BABY…It’s Cold Outside…What an Adventure!

As we travel, we jot down notes, so this blog actually started the first part of March prior to all the chaos that happened…

The temperatures are definitely cooler…downright cold, never thought we would be saying it but it feels good. We’ve never liked the cold and snow and we never liked the extreme heat, we have always been fair weather people. But, now we are leaning more towards the cooler temperatures for sure, we both now have extreme allergies to the desert. All the dust and pollen wreak havoc on our breathing and make it almost impossible to sleep at night, but now in the cooler temperatures life is easier.

Our next day of travel got us just over 100 miles to Williams, Arizona where we stayed for 3 nights so we could work a Jyve in Flagstaff. We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park where we have stayed several times and are able to use our 50% Passport America membership. Check out our separate blog entry for our review.

On Tuesday we drove to Flagstaff to work a Jyve and the weather made it extremely adventurous. It was raining off and on all night and even when we left in the morning, but as we drove the 33 miles, the rain turned to slush and then to snow…blinding snow at times…it was exciting to say the least. We chose to stay at a hotel for the night since the job turned into a big one and we didn’t want to drive back in that crap. We stayed at the LaQuinta where we stayed the last time we Jyved here. Big suite, wonderful shower and a comfortable bed, just the way we like it. We were able to stretch out and take long, hot showers…NICE!

The screaming kids and barking dogs in the morning is not what we prefer, but that is just due to some really inconsiderate people who do not seem to know that there are others in the hotel besides them…they don’t use common sense and are just plain rude and nowadays we let them know, but they are still oblivious to why we say it to them, as if we’re the ones being unreasonable…SOME PEOPLE!

It had been cold and wet for days and this days drive was no different, we made it to Holbrook, Arizona and periodically seen blue skies amongst all the clouds. We stayed at the OK RV Park for the first time and it was a good stop, check out our separate blog entry for the entire review.

Four days of off and on rain in the desert really makes for lots of mud, huge puddles, very chilly and windy. Due to the wind, we made a short 100 mile drive to Gallup, New Mexico where it’s really cold and windy but we are keeping warm and cozy inside. We stayed at USA RV Park as we usually do when in this area. Unfortunately, we needed a Walmart stop and it was worse than around the holidays and this was at mid day on a Friday. The shelves were all empty…WHAT IS IT ABOUT HOARDING TOILET PAPER? This is just totally out of hand, it was chaos and people were rude, as if it were the end of the world…CRAZY!

Next days drive of 150 miles got us to Enchanted Trails in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we have stayed many times using our Coast to Coast membership that they no longer accept but they do take Passport America, see our separate review for more information.

Another 150 miles to Las Vegas, New Mexico where we stayed at the KOA, another wet, dreary, foggy day with a real chill in the air. Just after dark for no apparent reason the power went out and it was pitch black for a few moments which kept me on edge for most of the night.

What a difference a day and 200 miles makes…we landed in Colorado City at the Pueblo South Colorado City KOA and paid much higher than we usually do, but it was the best choice. Woke up to dreary, wet fog which ended up being in and out of it for the entire drive.

We finally arrived at our two week stay to rest before our last 400 miles to our summer job, we were definitely ready for some time to sleep in and do nothing, we were so naïve about what they were forecasting and what was really going to occur. We watch the weather forecast closely as we travel, but nothing prepared us for this and of course it changed by the minute. 

We weren’t happy with our site at Colorado Heights Camping Resort when we arrived but the office was closed except for about an hour in the mornings. We were on a steep hill, which most of the sites were and under a canopy of trees, again like most other sites. We sucked it up and tried to make the best out of the situation.

We usually just use our space heater which keeps us cozy, but with temps going into the teens, we knew it would not keep us warm enough so we checked our house heater and the blower turned on but the heater was not igniting. It was not perfect timing,  but we knew we had a day before it was going to hit, so we were out most of the day looking for toilet paper and the needed part. Finally, after about a dozen places and over a hundred miles we have wine, food, toilet paper and heat and thought we were set, but the storm was more than anticipated.  

We woke to frigid temps and already a few inches of snow, the accumulation forecast went from 2” to 12” overnight. It was turning into a white out blizzard so we chose to leave Maggie at the park while we drove 5 miles through the blizzard to a hotel, where we stayed warm and cozy for 4 days. That’s how long it took for the 12” of snow and ice to melt so we could get Maggie off the hill. We planned to leave 2 days later but when we went to dig Maggie out, we got stuck in the Jeep but were able to get out because she has 4WD, something Maggie does not have, so we went back to the hotel for 2 more days. The temperatures during the day were in the 50’s and it was sunny so all the icy roads and snow was melting, but we knew we didn’t have much time since another storm was coming in just a few days. We got Maggie off the hill and drove south a hundred miles.

It’s been a trying time for us and people are really acting crazy, the COVID19 cases are rising drastically in Colorado, the blizzards are continuing, our spring/summer job had been postponed two weeks and they can’t guarantee there won’t be more postponement in the future, finding a place to land in the area was not happening. Every place was over $700 a month, or only daily rates of over $50 per day, so we high tailed it out of there. Things went awry on this journey and now we will be regrouping…we will let you all know where we land.

Grand Canyon Railway RV Park

601 W Franklin Avenue

Williams, AZ 86046

800-843-8724

9/26/2008, 7/23-7/26/2016, 3/2020

UPDATE 2020 - We paid $77.19 for 3 nights using our Passport America membership for a flat back in site.

We stayed our first time in 2008 and really enjoyed it so we chose to stay again during this adventure. They do accept Passport America which would have taken 50% off the price but there are a few months of the year that the membership is not valid and July is one of the months.

