Catalina Spa & RV Resort, Desert Hot Springs, California

We are back at Catalina Spa & RV Resort for a couple weeks after spending a month at the Sands RV & Golf Resort. We enjoy it here and it was nice to come back and see the friendly faces we left a month ago. One of our favorite things here are the naturally-spring fed very warm pools ~ nothing like floating in a warm swimming pool at night, looking up at the clear sky with the stars and moon!

A word about out first month-long stay (again, at the Sands) ~ we really enjoyed it! We met tons of very friendly people, enjoyed games, hiking, and yoga. It was a good experience, and we definitely will spend longer times at some parks as our travels continue.

Ridgeview RV Resort, Bullhead City. Arizona

Wondering what happened? Last you read, we were planning to go to the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. We did go, but had very limited Internet, so we’ll post about our hikes and travels at the state park over the next few days.

Right now we are in Bullhead City, Arizona at Ridgeview RV Resort. We stayed here about 2 ½ years ago, basically because we wanted to be somewhere warm and we enjoy gambling (table games – more specifically, craps). Well, that’s about the same reason we’re here again.

The RV park is basically the same as we described it on our previous visit, although now the pool and hot tub are working, albeit they’re in desperate need of a cleaning. The WiFi is no longer free, and the cable at our site works.

We do plan to do a few things while in the area, although since we already hiked Grapevine Canyon and went to Lake Havasu City, we will not do those again. Below is the picture we took of the Laughlin casinos at night – looks the same this time around!

Charleston Peak RV Resort & Winery, Pahrump, Nevada

First things first ~ look at the new roof! She’s a beauty! :-)

Now look at the sky – clear & blue – ahhhh!!!

Okay, onto the RV resort ~ Charleston Peak RV Resort & Winery is a very nice park and we’re staying here for nearly two weeks under RPI. The park is clean, sites are long, graveled, and each site has a concrete pad to use as a patio. There are lots of activities, the staff and RV’ers are a friendly bunch, there’s a swimming pool & hot tub, clubhouse with the typical book exchange, games & puzzles, horseshoes, RV wash, small dog area, the usual. But what makes this RV park unique, is that it’s also part of Nevada’s only winery ~ complete with vineyards, a tasting room, and restaurant. We haven’t been yet, but be sure to check back on our report of the winery ~ eating and drinking are right up our alley!

Seaside Resort, Seaside, Oregon

 

We staying at Seaside Resort in Seaside, Oregon for a while, under our RPI membership. It’s a pretty nice park – there’s a large, clear swimming pool with a kids pool and separate hot tub. Alongside this indoor area is a dining area where you can either purchase food or enjoy a picnic lunch. There are two clubhouses, both with great book exchanges, common areas, the usual. There’s a large clean laundry room and a pretty nice exercise room with six aerobic machines (two each – treadmills, ellipticals, recumbent bikes). The park is separated into two sides – both are open with large sites. Seaside Resort is a bit further from the ocean than Whaler’s Rest in South Beach, but closer to town and a sort drive to the shops, arcades, and beaches.

Whaler’s Rest Resort, South Beach, Oregon

 

Whaler’s Rest Resort is a Thousand Trails/NACO park and we are here under RPI for a couple weeks. The location is great, just south of Newport and ¼ mile from the beach. At night we can hear the waves and it’s an easy walk to the beach everyday. The campground is pretty nice – all sites have 50-amp, full hook-ups, although non-Thousand Trail members cannot stay at the north side with more open sites (and thus better cell phone coverage). There are a couple club houses, some activities (mostly revolving around food), a decent store that rents movies for $1, and the staff if very friendly. The location is very good for exploring the surrounding area, as we plan to do in the time we’ll be here.

Dow Creek Resort, Hoodsport, Washington

We are staying at Dow Creek Resort for a few nights using our RPI membership. This campground definitely has it’s good points and, shall we say, areas in need of some work.

