Alaska – Start of Our 2008 Summer Travels

This summer’s travels started with a cruise in Alaska. Janet and Tony, JoAnne’s sister and brother-in-law, and we decided it would be fun to go to Alaska this year. We flew standby from Tucson to Denver, crashed at our daughter Sara’s house overnight and spent part of the next day with her and the kids. Jimmy and his girlfriend were there so we got a chance to visit with them too. (Jimmy was installing an air conditioning unit for Sara.) About 3PM we headed for the airport to get the rest of the way to Anchorage on purchased tickets. (Boy, were we glad we had reserved seats – the flights were all really full.) We arrived in Anchorage a few days ahead of the sailing date and just bummed around town and decompressed a little. On Monday, June 23, we caught the Alaskan Railroad for a leisurely trip to Whittier where we boarded the ship, the Island Princess. Janet and Tony did a 5 day land tour before we set sail, so we didn’t see them until Monday afternoon.

We sailed into College Fjord and Glacier Bay to see the glaciers, and along the way saw lots of sea otters, some Humpback whales and Orcas. In Glacier Bay, we got within about 500 feet of the Margerie glacier and actually saw it calve. The sound of the ice cracking and creaking was really something to hear! There was a guest naturalist onboard who gave us insight into what we were seeing and some of the animal and sea life we might see along the way, which was quite informative. We stopped in Skagway (took the White Horse Railway up the pass -- what an engineering feat), Juneau (went to the Rainforest Gardens and the Mendenhall glacier), and Ketchikan ( went to the Saxman native village). Janet and JoAnne also went into a lot of the stores in these towns, oogling the jewelry and various other really nice things. Tony had fishing trips scheduled at these stops. He actually had pretty good luck, catching two large king salmon.

The scenery was absolutely spectacular! And as usual, the food was excellent. (They even had a chocolate buffet one night, after dinner. Right up JoAnne’s alley!!) This cruise was very relaxing since we had three full days at sea. In fact, Jim said, ‘This was my kind of cruise, staying on the ship with less climbing some hill to see something (it seems that the neat things to see are always up a hill)’. We arrived in Vancouver on Monday morning, June 30 and said our good-byes to Janet and Tony. We had such a great time sharing this trip with them. We then caught our flights back to Tucson without any problems. Our furry kids were sure glad to see us (our friends across the street took care of them for us).

Shakedown Cruise to Camp Verde

After we brought the Diplomat home we spent the next two months discovering all the nooks and crannies, adding our own personal touches and re-loading it with all the gear, and then some, that came out of the Bounder. By April it was time to take it out on a shakedown cruise to see just how well everything was going to work. Everyone in the Bay Conspiracy was getting anxious to hit the road again so we all saddled up and headed up the road to Camp Verde, Arizona, about 90 miles north of Phoenix, for a few days of fun and frolic. The new bus performed beautifully. It sailed up the 6% grades on I-17 with a full load and the Saturn in tow and, more importantly, it handled the 6% descents even better with the help of its engine brake.

While at Camp Verde we visited Montezuma’s Castle, an ancient Indian cliff dwelling on the Verde River and explored the old mining town of Jerome which is precariously perched on the side of a mountain about 2000 feet above the Verde Valley. Both of these places are well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. On the way home we stopped off for a few days in Mesa, Arizona to visit with some very old, dear friends that we have known since before we were married.

Our shakedown cruise was a success; we found a few minor glitches that would need attention before we take off on our big summer excursion but no big surprises and nothing out of the ordinary.

The RV show and a new Monaco Diplomat

Quartzsite was truly one big bustling sea of RV humanity. We walked and gawked for hours before taking a well earned lunch break at one of the many food stands. While we were sitting and enjoying our smoked turkey legs and catching our breath, we noticed that there were several large RV dealers at the show and they all had huge collections of new and used motor homes on display. We have always enjoyed looking at RV’s and thought it might be fun to check out the new refrigerators. Well, to make a long story shorter, we started exploring all the motor homes on display and low and behold, we found the perfect refrigerator. It was a large beautiful stainless steel model with four doors complete with an ice maker. I just so happened to be installed in a new 2008 Monaco Diplomat, 37 feet long with four slide outs and all the bells and whistles and 400 Cummins diesel pushing horses. This rig was not just a step up from the venerable Bounder, it was a move from the inner city to the Country Club. We went back to our RV that night and both of us laid awake thinking about that beautiful Diplomat. The next morning we decided that the only way we would be happy was to go back and find out just what it would take to bring the new rig home with us.

