2020-9 Payson to Holbrook Arizona : WigWam Motel

2020-9

Payson, Arizona

Holbrook, Arizona

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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.

Campsite: Holbrook AZ, parking lot side where a department store closed, near the Tractor Supply Store. Free. Paved, good Verizon signal. No TV.

parking lot camping
far side, next to closed store

Payson, last week, heading out in a couple of days

I’ve definitely enjoyed my stay in the area. The weather has been awesome, low 80’s mostly, breezy and sunny every day. The locals are friendly, some taking the necessary precautions with the Covid 19 things, others ignoring it completely. I’m sure this is standard all across the country. I continue to wear my mask in public, not sure it’s doing much good, but worth the effort. Also I wash my hands constantly and try to avoid places with lots of people.

I brought my camper in for an oil change/filter as I didn’t have any info as to when it had last been done. Good thing I did, while Big O tire company was checking on it all out as well as cleaning the permanent air filter, they checked all my fluids. Discovering that I was almost completely out of Steering wheel fluid. Had a leak in the hose and the pump needed replacing. Big O was able to order all Mercedes original parts including oil and filter and they were able to install it all the following day. I spent the night parked on the side of the store. I really think my guardian angels are working overtime taking care of me.

At Big O Tire, they do more than just tires

Was awakened about 3 am in the morning when I heard and saw blinking red and white lights coming at me…. I have two windows surrounding my bed. Ekkk! A big ole garbage truck was backing up after picking up a dumpster. Fortunately he didn’t hit me, but wow, what a wake up call.

I was able to have breakfast the next morning at a local restaurant right across the street from the repair shop, with outdoor picnic tables nicely spaced out. Even had lunch later on, as the repairs took until about 1pm that day. It was the first day permitting indoor dining which I did. All the staff were wearing masks, as well as myself. The two other diners spaced every other booth, had no masks on. Well, how do you have lunch anyway with a mask on. I kept mine on until dining…. It was odd, felt almost safe, but still one comes in close contact with the waitress for short periods of time. Noticed the menus had been sanitized before giving them to the customers.

and they sure did a great job

Good news, I’m able to pick up my Florida License plates and mail on Monday before heading out of town. It took over two months to straighten out the paperwork between Arizona and Florida. Florida tried to charge me taxes, which I already paid in Arizona, that was finally settled and we are finally ready to travel “legally” with the new Fl plates.

Side note;  the tag is good until July 2020, really, then pay again to renew....

My neighbors camping across from me the past couple of days are a young French couple with a daughter of perhaps 7 years old. They are traveling the country now for the past 3 years. Working on-line. Looks like they are living out of a modified trailer. I meet so many different travelers/campers. And now that I’m doing more boondocking, it is a whole new set of camper/workers, retirees enjoying the country on a dime that I’m meeting. As the saying goes.

Young French couple and daughter, traveling throughout the
U.S. and working via Internet

Distance Traveled: 86 miles

Holbrook AZ, Route 66

the only thing about travel during this
period is I can't go into shops, or museums to get
more information on the area

Ahh, the open road. And a pleasant drive through Arizona’s pine forests and high country grass lands. I’m heading to Holbrook Az which is on part of the original Route 66. The Wigwam Motel has been on my bucket list for a number of years and I finally was able to see it, walk around all the old rusted out vintage cars and see what for me is the 4^th Wigwam village I’ve visited. The owner actually owns a total of three original sites. One in California only has three of the Tee Pees still standing. This one is beautifully maintained. Along with taking pictures of the Wigwam Motel, I was also to explore the town and take a couple fun pictures. it’s close to Petrified National Forest, which I’ve gone through in the past. It’s currently closed, but here in Holbrook, I’m able to see lots of petrified wood trees. Some at the Wigwam Motel, and a number of Rock shops in town.

Wigwam Motel, the 4th one I've seen across country
Orlando had one that I saw in 1972, gone the following year

a part of the Route 66 history
when auto travel became so popular

this was an exciting day for my advventures

With the Covid 19 stuff going on, it’s like visiting a ghost town, almost anyway as there are some of the approved shops, gas stations and fast food restaurant’s that are all open. Though on a good day, many of these small towns were all but eliminated when the Interstate Highways bypassed all the small towns along the Route 66 road. This is Indian country and so many of the reservations have been hit hard with the Covid pandemic.

petrified logs

RV Tips:

I’ve been gradually adding small touches to make the Class C camper my home. Here are two hacks, as my friend Christine call them.

