Dry Camping and Fortuna De Oro RV Resort

Laura asked how dry camping went for us, and how we managed our tanks for that long. When we first started out RVing we overnighted a few times in Walmart parking lots. I was OK with it, but Craig said he would prefer to go to RV parks and have full hookups. Basically I am in charge of choosing where we stay, so in respect for Craig's wishes, I avoided Walmarts but slipped in a Casino parking lot from time to time.  We also stayed in state and regional parks that have power and water, but no sewer connections. We found that driving to the dump station when needed is no big deal. 

Last fall we dry camped for nine days with a group at the Albuquerque Ballonfest. We got accustomed to running our generator for a few hours each day, and being just a little careful with our water use. We did pay for a service that came to our site and pumped out our holding tanks and refilled our water (once to do both) during our stay.

So, we felt pretty well prepared to dry camp at Quartzsite. We came with empty holding tanks and full freshwater, fuel, and propane tanks. There was a dump station and fresh water fill station several  miles away, on the BLM land.  We went there once halfway thru our stay. We were not particularly frugal with our water. We did take fewer, shorter showers. I washed dishes every other day, and tried to use fewer dishes. Most evening meals were pot luck for which we used paper plates.  The only power compromise we had to make was to not use the microwave, and to run the generator when we used the coffee maker. We also had to have the inverter on when we wanted to watch TV or charge the computers and iPads.

So, all in all we I thought it went well and Craig said he would be willing to dry camp from time to time.

Or, so he said!

Yesterday, as I was looking at or options for camping in Big Bend National Park later this month, I asked him which he would want to do: dry camp for $7.00 per night in a National Park campground, or pay $35.00 per night for full hook-ups at the commercial concession-run campground, nearby.

He chose the commercial full hook ups.  I have not yet made reservations.

[From Craig]  I have no head for money.  That's one of the things that for which I rely on Merikay.  When I'm offered the choice between less work and more convenience vs. less money, I'll choose the former as long as the money delta seems reasonable.  Which brings us back to the question what is reasonable...

Onto another subject. I promised several people I would write about the Fortuna De Oro RV Resort in Yuma. Like many others, when we were browsing the Big Tent, we picked up a coupon for free three nights.  

I am happy to say the offer is legitimate with no strings attached, and no sales pitch to listen to. The resort is enormous! The map show over 1250 sites. It is not as fancy as some of the snowbird parks, but the spaces were large, the laundry was clean, and it looked like there were many activities available. I did not make it to either of the pools, but I heard they were nice. Their regular daily rate is $39.  There were a half-dozen others checking in when we arrived, and they all had coupons. One lady told me she didn't have one and they gave her one at the desk. We all like a free sample, and this was the best. We will keep this resort in mind for future stays in Yuma. 

We are now on our way to Tucson. I'm writing this as Craig drives down I-8.

Since I had no pictures to share today, I'm ending with a coloring page:

Picture from Mandelas Coloring Book bought at Michael's.
Birds brown feathers, beaks and legs colored with Sharpie Fine Point pens
all the rest done with PRISMACOLOR Pencils

Canyon De Chelly

We have been north of it, south of it, east of it and west of it, but have never made it to Canyon De Chelly until now. It has been on my "must see" list ever since I read a post by Al of the Bayfield Bunch sometime before we even had our RV.

We drove down from Mesa Verde on Monday, stopping to see the Four Corners Monument. It was on Craig's bucket list.

Left hand in AZ, left foot in UT, right foot in CO, right hand in NM

When we were still at the Balloon Fiesta, I spent some time looking through my campground books, and searching the internet for campgrounds near the canyon that had hookups. No luck. 

Looking down on eroded sandstone in Canyon De Chelly

We have had bad luck with a couple of parks that were "walk up only" this summer. I had mixed feelings about the reviews I saw for the campground in the park itself. Partially because Cottonwood campground was described as "shaded by large, mature trees". This would be a positive in the heat of summer, but this is baseball playoff time, and I know Craig wants to be able to see the games on TV. Large trees can prevent satellite reception.

We had our GPS set to take us to an RV park down on I-40, that was about 100 miles past Canyon De Chelly, so we decided to stop for a quick look and ask some questions about the campground at the Visitors Center, leaving our options as open as possible. 

As it turned out we could see the edge of the campground from the VC, and I spotted a nice big space, that had no trees. Hooray! A place to be. We ended up staying for four nights.

This picture, with the Alfa in her spot, was taken a few days later from the VC parking area.

We woke up early Tuesday morning to thunder and heavy rain pounding on the roof above. We snuggled in and had coffee while reading the news and other bloggers' posts. By the time we were up, showered, and had breakfast, the storm had passed and the skies were clear.

Our plan for the day was to drive the South Rim Road and also walk down the White House Trail. It is the only place you can go into the canyon without a Navajo guide.

We stopped at several observation points. The weather was perfect, 70° with a sweet breeze. The clouds were puffy white, but growing.