Good ~ well forested with lots of mature trees – gives a feel of a state park; sites are large and private (in fact, Brad’s been enjoying, shall we say, watering the shrubs instead of using our facilities) :-) ; very quiet; clean; staff (the one guy we spoke to) was nice; sites have picnic tables and fire pits

Not so Good ~ the “clubhouse” is an old, musty single-wide trailer that just gives off an “icky” feel; the dump station (not all sites are full-hook ups) is nearly impossible to get to – a narrow road outside of the main campground that has huge potholes and standing water; although as we said it’s clean, it’s a bit rundown

Diamond Point RV Resort, Sequim, Washington

We are staying here under our RPI membership and it’s a pretty nice park, albeit simple.  The sites are a bit close together, but clean and with a picnic table.  The park is very well maintained and the employees (and visitors) very friendly. There are a few activities (already looking forward to the ice cream social on Friday night) in the clubhouse, a nice book exchange, free DVD rentals, potlucks, a spa, community firepit (bring your own wood), the typical puzzle, games, etc…  It’s a very quiet campground with resident deer that meander in the early evenings.

Be sure to check our Zoey's blog: http://zoeythefulltimingdog.blogspot.com  She has a new post she'd like you to read!  :-)

Hello from Sequim, Washington!

We made it! We are finally fulltimers as of 11:14am on 8/14/2011. For our first foray into the fulltiming world, we’re staying at Diamond Point RV Resort a few miles from Sequim (closer to Diamond Point, thus the name). It took us longer than expected to get everything in the rig organized, and we’re just about where we (read: Suzanne) are happy with the arrangement.

Pictured above is the new rig – it’s Montana High Country 343RL by Keystone RV – here’s a link to their site so you can see the inside and read all about it: http://keystone-highcountry.com/montana/index.php?page=floorplans&coast=&model=343RL

We are ready to explore the surrounding area, so check back soon for the highlights (and possible lowlights) of the local vicinity.

Neskowin Creek RV Resort, Neskowin Oregon

Hello Again!

Yes, it’s been a while since we’ve posted. As you may know, we arrived home and decided to stay for a while……….and after a loooong time, we finally had the opportunity to take the ‘ole rig out again, and we headed to our “home resort” ~ Neskowin Creek RV Resort in Neskowin, Oregon on the beautiful Oregon coast. We’ve been here a few times before – it’s very big rig friendly with lots of pull-through sites and is very accessible to the ocean – either by a short walk (~1/2 mile) through the nearby neighborhood, or you can take a short drive to the public access just one mile north of the campground.

Neskowin Creek RV Resort offers an indoor swimming pool and hot tub, club house with some activities and meals, wifi ($1/day) a decent bathroom with showers, laundry, tennis courts, shuffleboard, basketball, volleyball and horseshoes. Every time we’ve been here, the staff has been incredible friendly – it’s the same workkamping couple that’s been here over a year and a half now (since we started coming).

One thing about the RV Resort which some may find charming – and others many not – is the abundance of rabbits roaming the campground – there were probably 200+ (more than last year, and you know what they say about rabbits……). They’re cute and all, but their droppings are everywhere……….

This is a great place to come if you want to spend some time along the Oregon coast – it is RPI and Coast-to-Coast, and there’s a great restaurant nearby ~ more on that in a day or two!

St. George Resort, St. George, Utah

We’re in Utah! Our first campground in Utah is just outside St. George, the St. George Resort, run by Western Horizons (we’re here under RPI).

Let’s start with the pros:

• All sites are full hook-ups, including cable (which works just okay).
• They offer WiFi, and it works!
• There is a nice activity center with some activities.
• Their laundry room is okay, a fairly large book exchange, and they have the typical resort amenities - horseshoes, playground, shuffleboard, mini-golf, swimming pool & spa.
• The staff is exceptionally nice!
  

Now the cons, of which there is only one, but it’s a big one:

• The sites are incredible close together! Now we lucked out with our site, because there is a guy simply parking his car on one side, and the other side has a tree, but the pull-through sites – wow – the ‘ole portrait of leaning out your window and borrowing a cup of sugar from your neighbor certainly applies here – with slides out, no joke, there is maybe a foot between rigs!
  