To make a more comfortable seating arrangement/lounge for watching Tv, I put a pillow with arms upside down. One, the pillow doesn’t slide down when leaning against it and the arms are at the proper height to rest my arms on them…. How cool is that?

it may not look pretty, but it is very comfortable

Second, I’ve never had a problem with clothes jumping off the hangers in my 5^th wheel campers, but this Class C is different. I find a couple shirts, jackets and jeans on the floor every-time I stop. So, having a couple of those tension rods, I placed one next to the coat hangers and now everything stays in place. Problem solved.

white rod hold the hangers from jumping track

So, although touring is pretty much out for the summer, even though a number of National Parks are going to start opening up on a limited trial basis, and so many towns and stores will remain a challenge to visit and use. It looks like I’ll still be able to visit on the periphery of many of theses destination places and still enjoy the country side, scenery and continue to take as many pictures to share with you.

back in Payson, opposite the Home Depot Store

And of course I’ll be documenting this strange new world we live in, hoping and waiting for the day things will get back to some kind of normalcy.

Except for the occasional feeling of being overwhelmed by everything, Trying to keep safe, clean, and healthy and hoping I haven’t made any mistakes. Did I wash my hands right away after touching something. Did I get too close to someone or did they get too close to me without my knowing it…...

Overall I’m in a pretty good place both mentally, physically and spiritually. Fortunately I was born with an overall positive outlook on life. Along with a big dose of reality thrown in. So on that note, lets keep our distance, wash our hands constantly, and avoid going into to many stores. We can do this.

More photos:

Payson, more photos added to album

Holbrook Arizona  now this was a fun day for picture taking!

2020-7 Payson Arizona, Mogollon Ridge, Little Green Valley

2020-7

Payson Arizona

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.

Little Green Valley, I feel like I should pay someone
for such a great little campsite. 

Campground: Rim Campground, on Mogolon Rim. Just used dump station $7, and filled water $3.00

campground closed until May 15^th.

Notes from Lake Havasu

A Couple of notes on Lake Havasu. The town has grown to over 50,000 residence. The developer purchased the London Bridge and had in moved over piece by piece and resembled in the newly developed town. A major attractions that has brought lots of people to the area and the Lake setting.

Along with many newly minted homes in the area, it is a haven for RV-ers and there are many Rv and MH communities. Winter residence of course. So many so, that the area also has a huge number of in-door storage facilities catering to the Rv’er for storing their campers and vehicles under roof. Remember, it gets up into the 100 degree temps here even as early as late April. Some of those storage units are called condominiums, as you can purchase a unit for storage of those expensive RV’s that some people actually never travel in, only using them as winter residence’s.

Lake Havasu is now noted for having weekly events throughout the winter months, art shows, car shows and even a fireworks convention, where town officials from all over the U.S. come to see the latest fireworks displays and then order them for their 4^th of July and other holiday celebrations. And of course it has become a haven for Spring Breakers.

the famous London Bridge, Lake Havasu City

Payson Arizona

I’ve decided to stay here for at least two weeks before continuing my northern journey. It’s a real mixed bag in this community along the Mogolon Ridge and at an elevation of over 5,000 feet much cooler than Phoenix and Tucson and other places throughout Arizona at lower elevations. Mixed bag as in, many people are conscientious about wearing a mask and gloves. Others don’t bother. At the laundromat today, and I had a ton of laundry to do, 5 out of 6 people were wearing masks including me.

cowboy country, workers at the Zane Gray House

Zane Gray House (this is the 3rd one)
and located about 12 miles from original

nice intown park, next to Zane Gray house and college

Over at Tractor Supply, none of the workers were wearing masks. And the Attendant that filled my propane tank said he noticed less and less folks were wearing them at his store.

This is a smaller community, but since it is geared towards the outdoors men, hikers, bikers, campers, hunters, they have lots of folks migrating into the area on weekends, making for much more explosive conditions ripe for Covid 19 to be spread around. Unless they arrive and head directly to the forests settings. But like myself, I’ve had to go into town to get fuel, propane, groceries (ordering online and picking up curbside) etc. In any event I have more exposure than I’d like. I do wear a mask most always when out and wash my hands constantly.

