The first thing we did when landing here outside of Phoenix was to find a gym. Too many miles behind the wheel and a sedentary life the last two weeks has made me feel stiff and stuffed. We scoped a few out but just on a notion we wanted to check out an upscale facility for kicks. Living on a budget we knew we probably couldn’t afford it but at least we could indulge for a visit. We found Lifetime Fitness and went in for a visit. This was the most magnificent fitness facility that I’ve ever seen and I’ve visited many. The place was immaculate, the facilities first-class, and the amenities in abundance. They also had an in-house cafe, beauty salon, massage parlor, along the the sauna, jacuzzis, steam rooms and pools. We would never use all these offerings in a year here. Meeting with Jina, a Cameron Diaz look alike we were astounded at the price. $99 for the month which included both of us and full use of the facilities. We couldn’t pass this deal. We try to watch our funds and I know that fee would carry us for almost a week of campgrounds but you can’t put a price on health. And if every month in a gym gives me another few months of life, it’s a worthwhile trade-off. So far we’ve been pushing ourselves to attend daily. One thing differs here as opposed to Pittsburgh, is that despite the workouts, we are not waking up with soreness anywhere on our bodies. I’m realizing how much the weather here actually dictates our physical well-being. No soreness, no bugs, and no morning dew on the patio furniture or anything else that sits out at night. I’m liking Phoenix real well to this point in time.
A day after leaving Mesa, AZ we rolled a bit west of Phoenix and found the Cotton Lane RV Park in Goodyear, AZ. We settled here, paid Loretta in the office for the month and were escorted to our site. Just when we had the chairs, flowers, mats, grille and all other paraphenalia out, we were told we had to move. Apparently the site we were on isn’t permitted trailers and I had parked the bike trailer there. In fact, the escort helped me back it in. So in a snafu where the left hand in the office doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, we moved to another side of the park. Taking everything down and putting it away only to move a thousand feet is a real pain in the ass. But the neighborhood seems a bit more gregarious here. We’ve met Nancy and Chris from Missouri parked next to us and Lily and Larry across the street hail from nearby Ohio. We’ve set out to cruise the area, trying to find where everything is that we may need. You can literally buy anything for sale in America within a ten mile ride. On Wednesday we drove into Glendale, home of the Arizona Cardinals, to get our Arizona Food Handlers Card. Little did we know there was a test to pass along with a stipend to the government of sixteen dollars. We’ll have to have these cards to work the spring training stint we landed with the California Angels. That tour doesn’t start until the end of February so we’ll have the rest of the month to tool around and learn the area. After taking the test and receiving our cards we got a call from the Aramark Corporation asking us if we’d be interested in working a one day event at the Jobbing.Com Arena. Sure, why not. The extra two hundred dollars would come in handy. We reported to the arena at 5 a.m. on Thursday morning. The lights at the venue were quite decorative although I thought at the time we were the only people moving about. The arena was hosting a huge business seminar entitled, “Get Motivated”. Colin Powell, Susie Ormand, Barbara Bush, Bob Barker, Kurt Warner and Larry King were some of the headliners on the dais. We found ourselves working a concession within the arena. I did burgers while Robin was a runner, which means telling those of us in the back what was needed out front. Most of the morning was spent commiserating with new acquaintances. There’s not much demand for burgers and fries at that hour of the morning. By 10:30 however all hell broke loose and I was grilling three dozen burgers at a time and as soon as those were gone another batch went on the flatiron. By two in the afternoon we were headed out of the arena. The two hundred dollars was nice, however, the experience was immeasureable. I learned so much about this large corporation and the management style of this organization. Another bucket list item to scratch off the list. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
We left Tucson a few days ago, making it to Mesa, AZ and planned on staying at Twin Palms RV Park. This venue had only twenty-one units and wasn’t a park at all. I was behind a storage facility and we went past it twice before we found the entrance, which is just a turn into an asphalt lot. It’s amazing to me all the time what is done with photographs on the net to make places seem far greater than in actuality. Needless to say, we couldn’t fit the motorhome. Luckily we headed down the road to Maverik Park and found a spot. We settled in and the next morning I set out in the truck to find someplace with an “it” factor. However, before we left Tucson, we made a brief stop at the Old Tucson Movie Studios. This brief stop turned into a four hour journey. If you didn’t know Old Tucson has provided the filming background for over a hundred westerns. It also was the home of heavyweights like Gunsmoke, Little House On The Prarie, Highway to Heaven, and the list goes on and on. It was a bit nostalgic for me to walk in the same steps as the Duke, Kurt Russell, Clint Eastwood, Dan Blocker and the Bonanza group, among others. But instead of dwelling, why don’t you just enjoy the slideshow.
