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Lots of wonderful FAMILY TIME in Mesa {Arizona}

Apr 302016



Mesa-Arizona-Family-Time

Travel dates :: March 18 – April 11

We spent a solid THREE weeks in Mesa, Arizona – one of the LONGEST times we’ve spent anywhere since we started this journey. I thought we might get bored, but honestly it went by too fast. We left Tucson and pulled into Mesa around March 18 with reservations at Monte Vista RV Resort, I told you all about that here (we loved it)!

Usery-Regional-Camping-view

After Monte Vista we moved over to Usery Regional Park with a 2-week reservation! Just a short 20 minutes from my Grandma’s house in Mesa we had actually been to Usery for a hike on a past vacation in 2013 (see how young my kids are and a little bit about our hike there)! Based on our previous visit we knew we would love camping here.

Usery-Regional-Park-large-camping-sites

Our spot was HUGE and gorgeous. Sweeping views of the mountain behind us and lots of room for the kids to run around and play. We have a set of rubber baseball bases and the kids set up a baseball field as soon as we got situated. Our spot was a bit far from the bathrooms – which was tricky since we didn’t have sewer hook-ups, but we managed to only have to dump ONE time in those 2 weeks – YAY! Cost for this campground is $30/night.

Desert-Survival-Arizona-Usery-classKids taking a Desert Survival Course

Usery Regional Park has some fantastic volunteer-led educational programs. Our kids did two classes during our stay – a Desert Survival course that covered how to safely hike in the desert and a What Lives in the Holes? course that shared about all the little critters that live underground in the dessert.

[Read more…]

{ 3 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Arizona, Destinations

Our favorite fulltime outdoor RV accessories

Apr 42016



RV-Accessories-fulltime-RV

About a month ago we shared a post about our favorite RV appliances and gadgets that we use inside the trailer. We thought it’s about time we share some of our favorite RV accessories that we use outside when we set up camp!

Surge-Guard-RV-airstream

TRC 34750-001-LCD 50 Amp Surge Guard – The TRC 34750-001-LCD 50 Amp Surge Guard automatically shuts off power to your trailer if there is a sudden change in voltage (like a power surge or low voltage that could potentially damage your trailer). Electrical connections in RV parks aren’t always the most stable and this is a line of defense between the electrical connection and your trailer’s electrical system. We know people who have surge guards and people who don’t – depending on who you talk to you’ll likely get different recommendations about whether this is truly a necessity. We were on the fence and asked our local Airstream repair shop (Seattle, who we love) if they thought we needed one and they said they’d suggest it based on damage they’ve seen to trailers without surge protectors.  In the end we decided that $400 was worth it – especially if it saves our trailer from a major electrical failure. Seems like a minor investment for trailers that can costs thousands. We found the best price was on Amazon. We use this EVERY TIME we plug in to shorepower and we’ve had it trip only a couple times and overall we’re glad we have it. If you have a 30-amp trailer the 30-amp surge guard is less expensive.

X-Chock-RV-Airstream

X-Chock Wheel Stabilizer – We recently got a two pack of the X-Chock Wheel Stabilizers and we’ve been really pleased with them. They provide trailer stabilization by providing opposing forces against the wheels. It also has the ability to have a padlock installed that helps with theft prevention. This seems to provide more stability than the wheel chocks alone.

[Read more…]

{ 2 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Day-to-Day Living, Planning

Monte Vista Village RV Resort Encore Property Review {Mesa, Arizona}

Apr 42016



Monte-Vista-Village-RV-Resort

Travel dates :: March 18 – 23, 2015

After a wonderful time in Tucson we headed north to Mesa, Arizona.  As much as we loved our campground in Tucson we were so excited for FULL HOOK-UPS and a five-night stay at Monte Vista Village RV Resort in Mesa.

As soon as pulled in, I knew that staying here was going to be a TREAT. Located just five minutes from my grandma with easy access to freeways and a grocery store – the location was primo for what we needed during our stay. We were greeted by a nice employee at the front gate (which is staffed 24/7) and headed to the main office to check-in.

Monta-Vista-Village-RV-Resort-office

The Monte Vista Village RV Resort property is beautiful. It’s clean, well-maintained, gorgeous landscaping, easy to navigate and it really felt like a vacation resort. After checking in, we were escorted to our campsite on 4th avenue in between two nice mobile homes – it felt like we were on a regular neighborhood street.

Monta-Vista-Village-RV-Resort-our-spot

We had a nice, level spot next to a large paved area. Plenty of room for us to move around.

Monte-Vista-RV-Resort-Airstream

We quickly made ourselves at home. Our neighbors stopped by as soon as we got settled and greeted us – welcoming us to the neighborhood – how sweet is that!?! And look at those blue skies. . . we love the weather here in the spring!

