Wandering Arizona - Curing Our "Hitch Itch"

Arizona (mostly 80-90 degrees, beautiful blue skies)

Cathedral Rock Sedona

After volunteering or workamping we always get a bad case of "hitch itch". Staying in one place has it's advantages and we certainly love volunteering, however, we enjoy exploring A LOT! So, after leaving  Bosque del Apache we headed to Arizona and attended three rallies. Previous posts detailed the FMCA rally in Chandler and Escapade rally in Tucson. We have also attended a rally for Newmar owners and I'll talk about a in our next post.

White Tank Mountain Regional Par

The warmer weather has been a delightful and seeing the Arizona desert in bloom is is an added bonus.  After the FMCA rally my brother, Harry, flew into Phoenix and joined us for week. We stayed at a beautiful regional park called White Tank Mountain. The desert there was in full bloom and just gorgeous. It's a beautiful campground which definitely has the "it" factor.  Reservations are a must. We also saw lots and lots of Saguaro cactus and my brother had a fun time naming the unusual ones as we traveled or hiked a trail. 

One day was spent traveling the Apache Trail out of Apache Junction. It's definitely a jeep worthy trip and we had a blast. As you travel past Tortilla Flats it becomes a narrow dirt road. Our jeep handled it well. We really loved our hike at the Lost Dutchman State Park. That is certainly a place we would love to spend more time in the future.There are lots of places to stop along the way. Plan on it being a long day and have a full tank of gas before heading out. 

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Lost Dutchman State Park

Pink Jeep Tour

One of the highlights of my brothers visit was going to Sedona for two days. We left the motorhome at the park and stayed at a lovely hotel overlooking the beautiful red rock canyons. We splurged and took a pink jeep tour which is a "must do" in our opinion It was a thrill and our guide/driver was great. 

John, me, Chris, and Bill 

A Cubs spring training game was also planned. We had a sudden jeep breakdown which resulted in having to drop off the jeep with a mechanic and renting a car. Surprisingly we made it to the game in time and joined one of my bestie friends Chris and her husband Bill.  We are all Cubs fans except my brother. He is a White Sox fan. We had fun telling him all about being World Series Champions of the World as often as possible. Chris and Bill where here to see several Cub games and it was nice to see them.

John, Cathie, and Avi

Chiricahus National Monutment

After the Escapade rally we stayed a little longer at the fairgrounds and met up with our friend Kathy and Avi. We met Cathie years ago at a resort while on vacation in Mexico. She lives in Phoenix and it was so good to see her. She planned a fun adventure to Bisbee and to Chiricahua National Monument (click link for more info) near Sierra Vista. Bisbee is an old gold mining town with lots of character. And, our trip the next day to Chiricahua was spectacular with a nice picnic lunch while there. It's been several years since we last saw each other and great to catch up with each others lives.


We enjoyed the Sierra Vista area so much we decided to return for an additional week. There is a huge Army Base called Fort Huachuca. Turns out it's a hummingbird hotspot as well.  The base has three campgrounds and the nicest one is called Apache Flats. The sites are full hook up and are very nice with the beautiful mountains in the backround. Our friends from Bosque had recommended going to Ramsey Canyon for some great birding and it was a wonderful experience. We took a guided hike which told us all about the canyon area and early settlers. We saw lots of beautiful hummingbirds and they also told us of some more areas to see.

Our tour guide at Ramsey Canyon

One of the highlights was a visit to Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast. Mary Jo has hummingbird feeders everywhere and comfortable lawn chairs to sit and watch to your hearts content. Unfortunately my camera accidentally drowned in the Oak Creek Canyon while on a hike. So, I don't have any pictures of them

Lucifer Hummingburd

This is a picture from the internet of a Lucifer Hummingbird. It's the only place in the U.S. where you can see them. There was so much action going on at her feeders. Mary Jo is a delightful person and makes you feel so welcome.  She said her peak time is August. She can go through seven pounds of sugar a day making nectar for her feeders. A five dollar donation is requested to visit.