Posted by larry on February 2nd, 2010 in Animals, Rants
I met some new people today in the parking lot of Old Tuscon Studios. More about that visit in an upcoming post. They were tailgating out of the back of their sedan station wagon. I hadn’t seen one of these in years. You know what I’m talking about. The ones with the flanks that appear to have wooden sides. The even put some grainy effect into the fiberglass. Like a Woody. I digress enough. They invited us over for a sample. They were vegans. They looked like you and me. But I didn’t recognize the food. It looked like a conglomeration of herbs and whipped garbonza beans. And then I got to wonder. Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?
The ride from Deming to Tucson was the longest leg of the journey so far. We got an early start but still have been sticking to our Rule of 350. That’s no more than 350 miles in a day or off the road by 3:50 in the afternoon, whatever comes first. We found a campground a mere quarter of a mile off I-10 just minutes before Tucson. Cactus Country RV Resort was a welcome respite from the wintry winds of Deming. This spot wasn’t planned, having found it on the net prior to this leg of the journey. It was very well maintained, clean, a great pool, and well manicured sites. It’s a park that I’ll visit again and would recommend it highly. It honors Passport America discounts except in the winter season but the $34 dollar price was well worth the amenities. We really didn’t want to have to unhook the trailer and they allowed us to pull through two sites while only charging us fee for one. Donna was a most gracious host at the office and I can’t enough good things about their hospitality. This place gets an A rating and I recommend it highly.
Soon after we anchored down we hopped in the truck and heading for Saguaro National Park. It was a short three mile ride from the campgound. I won’t bore you with commentary on the park. I’ll allow you to enjoy the show, the photos will do all the talking that’s needed. Several hours through the park loop provided a great day. By the time we finished, evening was upon us and back to the rig to grill some ribeyes. Today’s 60 degree temps were a far cry from the freezing conditions of Deming early this morning.
Finally west Texas is a memory. What amazes me the most out here though is the massive spread of the cities. Not that large cities don’t exist back east but them seem so much more compact than the sprawling avenues and streets out here. El Paso was massive and it seemed to go on forever. As we reached New Mexico the weather started to sour. Here I am, escaping the wintry doldrums of Pennsylvania only to find another cold spell upon us here in the Southwest. This comes as a surprise to me. We had planned to stay at the Low-Hi RV Park in Deming. We pulled in to find why it was so named. It’s a Loner On Wheels Park. This means that it caters to and most of its’ inhabitants are solo RVers. I’m thinking we’re in trouble now. But the sign also says that the public is welcome. OK. That’s a good sign. We park at the office and walk in. The lady manning the office is on the phone. She looks up to see two of us, and her eyes drop down again. Not a hello. Not a “I’ll be with you in a moment”. Nothing. She continues her phone conversation. And this is not a business chat. I overhear her talking about going to the grocery story and what she purchased and how cold it was outside. I walked to the desk and she still didn’t look up. Robin and I smile at each other figuring we’ll give her a minute or so. Nine minutes later, she’s still on the phone so we decided that this park really is not open to couples or the public. God Bless the LOWs but I’ve never felt like such an outcast since I mistakenly went to Jones Beach where I found we were the only two heterosexuals. About face, out the door and into the rigs. No place to go but Walmart. We pulled in and right off the bat a security car rolls up. Oh no. This is not a good sign either. The guard jumps out of his car, comes to my window and asks if I plan on staying the night. I nod a yes. He tells me then that I should park on the other side with the other RVs. He tells me he will personally escort me and shows Robin where to park the truck for safety. As I’m driving around the lot, he gets out of his car and personally guides me between two other rigs, snugging me in perfectly and safe. I pulled next to a renovated bus from the 50’s that was more art deco that I’d seen in awhile. Nostalgia in a Walmart lot. Life doesn’t get much better. And the security guard was like having a personal park host guide us to the ultimate spot. Before his exit he tells me he’ll be on duty all night and he’ll make sure nobody bothers us. One last item. Should we need anything, he tells me to just flag him down. I was amazed. We awoke to a frigid morning. Looking across the highway to the mountains we saw snow on the caps. The local news tells us that Interstate 40 is closed in northern NM due to the unexpected snow. Arizona is looking better and better all the time.
