Jerome and Old Town Cottonwood

When hearing we were going to the Sedona and Cottonwood area, several people suggested we should drive up to see a small town called Jerome. It was a copper mining and smelting town high in the mountains nearby.

When the copper mine finally closed down, the town died and many of the old buildings were destroyed. But at some point new "hippie" people moved in and Jerome became revitalized. It is now a destination that is not terribly touristy, nor overly "artsy." Some of the old buildings have been restored, and a few stand in their original condition.

The Jerome State Historic Park Visitors Center, great lunch spots, and fantastic views of the valley below make the short drive and difficult parking worth the effort.

We only spent a half day there because my walking is still limited by my ankle injury.

After lunch we drove down and walked around the Cottonwood Old Town business district, visiting a few galleries, antique shops, a book store, and several gift shops. 

I bought some wild new socks with pink and purple smiling javelinas as my souvenir. 
We also stopped  at an Olive Oil tasting room, where Craig got a small bottle of Cara-Cara Orange Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar.

Any souvenir must be consumable, wearable, readable, or for someone else when you live in an RV!






Did I mention there were four other Alfas here in our loop of the Dead Horse Ranch Park? It seems that wherever there is more than one Alfa, happy hour is celebrated. So we joined our Maverick friends and had some yummy bites for dinner. After having eaten lunch out we had planned on a simple salad for dinner, but the crab cakes, meatballs, deviled eggs, and an assortment of  fresh veggies were more than enough. 

The eating is GOOD!

A list of our future reservations:

Where We Are, and Where We Are Going

Sedona, Sunday

I visited Sedona, Arizona, several years ago for a long weekend with my sister, and was eager to share its beauty with Craig. As soon as we were settled into our site at the Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, we got into the Jeep and drove the 20 miles or so to Sedona.

We first parked in a 30 minute spot outside of the uptown Visitors Center, and after picking up a map managed to find a spot to leave the Jeep for a longer time. Sunday afternoon in Sedona is a very busy time!

The sky was quite dramatic all afternoon. It never rained, but we could see rain coming down from the clouds but not reaching the ground. (Such rain is called "virga".) 

Sedona is surrounded by red rock formations. The building codes of the city restrict color and height of the homes and businesses. Even McDonald's had to comply and there are no golden arches!

Our day ended with a get-together with our old friends, John and Bev. We had a light dinner together and then went to their home for a delightful dessert and a delightful desert view. 

We knew at least one of our Alfa friends was coming to this park, this week, but were surprised to see several others! Like us, they are only here for a few days before heading out in other directions.

It is going to be a busy week, lots to see.

Surprise!

Surprise Arizona that is.

We had a very nice visit with my brother Keith and his wife Gerri, at their park model home in Surprise. They started spending winters in Arizona several years ago, and last fall they sold their beautiful Wisconsin lake home and moved down here permanently. They still have their class A motorhome and will be doing some traveling in summers, that will include long stays with family, back up north.

We were able to park in a full-hook-up site right next to their lot at the Sunflower Resort.

On Friday night we went to the Elks Club for a nice fish fry. Joining the Elks is on our list for this year. Perhaps when we are in Idaho in July, or when we go back to San Diego for the holidays. 

My brother loaned me a couple of great books about Utah, and we retired to the Alfa early so I could look through them before returning them the next day.

On Sunday we went over to Lake Pleasant for a splendid afternoon.

We enjoyed hot wings on the shaded patio overlooking the lake.

There were two pair of Mallard ducks that were having a very animated discussion with each other.  The males had the most active disputes, but only when the females were behind them, poking them in the butt with their beaks!

I had never seen Flyboarding before, and we watched several younger people trying it. Not something we will be doing anytime soon, but fun to watch.

Back at the park, my brother cooked up some yummy steaks on the Weber Q, and my sister-in-law treated us to a warm dump-cake for desert.  Which was a neat coincidence, because we were introduced to a dump cake a couple of nights before.

My brother had heard of Mexican Train, but had never played, so he brought out a big light and we played out on the patio table. The night was soft and neither too warm, nor too cool. There were no bugs or mosquitoes.  It was indeed pretty near perfect!

Keith had a nice turn of beginners luck when he used all of his tiles on the first round of play in the sixes round.  If you know the game you can imagine my groan when I was left holding the double nines, several high count tiles, and the double blank.  We had fun, Keith won, I was second and Craig was last after he had four no-starts out of 10 games.