Later in the day we attended an event where they banded hummingbirds. It was interesting to see how this is done and we got some close views of a couple hummers just before they were released. The bands are so tiny and hummers are caught with a radio controlled rocket neck which launches over the feeder and catches them. They told us their little heart beats over 1000 times a minute.

Mary Jo's back yard

Hummingburd Banding

One day we returned to Bisbee for another visit and took an interesting mine tour. It traveled way into the mine and our guides were actually miners who told us some harrowing stories of their own experiences as well. 

One of our favorite places to visit in Tucson is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We saw lots and lots of blooming cactus which was delightful. It was very croweded this visit due to spring break and unfortunatly the raptor show was cancelled due to high winds. Oh well, guess we will have to go back again. :)

One of the delights about fulltiming is reuniting with friends and family. We stopped by to see a couple in Casa Grande who we met at our first FMCA rally in Bowling Green about eight years ago. Mary and Tom winter in Palm Creek Golf and  RV Resort. They also had Dutch Star and when I was trying to figure out where to put everything Mary wrote me an email explaining how she had organized their rig. It was so helpful. They have recently sold their motorhome and bought a park model in the same resort. They invited us over for lunch and showed off this beautiful resort. There is so much to do at this resort and they especially love the golfing. It was great to see them again and we loved their new home.

Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort

Mary and Tom in front of their new home

So much for "hitch itch" now. It's been great to wander and meet up with my brother and friends. Arizona is a beautiful place to be this time of year. Check back soon for some more adventures. One of the highlights will be a visit to the National Parks in Utah. 

Escapade Rally and Weighty Matters

Tucson, AZ (95 degrees, blue skies, windy)

Boomer BOF Group

Opening Ceremony

We thoroughly enjoyed attending the Escapade Rally (March 14-18th) in Tucson Arizona. This is the BIG annual rally held in different locations with Escapees (click link for more info). We've belonged to this RV travel club long before we started fulltiming and our first Escapade was in Goshen Indiana where we attended a Boot Camp and John took advantage of a RV Driving School (click link for more details. It's a "must do" event in our opinion for anyone owning a RV. 

This rally was held at the Pima County Fairgrounds. This time we are so glad to have opted for full hooks up because it was very hot. Our dog, Jimmy, does not tolerate hot weather very well and since he'd be in the motorhome most of the time while we were attending events it was important to keep him comfortable.  After all, he is a King (King Cavalier) and only deserves the very best. 

After our experience with FMCA we were so impressed with how quickly our rig was parked and pleased with our location. We arrived early to take advantage of a  two day class offered by Geeks on Tour. It was a class all about handling your photos. For years I've organized my photos with Picassa but it's no longer being supported by Google. This class went into depth about a free cloud based product called Google Photos. Now all my pictures regardless of how they were taken can by seen on my Smartphone or computer.  I can edit them easily, post them on Facebook, or get them ready for my blog so much easier.  Plus, they are completely backed up on the cloud. So, if my computer crashes or my phone drowns my pictures are safely stored.

I initially was not happy to hear that Google had abandoned Picassa and concerned about yet another learning curve. However, it was super easy to use and I think it will work out much better. The Geeks on Tour classes are great. This two day class cost me an additional $59 but well worth every penny.  Chris and Jim explain everything so well and I received lots of tools to use for reference in the future.  

There were lots of educational classes included at the rally to choose from and again John and I split up and tried to attend as many as possible.  Some of the classes we attended included:

Understanding RV Electrical Systems

Driving Your RV Safely

Free Camping on Public Lands

It's a Weighty Matter

Autumn in New England

Living a Longer Healthier Life

Travel to Alaska

Are You Smarter Than Your Smart TV

RV Travel to Mexico

Make Your RV More Livable

Volunteering 101

plus much more

Most of the classes were very informative. However, a few were more of an infomercial for a product. I think FMCA does a better job of being sure this is less of an issue.

The entertainment each night was great. We especially loved the first evening performance called Native Spirit  with Indian hoop dancing and the Star Gazer Party. This evening was spent looking up into the night sky and the presenter told us all about the constellations. It was great. 