The first thing we did when landing here outside of Phoenix was to find a gym. Too many miles behind the wheel and a sedentary life the last two weeks has made me feel stiff and stuffed. We scoped a few out but just on a notion we wanted to check out an upscale facility for kicks. Living on a budget we knew we probably couldn’t afford it but at least we could indulge for a visit. We found Lifetime Fitness and went in for a visit. This was the most magnificent fitness facility that I’ve ever seen and I’ve visited many. The place was immaculate, the facilities first-class, and the amenities in abundance. They also had an in-house cafe, beauty salon, massage parlor, along the the sauna, jacuzzis, steam rooms and pools. We would never use all these offerings in a year here. Meeting with Jina, a Cameron Diaz look alike we were astounded at the price. $99 for the month which included both of us and full use of the facilities. We couldn’t pass this deal. We try to watch our funds and I know that fee would carry us for almost a week of campgrounds but you can’t put a price on health. And if every month in a gym gives me another few months of life, it’s a worthwhile trade-off. So far we’ve been pushing ourselves to attend daily. One thing differs here as opposed to Pittsburgh, is that despite the workouts, we are not waking up with soreness anywhere on our bodies. I’m realizing how much the weather here actually dictates our physical well-being. No soreness, no bugs, and no morning dew on the patio furniture or anything else that sits out at night. I’m liking Phoenix real well to this point in time.
A day after leaving Mesa, AZ we rolled a bit west of Phoenix and found the 
Sure, why not. The extra two hundred dollars would come in handy. We reported to the arena at 5 a.m. on Thursday morning. The lights at the venue were quite decorative although I thought at the time we were the only people moving about. The arena was hosting a huge business seminar entitled, “Get Motivated”. Colin Powell, Susie Ormand, Barbara Bush, Bob Barker, Kurt Warner and Larry King were some of the headliners on the dais. We found ourselves working a concession within the arena. I did burgers while Robin was a runner, which means telling those of us in the back what was needed out front. Most of the morning was spent commiserating with new acquaintances. There’s not much demand for burgers and fries at that hour of the morning. 
By 10:30 however all hell broke loose and I was grilling three dozen burgers at a time and as soon as those were gone another batch went on the flatiron. By two in the afternoon we were headed out of the arena. The two hundred dollars was nice, however, the experience was immeasureable. I learned so much about this large corporation and the management style of this organization. Another bucket list item to scratch off the list. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
And the security guard was like having a personal park host guide us to the ultimate spot. Before his exit he tells me he’ll be on duty all night and he’ll make sure nobody bothers us. One last item. Should we need anything, he tells me to just flag him down. I was amazed. We awoke to a frigid morning. Looking across the highway to the mountains we saw snow on the caps. The local news tells us that Interstate 40 is closed in northern NM due to the unexpected snow. Arizona is looking better and better all the time.