Then we tackled the 2.5 mile (round trip) hike down to the bottom of the canyon to see a ruin called the White House. The arrow shows where we were going.  It seems to me these people were more sensible than those who built high on the cliffs. This building was at canyon bottom level. There was also a building above it in a cliff niche.

This is a look at the trail down. There were some rather rough and steep sections, and as we went down I kept thinking about the return climb.

Sandstone rock walls do some pretty strange things. 

We discussed whether this center support was a natural or man made feature as we hiked down the steep pathway.  Craig thought the rocks involved were too large to have been manipulated by people in such a location.















Texture, texture, texture, created by the forces of nature.

Merikay wrote on Dec 8 2010: "Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles in National Parks!"

On the canyon floor we noticed this wonderful cactus! So healthy looking! The fantastic canyon walls towered above.

Views of the White House Ruins:

Although we got a closer look at the ruins, we noticed that the Navajo vendors were packing up their wares quickly,  

and that all the other hikers were heading back up the trail. The thunderheads were building above, and one of the vendors told us there were thunderstorm and tornado warnings for the area. 

I did not take any pictures on our hike back up. When faced with a one and a quarter mile, 600 foot elevation hike up the side of a rock canyon I would normally take my time, stopping frequently to catch my breath, and just do it. I would be glad to see the top, but I would stay within my comfort zone. But this time it was go, go, go! As slow as I was, I did keep going with only a few short stops to catch my breath. We felt threatened by the clouds, but quarter sized drops of  rain that started to fall on us. We really did not want to be on the side of a slippery, rough rock face of the canyon when the lightning and/or downpour started.

By the time we got to the top, the rain had stopped, but the storm was still on its way. I was very glad to have a moment to catch my breath before we headed for the car.

You have no idea of how much I regret being so fat! I was a smoker for many years, and although it has been a long time since I quit, my lungs remain compromised from that abuse. My son still smokes, and I wish I could say something that would influence him enough to quit!



It did rain quite hard that night. A strange thing happened the next day. At about four in the morning I woke feeling quite nauseous. I had a pounding headache, and stayed in bed with a barf pot all day. I don't know if I picked up a twenty four hour flu, or if my body was over stressed by the rapid climb out of the canyon the day before. Craig never got sick, and I was OK the following day.

On Thursday we drove the rest of the rim roads and stopped at the remaining interesting overlooks.

A few pictures cannot show all the fantastic views we had.

Canyon De Chelly is a remarkable place. We enjoyed our few days there and are very glad we stopped to see it. 

Cottonwood Campground was peaceful and we are becoming less leery about the idea of dry camping for a few days at a time.

I doubt we will ever be full time boondockers, but we might just try some nights out in the BLM lands next year. 



[From Craig] Merikay and I found Canyon de Chelly, in the heart of the Navajo Nation, to be much more than we expected. We recommend it to anyone who's interested in geology, ancient cultures, or current Navajo culture.  I like this place!

Lunch at the Ahwahnee

Friday was a rest and recovery day for us.  One of my weight loss strategies is to avoid eating in restaurants, especially fast food or Denny's-type places. Most of the time I either pack a little lunch or we eat a bigger breakfast and skip lunch.  I almost always make dinner in the Alfa.
  
On this trip we did eat lunch out on the two days when the Alfa was being worked on, because we had to get going so early and Craig didn't have time for breakfast. 

But we also are establishing a tradition of eating in the main dining room of the National Park Lodges we visit. Thus, on Friday, we decided to have a low-key day wandering around the Yosemite Valley and having lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel.

It was good, but not as special as the dinner we had had there ten years or so ago. After lunch we explored the hotel and its immediate grounds.

One could imagine rich tourists playing lawn tennis or croquet on the lawn in years long past.

A sign from another time.  

During our visit to Yosemite we did not see much wildlife.  A few deer, this fat little Sierra Fence lizard, some quail and large ravens or crows.  No bears. 

I did see one unwelcome critter: the much dreaded Deer Mouse.  It got zapped in one of the electronic traps I have set in our basement bays.



Makes me feel like buying the traps was a good investment, given the Hantavirus scare in the park right now.  I'm glad we didn't unknowingly transport it back to our own forest, or have one start a family in the Alfa!

Saturday was the dreaded "go home day".  It's easier to get going when you have been dry camping and don't have any hookups to disconnect. 

 There is no dump station up at the Crane Flat campground, so we decided to stop at the Mariposa Fairgrounds on our way home.  They usually charge $20 to dump if you aren't camping there, but because we had been there for two nights the weekend before we were not charged.

The dry camping went well.  We were a little careful with our power and water. I wish the campground spot itself had been a little more level, but the ranger explained that because it was a natural area, they were hesitant about improving the sites. 

I'm sure we will dry camp again, but not for weeks at a time like some people do. 

I'm already plotting our next adventures!  A short trip in late October or November, and a longer outing that will include a few days in San Diego for Christmas.

Death Valley is a possibility.  Has anyone been there in the early part of January?