November 1997

Even though we have been members of the Escapee Club for about two years, to date we have not stayed at any of their campgrounds, which we decided to rectify by visiting North Ranch near Wickenburg some 285 miles east of LA.

The campground is located miles from anywhere in a vast desert area with only barren hills in the distance for scenery. It is surprising what initially appears to be an inhospitable desert, is full of life and has a large range of vegetation growing albeit slowly. At present most of the vegetation is mainly dark green or brown but there are areas covered by a yellow flowering plant.

One of the most prolific plants in the area is the Creosote bush which grows to about 10 feet tall with very small dark green leaves, black stems and a yellow flower which turns into a white fluffy covered seed. Following rains, the Creosote bush develops a strong, penetrating resinous odour suggestive of "creosote". Also, the Arizona mesquite is common which is a small tree growing to about 15 feet whose seeds grow in narrow straw-coloured pods about eight inches long.

Arizona desert is world famous for the Saguaro cactus which averages 20 feet but can grow up to about 50 feet, providing homes for birds who make numerous nest holes in the cactus side. Saguaro (Suh-war-oh) can live up to two hundred years old and are much in demand, twenty foot saguaros sell in garden centres for around $6,000 each.

Another common desert plant is the Barrel cactus with stout spines, growing to about 8 feet. All have brightly coloured blossoms and large yellow fruits which are relished by the birds.

The whole of the desert plain is covered with dried-up creeks ranging from a few feet to a hundred feet or so wide and many feet deep. Even though rain is very sparse and irregular the creeks are a constant reminder of the flash floods that can and do occur in the desert. A few weeks ago four inches of rain fell on the campground within a few hours washing sand over roads and overflowing many creeks, which dried out again within days.

Fifty miles to the north is Prescott which calls itself the one-mile-high city as well as having cool temperatures most of the year round, is it located in the nation's largest contiguous forest of Ponderosa pines which we reached by ascending three thousand feet of twisting road. The city has a large tree-lined square surrounded by numerous tourist shops where Valerie felt the need to purchase a few items.

On the way back we missed a turn and ended up on an extremely rough dirt road for about thirty miles which took us through an area with numerous disused mines. There is still plenty of high-quality gold in them there hills and going through Yarnell village we saw several placards supporting or decrying the proposed new gold mine.

North Ranch was purchased by the Escapees in 1991 for developing as a community for full-time RVer's wanting to settle down or maybe have somewhere to occasionally linger longer. About 400 plots were sold for about $10,000 each and now all around the campground SKPs are busy either laying concrete bases for their RV or building large homes, some with roof extensions which the RV fits under. For many, it must be an ideal way to retire with the excellent climate, low cost of living, attractive scenery and the companionship of like-minded people.

After a very relaxing six days at North Ranch, we drove 135 miles south passing through the sprawl of Phoenix to Casa Grande to hopefully locate a suitable campground for Kevin and June's visit. After visiting many nice campgrounds during the afternoon we had our fears confirmed since none of them allows children, all the RV parks are fully geared up for 55-year-plus snowbirds providing activities ranging from line dancing, shuffleboard, horseshoes, crafts and golf etc.

Well, that's not quite true that none of the campgrounds allows children since we did find one which would allow them to stay up to one week, however, they can only use the swimming pool from 4 to 7 pm, we assume that's when the snowbirds are either worn out or more likely eating.

Retraced some of our paths to check out the campgrounds in the Phoenix area and found one within 40 miles of the airport which took children and had a pool, the heating of which was broken but hopefully it should be repaired by the time our visitors arrive.

Spent the whole day on a 150 drive exploring the Tucson area and looking for another suitable campground. We had just about given up when we found the Cactus Country RV Resort about ten miles outside of town which not only welcomed children but had a working heated pool. Like so many places where land prices are very low, Tucson is a vast sprawl with a lot of industrial activity, which due to the very dry weather allows much of the facilities to be stored in the open air. In other words, there are a lot of old facilities, equipment and waste spoiling the view along the interstate highway.

Tucson is surrounded by four mountain ranges and drained by three major rivers or washes and is sun-drenched throughout the year.

With the prospect that the grandchildren have grown somewhat since their previous visit, the morning was spent checking that the car and RV seating would be suitable. Late afternoon we attended happy hour with the SKPs in the clubhouse, which aims to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to make a few friends, as well as help, develop a community atmosphere. We were informed that another English couple is staying in the park but we have yet to meet them.

In the hope that we would find more suitable campgrounds for the grandchildren, we set off early for the 350-mile round trip to Yuma which lies at the southern end of the Colorado River close to the Californian border. On this occasion, we located several campgrounds which accepted children but note the word accepted and not welcomed children but they did at least have better facilities in particular larger swimming pools.

It became apparent during the trip to Yuma that the major crop in the vast fields of Arizona is cotton which is in the process of being harvested. Numerous bales of cotton each about 30 feet long by ten feet wide by 10 feet high are stacked in fields awaiting shipment to the processing plant, where by-products such as cotton seed oil for margarine and cooking, cellulose used for paper, film, furniture, upholstery and high protein meal for cattle are obtained.

