MESA, FALL 2019

September – December, 2019

We’ve been traveling pretty much non-stop since October, 2018 – sure, we spent a month in each of Austin, Tucson, San Diego, Las Vegas and Mesa, a couple of weeks in Kalispell, Rapid City and Santa Fe, and week or so in Livingston, Fort Stockton and Colorado Springs  – but otherwise it’s been 2-4 days here and there.

Since wintering in Arizona and California we’ve driven Aimee over 6,000 miles and our Jeep half again as many, hiked 1,000 miles or so in 16 National Parks, 10 National Monuments and a half dozen State Parks.  We’ve seen and documented incredible sights – majestic mountains, desolate and strangely beautiful badlands, wildflowers, grasslands, trees and amazing cactus forests, lakes in colors unimaginable to city folk, canyons of incredible color and of a depth unfathomable until you have the opportunity for the experience, the glory of Lake Louise and Banff, and had a great time in Tijuana.  We’ve seen animals in their natural habitat, fissures in the earth, dormant volcanoes, hiked about in lava tubes and on lava fields, and stood on the world’s largest caldera.  We’ve ventured into the earth for a hike in total darkness, hiked to an angel’s landing, been surrounded by a herd of bison, heard bison bellowing, fell in love with mountain goats, kept a distance from bears, elk and mountain sheep, hiked to glaciers and waterfalls, went looking for California Condors, and using mature discretion (Brian never thought he’d say that about himself!) didn’t try to run past the lone rattlesnake we encountered on a hike in South Dakota.  We’ve visited the unusual, the mundane and everything in-between, and we have always found (at least) a single curiosity that makes for an interesting memory to hold and to share.

We’ve talked with so many travelers like us, swapped stories or have listened as they shared their experiences.  We encountered many that are in awe of our journey started so long ago, and some that have become our friends.  Living in such a small space and being together for so many hours everyday we’ve learned to work and work and work on our relationship, and we can only feel so much more in love and so deeply committed to our togetherness.

There are so many ways to be a “full-timer.”  We’ve met some “full-timers” that never stay in one place more than a few days or maybe a few weeks, others that split their time between campgrounds where they have family – Arizona, Florida and Ohio – 4 months at a time.  Some have a general unspecified plan of where they’re off to and stop whenever the spirit strikes and for however long they find the location to their liking. Some prefer to boondock, others prefer a campground with full hookups, while others prefer an RV resort.  Some have destinations defined by visiting friends and family, and some see whatever sights there are to see along the way, while others are connected to social and/or faith-based programs that “put them to work.”  And there are those “full-timers” that take a little of the best of this list, add their own personal twist, and make their travel their own.  It’s really not for anyone to say what is best – what fits, fits.

When we left Mesa last April we had planned to spend the 2019-2020 winter in Tucson; we even put a deposit down for our site at Tucson Meadows.  The friendships we had made in the campground and the draw to the area were unbeatable – we thought.  Our journey took us from Tucson to Quartzite to San Diego to Yuma to Mesa.  Choosing a campground is like a roll of the dice – sometimes you roll a 7 or 11, sometimes snake eyes, and sometimes you need a second roll to make your point.  We found our campground in Mesa, Valle del Oro, to be like rolling a 7!

VDO bills itself as a 55+ active adult resort.  In campground vernacular the definition of the term resort is very, very broad – from a way to charge more than other local campgrounds (with exactly the same amenities) to a true community offering an incredible array of amenities daily.  VDO is the latter, and it offers something for everyone.  Here’s a partial list: Swimming Pool, Lap Pool and 2 Spas/Hot Tubs; Big Name Concerts and Entertainment (this season’s line-up includes: The Beach Boys, America’s Got Talent Contestants, 3 Dog Night, The Three Tenors, etc.), Daily Happy Hour with Half-Priced Cocktails and Live Music, Full Service Kitchen, Patio Snack Bar and Grill and a Ballpark Grill, 8 Lighted Bocce Ball Courts, 6 Lighted Pickleball Courts, 16 Lighted Shuffleboard Courts, 12 Lighted Tennis Courts, Groomed Softball Field with Electronic Scoreboard and Dugouts, Horseshoe Pits, Lighted Ladder Golf Area, 2 Nine-Hole Putting Greens, Fully Equipped Fitness Center (Personal Trainers Available), Water Volleyball, Table Tennis, Water Aerobics, Zumba, Core Fitness and Balance Classes, Beauty Salon, Massage Therapy, Saturday Night Dances, Friday Night Fish Fry with Live Music & Dancing, Dog Agility Parks, Billiards Room with 16 Pool Tables, State of the Art Woodshop, Card Room, Pottery Studio, Stained Glass Studio, Ceramics Studio, Arts & Crafts Room, China Painting, Quilting & Sewing Room, Leather Shop, Large Model Train Area, Model Airplane Room, Radio Control (RC) Cars (Races Every Saturday), Country Store, Computer Lab (PC & MAC Teaching Labs), Internet Cafe’ Large Ballroom, Line Dancing Classes, Square Dancing Classes, Ballroom Dance Classes, Theater Room, Non-denominational Church Services, Chapel Choir, and U.S. Post Office.  Turns out that the resort supplies the facilities, and residents coordinate and monitor the activities.  The facilities are first class, upkeep and improvements are scheduled, and management knocks themselves out for everyone to have a 5-star experience.  Apologies for an oversell, but to winter at VDO is to allow yourself to be spoiled…and as Graham has said more than once, we deserve it.