Camp Verde RV Resort, Camp Verde, Arizona

Camp Verde RV Resort is a Western Horizon Resort and we’re staying here under RPI. It is a small RV resort with an activity center, pool and hot tub, laundry, book exchange, pickleball courts, shuffleboard, and activities scheduled daily. The staff (well, the one woman with whom we spoke) was nice, and as typical with Western Horizon Resorts, their WiFi is not reliable. The Verde River flows along the eastern edge of the park, and Brad saw a river otter when he wandered around and took pictures. (Now, he didn’t get a photograph of it, so we’ll just have to believe him. :-) )

Valley Vista RV Resort, Benson, Arizona

Valley Vista RV Resort is a Sunbelt property (owned by Western Horizons) and we're staying here under RPI. The park is okay - the sites are rather on top of each other and clean, but not graveled - sort of a mixture of gravel and dirt/sand. There is a club house with a pool table, card tables, large book exchange and TV. The laundry room has about 5 washers & 5 dryers and is spacious and clean. There is a nice pool, a bit smallish but warm, and a hot tub in the same area. The activities are plentiful, with various card games, shuffleboard, pot lucks, and a variety of other games. Two very good things about this park ~ the staff is very nice and the WiFI works and works well!

Casa Grande RV Resort, Casa Grande, Arizona

We're spending a week at the Casa Grande RV Resort (also know as Desert Shadows) under RPI. The park is pretty typical of the desert RV parks we've stayed - open sites with gravel in which to park your rig. Each site is quite large and offers a large concrete pad to place your chairs, tables, and accompanying "garden" items. (We have Bernie - our Welcome Bear.) The park is large, over 300 sites, with a swimming pool, hot tub, and patio area, a large and well-stocked library, an equally large laundry room with more than a dozen washers and dyers, a large card room with about 6 round tables, a billiards room with four tables, a decent sized exercise room with some cardio equipment and weight machines (in okay shape). There are two dog-walking areas where you can take your four-legged friend off-leash to romp, and tons of activities, ranging from pot lucks to bingo to cards to crafts to travel talks. The one issue with Casa Grande RV Resort - the wifi. This is our fourth Western Horizons resort that we've stayed under RPI, and except for Tall Chief in Washington, they all had wifi issues. In fact, at this park you cannot use the wifi between 7:00am-5:30pm, as it is used only by the employees during that time. Overall this seems like a nice park in which to stay as we explore the surrounding area of Casa Grande.

Yuma Lakes & TWO great restaurants, Yuma, Arizona

YUMA LAKES
Yuma Lakes is an RV Resort affiliated with the Colorado River Adventure (CRA), and we are here for a week or so under RPI. What’s interesting about Yuma Lakes is it’s also a KOA campground, so people (not us) buy (for a lot of money) a membership to CRA, yet it’s also a public park………….hmmmm……..

Yuma Lakes is a fairly large RV park – 544 full-service sites, all rather open with a few trees in some areas. There is a central activity center with a dining area where cards, bingo, etc.. . are played, a billiard room, small book exchange, free WiFi, and laundry. Behind the Activity Center is the pool and hot tub. There are also horseshoe pits, shuffleboard courts, and mini golf. Here’s the low-down: it’s a decent location to explore Yuma and the surrounding area (we like that it’s a bit north of town – less noise), but it’s not a great park –the bathrooms and buildings need a renovation, the “campground” is basically a gravel parking lot, and although pretty, the surrounding area is agriculture, which means crop-dusting planes flying overhead and farm machinery working at all hours

TWO GREAT RESTAURANTS!
We got here yesterday, and after not eating our while in Ehrenberg last week, we’ve been making up for time lost!

Tacos Mi Rancho – We asked around and heard about this Mexican restaurant - it is a hole in the wall found on the corner of 4th Ave & 2nd St. We both had the lunch special of chicken enchiladas, and they were great! This is cash only, so when you go, be sure you bring a few bucks. If you’re new in town, just across the street is the Yuma Visitors Center – you can find tons of information about Yuma and Arizona and the staff was very nice.