Valerie treated herself to a hairdo while George washed the car. We then moved camp to Apache Junction in readiness for Kevin and June's arrival, where not unexpectedly we were informed that the swimming pool has still not been repaired - now wondering how we will entertain the grandchildren!

The journey was as uneventful as travelling on a plane for 10.5 hours with two children could be and we were exceedingly pleased to see George waiting for us at Phoenix.

Now lizzen verey carefullee az I will zay zis only wonce - quote George "don't give in yet the campground is only a short distance away". Sorry, George, I shan't mention this again (promise) but it has to be mentioned, just once. George got lost!!!! Our "a short distance away" turned into 45 minutes in the wrong direction, 45 minutes back again and then on to the correct road. I did mention some concern when I saw the sign for San Diego, California (and we're in Arizona)... Anyway, that's all I'll say - just about enough I reckon!

p.s. for the day - we were all invited to the cockpit (well actually I asked), absolutely amazing, one of my dreams come true but unfortunately, Claire-Marie couldn't get round the word "pilot" and insisted his name was Pirate Pete!

Well Kevin and I stayed up until around 10.30 pm which is about 5.30 am UK time hoping to have beaten the dreaded "lag" - we did, nearly, but the children didn't...

The day was cool but sunny and we decided to make a trip through the Apache Trail and down the Canyon Lake on Dolly the Steamboat.

Despite Kevin and I apologising profusely to fellow passengers their only comment seemed to be "that's what kids are for" - I can't imagine we'd get the same response in the UK somehow.

p.s. for the day (sorry about this but it makes me laugh) - sign in the campground "If your dawg does the poopin you do the scoopin"

The weather was much the same so we decided to explore the Apache Trail a little more. Lunch was at what appeared to be a Ghost Town but was Tortilla Flats a restaurant/gift shop "cowboy style".

On our return past the giant and somewhat awesome Superstition Mountains, we stopped off at Goldfield an old mining town which grew up in 1890 when gold was discovered. However by 1915 due to a series of events the gold had played out and Goldfield became a ghost town.

As it was now late in the day the town shops were all closing but we managed to tour the mine. The tour guide dressed in traditional cowboy/miner-type clothes with a long, long beard gave a very interesting and informative tour and we were all filled with admiration for the men who toiled for up to 12 hours a day, using only five candles a day for light, many not living past the age of 35 because of the complete lack of ventilation causing them to breath in the thick clogging dust.

p.s. for the day - at the "any questions" part of the tour having just sat through a very informative description of how they blew sections of the mine using dynamite - CM said "I've got a question. What's all those wires for?"

Time to move on to Tucson. It didn't take long (around two hours) and we were settled in Cactus Country RV Park. I, unfortunately, didn't see anything other than the inside of the RV until Wednesday as I went down with some sort of 'flu bug. The others did the honourable thing and left me to sweat it out alone. So I will "temporarily" pass the diary over.

While June was recovering from the effects of her flu jab the rest of us travelled south from Tucson to visit the Titan Missile Museum which is a former Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) complex preserved as a museum. Of the 54 Titan ICBM sites in the United States, all except the missile museum were destroyed after the end of the cold war. The silo housing the missile is vast but being contained fully underground it is possible to drive by without noticing anything other than some fencing.

Before the missile was placed in the museum silo it had one-foot holes cut in its side and was left in the open so that Soviet satellites could confirm that it had been decommissioned. We formed the opinion that the crew manning the mission site during the cold war would have had a boring life since they would have spent most of their time locked up in the control room hoping that the order to fire was never given.

Claire-Marie and Robert had a marvellous time playing with the numerous hands-on exhibits in the science centre located within the grounds of Arizona University.

The weather has become a lot warmer but very pleasant. Sabino Canyon was our tour for the day. The tour itself only takes 45 minutes on a "Disney" style shuttle bus but it takes you through some of the most spectacular views of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

The thousands upon thousands of saguaro cacti growing up from basically nothing but the solid rock is quite spectacular. These cacti take approximately 3-4 years to break the surface and a cactus just about 1 foot tall will be about 20 years old. Some of the cacti seen in the Santa Catalina Mountains are 200 years old. The plant holds enough water to feed itself for up to seven years - now that's what you call perseverance.

Well, Kevin's gone down with the big "f" today so the remainder of us visited the Sonora Desert Museum. Not quite sure what we were in for meant that we were pleasantly surprised to find the "museum" very interesting and quite picturesque.

The museum which was more of a park was founded in 1952 and is a non-profit organisation. It is mainly outdoors and takes you along several exhibitions of desert animals, plants and docent demonstrations. Docents are guides around the park who seem to know everything there is to know about deserts. The animals were all, as near to their natural habitat as possible and seemed perfectly happy - quite unusual for today's zoo. You could even observe the animals at different levels - from above, below and in their lairs using one-way glass.

Along the pathways were shade ramadas (sun canopies) to rest from the sun. Overall, the whole museum was very well designed and allowed you to see some spectacular views over the desert from quite a high level.

