Wednesday, February 19, 2014

#15 Jan 2014 Arizona - There is so much to explore

In Camp Verde the night time temperature was below freezing and we experienced almost the same temperature by early morning for our last 3 days. We had no 12 volt battery power to operate the lights and furnace. Ralph was up at 4:30 in the morning running the engine to charge the batteries. As we were ready to leave we tried to close the slides and they just groaned. Ralph ran the engine again, the slides came in and we headed for Mesa Regal RV Resort which is next door to an authorized Georgetown dealership. The next day we packed up the RV again, took it to the shop and crossed our fingers. By 5:30 we had a new converter installed and we will deal with warranty when we get back to Surrey. The converter was new when we bought the RV in June. We bought a 30/50 amp surge protector and hope our electrical challenges are behind us.
When we were in Hemet we got a pay-as-you-go phone and hot spot for the computer from Verizon. When we tried to add data to the hot spot Ralph went to the store 3 times to get it updated. Verizon insists on a zip code when setting up any account, even pay-as-you-go. In Mesa we had the same challenge when adding to the phone and hot spot. We have heard other Canadians experienced similar problems and will do more research before we return to the US.
For over 10 years we have been part of a Supper Club with 5 other people. We alternate hosting with the main course, appetizer, salad and dessert. One couple, Sue and Bob, have a park model in Mesa Regal RV Resort. They arrived on the 25th and we started a great visit. We celebrated Ralph’s birthday on the 27th and Bob’s on the 30th. Those were good reasons to try Red Lobster and Waldo's BBQ restaurant. The BBO was delicious including deep fried corn on the cob.
Mesa Regal has 2,000 sites with a combination of park models and RV sites. It is one of eight Cal Am Parks that combine to offer some great entertainers. Gordon Lightfoot performed at Mesa Regal and we were excited to re-live some groundbreaking music. We were all disappointed with the start of the concert until he got into familiar songs. He is 75 and no longer has a strong voice. Many other people were not impressed with the performance but everyone enjoyed some part of the show.
After the show we went to Nandos, a Mexican restaurant, and had great food. Once again we should have shared a meal but we had lots of leftovers.
Mesa Regal RV Resort holds a Country Store every Friday morning with a wide variety of vendors. Just a few miles away, Mesa Market is held every weekend and is Humongous!! It would take 2 days just to walk the aisles and absorb the variety of products – automotive, health and beauty, home décor, home improvement and, of course, lots of clothing and jewelry. We realized in Southern California and Arizona the weather is almost always nice and the vendors only need shade over the tables. No wonder we have encountered so many!
We have known Tom and Joan since we were involved in Lutheran Marriage Encounter in Calgary over 20 years ago. They have a park model in Apache Junction which is about a 15 minutes drive east of Mesa Regal. Their park model has an Arizona room which gives them lots of space and a second bathroom – really a big advantage in a vacation home.
Tom and Joan drove us to Goldfield Ghost Town where we watched an old western gunfight with many casualties. Most of the buildings are original from the gold rush days and the sandy, dusty streets add to the image.

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