Famous Dave’s BBQ – When Brad asked about a Mexican restaurant, the person then asked, “Do you like BBQ?” which is all Brad needed to hear. Famous Dave’s is in the Yuma Palms Mall and had some fabulous BBQ! Brad had the pulled pork and brisket, Suzanne had a pulled chicken sandwich – all were great. The side dishes we shared were also great, and the waitress had Suzanne pegged when she asked, “Did you save room for pecan pie?” Duh – yes! The best part – Famous Dave’s is a chain! We can go back again & again & again………..

Colorado River Oasis RV Park, Ehrenberg Arizona

Colorado River Oasis is an RPI park in Ehrenberg Arizona. It provides 165 full service sites that are large and level, 9 tent sites and a few little log cabins to rent. The park lies right on the banks of the Colorado River and provides a large paved boat ramp for launching ones favorite watercraft. There is also a well maintained heated pool and two hot tubs. In addition, Colorado River Oasis has a centrally located nice large club house used for meals, games and the occasional presentation. There is also an adjoining laundry room that includes a small sitting area where you can watch TV or work on a puzzle while you wait. The park also has a separate Activities Center that includes a library (not an exchange) with a great selection of books, a pool table and a separate room where crafts likes beading are offered (ask to see Suzanne’s anklet next time you see her). The park offers a pretty full schedule of activities each week and is an easy drive to the towns of Blythe, California and Quartzsite, Arizona.

Back to Catalina Spa & RV Resort, Desert Hot Springs, California

We’re back at Catalina Spa and RV Resort for two weeks and continue to enjoy the Palm Springs area. One thing we really like about this campground is the people – we have felt very welcomed. When we were here prior to last week, we played water volleyball, Brad played horseshoes, we played pickle ball, joined in pot lucks, as well as the Sunday night sirloin burger meals. It was the same experience at Indian Waters (our campground last week) – although we didn’t particularly like the separation we wrote about last Monday, the people at Indian Waters were also very nice and there were a lot of activities, such as organized hikes, meals, game night, pool tournaments, etc… We didn’t partake as much in Indian Waters as we were busy exploring more of the surrounding area, but were welcomed at game night, learned a new game and made some new friends.

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Indian Waters RV Resort, Indio, California and A Great Restaurant!

Indian Waters RV Resort is in Indio, California which is a nice area to stay if you want to explore southern Joshua Tree National Park, the Salton Sea, and more. Indian Waters RV Park is a Western Horizons park and part of the RPI network. Quite honestly, not our favorite park. There are two different sections - one for Western Horizon's members, which we are not, and one for RPI members. Although all the sites are large with a concrete pad to park your rig, the area for members is grassy with full hook-ups and the area for non-members is gravel with only electric and water. Neither of us has ever been a fan of this kind of separation - it does not look favorably upon the RV Park. There is no cable throughout the park, and wifi is free, although it is terrible. Western Horizons knows their wifi is bad because they even give you a disclaimer when you check-in of the reasons it's bad. Computer-maven Brad can tell you that they just need to spend a bit more money and get some more bandwidth. The positives of Indian Waters, as there are some - it is clean, has a pool and hot tub, horseshoes, shuffleboard, a dining area and lot of activities. There is a social room with a small book exchange. Quite honestly, we probably would not come back to this park - the segregation just gives the place a negative vibe.

Now onto one of our favorite subjects - food! We found incredible Italian restaurant on our way here - Papa Dan's. It's in Palm Desert and Suzanne had, with no exaggeration, the best Margherita Pizza that she's ever had. Brad enjoyed a meatball sandwich which was also great. They make their own Mozzarella cheese and it was fantastic! We have plans to go back - their menu is full of choices, their staff was great, and the prices were reasonable. When you're in this area, this is the place to go - yum!

campgrounds in the Desert Hot Springs area, California

There are many campgrounds within a 3 mile radius of Catalina Spa & RV Resort (where we're staying), so we decided to check them out and see what type of amenities, sites, etc.. they offer.

Desert Pools RV Resort - This is a Western Horizon's park, so a membership to Western Horizons or RPI is needed to stay here. One interesting thing we've learned is that Desert Pools & Catalina have a reciprocal agreement, so members in both parks can use the other park's facilities, so many members go back-and-forth to play water volleyball, pickleball, etc.. The sites here are all very long and fully-graveled, but quite open with very few hedges/greenery for privacy or wind (it can get windy in the desert) protection. The central clubhouse has three hot tubs, a large pool, and the usual library book exchange, meeting room, etc...