We said our goodbyes by 10:00 AM Sunday, and drove the 100 or so miles north to Cottonwood AZ where we will be getting together with some old friends who have retired in Sedona this year.

Life is good!

2015 Alfa Owners Club Rally

In some ways this year's AOC Rally has been the best of the three we have attended. 

One of several dinner gatherings in the Ballroom. 

We have been enjoying pot-luck meals, catered meals, and group restaurant meals every evening, along with many "Happy Hour" get-togethers. We could join in for coffee and donuts every morning, but on most mornings we prefer to sleep in and make our own breakfasts.

We feel we know more people than in previous years, and know who to ask if we have a question.

This year we skipped some of the product seminars, because we had already heard them. Craig went to some of the "tech talks", and we both went to the "travel talks".  On our list were talks about Mexico, the Rockies, Alaska, and the Maritimes.  Some of the presentations were by other Alfa owners who had traveled by themselves, and some were by Alfa owners who traveled with the Adventure Caravan company as customers and as employees. There are advantages to both. The caravan approach has the advantage of professional planning and having a wagon master and other guides available to help if you need it. You do not have to make your own reservations, or worry about getting lost or stuck. You travel with a group and enjoy a social atmosphere and group meals. But you do pay quite a lot for these advantages. To quote my brother: "It's like the difference between a cruise and a boat ride."  

On the other hand, if you travel on your own, you can go where you want, and stay for as many days as you want.  Of the trips we heard about, only traveling in Mexico for the first time would tempt me to have a paid guide.  But that may change in the future!  Did you know you can go on an RV Caravan trip in Africa? Who would have thought!

We also took advantage of "Rally Discounts" to have our coach washed, oxidation removed, and a good hand waxing. Our holding tanks also got a thorough power cleaning and all the sensors are reading correctly again. We have never had a black tank clog, but the gray tank has smelled bad lately, and a good professional cleaning was called for.

We have enjoyed some good conversations about traveling in an RV, and have gotten some great ideas and advice from others.

Our chapter of Alfa owners, the Mavericks.

We all try to avoid discussions about politics, but did have one good round where no one really got mad.  That is a rarity these days since it seems everyone is so polarized and unwilling to listen, myself included!

[From Craig]  Wednesday night we went to a dinner and "entertainment night" that we signed up for at our Alfa rally.  The dinner was good, as was the conversation 'cause we were sitting with our friends from our chapter.  Then came the entertainment which was a jazz quintet.  After two numbers, I asked Merikay what she thought of bailing out early, and she said that was OK with her.  After the third number I gave Merikay a high-sign that I was ready to leave.  I said good night to our friends at the table, and Merikay creatively added that we had to get home to walk our dog.  As we're leaving, one of our friends called after us "but you don't have a dog!"

Which some other people around caught onto, leading to general laughter.  At such times I love Merikay more than ever.

Friday was departure day, and we all got a breakfast in a bag from the resort and headed out in all directions. We stopped in at the Purcell Tire dealer in town to get a slow leak checked (caused by a loose valve stem) and got in line behind behind another Alfa for service.

Then we were on our way to Surprise, AZ to visit my brother and his wife. They have also sold their home and now live in a delightful little place in the Sunflower Resort. 

Hopefully I will be posting more often as we start traveling and exploring more of Arizona and Utah in the next several months.

I Promise!

I promise to start writing travel posts again soon. 

Several nights ago I spent several hours crafting a nice summary post about all the things we did with our grandsons during the five weeks we spent in San Diego. Then poof! I must have hit the wrong key and it all went away.  I was so tired and frustrated I could not redo it!

We have left San Diego and are on our own again.

We spent the last two nights at casinos.

Sunday overnight at Indio Casino

And Monday in the parking lot of the casino near Los Algodones, in Winterhaven.

After getting our teeth cleaned in Mexico we drove to Casa Grande, Arizona, for an early arrival at the annual National Alfa Owners Club Rally.  We will be here for ten days, and I probably won't post much about the social activities, catered dinners, pot lucks, breakfast get-togethers, games, classes, and vendor sessions.

I know we will be very busy and having lots of fun! 

Tire Monitoring Systems

We'd like to get a Tire Monitoring System soon.  We probably want pressure and temperature sensing for 10 tires (coach and toad).  There are enough brands that we got a headache trying to pick one.

