2020-6 Heading Out towards.......

2020-6

Heading out towards……
Lake Havasu, AZ
Kingman
Hackberry
Seligman
Phoenix/ Apache Junction
Payson, AZ

along Route 66,closed when I drove through

Campground: AZLand.Gov (to apply online for the use permit) Lake Havasu Road, close to the Walmart on the North end of Town. Cost: $15 for a yearly single person pass. This is considered State Forest Land and is available for many sports, day use and some locations permit dry camping.

Scruffy looking sites, fairly full. Looks like a number of the campers have been here for quite some time. Those long term campers burn their trash and yes, everything. Air is thick with the smell of burning plastics etc. Usually lasts about 30-40 minutes after dark. Great Tv reception.

Not recommended.

Campground: Lake Havasu State Park. Dump station and fresh water fill. Cost: $15.00. Would be a great place to camp right along the waters edge. But they were full up. Sites are dry campsites, ie. no hookups.

Campground: Lone Tree BLM. North of Lake Havasu City. I has told this is a great place to camp, sites are flat. Well they are flat, but mainly on a sloping angle. Though the sites down into the lower section appear to have a number of spots that are fairly level. Both areas pretty open with campers fairly close to each other. Some TV reception. Spectacular views.

Lone Tree BLM site.

Campground: Yavapai County, Crookton. Chicken Fry BLM site for about 3 maybe 4 Rv’s. Just off of Route 66. and east of Seligman AZ. Weak Verizon signal, no TV reception. Quite location. Pinon pines.

original section of route 66

awesome little site, I would have stayed if not
for needing to get back to Apache Junction....

Campsite: Private home in Scottsdale. One night. Visit with friends. Thanks for the 30 amp, water and of course good company.

Campground: Little Green Valley. Payson AZ Tonto National Forest. Dispersed camping. Dusty dirt road, with ATV’s, dirt bikes and rednecks kicking up dust. Not many level sites. Nice forest setting. 5 over-the-air TV stations. Minimal to no Verizon coverage.

entering little green valley, Tonto Forest NP

awesome site, if a bit dusty at times

this was an odd couple with one child.  pulled out fast,
and left half the stuff behind after the trailer latch opened.
they eventually came back... happened to them twice.

Distance Traveled: 53 miles
Lake Havasu Arizona

another nice day for a walk along the London Bridge canal 

Add caption

a number of coves for launching kayaks, canoes

It was time to head out and start my trek heading north. Parker Az is expected to hit high 90s to 100 degrees in a few more days. While I’m in Lake Havasu once again and I’ll be picking up my grocery order from The Walmart’s here on the north end of lake Havasu City. They had everything on my list except for one item. Great way to order and pickup, with no contact involved.

Now yes, I could have once again stayed at one of the BLM lands on either end of town, but thought I’d check out the Arizona Land set up. Since I may be able to take advantage of it in the future. Ok, I’ve been a big spender today, $30.00. I was actually hoping to get a campsite at the state park which would have included the use of the dump station/water. But the campground was full up. So it’s onto plan B.

Distance Traveled: 100 mile aprox
Kingston Az onward to a section of Historic Route 66.

Hackberry, Along route 66

recently read a history on the Coca Cola Company... interesting

when route 66 was the road to travel on

It was nice to get on the road and get some distance along my summer journey. I stayed overnight at a very small BLM spot off of Route 66 east of Seligman. A town I planned on exploring.

But here’s the story. After making a few phone calls regarding the paperwork required to complete the requirements to get my Florida license plates, I discovered that the dealer had not forwarded the updated copy to my power of attorney in Florida. I had tried calling the dealer, e-mailing etc with no response. Soooo after a sleepless night, I’ve back tracked about 250 miles to Phoenix/Apache Junction to see the Rv dealer in person. It should be noted that he has Alzheimers. Come to find out he had e-mailed the paperwork to Florida, but never sent them a signed copy.