Within a few months, it was obvious to the scientists that they had a major problem with carbon dioxide build-up and the scientists spent all the time running the biosphere and not doing the research as intended.

A second attempt with eight biospherians failed after six months and the biosphere was handed over to the University of Columbia. It is now one of the world's leading research and education institutions.

p.s. Where is Biosphere 1 you may ask? You're standing on it - the Planet Earth.

As the children had had quite a few days out we decided a day of "dossing" was due to us all. We needed to find a Post Office and do some grocery shopping though. US Post Offices are huge buildings (always easily recognisable by the Stars & Stripes flying outside), however, when you get inside there are normally around six counters and a ticket system - very slow.

A lunchtime barbecue with our uninvited guests (flies) proved very enjoyable followed by a swim for George, June and the children. Kevin decided to have a rest and Valerie made the most of the peace and quiet. However, shortly after lunch Kevin and George got the twitches and decided to go and do some playing at the local Radio Shack. Three hours and I don't wish to know how many dollars later they came back with yet ANOTHER computer - EACH!

p.s. did you know that Radio Shack is part of Tandys - only the second most boring {she must mean interesting - Ed} shop in the world, after Halfords?

The journey north to Buckeye, Phoenix took us around 3.5 hours - including a 45-minute lunch break at a rest area. Rest areas can be found along the interstates and are picnic areas with phones, toilets and drinks machines. There is even an area to walk your dog.

Upon arrival at Goodyear - which due to the large quantities of cotton grown used to be called Egypt, until the tyre factory moved here - we found our campground at nearby Buckeye to be very clean and spacious. Each site (pitch as we know it) is divided by orange, lemons, grapefruit and olive trees - all of which you are free to pick. Once we had moved in (about 10 minutes) and had a cup of tea we all decided to try out the pool, which proved to be very warm indeed. To complete our day we had a barbecue and ate our meal outside in the warm evening weather.

The campground is really in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by cotton bushes. For those of you who have not seen cotton growing, think of when you were a child decorating the Christmas tree with your Mum's cotton wool balls - that's just what it looks like.

p.s. how can you tell Ronald McDonald on a nudist beach? he's the one with the sesame seed buns!

When we first arrived in Phoenix George & Valerie told us of a new Mall that was due to open. Today we decided to investigate. Arizona Mills is a huge complex with six different shopping areas.

Area 5 has the Rainforest Cafe. The entire area has been decorated to give you the impression that you are sitting in the middle of a rainforest. It rains, there are alligators (not real), huge fish tanks, parrots(real) etc. all to add to the atmosphere.

Periodically they have thunderstorms where there is lightning etc. when this starts the staff all raise umbrellas! Overall we were quite impressed with the Mall but our main criticism was the noise! Every area and every shop within the Mall felt that they had to compete with each other on noise levels.

Another trip to the supermarket, another swim and then we all sat down to Kevin's master recipe Chilli Chicken dinner:

675 g boneless chicken
1 tsp. sugar
3-6 red chillies
1 tsp. fenugreek
0.5" root ginger
4 garlic cloves
4 almonds
lemongrass
0.5" root ginger
6 small red onions or shallots
oil
1/4 pint salt water

1. Dice chicken and sprinkle it with sugar.
2. Blend ingredients, and leave in bowl.
3. Blend ingredients, and leave in bowl.
4. Add oil to a WOK and heat until hot.
5. Add contents of the first bowl, and stir for 1 minute.
6. Add contents of the second bowl, and stir for 1 minute.
7. Add chicken, and stir for 1 minute.
8. Add salt water and simmer until water has evaporated, normally 5-10 minutes.

The weather was not too good today so we decided to visit Scottsdale which is the "better" part of Phoenix. The local IMAX cinema was showing two films one about the space station Mir and the second about Mexico. Both were very good but George & Valerie felt the film about Mexico didn't do it the credit it deserves.

Scottsdale itself was OK. The shops were very upmarket but there was a lot of building work being carried out so it all looked a bit messy.

One thing we have noticed over here is the way the Americans like to crowd you into places. Each campground we've visited has been around 50% empty, now your rig may be in a row entirely alone until another rig arrives and they put them right next door. The same with the IMAX theatre - it must have sat around 200 people yet all the people there (around 20) sat all together in the middle rows.

Anyway, this was our last night so we decided to have a round of Pegs & Jokers our first of the holiday - and what a good job too! It caused so many "discussions" that we'd have declared WW3 by the end of the two weeks. The result was 1 game each {we let the girls win the second game, didn't want any sulking! - Ed}.

Happy Thanks Giving! Our final day. The sun is shining and everyone is celebrating - or rather EATING!

We went to the campgrounds' Pot Luck Thanksgiving Lunch - they supply the Turkey and mash and the guests supply a dish of something. As there were around 40-50 guests at this lunch, there were around 25 different savoury and sweet dishes to try out. It was all extremely nice and your palate was certainly put to the test with some of the dishes, but we were as stuffed as the turkey when we left and spent the rest of our stay recovering in the sunshine.