The dealer made us a good deal and gave us a great trade in price on our Bounder. We swallowed hard and bit the bullet and signed the purchase order. We couldn’t take the new coach home with us right then since they needed a few days to prep the unit for delivery and get all the paperwork done. We made arrangements to return to Quartzsite the next week and turn over the Bounder and take delivery on our new rolling palace. This gave us time to bring the Bounder back to Tucson and empty it out which made the move into the new unit much easier. Because we were out of state buyers, Arizona’s tax laws required that we ride with the dealer’s driver from Quartzsite to Laughlin, Nevada where we took delivery at their dealership. We returned to Tucson with our new Diplomat making an overnight stop at Lake Havasu City, Arizona. What a difference! We had made the move from an RV to a full-timer’s motor coach.

The Bay Conspiracy invades Quartzsite

While we were in Mexico one of the Bay Conspiracy couples started talking about a trip to Quartzsite, Arizona in January. JoAnne asked what the big deal was with this Quartzsite place. Well, for those of you who haven’t heard of, or about this place, here is my quick take on it. Quartzsite is a small, hot dusty wide spot out on I-40 about 250 miles from here just a few miles east of the California state line. It is small, that is until winter comes along, and then the place is invaded by thousands and thousands of RV’ers who come from all over the country to spend the winter. They camp out in the desert on BLM land for miles around the small community. For several months this place is transformed into the Mecca of the RV world. This place is to RV’ers what Sturgis is to Motorcyclists. In January each year they have an RV show and flea market that takes several days to see.

I had thought that we were quite fortunate to have avoided a pilgrimage to Quartzsite for all these years but now it looked like our time had run out. We were going to Quartzsite and that was that. We were lucky enough to get space in an RV park in town so we didn’t have to “boondock” it out in the desert. I figured that since we had a good place to stay and didn’t have to rough it with the cactus and coyotes this trip couldn’t be all that bad. Besides, every day is a party with the Bay Conspiracy.

The drive was easy and enjoyable and the RV park was adequate. The town lived up to its reputation. It was remote, dusty, small and dry and, there were thousands and thousands of RV’s camped out in the desert for miles around the place. The RV show was indeed one big flea market with hundreds of vendors selling everything and anything relating to RV’s and camping.

Christmas in Tucson

As the year wound down all the snowbirds returned to Tucson and as the park filled up again all of the great activities here at the Voyager got back into full swing. Shows, dances, dinners and parties kept us quite busy. There’s never a dull moment around here in the winter. Like most of the other residents we decorated the house. The park was really beautiful with all the Christmas lights.

Our daughter Sara and the two grandchildren flew down on Christmas Eve for a two week visit. Christmas morning was a very lively and noisy time in the new house. We didn’t realize until then that all these new fangled toys that the kids have these days make sounds of some kind or another. There were times when the two grandkids had all the toys going at one time. Needless to say the house got pretty noisy at times until JoAnne got smart and hid all the new noisy toys away and brought out our toy box full of old, used but tried and true and QUIET toys for them to play with. Things settled down to a low roar after that and we quietly packed up all the new toys and sent them off to Sara’s house via Parcel Post. We kept the grandkids busy with trips to the Zoo, Desert Museum and several other area attractions. The two weeks passed by all too quickly and before we knew it Sara and the grandchildren were back home in Colorado.

We were on a plane to Colorado a week after Sara left for a long weekend and a 90th birthday celebration for Jim’s mother. It was a surprise party for her and she was very surprised and happy to see us. We didn’t do much of anything after returning to Tucson except sit around and catch our breath for a week. The house seemed very quiet after all the Christmas commotion. Bob and Fran, of the Bay Conspiracy, brought a new Holiday Rambler Neptune home and we all had to celebrate the new arrival. The shows, dances, dinners and parties continued and before we knew it, it was time for our next adventure.

Our Mexican Sojourn, OLE !

The big day couldn’t come soon enough but near the end of October the Bay Conspiracy saddled the four rigs and headed south of the border to a sunny little fishing village on the Sea of Cortez called Puerto Penasco. The place is less than 300 miles from Tucson and is very easy to get to, so easy in fact that it’s a very popular destination for the locals here. They call it Rocky Point or sometimes Tucson Beach.

