Tips for fledgling snowbirds?

[Will Hansen]

Hi all! We retired last spring and are about to take our very first excursion south. Leaving Seattle about Jan. 10 and our rough plan is to experience Quartzsite and then wander down around Yuma, maybe over to Tucson and loop back up via Phoenix and back over to I-5. Just doing reconnaissance this year to find destinations for the future.  Looking to alternate maybe a week of boondocking and then a week or two of hookups and repeat until we have to be back in Seattle in March.

Good boondocking seems easier to find. Any suggestions on RV parks in southern AZ would be greatly appreciated. Fancy resorts are not our style. Just looking for nice, clean and friendly where we can get some walking and ride our bikes.

Thanks for any advice you care to give!

Will & Carla

[jeffprupis]

AZ State Parks are great. Many around PHX. Patagonia SP further south.

[Robin Goffrier]

Will, your trip sounds like ours about 5 years ago.  Retired, bought a Winnebago Adventurer and did our inaugural trip.  From Bend, OR to Boise and then we headed south through Utah and Arizona.  We hit 3 national parks, Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon.  Really enjoyed Tuscon.  If you have any interest in things aircraft, the Pima Air  Museum and bone yard tour at Davis Montham AFB is a must.  Also visited the Titan missile base which is a great museum and window into the past.  From Tuscon we went to yuma and on to Indio where we stayed about a month.  Decided we enjoyed motorhoming and now have our latest 08 Beaver Contessa and have purchased a lot in an RV park in Indio. Last year's trip was across the US, about 9,000 miles in our then o1 Beaver Marquis, again ending up at the park in Indio.  If you'd like any thoughts or have questions feel free to give us a buzz, 503 307-7347  The Contessa is in Indio where we moved it it in October.  We drove the toad home for the holidays and will head back to the sun in the next few days.  Good luck and enjoy your trip.

[David T. Richelderfer]

We have drycamped in many places - Silver Dollar Campground in Haugan, MT; Cabelas (Billings MT, Rapid City and Mitchell SD, Omaha NB, Kansas City KS, Dallas TX); Scheels (Salt Lake City UT); BLM STVAs (Lake Havasu City, Quartzsite and Yuma AZ) and LTVAs (Quartzsite); WalMarts (Winnemucca NV, Sheridan WY); Arizona Trust Land (south of Lake Havasu City AZ); free COE parks like below the John Day Dam near Rufus OR; wide spots along roads like in Jordan Valley and Burns Junction OR, and Scotty's Junction NV; Area 51 Alien Truck Stop at Amargosa Valley NV; Lake Pleasant RV Park's drycamping area NW of Peoria; etc.  If you are an Elks Club member, then many Elks Lodges have RV parking.
 You can join Harvest Hosts and stay at wineries and farms that participate with Harvest Hosts.

In Yuma AZ we rent a private lot in the Fortuna Foothills about 15 miles east of downtown Yuma - $400 per month plus power, three FHUs with 50a but we are alone on the lot, see it on Google Maps - 14778 E 52nd St.  Here there are miles of fairly level paved roads for walking and bike riding, three golf courses, two large stores nearby (Super WalMart and Fries), many restaurants and fast food shops, variety stores, banks, etc.  Near downtown Yuma there is Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Dillards, Target, Sam's Club, more Fries and Super WalMart, banks, etc.