Caliente Springs RV Resort - This is a private park open to the public, so no membership is required to stay here, although it is a 55+ park, which means at least one member in your group must be at least 55 years old for you to stay here. This park has a lot of mobile homes, and there is a section for RVers, with sandy, large sites (although there is a sign that they have limited big rig access) and no hedge between, so privacy is lacking. The clubhouse was very nice with nice gardens around it.

Sands RV Resort - This is also a private park open to the public, so no membership is required to stay here, and it is also a 55+ age park. This was a beautiful park- there's a nine-hole public golf course and the grounds are maintained quite well. The campsites were all gravel and had very nice, high hedges on two sides, yet many sites were back-to-back; the campsites were co-mingled with park model homes, rather than sequestered as with Caliente Springs. The clubhouse was beautiful - a large dining room, very nice weight/exercise room, library, card room, pool area with spa, etc....

The holidays are coming!
Please remember to use our amazon.com button on the left if you plan to shop at Amazon. Did you know that they have more than books? They also gift wrap & send items - can't be easier!

Also, restaurant.com is having a new promotion: Now you can save 70% off at Restaurant.com when you try our new coupon code "ONLINE". It can be used on both of their most popular products, Dinner of the Month Club and their $25 Gift Certificates. This offer is valid December 8th through December 11th! Please remember to use our button (again, on the left) as well. Thanks!!

Catalina Spa & RV Resort, Desert Hot Springs, California

We booked two-weeks at Catalina Spa & RV Resort (an RPI park) with plans to come back for another two-weeks at the end of December. We, of course, were taking a chance that we would like this park sight-unseen. We are thrilled!! This is one of the nicest campgrounds we've stayed - the sites are clean, large, have some privacy with flowering shrubs - there are many, many activities, five nice swimming pools - two (the spas) at the adult center and three at the family center. The family center also has a large lodge-type facility with many potlucks planned. The adult center has a large area for games, a book exchange, poker room, pool room, and small restaurant. Although we no longer have our sweet dog Mickey, it cannot go unnoticed that there is a great off-leash dog are (actually three, so dogs that do not get along can be separated) with shade trees, toys, water bowls - chairs for the parents -the works! There are two laundromats which are both very nice, and it happens to be the least expensive laundry we've found so far. The staff is also incredibly nice - we even had someone stop by and welcome us to the park! We're very excited to be here for a while and are looking forward to enjoying the activities as well as the surrounding area of Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, and more!

Photos - we've posted the San Diego photos as well as the photos from Los Angeles, so enjoy those!


The holidays are coming!

Please remember to use our amazon.com button on the left if you plan to shop at Amazon. Did you know that they have more than books? They also gift wrap & send items - can't be easier!


Restaurant.com is having a promotion: You can save 50% you try the new coupon code "JOY". It can be used on both of their most popular products, Dinner of the Month Club and their $25 Gift Certificates. This offer is valid December 1st through December 4th! Please remember to use our button (again, on the left) as well. Thanks!!

Rancho Oso Campground, outside of Santa Barbara, California

Rancho Oso (an RPI park) is a horse ranch, so the cool thing is that there are a lot of horses around as you drive in. They do offer trail rides and a few other ranch activities. The facilities are very nice - there is a well-maintained adult lodge with free, albeit slow, wifi, a pool table, book exchange, tv, common areas, etc.... There is a family lodge for the kids to enjoy, 2 pools (one heated year-round), a hot tub, mini-golf, horseshoes, tennis, basketball, etc... There are a lot of activities and meals, and what's nice, is it's year-round (too many campgrounds stop the fun activities off-season). All this being said, however, we were disappointed that the camping spots weren't nicer - it's dusty here - no grass. The campground is row-upon-row of RV sites, and although decent in size, they're just dirt, not even a concrete slab. You are in the middle of nowhere, so whether this is good or bad is up to you - it's about 30 minutes to Santa Barbara.