Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 29-06-2010
When we first talked to our good friend Jonathan about helping us lease our AZ house, he came up with a “deal”. In exchange for his work , we would allow him to borrow our RV for up to a month near the end of our trip. Deal! The planning consisting for the turnover consisted of driving lessons which Jonathan passed with flying colors. (Although I think he still wondered (as do I) how this big (huge) house makes it down the highway, especiallly around corners with little shoulder! Ken and I worked hard to prep our baby and turned it over to the pears one sunny and HOT (talking 105 degrees) AZ day. They were so excited and we were so happy to get to have them fulfill a dream. It was surreal to see our RV with the van take off down the street! While they were on the road, we stayed in their 3500 sq ft house for a few days where we kept losing Hobie. Really! Then we headed up to the central coast to spend time with my mom. We celebrated Nikki’s 13th birthday and she got the camera she’s been dreaming of for months. While the Pears had a great time, they lasted only about 2 weeks and were happy to return to the creature comforts of their AZ home. The RV lifestyle isn’t for everyone but we are happy to have shared the experience with this wonderful family!
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Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 22-06-2010
It’s HOT in Phoenix but the mountains above Phoenix are the perfect escape as it’s usually 20 to 30 degrees cooler than Phoenix. We’ve heard great things about Show Low and now we know why. Fools Hollow State Park in Show Low is one of the nicest state parks we have visited and we were lucky to find a camping spot right on the lake. We parked in a double spot, designed to be shared when you travel with other families. The park was fairly empty as it was mid week so we had no fear that someone would choose to park right next to us. Well, a day into our stay a nice older couple with a new RV and not much experience in the whole camping etiquette thing, decided the spot right next to us (and I mean TWO feet from our front door) was perfect for them. I tried to persuade them to consider other spots as after all, did they really want to be that CLOSE to us? We aren’t that friendly! My talk was futile and they went about setting up all their stuff. Then their children and grandchildren arrived. Yippee!! At least we only had one night left to spend at the park and were planning on taking off early the next day. When we ventured out of our RV at 6AM to enjoy our last morning coffee overlooking the lake, we woke up all their little yappy dogs and thus woke up their whole camp. Unintentional of course! Maybe next time they will decide not to park so close to another family.
We were almost scared to travel down the mountains and into the heart of the Phoenix area. We weren’t used to the heat and hoped we wouldn’t all shrivel up into raisins! We stayed at Desert’s Edge RV Park and, while the kids play with their friends, Ken and I prepped our RV for the Pear Family to use for the month of July. Jonathan managed our property in Anthem AZ for the last two years. His only payment was the use of our RV during the summer of 2010. We were happy with the exchange as we would love to share this wonderful lifestyle with another family.
Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 20-06-2010
We loved being able to literally stand on the corner in Winslow AZ highlighted in one of our favorite Eagles songs. The town was surprisingly upbeat with a fun little downtown consisting of a main street. We enjoyed some great Mexican food and sat at the same booth where Harrison Ford dined some years ago. Definitely worth a stop if you find yourself en route from New Mexico to Arizona!
Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 16-06-2010
Santa Fe New Mexico
We’ve always wanted to check out Santa Fe as it seemed like a great combination of artisans, culture and desert beauty. Our campground, on an Indian reservation was simple but clean and was a great base for visiting Santa Fe. Santa Fe is nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the foothills of the Rockies. The town didn’t disappoint and it was more than we expected. The main street gave us a feel of authentic Mexico and the churches were old, beautiful and full of history and character. Ken and I visited the city one day on our own and strolled down each street, popping into little courtyards full of shops and little cafes. It truly gave us a feel of being in another country and we look forward to visiting the town of Santa Fe again in the future, perhaps staying in the beautiful “La Fonda” hotel as well!
Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 15-06-2010
Our stop at the Great Sand Dunes NP was one of our most memorable. How beautiful sand dunes are silhouetted again a bright blue sky and bordered by mountains and streams. Breathtaking really. We arrived to quite a windstorm (not fun when there’s sand involved) but it calmed down the following morning and we started our trek up the side of one of the bigger dunes. We did some dumper diving and found some cardboard to use as makeshift sleds. The kids were in position and ready to ski down the side of the dune. Speeds of 25 MPH were anticipated. “Countdown. . 5.4.3.2.1 and GO!” There goes Andrew and there he goes. . .about 2 feet and. . .that was the end of that ride! Guess the sand wasn’t really sliding sand as it took almost as long to go down as it did to go up! We took a picture of the shadows our bodies cast on the dunes and wished we were all really that tall and skinny!
Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 14-06-2010
We love almost everything about Colorado. It was so great to come back to the state campgrounds outside of Denver we visited at the beginning of our RV adventure. You would never guess that a big city was so close by as the campgrounds are vast and full of nature. I took the girls into Boulder one day and we had such fun. Amazing how Poohnut can balance herself against two stone walls! We encountered a couple of large storms while at Cherry Creek and we were happy not to have washed away with all the rain we got one night! Andrew took off at the beginning of the month to visit his buddy Austen in Ariona. His family included Andrew on their trip south of the border to Rocky Mountain Mexico! We could see ourselves living in Colorado one day as the culture is one of outdoor activity with beautiful vistas and open skies as far as the eye can see.
