Where's Kathy Now?!

This post was started a good two weeks ago but since I had quite a bit of it written already, I decided to post it as is, even though I made a 'sudden' decision to move over to the greater LA area. I'll explain that decision in another post!

So. . . . at the time that this was originally written, I was at a wonderful rv park located in Florence, AZ. The name of this gem is Desert Garden RV Oasis http://www.desertgardensrvpark.com. It's situated within about an hour of Phoenix and Tucson and half an hour of Casa Grande. I settled in there for two months and enjoyed my stay immensely.  If you find yourself in this area, I'd say this park is worth stopping by to experience for yourself. When I first arrived back in the Phoenix area, I went down to this park and drove through -- it was quite empty of rv'ers at that time. That was around the end of September and the temperatures in AZ were still hot!!  It was a good month later that I finally made my way down there to stay a spell! The park was gradually filling in with return snowbirds - some who owned their site there.  This is a 'cooperative rv park' with just a few park models.   One of these days, I'd like to create a separate blog similar to the ones that other rving bloggers have created so that I can share details about the places I stopover at or settle into for a longer stay.
 

While there is no golf course associated with his particular park, there are a few within a decent drive.  What appealed to me most about this park is that it is in a more rural, desert setting. I have really been enjoying my walks on the perimeter walking path they've created for our use. The night sky is amazing as are the sunsets and sunrises!!

I found it quite unsettling that there were very few offerings by way of rv parks that are located in a more rural setting in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.   I have found out that I am definitely NOT a lover or, even a ‘liker’ of citified rv parks – I don’t care how convenient they are!!  That’s just me though and I can understand that there are folks who feel diametrically opposed to my viewpoint.
 

I’ve used the past two months to take a ‘break’ from travelling and sightseeing.  I had an absolutely fantastic spring and summer with family and friends visiting, travelling and sightseeing with me.  We covered a lot of territory and got to see so many truly amazing and wondrous sights.   From June 10^th to Sept. 8^th I put about 13.5K miles on the truck and 5^th wheel -- wow!!

I like the greater Phoenix / Tucson area of AZ and might have seriously considered it a place that I would ‘settle in’ at some point down the road. This area offers a wide range of activities year round and most are within 45 mins to an hour drive. There’s a chunk of ‘but’ however! For me, personally, the ‘dry’ atmosphere is problematic. I thrive, look and feel much better in something more moist, even humid – well maybe with the exception of my hair. My eyes constantly need me to put warm, wet packs on them, my nose needs ‘watering’ several times each day and my hair. . . . there are NO words for how dry it has become – no matter the amount of conditioner I pile on it. So, we’ll see where else I take a liking to as I continue to travel.

I will be here for probably another month, mid-January perhaps. My daughter, Dianne, will be taking a work assignment at a firm located in Glendale, CA and she suggested I look for an rv park in the greater LA area (I know- ha, ha, ha) and we could spend some time together before I move along in April/May 2011.  I’m looking forward to doing that and to spending some time in southern CA.  I did stopover in Desert Hot Springs on my trek toward the Napa, CA area in October 2009.  I stayed at another nice park there, Caliente Springs - part of the Sky Valley Resorts. They have a wonderful hot springs pool that I thoroughly enjoyed – met some really nice folks there and I got to use my Passport America there also.  I’d like to go back there and then spend time closer to the coast.  But, I’d also like to be within 1 ½ to 2 hours of where Dianne will be so she can drive down on the weekends when she wants to get to warmer climate.  It’ll be tricky from what research I’ve done so far.

There are a couple of things I’d like to see/do before I leave here in mid-January. One is get to Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa – a neat place that the owners/mangers of Desert Garden told me not to miss. They have good pizza and boast having the world’s largest Wurlitzer Theatre style organ which provides music throughout their opening hours. That should be fun.  I also want to get up to the Desert Botanical Garden to see their Las Noches de las Luminarias display which looks delightful.  And, finally, I’d like to visit the Boyce Thompson Arboretum which isn’t too far from Florence. If I have time, a trip down to see the Biosphere would be great too and a concert at either the Phoenix or Tucson Symphony would be a very nice treat.

There will be more of these “Where’s Kathy Now” posts along the way but that’s about all from here for now.