Arizona – Small Wanders

15 March 2024: Watson Lake, Prescott AZ

by JRWilkinsonMarch 15, 2024August 3, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / Hikes / Sightseeing

Another rainy day so we decided to try heading west towards Prescott. We have never travel through this part of Arizona and hoped the weather would improve. It didn’t. Watson Lake looked like an interesting area to hike. The rock formations remind of Joshua Tree National Park. The lake and rocks are amazing and this area is an easy hike although navigating through the boulders can be challenging during a rain.
I was surprised to see Frisbee Golf baskets so near the lake. I imagine you have to be pretty good not to lose all your discs in the lake.
I did a short hike along the east bank. Carol was cold and burned out on hiking in the rain so she stayed in the car. Most of the photos I took were with my iPhone since I wanted to keep my camera gear dry.

14 March 2024: West Fork of Oak Creek Trail

by JRWilkinsonMarch 14, 2024July 22, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / Hikes / State Parks

We have friends who have lived in Phoenix for quite awhile and visit Sedona often. During Spring Training post-game dinner, we asked them what is their favorite hike in Sedona. They said “West Fork of Oak Creek Trail, so we added it to our list of hikes to do this trip. Oak Creek Canyon is ~5000ft just 14 miles south of Flagstaff, 40mi from Camp Verde. The weather was holding, with a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. Not a big deal but this trail has about a dozen creek crossings so any rain could affect the trail.
This hike was amazing and reminded us of Utah and Zion National Park. Forested, cool to cold, and narrow into the canyon. The creek crossings were slightly more challenging because the recent rains had elevated the normally dry rock & log crossings.
It did start to rain lightly but it turned to hail then snow. So we ended up hiking the deepest part of the canyon in the snow – it was wonderful. During warmer parts of the year, you can continue the hike up the creek. Hiking through the water like Zion’s the Narrows, up the narrow canyon. In March, with our gear, we were happy to just do the 3.1mi in then back. Six miles on such terrain is a really good workout.

13 March 2024: Crescent Moon Ranch, Sedona

by JRWilkinsonMarch 13, 2024July 21, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / Hikes / State Parks

Our second day in the Camp Verde area was rainy. We hoped the weather would improve as we drove north toward Sedona. Most of the earlier part of the day was scattered showers so we were able to enjoy some time in the late morning exploring & hiking Crescent Moon Ranch. Unfortunately, it began to rain too hard for our hike to be enjoyable so we figured we’d grab some lunch and come back. Since there is a $12/vehicle day use fee, I asked the ranger at the entry booth is reentry was possible. He gave me a dated day pass that I could show when we got back. The afternoon was clear so we were able to finish this short 2mi easy hike.
The road and hiking trail to Cathedral Rock and Red Rock Crossing Vortex were closed. So we considered crossing Oak Creek here and taking the trail. But with the muddy conditions and lateness of the day, we were happy to explore Crescent Moon Ranch.

12 March 2024: Courthouse Butte/Bell Rock Loop

by JRWilkinsonMarch 12, 2024July 29, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / Hikes / Sightseeing

Wednesday was a great weather day – clear and cool – so we drove to Sedona, stopping at the Visitors Information Center. Sedona was really busy while we were visiting since our trip happened to coincide with Spring Break. We asked the docent of which popular trail we should hike and she recommended a less crowded trail. We agreed and ended up heading toward Courthouse Butte & Bell Rock Loop. As much as we wanted to take her advice, we found parking and that dictated our hiking route.

11-16 Mar 2024: Camp Verde/Verde Ranch RV Resort

by JRWilkinsonMarch 11, 2024July 21, 2024Arizona / RV Parks / Travel / Trips

When we take our travel trailer to Padres Spring Training, we like to extend our time away to explore Arizona or Utah. Last year, the late snow season around Flagstaff diverted us south to Tucson, instead to Page and Monument Valley. This time we headed north but did not travel as far & stayed at a lower elevation. We didn’t have as much time to travel & Camp Verde is 1.5hrs north of Phoenix. A very short travel day, and great when you only have a few days.
There are only a few RV parks in Sedona and they are usually fully booked & expensive. So we reserved a spot 25mi south at Camp Verde at Verde Ranch RV Resort. We figured it was a short drive north to the Sedona area. Plus we could explore other places like Montezuma’s Castle along highways 17, 169 or 260.

