Pueblo El Mirage RV and Golf Resort—some thoughts

Overview

This is another huge AZ complex--this one nearly 2000 sites, most occupied by little permanent trailers called "park models" owned by a corp. (this one Roberts Resorts, Valle del Oro by CalAm) which owns several more.  

(Here is a Map of the place.  See the #288 circled?  That's us.)

So these are obviously big business down here.  We've heard that Arizona's population swells by 300,000 "snowbirds" each winter, Oct--Mar.  Another time I'd like to list the Canadian license plates we see parked here.  The demographic seems to be "older folk"--the big RV parks label themselves for "55+ Actives"--with plenty of cash to spend around town at restaurants, etc.  One full-time resident said AZ has the greatest highways and other public facilities thanks to annual snowbird cash.

Golf

This place caters to golfers.  Intertwined throughout the park roads is an 18-hole golf course.  So, many sites have views of the fairways and many have personal golf carts that are actually being used as GOLF carts. Our #288 is across the narrow 3rd Avenue from little park models backed up against the 14th fairway.  Yesterday we heard a  clank as an errant golf ball hit the roof of a park model and bounced onto the road.  Mom said sadly, "There goes a free golf ball.  Where is a grandson when you need one to chase it down?"

Quail

A fun feature for Mom has been the quail, which run through our site in the mornings and afternoons. She likes the funny walk and the little drooping topknot.

 

 (Here  is a photo we shot of two guys and two ladies.)

Night Sky

This park has placed the street lights about ankle height, instead of high on poles.  So we can see the clear desert night sky better than at Valle del Oro.  As the night temps get balmier, Becca and I have enjoyed sitting on the patio. For me, most constellations look like The Little Dipper.  But not for Becca.  She pointed into the sky and explained, "that one is a flying horse"--then she flapped her arms to illustrate--, "that one is an angel"--more flapping, and "over there is Hercules".  I turned to her in the dark and asked, "Did you say Hercules?"  " Yes", she said, "Hercules" (like, of course). Where did she learn about Hercules? Do you know/does she know there actually is a Hercules constellation? She continues to surprise us with things she observes and absorbs.

Luke Air Force Base

As with many RV places, we are close by an airport. In this case it is an Air Force Base where pilots practice flying jets--F-14s, or whatever F they are flying these days.

(Here is the best photo I could get of one flying over. It is blurred for national security reasons)
      

     Anyway, we are directly under the landing glide path, and those jets are flying low over our heads, I guessed about 35 yards high (OE), as they descend to the runway. Those boys don't stop practicing until 10 at night. And they are so loud that the other night as Mom was reading the scriptures, she had to raise her voice to be heard over the jet landing. We saw a bumper sticker in the park "I like airplane noise" another said "I love Luke AFB"

Rules

Mom, Becca and I now have taken Bigfoot more than 57,000 miles through all 48 contiguous states.  We have stayed in RV parks big and small, some beautiful and some not so much.  We have learned that they all have rules, some understandable, some not so much.  But for a senseless rule, this park takes the cake (we say cake and not prize because we suspect this rule was cooked up by a woman).  When they back you into a site, the front of the RV must line up with the front of the patio slab.  That's the rule.  What's the problem with that, you might ask? Well, for an RV to hook-up ("Full hook ups" is usually the most expensive and convenient type of RV site.  It means you have electrical, water and sewer connections)  you need to be within the reach of your cords and hoses (duh).  But now the nose of the rig no longer matches the front of the patio.  The ranger came around and gave us a ticket (warning note) and later came around to see if we got it. Short story, I had to go out and buy a 9 foot 30 amp extension  cord (for $40) to bring our rig "into compliance".

(Here is a picture of this extension cord:  Heaven forbid some of the RVs in the park aren't all aligned with the front of their patios.  

(And here we are "in compliance)

There is more about this park, but we'll save it for Part Deux.

Erin go Bragh!

 When we went in for Becca's pedicure the lady asked her what color she wanted for her toes. Becca went to the little bottles, picked up a green one and said "Irish". (She stays up with the holidays by watching the decorations in Walmart and other stores. So she she knew it was Irish time)

This is not the first time Becca has asked for "edgy" colors for her "pedi", but I have always talked her into a nice pink. (What a dull Dad) But if a girl can't wear green for St. Patrick's Day, when can she? The necklace is hers too. They were among the beads thrown to her during the mardi gras parade last month. This gal loves a party!

At this time of year, all of my children and grandchildren should remember their ancestors, both of my father's parents, were born in Ireland. You are Irish! Erin go Bragh! (Ireland Forever!)

Who says old folk can't celebrate Fat Tuesday?

The Valle del Oro RV Resort staged a Mardi Gras parade yesterday (2/16). It was open to any of the park residents who wanted to participate. The theme was "Wild West".  Below is a sampling of the entrants. The route ran right past our RV site, so we had a front row seat. Of course Mardi Gras beads were thrown to the onlookers. Becca was a popular recipient. She had good fun.

"The rains came down and the floods came up"

These words of the Primary song came to mind during Sunday School two weeks ago. The lesson was about Noah, the story we all know well. At least I thought I did. But I was surprised by a number of things. First, were you aware that not all of the animals came to the ark "two by two"? Just the "unclean" ones. The "clean" ones, including the fowls, came "by sevens".  I was surprised by the specific dates in the story. The rains and floods began "in the second month, the seventeenth day."That would be February 17 on our calendar--TODAY. The ark came to rest on Ararat on "the seventh month, seventeenth day," or July 17. Perhaps we should commemorate that day, or the next one noted when the "tops of the mountains" could once again be seen, "the tenth month, on the first day," or October 1, surely a big event in that day.

OK, another question - which bird did Noah first send out to explore? If you said dove, you're wrong, as I was. He first sent out a raven. It doesn't say why he next upgraded to a dove. Next question, how many doves did he send out before one, equipped with a GPS, I suppose, never came back? Three.  (The olive leaf one was number two.) If you're struggling here, you might review in Genesis, Chapters 7 & 8.

Final question, when "was the earth dried"? "Second month, on the seven and twentieth day"--Feb 27.  Now there's a date we might celebrate. They were on that ark more than a year!

I enjoyed the lesson, and would welcome any comments. Mom has already scolded that they obviously were on a different calendar. I'm not so sure. The calendar that Noah carried fell overboard and was lost.

 

Denny's Strikes Again

For the second Super Bowl in a row, Denny's decided to give away breakfasts as a promotion. Last year we were in the East Shore RV park near Auntie Pat. We took advantage of the first promo at the Denny's in Glendora. Yesterday (2/9) we got our free "Grand Slam"breakfast at the Denny's in Mesa. There was a waiting line outside, like last year. But we were ready with a folding chair, things to read and the camera for blog pictures. It was fun to be a part of the excitement, and the food was good.