Note: Payson has only had 6 cases of Covid 19. From that standpoint, I do feel a bit safer.

My campsite as I mentioned last week, at Little Green Valley, it awesome during the week, being very quiet, with only a few campers coming and going. I still have a nice neighbor to visit with each day. And of course, even with minimal internet (mostly the signal becomes available later in the evening) so I’m able to check with all you fine folks, send messages out and I keep up with my many Rv communities on FaceBook.

campsite at Little Green Valley

view from my front window

Little Green Valley

I did treat myself today with a trip to the sporting goods store (I guess it’s considered a vital business and remains open). I called ahead, ordered a hammock, have always wanted one and this is the perfect place to use one. I was able to pick it up at the front counter, pay for it and leave before any other customers arrived. Looking forward to using it heavily throughout the summer months.

Mogolon Ridge: 7,000 to 8,000 feet elevation

Mogolon Ridge, bike path runs along the edge

Mid week, I took a drive up to the top of the Mogolon Ridge where there are some spectacular views and many campgrounds. The campgrounds are currently closed, but expect to be open on 15 May 2020. Drive up, approx. 2,000- 3,000 more feet in elevation.

Opposite the small log cabin visitor center off of hwy 260, is the paved road leading to many campsites and the pull-off viewing areas. Bikers will be happy to note that there is a paved walking/biking path along the rim. Though I must say, I felt a few butter flies driving along the ridge top, and the bike path is even closer to the edge. It also run next to all the campgrounds making for a nice way to get to the sites and a couple of lakes up here.

Woods Canyon Lake

hwy 260

I met a fellow photographer from the area taking pictures of the expansive views and she told me, even with the light haze in the distance, that this would be considered a clear day, as smog from the Phoenix area can really impede the views. With less traffic, due to the Corona virus, the skies are much clearer.

Sprinter Mercedes Issue:

I had an issue with the new to me camper. While driving up here along rising elevation/steep grades and having to shift between manual and automatic, the gears appeared to be stuck in a lower gear. Having had an idiot light come on earlier about the DEF fluid being low a gallon, I thought I’d solved that issue by putting in a gallon. Come to find out, it was actually down 2.5 gallons and after finally realizing that, and filling it to the top, the gear issues appear to have gone back to normal. My understanding is that the computer will throttle down until the Def fluid it filled.

Note: There is not dip stick for the DEF fluid and the computer generated messages are not to be trusted as being accurate. I will check and refill the DEF fluid on a regular basis instead of waiting for the computer generated message to appear.

my electric bike fits perfect in the storage area, and
I put in a wood cover on the storage area below this open area.

BOONDOCKING Notes:

There are a few issues associated with boondocking, especially during Covid 19. Listed are a few to keep in mind.

• Boondockers are by it’s nature self-isolating. Keeping more than adequate distance from people.
• Many boondockers burn everything in their fire pits. Plastics, trash you name it. If you’re downwind from those folks, it can be pretty nasty.
• Finding a place to dump and get fresh water for holding tanks can be an issue. A couple of phone apps can help. I-Overlander and Rv Dump, and campendium apps might be of some help. Fellow Rv-ers are also a good source of local dump stations and water sources.
• During Covid 19, most all visitor centers are closed, if you’re lucky they will have a phone number for obtaining local information.
• Ordering groceries from places like Walmart and Safeway can be done even while on the road.
• One can visit with other boondockers, at a safe distance and I’ve been fortunate to park fairly close to some really nice fellow campers. Keeping lines of communications open whether in person or online are vital to ones good mental health.

Boondocking neighbors:
Glen in his van conversion.  he even used Pine beetle recycled wood 

Boondocking neighbors:
Just the sweetest couple, two friends
traveling together. they even gave me
home-made brownies...

• Doing research online is a huge help and being a member of multiple facebook camping groups can help finding the resources you may need. I’m members of groups like: Boondocking & free camping USA, Living the RV Dream, RV Tips, Full Time Rving, and Class C Rving USA
• Boondocking sites are getting crowded with many full time Rvers being kicked out of established Rv campgrounds with full hookups. Though this is starting to ease up after communities are realizing that RV parks are an Essential service.

MORE PHOTOS:

Payson Arizona, Mogolon Ridge

Little Green Valley, Payson AZ