Unfortunately, the rainy weather we had the first game in Phoenix, as still hanging around. So the five days we had in the area to hike & explore were often affected by rain.

Verde Ranch RV Resort is a CRR “Lifestyle” destination – associated with the River Sands RV Resort we’ve stayed at in Ehrenberg AZ. Like River Sands, this resort is fairly new, opening in August 2019. It has plenty of spaces, amenities, and activities. There are even covered spaces at the top of the hill with great views. One of these sites would be great during the heat of summer. But in March, our RV site at the bottom of the hill was fine. The Verde River runs through the northeast border of the resort and is a nice hike.

08-10 March 2024 – San Diego Padres Spring Training

by JRWilkinsonMarch 8, 2024July 21, 2024Arizona / Baseball / Sightseeing / Travel

It’s become a family tradition to travel to San Diego Padres Spring Training. Other than in 2020, during the Covid shutdown, we’ve gone to Arizona in March for baseball. The last few times, we taken our travel trailer, Howie, and made a vacation of it, traveling beyond Phoenix after attending a few games. Our son Matthew arranges the tickets dates and we find a RV park near Peoria. We’ve were lucky finding three nights during this peak season in northern Phoenix.

Friday 08 March 2024 – San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres

We had tickets to Friday night’s SF Giants vs SD Padres game at their Peoria Sports Complex. The evening started well. That was short-lived because after the pre-game warm-ups and the National Anthem. The dark clouds rolled in and it started raining. We were hopeful the game would be delayed but still played. But after the lightning lit up the skies multiple times and the downpour started. It was obvious that the game was rained out.
Fortunately, we visited the team at the practice field the next and saw a day game against the Angels. Mike Trout is still with the Angels but Ohtani is now a Dodger. Seeing the up-and-coming players trying to make the team is always fun. Plus you get to see the veteran players up close, like pitcher Joe Musgrove or Fernando Tatis.

Practice Field before the game

One of the funnest things about Spring Training is visiting the practice fields at the Peoria Sports Complex before a game. It’s a great opportunity to see your favorite players up close and even get a hard-to-get autograph. If you travel to Spring Training, be sure to make it a point to go to practice. Note: if the game is away, players are gone early. So go when they have a home game.

Saturday 09 March 2024 – Chicago White Sox vs San Diego Padres

Thankfully, last night’s thunderstorm blew through and the Saturday day game at the Peoria Sports Complex was played. Usually, during the first five innings, the starting players are in. Then after the fifth inning, the newer players come into the game. New, unknown players trying to make the team or non-starting players get their time on the field.
Spring Training games are also a great opportunity to see NL or AL teams the Padres rarely play during the normal season.

Sunday 10 March 2024 – San Diego Padres vs Los Angeles Angels

During Spring Training, the Padres have away games at other complexes in the Phoenix area. The Los Angeles Angels practice field, Diablo Stadium, is in Tempe, AZ.

07-16 Mar 2024: Arizona/Baseball Spring Training

by JRWilkinsonMarch 7, 2024July 21, 2024Arizona / Baseball / RV Parks / Trips

So far, we’ve stayed close to home most of 2024, with only a few short trips. Caring for our grandson has been a priority and we haven’t felt the ‘call of the road’. One trip early this year, was to San Diego Padres Spring Training in March. Our son, daughter-in-law, & grandson were going to Spring Training plus take a few more days to visit family in Arizona. So we had a long weekend for Padres Spring Training, then time to explore Camp Verde, Prescott & Sedona.
This trip, we got a later start Thursday so instead of stopping at Ehrenberg, AZ. We stopped for the night at Lake Tamarisk Desert Resort in Desert Center, CA. It’s an interesting place – a well kept retirement (55+) community on a man-made lake & golf course. They have a few affordable, full-hookup spots available and their location. Being just east of Coachella, it was the perfect ‘day 1’ driving distance from Oceanside. The ‘town’ of Desert Center isn’t much, mainly abandoned buildings on Highway 10. It has an interesting history but is long past it’s heyday. Only the US Post Office building near the freeway off-ramp, and a few mobile/RV communities are well kept.

After the quick overnight stop, we drove 3hrs more to Phoenix Metro RV Park. We were lucky to get 3 weekend nights here during Spring Training. Spaces in Phoenix around Peoria are hard to come by but we got lucky.