[Read more…]

{ 4 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: RV Park Reviews

Tucson :: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park {Arizona}

Apr 32016



Tucson-Arizona-Travel-Airstream

Travel dates :: March 14 – 18, 2016

After a quick couple days in Las Cruces, New Mexico (and White Sands!) we headed west again. Our next stop was Tucson, Arizona.

We stayed at Gilbert Ray campground up in the Tucson Mountains. It’s a county-run park, first-come, first-serve (read: no reservations!) and was only $20 a night with electric hook-ups (not water or sewer). It was a BEAUTIFUL place to stay. Great hiking trails, clean restrooms, fantastic volunteer-led programs and close to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park. We’d stay here again in a heartbeat.

Filling-up-water-Gilbert-Ray-Campground

We almost always have water and electric hook-ups, so our first stop at Gilbert Ray campground was to fill up our fresh water tank so we’d have water for the five nights we were here. (Remember we got our fresh water tank repaired in Michigan? It’s still working like a champ!)

Gilbert-Ray-campground-campsite

We got a spot on an inside loop. When we pick our own sites we try to go for outside loops – because they are generally bigger and then you don’t have another trailer behind you. But this one was nice and big, with lots of vegetation.

Gilbert-Ray-Campground-Tucson

Our spot was close to the restrooms – which is great when you don’t have full hook-ups. I loved that the roads are paved – great for walking, biking and you don’t have a bunch of dust from vehicles driving along.

Gilbert-Ray-Campground-Tucson-spot

Here’s another angle of our campsite. Mountains on all sides – we loved it.

Nature-Walk-Tucson-Arizona-kids

Our first morning at the park they had a volunteer-led hike through the desert to identify local plants and birds. We included this as part of our homeschooling for the day (read more about our homeschooling here) and we learned SO MUCH. In the photo above the volunteer is explaining about the Cholla cactus. This cactus looks all fuzzy and friendly but it has nasty barbs on it’s spikes making it latch on to any sort of clothing or skin that might brush up against it! You do not want to come into contact with a cholla!

Octotillo-cactus-flowers-tucson

Here a county park volunteer points out the flowers on the Ocotillo plant. Not a true cactus, the flowers on this plant are beautiful and appear in the spring, summer and sometimes the fall.

ocotillo-Flower-Tucson-blue-skies

A close-up of the Ocotillo flower. Apparently the hummingbirds LOVE these flowers because their shape makes them perfect for their thin, pointy beaks. Isn’t it beautiful against that blue sky!?!

Nature-walk-Gilbert-Ray-Campground

Along the hike one of the volunteers showed us the hard bird nest (also called a Saguaro boot) that is created inside the Saguaro cactus! It’s a hard shell of callus tissue inside the cactus as a way for the cactus to protect itself from the birds nesting inside. These holes are generally started by the Gila woodpecker and the Gilded Flicker which have beaks strong enough to break apart the rib tissue. A variety of local birds use the Saguaro cacti for nests – living inside these hardened shells. Native Americans of the Seri group used these saguaro boots to carry water! How interesting is that!?

[Read more…]

{ 2 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Arizona, Destinations, Saguaro National Park hike with kids

White Sands National Monument, Las Cruces {New Mexico}

Mar 312016



White-Sands-National-Monument-Visit

Travel dates :: March 12 – 14, 2016

After a wonderful four nights in Carlsbad, New Mexico it was time to keep moving west. Our next planned stop was Las Cruces, New Mexico.

There were two routes to choose from going from Carlsbad to Las Cruces and we opted for the route that went right through the White Sands National Monument because that was on our list of things to see.

Cloud-Croft-Village-8650-foot

However this route ended up taking us up through Lincoln National Forest – and we reached an elevation of 8,300 feet! The drive up to the summit was a gradual uphill grade with BEAUTIFUL views and we even saw SNOW along the roadside! The climb down the other side of the mountain had a fairly steep grade – something we hadn’t driven for months and I was a little bit nervous. But we just took our sweet time, shifted into a lower gear and let our truck’s tow/haul mechanism do most of the work.

Tunnel-New-Mexico-Lincoln-Forest

There were a lot of curves which meant other traffic wasn’t going fast either and we even went through a tunnel at one point!

RV-Parking-White-Sands

It wasn’t long after we descended that we reached White Sands National Monument and we pulled into the Visitor’s Center parking lot. Thankfully they have 3-4 RV parking spots, we had plenty of room to park. But imagine when it’s busy that it could be difficult to find parking.

White-Sands-Visitors-Center-outside

We started inside the Visitor’s Center and picked up the Junior Ranger booklets for the kids (read more about the Jr. Ranger Program here).

[Read more…]

{ 5 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Destinations, New Mexico

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