We paid $43.10 using our Good Sam 10% discount for a back in site on asphalt with a picnic table, 50/30 electric, water, sewer, and WiFi which was very patchy and absolutely not reliable at all. The sites are long but not so wide so we were very happy to have an end site which makes it feel so much wider.

We did our laundry which is located in the restrooms/showers area and we both agreed that it looked as if nobody uses their own facilities. All day and all night there are people in and out doing their thing but the area was kept clean by the staff.

They offer shuttle service to several areas around Williams that this visit we did not take advantage of but it really is a great convenience, especially if you want to use the pool that is located at the hotel which many people do.

Jerry loved that our site was directly on the railroad tracks which was nice during the day when Jerry could wave to the train, but was not so nice in the middle of the night when they blew their horns and not only could we hear them, we could also feel the rumble.

SPECIAL NOTE – The registration area is across the road from the park itself and many including us even after being here a few years ago, pulled into the park and finally had another guest have to tell us where the office area was located. There were several others while we were there that did the same thing so take note if you plan to stay here.

Zuni Village RV Park

2840 Airway Avenue 

Kingman, AZ 86409

(928) 692-6202 / (866) 887-ZUNI

3/2020

It is always nice when we arrive before noon and we get greeted with a smile and accommodating attitude.

Getting a 15% discount from one of our many cards, they also take Passport America 50% discount but not in March. We paid $42.05 for a good size pull through site with water, 30/50/110 amp electric, sewer site with free WiFi on flat gravel.

The laundry facilities were fantabulous…

The restrooms were modern, roomy and very clean…

The pool looked great but it was closed…

We will stay here again whenever we are in the area and we would highly recommend it to everyone.

Wow…Where Does the Time Go?

We were staying just over into California and they sell lottery tickets at the resort store, so we bought one, but then realized they do not cash out any big winnings and we got one. So, the closest California store who would cash it out was in Blythe, 60 miles away…road trip! Not only did we cash it out, but we also found our favorite wine and it was on sale…so it was a double win day!

We have been interviewing since November with several great opportunities and had been offered a few, but none were “the one” we wanted so we decided we would wait and not just take anything, and we waited. Then we got a call, we interviewed with them months ago and were hired but were told we would have to find our own site somewhere since all their sites were taken by other workers. We immediately did some research and found that the area had only daily rentals, no monthlies during the prime season and the cost was $50+ which would make it about $1500 per month…OUCH! We had to let them know that we could not accept under those circumstances and they said they would keep us on top for next year and we said that would be great, but also if anything opened this year to please give us a call and if we didn’t find anything at that time we would love to join them this year. We didn’t have much hope since it sounded as if they had set workers, but that is exactly what happened.

We will be working at Prairie Berry Winery in Hill City, South Dakota for the summer, we are so jazzed. Working as Tasting Room Associates, serving wine tastes to guests, learning more about the wine industry and this family winery and sharing all this information with the guests. Could we have found a better job or location? We don’t think so. We passed through that area several years ago, but now we get to spend the entire summer checking it all out, we are so blessed. Life is grand!

We are looking forward to the cooler temperatures as we begin our travels. We plan a few stops along our way to work some Jyve’s to keep our gas tanks full since we are still traveling separately and we have a month to get there. 

The timing could not have been better since the heat is arriving, along with the aggravating pollen in the area. We are both sneezing and our eyes are itchy and watering like crazy, no better time like the present to get out of the dusty desert. Even though this area is one of favorites, it still has its downfalls, like the pollen, the dust and at this resort the ABSOLUTELY SLOW INTERNET…OMG…have not been able to get anything done and because it’s a membership park, many guests believe they do not have to follow the pet policies, barking dogs and allowing them on our site to take care of their business.

Our first day of travels took us just over 100 miles to Kingman, Arizona with a Walmart, haircut stop and temperatures 15 degrees lower already. We stayed at Zuni Village RV Park, check out our separate blog entry for the entire review.

One of Our Favorite Places

We have been hanging out for so long in the hustle n bustle of Mesa and since the Baseball didn’t work out, we decided we could do some Jyving elsewhere too. We opted to stay a few weeks at Emerald Cove in Earp, California, one of our favorite places and pick up some Jyve’s in Lake Havasu and/or Parker.

IF and that’s a big IF, but if we ever chose to get off the road, we would absolutely choose to live in Lake Havasu. For us it has it all…it’s big but small enough to be cozy, nearby to all sorts of entertainment,  great scenery and of course the lake. If we ever hit the big one, we would buy a condo and hang out during the winter months in it and travel throughout the summer in a Class B alternating between RV and hotels…that would be the dream lifestyle. But for now, we are just visiting.

We worked a Jyve in Parker on Thursday and one in Lake Havasu on Friday, then took the ferry across the lake and stayed at the Havasu Landing Resort. 

It’s a new hotel and casino so it was clean and fresh. Our view wasn’t great due to the rooftop, we would have preferred to be on an upper floor for a better view. 

The bed was so comfortable and the shower was fantabulous. 

We looked forward to a little play time but it just wasn’t in the cards for us, apparently their ATM machines only take chipped cards and our do not have chips and we didn’t have any cash with us. The management was trying to help us out but there was no other solution then to get back on the ferry to Lake Havasu to an ATM and then return. We just weren’t willing to do that, so we just spent the night relaxing in our room.

This has been our best winter in a long time, still a bit stressful since we are still open for spring and summer work…we are getting several interests, but nothing yet confirmed and though the weather has been absolutely outstanding here, we know the heat is coming. We just have to remain calm and relax, knowing it will all fall into place if we just enjoy this moment and allow the Universe to take care of the rest. Life is Grand!