We also enjoyed "The Row" where you find out about the campgrounds owned or cooped through the Escapees. Plus lots of the bird of a feather groups had  information telling you about what they have to offer. We belong to Boomers and enjoy attending the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and Quartzsite with them whenever possible. There are birds of a feather groups for everything such as military, quilting, geocaching, travel to Mexico, and much more. 

Star Gazer Party

Now to the Weighty Matters:  At the end of the rally we signed up to have our motorcoach weighed under a special program offered by Escapees called Smart Weigh.  You drive your rig up to their area as you are leaving and go up onto a scale for each tire.  When you sign up a special work sheet is given to you where lots of information is added prior to the weighing to help with this evaluation.

Coach being weighed ahead of us

We attended a class before we started RVing which emphasized the dangers of being over weight. They mentioned at the time just because you have lots of cabinets, closets, and bay storage does not mean your coach can handle all the weight of the items being stuffed into them. When we bought our coach a sticker inside told us we had 3000 pounds of cargo carrying capacity. This weight includes people, food, clothing, lawn chairs, grill, and everything not originally built into the coach. After we bought it and filled it up with our stuff six years ago at the Escapade Rally we had it weighed and knew it was under this limit. Now it's been a few years and stuff drifts in and not necessarily out. We've always been very cautious about weight but not sure how well we were doing.

Smart Weigh states its important to keep in mind three aspects of being overloaded.

•  1st aspect is that the reliability and durability of your RV will be diminished

•  2nd aspect is your personal safety may be jeopardized from a blown out tire and possibly being stranded on a busy highway

•  3rd aspect is you now need to consider the legal aspect. Being overweight could result in a negative verdict in the event of an accident in which you are involved.  

So, how did we do???  We passed!  What did we learn?  We needed to shift a few things around the balance the load better on each axle.  In addition, we learned our front tire pressure was not correct. We also learned a full water tank added 958 pounds. Traveling with a full tank can definitely put you over the limit.

We are considering adding solar panels and wanted to know if our rig could handle the weight. It turns out we can and the renovation being planned this fall will be OK too. This cost us $45 and well worth the piece of mind. If you cannot attend an Escapade they have three locations where you can have this done. Click here for more information. After our renovations this fall we will stop by Bushnell Florida and check again just to be sure. 

This urged us to still go through the whole coach inside and out and  make some "purge decisions" In a week we managed to eliminate another 200 pounds. The added bonus is our cupboards are more organized and we got rid of clutter that accumulates with life on the road.

Tucson is one of our favorite cities in Arizona. Being able to attend this rally was lots of fun and educational too.  Our next blog will be about some more travels in Arizona.

FMCA International Rally - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Chandler, AZ (High 78 degrees, low 40 degrees, bright blue skies)

"An investment in knowledge

pays the best interest"

Ben Franklin

FMCA photo

The Good

We recently attended FMCA's Rally in the Valley in Chandler Arizona.  FMCA rally's are lots of fun, educational and a great way to meet up with friends and make new friendships 

Our camping clubs entry in the horse race (FMCA photo)

We did enjoy many informative and well presented seminars. The Geeks on Tour presentations are always my favorite. I started this blog seven years ago and it was their "show me how" videos which taught me how to create it. 

Chris and Jim with Geeks on Tour

I've used Picasa to organize, crop, and enhance my photos. This is a Google product and unfortunately it's not longer supported by them.  Google Photos is their new product and the Geeks on Tour seminar was very helpful in showing me how to use ti. What I really like about Google Photos is it puts all your photos together (computer, phone, camera) and allow you to access them anywhere. For example, I can access all my photos on my phone by the the Google Photo App and regardless of where they are stored I can see them all.  Sweet!

