We left Pasadena and entered the Arizona desert. Most people think of the desert as being all sand and no vegetation. There are parts of the desert with low shrubs, and beautiful cactus. The distant mountain ranges look treeless, and have unique rocky sillouttes formed by centuries of wind. They are quite beautiful and serene.
We stopped outside of Pheonix in Oro Valley to go to the gym. The mountains across from the shopping plaza were spectacular. We were going to stay at Walmart for the night, but this is an upscale area and the city has an ordinance against overnight parking. We continued on and after looking at the map, decided to take the scenic route to Theodore Roosevelt Lake.
TONTO NATIONAL PARK
Tonto National Park in Arizona is breathtakingly beautiful and the road, RT 88, is frightening for anyone only accustomed to driving in New England! Imagine traveling on a road with no guardrail, a drop of hundreds of feet, and no shoulder in a large, 5-ton RV. Up ahead is a 90 degree turn to the left and a drop straight down in front of you--no guard rail. If an oncoming vehicle takes a wide turn you have no place to go--but down or collide! But look up, and you can see the most scenic, beautiful vista you can ever hope to see. When James drives in many parts of this beautiful country he is constantly reminded of New Hampshire's State motto "Live Free or DIe," yes indeed! That is Tonto National Park! (A short video of RT. 88 is on our YouTube channel--SuperTraveler2012.)
We started on RT. 88, heading to Theodore Roosevelt Lake. As the road climbed, we went over two one-lane bridges, through a small 'frontier town' called Tortilla Flat, and past a private marina at Canyon Lake filled with boats put to bed for the winter. There is an expensive (especially for off season) campground at the marina, and a restaurant. We by-passed that and kept going--rarely seeing another vehicle. At one sharp turn, brush scraped against the VIEW. If James had moved over, we would have been across the mid-line of the road, and possibly hit an on-coming vehicle. Every once in a while we would see a sign warning of animals on the roadway. If we did meet one, it would own the road! Fortunately we did not meet any wildlife. All along the sides of the road, and the hillsides, were Saguaro Cactus. Joan loves seeing them as they seem to each have its own personality. There is a national park in Arizona named for the Saguaro Cactus, where there are pathways around the cactus. You can get up close---but not personal with the cactus.
Suddenly we came to a sign, "PAVEMENT ENDS 500 FEET AHEAD." There was a dirt road for the next 22 miles. RVs are not all terrain vehicles. We had to turn around and go back the way we came--90 degree hairpin turns, no guardrails, and narrow road. With the slow going, it was beginning to get late--and dark. James decided that it would be too dangerous to drive after dark so we found a pull-off that was fairly level and parked for the night. After eating a steak supper (we eat like we do at home) we played some cards and went to bed. We only heard two vehicles go by during the night. Night driving on Rte 88 is too exciting for us!
In the morning we continued down the mountain. After passing by the marina again, we began to meet more cars. The drivers all with two hands on the wheel--obviously concentrating on the road!
We had been having intermittent problems with our batteries. Although the three speciality batteries had been replaced in December, we woke up one morning to dead batteries. After this happened twice, we went to a dealership who did a diagnosis, but not much else. The next place, in ElPaso, was a Dodge dealership which could work on the Sprinter part of the problem, but not the Winnebago part. So the next stop was a Camper's World where the defective part was diagnosed and ordered. It had to be ordered and shipped overnight, so we packed the scooter with our overnight items, and went to a motel for the night.
The next morning we were told that 'overnight' meant it would arrive on Monday! The next two nights we stayed in the VIEW in their parking lot. On Monday night, a little skeptical of their repairs, we stayed at the Walmart in town. Our batteries were dead by 8:30 pm!! So much for their good work. On Tuesday morning we returned to Camping World and after much hassel, and much complaining to the General Manager, we finally got new batteries. Not willing to trust their workmanship, we drove to the grocery store for a few items, and back to Camping World for another night in their parking lot.
James has written many times to the news media concerning the state of American business today. The local technician you know and trust at home is not replicated all over the country. "Caveat Emptor" is required whenever repairs are necessary. For service, we say, we know, and we have experienced-"Sometimes you eat the Bear; and, some times the Bear eats you!"
End of this saga. Don't forget to check out our website, http://www.americanvagabonds.net. We added a new page 'Fitness' to evaluate gyms around the country.
The following pictures are all from Tonto National Park.
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