Paperwork finally secured and mailed out, I spent the night at my good friends Alex and Steve, who I originally purchased my newer “Big Blue” Chevy truck from. The following day, I headed up to Payson AZ and the Tonto National Forest. The drive up, and I mean up as hwy 87 continued to climb over 5,000 feet in elevation. My 24ft class C diesel engine ran well, but only at a slow 40 mph top speed. Those were some pretty steep grades of 6 and 7. Sure wish there had been pull-outs along the way. I would have liked to have stopped occasionally and take in the enormous grand mountain terrain. Starting out with saguaro cactus landscapes gradually reaching elevations with pinion pines and pine forests. Absolutely stunning scenery.

Unfortunately here in Tonto NF, the established campgrounds, two pages of them, are all closed. Only dispersed campsites are available. Making for more crowding. But I was able to find a good level site and plan on staying in this area for about 10 days.

High temperatures in the mid 90’s to 100 degree are dictating my moving on and attempt to get into higher elevations. I’ll stay here in the Little Green Valley area for approximately 10 days. I’m close to Payson for groceries, fuel etc. The campsite I’ve chosen is large enough that two other campers in Van campers have settled in on either side of me. Kathy, is a mountain biker and keeps herself in great condition. Glen on the other side of me is in a van that he has converted into a camper, doing all the work himself. he’s also into mountain biking, owning two bikes. He winters in his camper during his winter work as a ski safety worker. It’s nice to have human contact from a distance and these two RV-ers couldn’t be more pleasant to be surrounding me.

Today, around mid morning, I experienced the red-neck side of camping/atv’s and 4 wheel vehicles. All kicking up dust, driving trucks up steep sandy hills that should not be tackled in my opinion anyway. A group of about 4-5 trucks, with one small pop-up camper hung out in my area for a while. Most of the trucks with a fair amount of dents or missing bumpers. Young kids, maybe 19-22 years in age, guys all kept pulling beers out of coolers while others attempted the steep hill climb. No social distancing in that group. Including the 3 or 4 gals with them.

Although I don’t have hardly any Verizon signal, I am able to get 5 tv channels. So with radio/music, some TV for entertainment and a slew of books to keep me occupies. I’m hanging in there. I’ll do some minor hiking and touring the area during the middle of the week. Oh, and did I mention, the temperature is around 80 degrees, sunny blue skies, light breeze. Yes, I’m doing fine.

So till the next report, take care, stay safe and we’ll see each other down the road when this is all over with….

more photos:

 On the road, Route 66

Lake Havasu, Craggy Wash blm, wildflowers

2020-5 What a World we Live in

2020-4

What a World we Live in

Campground: BLM Big River. Boondocking. Dry camping, dispersed sites. California side but very close to Parker Az. (2^nd week)

Campground: Craggy Wash BLM 14 day free camping. Site is at the north end of the Lake Havasu Airport and one mile into Craggy Wash Canyon.

Craggy Wash, BLM free dispersed camping
north end of Lake Havasu AZ

Parker Arizona

It’s the middle of April and the temperatures are very moderate. Mid 70’s to 80 during the day and cool evenings in the 50’s. I’ve driven up from Parker to Lake Havasu to pick up some eye drops for my glaucoma. Good Lord are they getting expensive. I’m on 4 different eye drops and the two I picked up today cost $134.00 and 132.59. Without insurance they would have been $326.99 and $716.99. If that isn’t a sign that we need universal health care I don’t know what is.

Keeping in mind that at present, I have not paid any camping fees for the last couple of weeks and expect to continue this way throughout the summer. Living off the grid should save me considerable money this summer.

More good news, my ROKU stock is going back up and I’ve recovered a bit of the loss I’ve had since the Corona virus outbreak destroyed the markets. Sure wish I still owned Dollar General stock as well as it continues to go up in value. Two great stocks to purchase and hold onto.

And on top of all that good news, I’ve received the $1,200 relief check from the Federal Government today. Though I can’t imagine how we as a country are going to be able to pay it all back.

Distance Traveled: 53 miles
Lake Havasu Arizona

London Bridge Canal, opening onto Lake Havasu 

super nice walking path along the canal and the London Bridge

Eucalyptus trees

doesn't look like fun to me, having to stand up
and paddle ?

these guys were loud talkers
caring on a conversation with other boaters
and folks along the shoreline

Lake Havasu has miniature lighthouses all along the
lake shoreline 

Today's travel from my site on the other side of the Colorado River/Parker AZ to Lake Havasu and of course I’ll be heading back tomorrow to continue my stay in place during the pandemic. Though both Parker and Lake Havasu have not had all that many cases. I just feel safer in the smaller town of Parker before heading north eventually.