I purchased a thumb drive from the Geeks on Tour with all their "show me how videos" and a year subscription to their website. I like the thumb drive because I can watch them off line. They really keep on top of the ever changing technology whether it be your smart phone, photos, Facebook, blogging, and more. If you don't belong I'd highly recommend checking them out by clicking this link

FMCA photo

Free donuts and coffee each morning (FMCA photo(

John attended the always outstanding Spartan Chassis seminar present by Mike. He has gone to many of them and always learns something helpful This time he got a great tip on how to keep your engine in shape while being in one location for an extended period do time.  We volunteer often and these commitments usually last 3-4 months. We have been told to take the motorhome out on the road monthly to keep it "exercised" and to distribute the oil, seal lubricants, and fluids. It's a great suggestion but not always very easy to do.  Mike told the group when this is not possible to air it up, let the engine warm up, and then pull forward 25 feet and go back.  Great tip!

Our Roadmaster hitch was inspected without us requesting the service by a roving technician. He said it really needed a tune up.  John dropped it off at their shop on wheels and the next day it looked almost brand new. Because of all the new parts there was a nominal charge but we were so impressed by this great service.  

We also had our headlights polished. They were very dim and the technician quickly improved them for only $20. 

Some of the other classes we attended include the following:

Complete Motorhome Remodeling

Detailing your Coach in One Hour

Technology by Travelers

Staying Connected on the Road with Wy-Fi and Cellular

Simplifying your Entertainment System

Preparing a Motorhome for Non Use in Any Climate

Technology to Tell Your Stories

What Makes A Good Story

Photo Memories with Google Photos

Got Moonshine? Prohibition in Arizona

Did I mention vendors??

Vendors

There was a huge building with vendors selling things you needed and didn't even know you might need. It took us several visits to see everything and we found some really cool stuff.  Here are a few of the items we found.

Almost Heaven Microfiber

The best microfiber cloths for cleaning the inside and the outside of your motorhome. They last forever and are well made

Almost Heaven Microfiber

A special one to quick mop. Snaps onto your Swiffer

My Pillow

We decided to give them a try and purchased to queen size pillows.  Love them!

Gripstic

Cool, easy to use sticks which replace clips to keep cereal, chips, and crackers fresh

Renovation Ideas

TV comes up and down on a lift from inside cabinet

There are several vendors who presented programs on how to renovate your rig. We have always disliked where our TV is located above the cockpit But at the time when our motorhome was manufactured this was how they came. New motorhomes today oftentimes have the TV in a cabinet across from the sofa where you can watch it at eye level. Buying a new coach just for this feature is not an option for us. Ours is paid off and we do not want to have a mortgage. 

FMCA photo

John attended a program presented by Smoky Mountain Coach Works. He was really impressed by the owners knowledge of TV's and computers and how to make them work in a RV.  We had  him come out to look at our motorhome and he gave us some great options to consider. A cabinet which would have a TV come up and down on a lift and a place to accommodate a computer and printer would be ideal. This renovation would be expensive but a much smarter option then buying a new motorhome.  

The Bad and The Ugly

We volunteered to be a part of the parking and will call crew.  Big mistake!

These motorhomes had waited over 4 hours to enter the holding area

This is our third time attending an international rally but our first time volunteering. In fact, this was FMCA's 95th international rally. You would think they would know how to organize such an event. However, this was not the case. In their defense this location was a new one for them. 

Will Call Crew

We volunteered to be a part of the parking and will call crew and anticipated we would be very busy putting in long hours parking the 2300 coaches who had signed up to attend. We did not anticipate the chaos and lack of preparation FMCA had done in advance to prepare for how to route the traffic and get everyone parked quickly and efficiently.

It was chaos and no one in charge seemed to know how to handle the arriving coaches. Folks coming into the event waited hours to be parked. They were furious and certainly vented their frustration to us. We were so embarrassed to be a part of this team. The dust kicked up by the motorhomes was awful. The roads had not been watered to reduce this and we came home each day just filthy.  After about four days FMCA started to get the event operating more smoothly but it really sucked the happiness out of us.

So, will be attend another FMCA international rally? We both said we would. Fortunately we have attended others and it was only this one which seemed to be so poorly organized. For us the seminars are top notch and we really learn so much by attending them. The fire and weight safety classes we have attended in the past are worth the price of attendance all by themselves. Will we volunteer to be a part of the parking crew?  Thanks but no thanks!