1. Replaceable sensor batteries: do you think that by the time the battery has run down, it's probably time to have new sensors as well?  The environment of a wheel rotating on roads is probably hard on sensors.  Or are replaceable batteries a good economy?

2. Those of you who have TPM systems, what brand do you have and what do you like and/or dislike about your system?

3. Anybody, what have you heard from others about what brand they have and what they like and/or dislike about their system?

Please reply by commenting or by email at craigm014 AT gmail.com.  If we get enough responses, we'll post a summary here.

Thanks,
Craig & Merikay MacKenna

One Year Houseless!

Well it's hard to believe, but as of April 1 it is one year since the sale of our house closed escrow. So, it has been one year that we have been houseless. I considered us full time RVers seven months before that, because we were indeed living in our RV full time.

I feel like I should write a special post about how I feel and what our future plans are. 

I can honestly say that I have absolutely no regrets. I loved our house in the Santa Cruz mountains, but I knew we could not comfortably travel for months at a time and still keep it up.  

I really like our Alfa motorhome. It is our home, and it is just right for us. Not too small, not bigger than we need, not too old, and not too fancy.  

But to be honest there are a few things I do miss. I miss my treadmill.  I miss having a really separate bathroom, with a really good exhaust fan to control odors. I miss my large double Electrolux Ovens.  I miss the quality of our land line telephones. I miss getting mail or UPS and FedEx deliveries to the door without extra effort. I miss the libraries. And finally I miss knowing where everything is located at the grocery stores, and where to get some of the special things we like.

But I would never want to go back.

I've never been much of a housekeeper, and I wondered how I would do in the limited space of an RV. I am delighted to say that keeping things neat is far easier in the RV than in a house. Because everything has to be stowed away before driving, everything has to have a place. Since storage is limited, the amount of stuff has to be limited too. Less stuff = less mess. 

I'm quite proud of the way we keep the tiny kitchen area clean.  At the house, Craig would sometimes clear the dishes and help empty the dishwasher but I was pretty much responsible for the rest, and after cooking the meal, it was easy to  leave some dishes undone and a few pots and pans soaking.  I would just turn the light out and go into the living room for the evening. The kitchen was seldom really clean.

But in the RV, with only four large plates, four small plates, two cups, two coffee mugs, and a limited selection of bowls, we have to do the dishes right after a meal, or we would have nothing to use for the next one. And, with the kitchen sort of part of the living room, we don't want to look at a full sink or a messy countertop.  

I think Craig and I have both made some big compromises in how we relate to each other, and they have not always come easily. When I first started reading blogs I got the impression that everyone who lived full time in an RV had a perfect mate. Just like the perfect families with perfect parents and perfect children in the 60s TV sit-coms. I wasn't sure how we would do because I knew we sure weren't perfect.

I think we have learned to fight with each other, but we have also learned to let our differences go. Our biggest problem is we both want to be right all of the time. If anything, this year has taught us that change is possible, so maybe by this time next year we will find that being right isn't always necessary. Maybe...

Living in 300+ square feet, 24/7, has in fact caused us to be more flexible.  We each have our own jobs, but at the same time help the other, and accept having the other check what we have done. We depend on each other far more than we did at the house. In the past we were individuals first and a couple second. Now we are a couple first. I have always wanted us to be equal partners. I feel we are coming closer to that as a reality. Slowly ... almost ...

We have traveled to many new places in this first year. Some were bullet-list places like Niagara Falls and the Florida Keys, but most were pleasant finds as we went. Some were wonderful and a few were not. But, we quickly learned that once the blinds were pulled in the evening, most places are much the same. Noise is the one thing that can become intrusive, but most loud road noise dies down late at night, and we have made the mournful hoot of a train something to laugh about. We have many places we still want to see, but don't want to dash around so fast that we miss the hidden treasures, or get tired of the new.

With all of this in mind, I don't see us hanging up the keys anytime soon. We know this can change quite quickly for many reasons, and we will deal with whatever comes. For now our exit plan is fuzzy and far in the future. 

The next year? We have a general plan and I have made several reservations in places that it might be difficult to get into at the last minute, but they can be changed. 

A perfectly smooth ride would be boring, so hang on and bounce along with us over the bumps!

Note: I have added a new page to my sidebar listing current, future, and some of our past locations. If you want to know Where we are, where we are going, or are in the same area and want to meet, check it out.

Keeping warm at sunset in San Diego