Prescott, Arizona: Bittersweet, leaving our perfect campsite in sunny warm weather and heading out on the open road to explore. I exercised again this morning with our neighbor, Lois. I am going to miss her so very much.
So many details involved in closing-up shop for the season. Our golf cart was hauled away to be stored in a climate-controlled warehouse (exercised and pampered) until we return next year. Maricella came-by to fetch the key to the casita. She will check on our campsite every week while we are away and report back to me via text message. (Great arrangement!)
I made one last harvest of tomatoes and snipped a few herbs to take with us on the road. Apparently, Maricella makes quite a bit of red sauce with my tomatoes while we are away.
Casita closed-up. Golf cart stored. Veggies harvested. Friends hugged.
DT backed the motorhome out of our site in the Motorcoach Country Club.
Captain Jim and Mary came out to wish us Bon Voyage. It was so sad to say "so long" to all our friends in Indio. At least we will see Jim & Mary in Oregon. Goodbye, fellow campers!
Our route today took us east on I-10 - in terrible gusty winds and (of course) a sand storm. A few times the winds were so strong the flaps covering our awnings flipped-out with a loud roar. Oh, I just hate when that happens. At Quartzite, we pulled into the Love's Truck Stop for 92 gallons of $3.98 diesel and continued to exit 31 where we began a beautiful, yet not exactly straight, northerly route to Prescott, Arizona. The red rocky hills were filled with saguaro, prickly pear, yucca, cholla, palo verde, mesquite and miles of sage. Beautiful!
We pulled over to a wide-spot in the road in Salome, had a (Oregon tuna!) sandwich and checked-out the 9-11 Memorial.
Interesting, the things you find driving around in the desert.If you are in a Big Rig, the road to Prescott on 89 requires a detour. Highway 89, south of Prescott, is famed for curvy roads, steep climbs and now has a 40-foot length restriction. Luckily, there is a safer route (County Road 15) through Skull Valley. What you lose in distance, you gain in speed. Our Big Rig Day was capped-off by fitting into the only Big Rig Site at the Point of Rocks Campground. They were very accommodating and friendly, but we are far too large for this hillside (yes, hillside!) campground and our roof-top dishes could not find their satellites due to all the gorgeous tall trees in the campground. (This post is brought to you courtesy of my tethered iPhone hotspot.)
We quickly set-up camp and headed into town to see the famous Yavapai County Courthouse Square in pretty Prescott.
One side of the square is famed as "Whiskey Row" - once home to notorious brothels and bars. We had our cocktail at the bar of the Palace Hotel. A fire engulfed much of Whiskey Row in 1900 and citizens carried the massive wooden bar from the Palace Hotel out onto the street to save it from the flames.
DT enjoys a cold local brew at the Historic Palace HotelInteresting, the things you find driving around in the desert.
We had a very good meal at Papa's Italian Restaurant, just off the square. I wish we could spend more time in interesting Prescott, but tomorrow morning we hit the road again.
Until my next update, I remain, your Prescott correspondent.
RV Park: Point of Rocks Campground - Up on a hillside north of town on 89. Old-fashioned campground. Only a few sites for Big Rigs. Gravel, lots of trees. Bathhouse. No cable. Free wifi in office area only. We paid $29 for the only pull-through site. Full-service, 50 amp. Very friendly and accommodating to our (massive) situation.