Lake Havasu has 4 or 5 dispersed BLM camping areas south of Lake Havasu with the closest one right next the large Lake Havasu sign leading into town on the south end. I’m on the north end, outside of town at Craggy Wash BLM. It boarders the northern end of the airport, but is about one mile into the canyon. And what a pretty canyon it is. Lots of campers, many of the older variety and many of the sites are not overly level, but still quite doable. The one long dirt road is ok and should not pose any problems for just about any size camper.

The rugged canyon walls, with many rock outcropping poking out at various angles. Wild flowers dot the valley floor and up the sides of the canyon walls. Just opposite my camp site is a sign indicating that the are is considered wilderness beyond the campground area and only foot traffic is permitted. I took a short hike up one of the paths leading into the wilderness, which sounds so primitive. Taking lots of close up shots of the spring wildflowers.

Craggy Wash BLM, free camping

One mile in from highway, next to Lake Havasu
Airport, north end of town

had to take a second look, didn't you

you know your a full time RV-er
living off the grid, the best you can

awesome canyon, but many sites were crowded
when I was here.

a bit too crowded for me

pygmy poppies in the desert 

In the morning before heading back to Parker, I got a hearty breakfast at Denny’s (take out of course) and then drove over the London Bridge and over to the park for a pleasant walk along the canal and Lake Havasu. Lots of dog walkers, boaters, fishermen and a couple paddle boarders. Something that just doesn’t look all that enjoyable to me. Having to stand up on the board, balance one self, and paddle all at the same time.

Coming back to Parker, I stopped in the Safeway Grocery store and was pleased to see all workers in the store are now required to wear a face mask. This was not the case when I went into the Walgreen's in Lake Havasu, as all the workers including the 4 or 5 working in the pharmacy. None had on face masks and could be spreading Covid all around. I would normally have gone through the drive thru window but needed to pick up a few other things besides my eye drops. Kind of scary.

Rv notes:

The Class C Solera motor home recently got 13.75 mpg not bad for driving around in ones home. The Mercedes diesel engine and drive train are awesome. It is so smooth switching between gears I don’t even notice when it is shifting while in cruise control mode going up hills. That and how cool is it that the turning radius is identical to your Chevy Silverado extended cab. Making it easy to make turns and go around corners, back into a parking spot and it actually fits in a basic parking spot.

The fridge is a bit smaller than the one I have in the 5^th wheel camper, but I’m able to get everything tucked in. At least with everything is so snugly packed in I don’t have to worry about anything bouncing around when traveling down the road.

Since the camper is a smaller footprint, when using the furnace at night to take the desert chill off, the furnace only has to run a short time to warm up the camper. Small spaces, less propane used. Haven’t had to turn on the a/c yet. As temps increase gradually, and as long as there is a breeze, all is well.

Camper Tip: 

 For those folks doing lots of boondocking, I found a solution for using my laptop without needing to use an inverter for electricity. Go online and purchase a DC plug compatible with your laptop. Note, my HP laptop has a blue tip on the end that plugs into the laptop. Since your laptop actually runs on DC power, (your regular A/C plug actually connects to an A/C outlet, then it converts back to DC power going into the laptop.) I purchase mine online as well as a DC extension cord.

DC power cord for HP Laptop
ordered online

Note to self: you did good kid getting the fully self contained Class C camper. It’s been super easy to travel in. handles well, and is perfect for this epidemic we are experiencing. Which by the way wasn’t even on the radar when you started to look into getting the smaller camper. Being able to self quarantine away from the general public is a blessing. A different type of camping than you’re used to, but you’re doing well and adjusting easily to this new lifestyle. You may miss your friends, but thank goodness for the internet and phone you are able to stay in contact.

I think I’m going to enjoy this new type of camping for many years to come. Praying for everyone’s safety and good health.

More Photos:

Lake Havasu, Craggy Wash BLM land