Off we went, our little caravan crossing the desert to Why – yes the name is Why, Arizona – don’t ask me why. We all had to buy Mexican insurance at Why. Why? Because the Mexican government requires it when you drive into Mexico. Why don’t we do that when the Mexicans drive into the U.S.A.? Why? Anyway the insurance isn’t very expensive and it covers your butt if you get hit by one of those uninsured Mexican drivers while in Mexico. Why don’t the Mexicans have to buy Mexican insurance? Why?

We took a lunch break at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and crossed the border at Lukeville, Arizona into Sonora, Mexico. We never had to stop at Mexican customs, the Federalles just waved us Gringos right on through. They know a good thing when they see it. Rich Gringos come spend lots of good US money. They were very courteous. From the border it’s about 60 miles of good paved highway to Puerto Penasco. There we checked into the Playa Bonita RV Resort located right on the Sea of Cortez. Our campsites were all together only 50 yards from the beach. Wow, this was camping in grand style! Ray, he’s with Chris, the ones with the rolling 45 foot Ritz Carlton, tuned in his satellite dish and we were soon enjoying cocktails and snacks while watching the Colorado Rockies loose the first game of the World Series on his outdoor high definition widescreen TV. WOW! This really is camping in grand style. We don’t even want to start wondering what the other half is doing. We spent an entire week lounging, sightseeing, shopping, dining and dancing the nights away and generally spoiling ourselves rotten.

Puerto Penasco is primarily a fishing village that is quickly turning into an upscale resort destination. There are lots of high-rise, and high-priced condos and time share properties going up along about three miles of beautiful beach. I’m sure it won’t be long before the cruise ships start calling. For the time being however, it’s still small enough and quaint enough to be very enjoyable. Shrimp season had just opened the week before we arrived and the boats were going out every evening at sunset returning at dawn loaded with some of the best shrimp we have ever tasted. We gorged on them throughout the week along with lots of other really fresh and excellently prepared seafood. The Tequila was cheap, not in quality, in price, and the Kahlua was even cheaper. We all stocked up on all the booze we could legally carry back into the U.S.A. before we left town. Our freezers were also well stocked with enough shrimp and seafood to last us for a while after we got home.

The trip back to Tucson was uneventful except for dealing with U.S. Customs back at Lukeville. Those guys have a tough job and they really screened and inspected us very carefully before letting us re-enter the U.S.A. We had a fantastic trip and have now put Puerto Penasco on our yearly agenda, at least until it grows too big.

Return to Tucson

After several months on the road we were ready to return to Tucson and get back enjoying the good life at the Voyager. We took a leisurely two days to make the trip from Taos stopping overnight at Truth or Consequences, NM. Now, before I go any further I must explain a few things so bear with me please.

Before we ever moved into our new home we had met three other couples who all have motor homes and homes with motor home ports here at the Voyager. In fact two of the couples, Ray and Chris and Bill and Barbara, live right across the street from us and the third, Bob and Fran, live just around the corner on our block. It’s really amazing, we struck up a hard and fast friendship and it seems like we have all known each other for years. We spend a lot of time together and it seems that it’s always time for a drink and a party around here. Fran, she belongs to Bob, came up with a name for our group. She named us the Bay Conspiracy – the Bay is the section of the Voyager that we live in. She even hand painted individual wine glasses for each one of us with our names and the Bay Conspiracy on them. We now have to take them to the dances with us since all eight of us go together and sit at the same table.

Now, back to my little chronicle – we were quite anxious to get together with the Bay Conspiracy again and have our coming home party and swap stories about where each of us went and saw and did on our summer excursions. Just like all the kids do when they return to school in the fall and tell the class what they did last summer. Ray and Chris, returned home with a brand new Newmar Mountain Aire, all 45 feet of it with a 450 horsepower Cummins and two, count them, TWO bathrooms on board. Needless to say we were all quite impressed. Did I mention that it also had a big refrigerator and a smaller refrigerator/freezer in a bay under the coach. Our Bounder was looking smaller and smaller – umm.

We all spent the next couple of weeks getting our houses back in order after their long summer hibernations and making preparations for our first trip together as a group, to, of all places, Mexico!