Unless it’s one of those very rare rainy days (on average only 36 days per year, and no snow or ice), VDO is made for riding a bicycle or a golf cart everywhere.  We’re certainly not ready for a golf cart!

Every so often there is unexpected beauty around the corner…

There are about 4-5 couples we met in March, and another 4-5 couples we met this Fall that have become friends.  Just like any other group of friends, our VDO community gathers for happy hour and Sunday Funday pickleball and pot luck, some of us play softball or euchre together and others of the group play in the cornhole or bocce ball league – we’ve been hiking, dog sat, gone to movies and out to dinner (Buddy Z’s for pizza, Portillos’ for Chicago dogs and Italian Beef), or just spent time sitting around scratching and telling lies with a libation in our hand and arguing about sports.  All of us will go our own way at one point or another for the Spring and Summer, but all hold a commitment to return to our Winter home in Mesa.  Like with all good friends, time may pass and we may not see each other for months on end, but when together again it’s like nary a day has passed.

We also decided to become workcampers for the Fall and Winter seasons.  Workkamping is exactly what it sounds like.  For a few hours of work a week the fees for our campsite would be earned.  At some campgrounds this is a reciprocal agreement and no money changes hands.  At VDO we are paid a minimum wage for a number of hours per week, calculated to equal the campsite fees; during October-December this is 6 hours a week each, and about 14 hours a week for each of us during prime time, January-March.  VDO welcomed us as workkampers, and we were given the choice of working at setting up and breaking down tables and chairs, working in the kitchen or in the Box Office.  We choose to work in the Box Office, and we will be selling tickets to events at the resort until we pull out on April 1.

As all-inclusive as the Resort tries to be, and as we hope you found out in the blogs from March, 2019, there is much to do in and around Mesa.   By the way and if you didn’t already know it, Mesa is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area, and here’s what we found to keep us out of trouble this fall (well, Brian out of trouble anyhow!)…

…The Rockin’ Taco Festival and the Arizona Taco Festival; 2 separate events with a single theme – TACOS!  The format for the festivals is pretty similar.  Food Trucks, adult/non-adult beverages, vendors with an adequate supply of can’t-live-without tchotchkes and souvenirs; a stage with continuous music of all sorts of genres featuring bands from US, Latin and Mexican cultures, and a glen of picnic tables usually under a tent from which to eat and watch the goings on.  The tacos ranged from the usual and customary to the more creative…slow roasted pork al pastor with Asian slaw, black sesame seeds, chipotle mayo and sesame oil – our favorite   As an unknown added bonus, Lucha Libre was “going on” at the Arizona Taco Festival…how much fun is that?

…On most days the sunny sky in southern Arizona is a wonderful shade of cloudless blue that we believe Mother Nature has given exclusive rights to in the Western US.  However, when storms hit that sky takes on ominous hues of gray and black.  Now put that stormy sky over the Superstition Mountains and hang out in the Lost Dutchman State Park while on the way to Tortilla Flat for lunch…

…and sometimes there’s just a wonderful picture to be taken…

The Chandler Museum is a small “interdisciplinary learning environment where the community comes together to share its stories, preserve its cultural heritage and experience Chandler as a people and place.”  On an annual basis 6-8 shows are on exhibit.  We took advantage of this little gem twice, and we were fortunate to explore shows dedicated to Arizona’s WWII Japanese Interment Camps, Pop Art and aprons(!) , and to see a performance by a local Mexican youth dance troupe.

…There were outdoor sculptures and a statue recommended by Atlas Obscura that we didn’t have a chance to find in March…

…And while Mother Nature cooks up spectacular skies at sundown…

…the moon rising over the Superstition Mountains was something to behold…

…Wonderspaces was a spellbinding visceral and emotional experience…

The Hall of Flame Museum is dedicated to the history of firefighting and to the brave men and women firefighters who put their lives on the line everyday…

There are miles and miles of parks, bike and hiking trails with wonderful opportunities for great photographs…

…and of course we stopped for a malt at Mc Alpine’s, our favorite soda fountain, and grabbed a burger in Tortilla Flat, and played pickleball, water volleyball, table tennis, softball and bocce ball, and, well…just hang on…the blog Wintering 2020 will be worth the wait…

Barbara and Brian