Checking out home bases... and on to Quartzsite

I've been busy checking out little places to use as a home base.  I'm feeling like I need one, or will in a while, and the Escapee parks and other park models have been on my mind. 

When I left New Mexico, I headed for southern Arizona to check out the Benson Escapee park, Saguaro Co-Op.

They show you to your site - I appreciated that! 

It is really nice, super clean and friendly, and I took advantage of their special - $50 for a full week of hook-ups.  The members of the co-op can put their site in the rental pool when they are going to be gone, which leaves some nice sites to rent - short term or long term.  I chose one on the edge with fields on one side. 

Nice, huh?  When you rent another Escapee's lot while they are gone, you can't use the "casita" that's on the site.  But you could put your chairs on the patio and enjoy sitting in the shade.

The weather was perfect, taking Katie for walks up and down the paved streets was nice, and I met quite a few people.  I could definitely be happy there, but they have a long waiting list and I wanted to check out some other places, so after our week there, we moved west.

Next we visited Lloyd of Wanderin, and he joined me on a tour of  Far Horizons Tucson Village, where he lives.  He has a very nice, newer park model.

Above is a drawing of a park model that I "borrowed" from Far Horizons' brochure.  I didn't want to use any real photos of homes.

I toured quite a few that were for sale, and there were some I would have purchased right then if I was ready.  So far, I'm just doing research, but park models are just the right size and I loved the community feeling there.  Thanks for the visit Lloyd, it was great seeing you again. 

Then we headed toward Quartzsite, and after a night of rest at a truck stop along the way, we arrived here on Tuesday. 

I found a great campsite in a new area (for us), got set up, then drove down the road to the dump area in La Posa South.  Took care of that chore, filled up with fresh water, drove back to town for propane and a few supplies, and here we are.  The weather has been great, one cloudy day and the rest have been sunny, warm and breezy.

Notice the rock-lined driveway?  I finished the site today and now have a road into the site and out of the site.  A circular driveway.  And I put together my first rock burning pit - I decided this year I'm going to burn all my paper instead of hauling it to the dumpsters.  I've always needed to "take out the trash" every day, but now it's every other day.  I don't know why I didn't think of this before  :)

See our nice living room, above and below?  I put our chairs and table there, as well as a runner carpet with Katie's fence around it.  So we both have a nice place to relax in the shade.

Katie and I have been taking lots of walks, and have been sitting outside enjoying our "living room." 

We were sitting in the living room the other day - it is lower than the area The Palms is parked on.  I usually check all around and under The Palms before we leave anywhere, but hadn't noticed this - it must be something new:

I got a little rug to lay on and went under to see what was going on.  This hose, that is attached to the generator and should be tied up to the frame, had been tied with a zip tie which had broken.

Luckily I have a package of different lengths of zip ties, and used a bunch of them to re-tie the hose.  Now it's secure, and I'll keep checking to make sure it stays that way.  :)

View of the "fixed" hose from my chair in the living room - well, you can't see the fixed hose, that's the point.  :)

Another year.  This is our fourth season at Quartzsite, and it's nice to feel like I know where things are and what to expect.  The only unknown is weather.  Our first year here it wasn't great - cold and windy a lot of the time.  The second year was nice.  Last year, our third year, was absolutely perfect the whole time we were here.  This year, we'll see.  I'm hoping it will be as nice as last year. 

Our view of the Q on the mountain out the dinette window:

It looks like it's snowing here, but that white stuff is sand.  I took this shot during our cloudy afternoon and you can see the colors are different than when it's sunny. 

We will be staying here in the area the whole season this year, heading for San Diego the last week of March to visit my kids for Easter.  Hopefully the weeks before and after Easter I'll be able to complete the doctor, dentist and vision appointments I schedule every year in San Diego.

Here's the first sunset from Quartzsite this year - we've had some pretty ones already.

From me and Katie, have a great Saturday, everyone!  :)