Phoenix Rally

I kept thinking that I should write a post each day of the rally, but just lacked the energy at the end of the day. This is really good news, however, because several days later, you just get the highlights instead of that blow-by-blow description that gets much too detailed!

The basics:

• We managed to dry camp for 5 nights without water refill, having tanks emptied and electric provided only by our generator. We were completely self contained. Many folks do this for weeks at a time, but this was a first for us.
• We attended our first rally and really enjoyed it. The seminars, interaction with other campers, and exhibits added to our knowledge of RVing.
• We met many new folks and hope to stay in touch with them. We have new friends in Washington state, Massachusetts, New Mexico and British Columbia.
• Russell installed a new solar panel to help give our new house batteries a boost. A rally is a great place to do this because the vendors either have what you need right there, or manage to get it for you in a timely manner. There is also a wealth of tech help to draw from.
• The entertainment was truly entertaining, and geezer rated. Shows started at 7 and were over just after 8, just the right time to drag our old, tired bodies back to the rigs.
• We left without buying a new rig, not that many salesmen didn't try to change that!

A few details:

• Over 3,800 rigs were camped at the show, which was held at the Phoenix International Raceway.
• Assuming 2 people per rig, and guessing at the number of people who got day passes, there must have been about 10,000 people in attendance.
• All of the campers got a 4-digit number. A total of 4 people each had the same number. The game was to find at least 1 other person with your number. I found 2! We each got a t-shirt and a chance to win one of the many big prizes. No wins here!
• The best seminar we attended was led by a personal trainer who taught about a low impact approach to walking. She was great and I walked with her each morning. The class grew each day!

The layout:

• Picture a Nascar track. There is a large oval infield with a fenced perimeter. Next is a track, also fenced, then the grandstands are on 2 sides of the track. Of course there is lots of parking for all the folks who come to fill the grandstands. All of that fencing is designed to keep people safe and out of designated areas. There is 1 tunnel to allow people into the infield.
• The rally was set up in the infield. That meant that all traffic (trams, golf carts, vendors, RVs, workers, campers, day-trippers) was routed through this 1 2-lane tunnel! You can see the problem! Campers were arranged throughout the parking lots. Trams ran all day and into the evening to transport folks to and from, but we found it was just as efficient to walk. There was a single fenced-off lane for pedestrians.
• Phoenix! Saturday's temps were in the 90's! The other days weren't as hot, but OMG, Saturday was not good!  The huge tents that housed exhibits and seminars could only open the flaps and pray for a breeze. The mornings and evenings were very pleasant fortunately.
• The grandstands were only open in the evening for the entertainment. Handicapped seating was on the track, the rest of us were in the stands, behind the fence. The first night, getting out was a nightmare because of the way they were funneling everyone to specific tram pickup points. The remaining nights split the traffic flow in two directions; tram riders and walkers. That eased congestion and frustration immensely!

Methusala!

We met Methuselah on this first leg of our trip. We are at the Escapees' Rainbow park in Congress, AZ. Like all Escapees' parks, it is friendly, well planned, and fairly in the middle of nowhere. The area had snow on the ground yesterday morning, but had melted by our arrival about 2pm. The peak to our northeast still has a crown of white, but less than it had this morning. I hate to sound like we have sat around watching snow melt, but there are worse ways to spend a day!

Now, about Methuselah! She is a saguaro cactus said to have started life about 1600. At 4000 years old, she is very stately and home to dozens of cactus wren, sort of an ancient condo. Methuselah sits in a beautiful cactus garden on the north side of the RV park. The interesting paths circle around rock gardens of a wide variety of cacti, each labeled. Rabbits and other small burrowing animals live in the garden and throughout the complex. We really enjoyed our walk and the houses in this neighborhood.

North Ranch, the name of the RV park, has about 100 RV hookups and about 400 housing sites. The houses are all well kept, varying in size from single wides to roughly 2000sf. An interesting building restriction; you can only have 1 bedroom, but numerous dens! This is done to avoid having an age restriction in the community, but amounts to about the same thing.

Tomorrow we head to Phoenix and our first Rally. We will be dry camping for 5 nights, another new experience. We have been looking forward to this trip, now I'm starting to think about the logistics of showering and such basics.

Las Vegas Hikes

In the last month here in Vegas we have done a lot of walking, mostly local or city parks, but 3 of our walks were actually in the category of hikes. I classify a hike as any walk that doesn't look silly doing it in boots, using a walking stick.

Our first adventure started with a drive northwest of town down Kyle Canyon Road toward Mount Charleston. Our roadside picnic was perfect, with a snow-capped Mount Charleston in the west. We picked our way up a canyon. We found scrub, iron rock, a red Chevy car hood and a foot path that circled the hill. We met a beautiful horse and his owner. The day was just perfect; temperature, scenery, drive, and hike difficulty.

Our next adventure was a bit less perfect. We drove northeast of town, out Lake Mead Blvd. This road does go out to the lake, we'll have to do that one day. We stopped at Sunrise Peak to scale a small mountain that promised to give a wonderful view of Vegas at the top. Russell was concerned that I was not up to the steep grade, but I really wanted to see the view at the top. The rocky path goes straight up until you reach the switch backs near the top. Russell was very motivating! He kept me with one foot in front of the other with encouraging comments and short-term goals; "we'll stop for water in 25 yards," "the view from up here is great," "we're almost there," and my very favorite - "it's flat, all the way to the top!"

Somewhere along the way I remarked that sometimes you get to the top only to find that there is another peak invisible from below. Sure 'nough, we reached the peak to see that the view was that of another peak; down and back up again. Russell could have easily made it, but I was done! Except of course for the trip back down. The entire hike was less than 3 miles - it felt like 20 or 30! I was 2 weeks recovering, seriously!

Our hike this last week was back out to Sunrise Peak, but on a less daunting trail. We were rewarded with a panoramic view of Las Vegas after only 1/4 of a mile up and out. We had a nice rocky perch to admire the city and Nellis AFB. Fighter pilots put on an airshow that included a Stealth Bomber. It really was great fun to have our own private show.

Today we drove north to the Clark County Shooting Range. We were greatly impressed with the size and quality of the facility. It is right at the foothills and therefore provides a great view of the city.

This weekend we leave again for a month. This trip is to Phoenix for our first RV Rally, then on to a tour of Escapee's parks in the southwest. We have been looking forward to getting back on the road.