2010

We Preview Our Next Move

If you’re wondering when we will give up our isolated, spacious spot in the desert, we don’t know yet, but we do know our time here is going to end, probably within the next week or two.  We need to do some heavy duty washing and cleaning of the Castle and the little Saturn, so we’re going to need to be somewhere with full hook-ups and the ability to wash the rig.  It looks like our next stop along the way will be at the Escapees Park, North Ranch, in Congress.

Yesterday, Janna came by and asked if we wanted to go to Wickenburg and Congress on a little day trip.  Sure, so around noon, she and Mike and Emmi got in their little car;  Gina, Rollie, Jim and I all piled into the little Saturn and off we went:

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From our desert home, it’s about 90 miles to Wickenburg, so predictably, lunch was the first item on the agenda once we arrived.  Janna and Mike have been to Anita’s before:

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Good choice!  While we were at lunch, Caryl and Jerry, friends of Janna & Mike, stopped by to visit and pick up a quilt Janna had quilted for Caryl.

After lunch, we toured the sights of the town, especially the painted bronze statues that are placed in various locations around the downtown area.  Some of the statues include a speaker box where you can push the button and hear a short talk about the piece of history associated with it.  Very interesting!

Gina and Rollie with one of the statues:

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Janna, myself and Gina stopped for a picture opportunity in front of a giant Saguaro:

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We made a stop at a small quilt shop to look at some of Caryl’s work, and also a quilt that Janna quilted.  Then we drove out to the Vulture Rock area to take a quick look at some possible future boondocking spots.

The next stop was about 12 miles north of Wickenburg, to the Escapees North Ranch, just outside Congress, Arizona.  Janna and Mike left us there to look around before heading back to our desert.  We will probably stay at North Ranch for a week or so before moving closer in to Phoenix in April.  I need to be in Phoenix to fly out of Sky Harbor in mid-April.  I have to say it didn’t excite me much to see “regular” RV sites, they sure seem packed in close together there.

It was time to get back to our desert and all our dogs, so we didn’t spend too much time at the RV park.  Back on the road to our spot, we were treated to a light show, previewing our expected storm:

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The storm arrived pretty much on schedule, so today will be an inside day as we watch the desert get watered.  Should be beautiful and green tomorrow!

3 comments:

JB said...

When you eventually have to move over to Phoenix have a look at Usery Mountain Regional Park. It is a great spot, if you can get in, with power and water at all the sites. They have a dump station in the park. Huge spacious sites and only a mile or two out of Mesa.

http://johnbrendasincredibleadventure.blogspot.com/2009/02/usery-mountain-regional-park.html

dreamjosie said...

Awesome storm sky pic.

Mike & Pat said...

Jim & Ellie.....sorry we missed your visit to North Ranch. We left early Saturday morning headed to the Gypsy Journal Rally in Yuma. We spent the first night in Quartzsite and made it to Yuma (in the storm) on Sunday. What a mess!! Our RV will need washing when we get back, too.
Let us know when you will be arriving at North Ranch. We'll be busy selling PressurePro this week but we'll be back on Friday if everything goes as planned. If you get a chance, you should come down to the Rally for a day. There are 3 days of solid seminars (T,W,Th). The schedule is on Nick's Blog. Our Seminar is Tuesday at 11:00 am.
Hugs to both of you and give Gina & Rollie a hug for us, too. Looking forward to seeing all you at North Ranch.
Love ya......Pat