08 – 10 March 2024 – San Diego Padres Spring Training

24 Nov 2023: Havasu Island Bike Trail

by JamesNovember 24, 2023February 19, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / E-Biking / Sightseeing / Trips

The majority of the trails around Lake Havasu are for mountain biking or quads. There is a commuter bike path that parallels the highway and takes you into town. But we wanted to a more scenic bike ride, away from traffic so we picked the Havasu Island Trail. It’s a popular ~3.5mi walking and biking trail that circles the island.

The pavement is riddled with cracks so most of the bike ride was pretty rough & bumpy. Our Zizzo folding bikes do not have suspension so we appreciated the smoother areas near the residential sections. There are dozens of lighthouses along Lake Havasu. They are 28 scaled down replicas of well-known US lighthouses from all over the country. All of the lighthouses on the west side of Lake Havasu are replicas of famous West Coast lighthouses. The East Coast replicas are on the east side. The lighthouses around the island are replicas of lighthouses from the Great Lakes.
We stopped at the Mudshark Brewery after our short bile ride. It is kind of out of the way but definately worth finding – beer, food, and the view were excellent. When we got back to the campground, we brought the pups back to the dog park. At Thanksgiving, they light-up the bridge ceremoniously – like the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, so a crowd started to build around Bridgewater Channel & the London Bridge shoreline.

23 Nov 2023: Sara Park Trail/Thanksgiving Potluck

by JamesNovember 23, 2023February 26, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / Hikes / Sightseeing

There are plenty of things to do around Lake Havasu but most are boating or other water-sports on the lake. We wanted to hike at least once during our stay so we chose the Sara Crack Slot Canyon Trail. Sara Park is only a few miles north from Cattail Cove just off the road to Lake Havasu City. There are several good hiking trails of different difficulties. Lizard Peak Trail is more challenging than the slot canyon yellow trail.

This recreation area is wonderful with off-leash dog parks, lake access and boat launches, and a variety of trails for both hiking and mountain biking. The slot canyon portion of the Sara Crack Trail is pretty short but challenging with some small drops that require a short rappel, ladder, &/or sliding down the rock face. Unlike the soft earth walls of Anza-Borrego’s slot canyon, these canyon’s walls are smooth stone. The majority of this trail is gravel river bed which can be sidetracked by taking the Red Trail instead of staying on the Yellow Trail. Once we were through the slot canyon, we could continue another mile to the lake on the winding riverbed trail. But we chose to head back, lessening our time away from the dogs. Instead of hiking back up the slot canyon, we took the Blue Trail which climbs a few hundred feet above the slot canyon, towards Lizard Peak. It’s a great alternate route back since you climb several hundred feet and have a beautiful panoramic view of Lake Havasu. You can also look down into the slot canyon to see other hikers working their way down & where you were.

Cattail Cove State Park Thanksgiving Potluck

During an early morning Thanksgiving-eve walk, I was told about the Cattail Cove Thanksgiving Potluck. A tradition at this campground that regulars know about. We would have heard about it too if we had stopped into the Ranger’s Office when we arrived. But since we arrived after hours, we had not made it to the campground office till yesterday. Being short-notice, we went into town to find something to bring. Not much was available so we opted for a charcuterie platter. The rangers and campers laid out a pretty impressive spread at the Cattail Cove Amphitheater. We missed having Thanksgiving with our family but were thankful to participate with a great group of rv’ers.

22 Nov 2023: Lake Havasu City/Parker Dam

by JamesNovember 22, 2023February 18, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / Sightseeing / Trips

About 12mi north of Cattail Cove State Park is Lake Havasu City. It is a sprawling town spread around the eastern shore of the lake formed by the Colorado River & Parker Dam. The lake is definitely the main attraction of the area. There are many lake resort communities especially on the ‘Island’. Many of the businesses focus on lake users and tourists. This is a great place to winter.
We drove around to get our bearings, have lunch, and buy some groceries. As close as Lake Havasu is to Oceanside, we’ve never visited this part of Arizona.

The main landmark in Lake Havasu City, other than the beautiful lake, is the London Bridge. It spans the Bridgewater Channel that connects the town with Lake Havasu Island. It’s a somewhat fascinating idea by developer Robert P McCollugh to add something unique to his lake development. Read the history on Wikipedia’s Lake Havasu City page here.