Viva la Mexico!

Mexico and Rocky Point in particular were not at the top of the list for RV trips this early in our investment.  This was mostly due to us wanting to learn the ropes of the RV before traveling too far, or out of the country.  However, it’s Winter in Arizona, and RV reservations are hard to come by, so we said what the heck and headed down.

We knew exactly where we wanted to reserve space:  Wrecked at the Reef (on Sandy Beach.)  We have been going to Rocky Point for 18 years now and have always gone to Wrecked (Restaurant & Bar) but kept an eye on the RV Campground as well.  Out of three possible locations to go to, Wrecked is by far the best campground for Ocean View, physical space, and maneuverability!  While Playa Bonita is the most well-known RV Resort in Rocky Point, we found that we would not have even been able to get our RV into any of the sites they had to offer.  Most of the RVer’s in Playa were very long-term renters, and their RVs were all very close together and cramped.

When we put our garage ramp down (this in effect becomes a back deck), we were literally on the beach, and overlooking the Ocean.  A spectacular view.  We were also within walking distance to the restaurant, and the small store they had onsite.

  

 

Anyone who knows US (me in particular), also knows that I am a die-hard Roger Clyne (and the Peacemakers) fan.  January Jam has become one of my favorite weekends that he performs in Rocky Point, and this weekend was no exception.  We met up with our long-time best friends and enjoyed three days of great music, great food, and great camping. 

Although this doesn’t quite fall into the category of “lessons learned”, one thing we have still not figured out is RV protocol.  Especially when it comes to neighbors.  On this trip, we were sandwiched between 2 families camping together. Originally, we were going to switch spots with one of the families, but as it turns out, both neighbors were VERY EARLY to bed people (followed by super early risers.)  Our timing was never such that we could coordinate the move. The mornings were slightly awkward as the people would have to walk under our back deck (which we were sitting on) to visit with each other. Is the protocol to keep waving?  Join in their conversation (as their campfire on the beach was right there by us?) I’m sure we will learn how to be proper neighbors over time….

Our Maiden Voyage

We picked up the RV on the day after Christmas.  Happy Holidays to us!!  We proceeded to spend the next 4 days deep cleaning the RV and getting it all set up.  In the meantime, I had booked an RV spot for our maiden voyage at Karchner Caverns which is about 3 hours from our home in Queen Creek.

Although we had the week of New Years off work, we, unfortunately, were not able to FIND much availability for campgrounds.  This is the drawback of living in Arizona in the Wintertime.  All the snowbirds are here. We went with what we could get and booked a weekend starting on New Year’s Day.

Karchner Caverns is a state park, which means it has a full-time Camp Host and is kept super nice.  The campground had all the hook-ups, plus free wifi, nice bathroom facilities, and even showers if we wanted.

Since Karchner is in the low desert, the daytime highs were in the 50s.  The overnight lows were below freezing.  The RV handled the weather like a pro.  In fact, we learned that we did not necessarily need the heater on overnight as it got a little too warm.

Given this was our inaugural trip, I am surprised that we didn’t have too many lessons learned.  Most notably was “timing.”  It did take us longer to get on the road than we anticipated.  It also took us longer ON the road due to wind gusts on the I-10.  We pre-made most of our food from home, so we have not yet mastered everything in the kitchen.  The Wifi at the campground was ok, but it in no way supports streaming.  We didn’t test our computers. The bed in the RV is an absolute dream, better than home as a matter of fact. 

The pets did great, and even Chewey crawled out of hiding after day one.  He also did amazing on the road, and preferred to stay in the backseat of the truck with both dogs!

For daytime adventures, we went to Bisbee Arizona for most of the day.  We did a mining tour that took us 1500 feet underground, followed by lunch at a local brewery. The old downtown was quaint and fun to walk around.

On our way home, we went to Tombstone Arizona. We walked around town and had a drink in the local Saloon. I grew up in Arizona and have never really visited these places in full.  Only passed through, but never stayed. 

We didn’t tour Karchner Caverns because we had just done the tour a few months previously in October. We hung by the campfire at night and chatted up the Camp hosts when they came by. 

All in all, the maiden voyage was a great break-in for RVing, and the trailer was perfect!