Thoughts About Our Phoenix Stay and What’s Next…

When we decided to modify our beginning of the year plans due to the impending birth of our daughter’s baby girl in North Carolina, it gave us time to pause and reflect. While I sat for a few months alone with the RV in Rockport Texas and Sharon was in North Carolina helping our daughter with the new baby, I had some time to begin seriously thinking about what’s next for us after we stop RV’ing.

We know we won’t be RV’ing fulltime forever so we need to iron out what the next chapter of our lives will look like. Thoughts about this process led to us deciding to cut short our planned stays in the pacific northwest this past summer and instead focus on the southwest.

We decided to take advantage of Cal-Am’s fall special where we could stay at several of their parks for an inexpensive price. We did this to answer a few questions we had about Arizona. One was could we live in Arizona during the cusp seasons of early fall ad late spring? Another was could we settle down in cities such as Phoenix or Tucson? And lastly, would we like to live in a Cal-Am Park? Or as the top photo suggested… Does X mark our spot?

We booked a month in September at Sun Life RV Resort in Mesa AZ. This would be the first of three Cal-Am parks we would visit. What we learned while staying there was we really like Sun Life and what Cal-Am offers it’s residents. Our next month in Mesa Regal was equally enjoyable.

The difference between the two parks is mostly size. Sun Life is a much smaller version of Mesa Regal. Both offer way above average facilities and both are fun places to stay (during season) and are conveniently near just about anything one would need or want.

What is it about our stay we didn’t like? Well there were two huge negatives to us. First was there is no way we want to live in an area where the daytime temperatures rise well past 110 degrees Fahrenheit! Overnight lows during this time (September) seldom dropped below 90 F. We found this to be way too hot for active people like us!

The other big negative to the Cal-Am parks is that they are very expensive in their monthly fees. It is $8500 or more annually for site rent/HOA fees. Monthly charges for sewer/electric/trash are quite high as well. We understand they have great amenities but we could experience the same amenities in apartment complexes at a much less fee.

Have we completely eliminated living in Arizona? No, not yet… but we have decided if we do so it would have to be seasonal… We are now in Tucson staying at our third Cal-Am park and wonder what we will think after this stay is over…

NOTE: We are currently in Tucson AZ until December…….

Gilbert AZ Riparian Preserve…

What a neat spot we found nearby in Gilbert Arizona. The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch was once just a slice of the Sonoran Desert until the town of Gilbert converted it into a wonderful preserve. The preserve is a great places for visitors and residents alike to go walking, fishing, birding or picnicking. They have created a perfect slice of wildlife habitat within the city!.

In 1986, the Town of Gilbert made a commitment to reuse 100% of its effluent water which led to the development of the Riparian Preserve in 1999. There are 110 acres in this preserve and of the 100 acres 70 acres are part of  the 7 water recharge basins which are filled on a rotating basis with treated effluent in order to allow these waters to percolate back into the aquifer for future use.

While hiking on the over 4.5 miles of trails in the preserve visitors will be hiking through various vegetative zones ranging from marshlands to native riparian and upland vegetation areas. Here you may encounter some of the 298 species of birds which have been identified on the site. The hiking and the birding is what attracted us to this site.

The preserve is also used for community development and for educational purposes for the children attending schools in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. We have seen many people fishing, children learning, people walking their dogs and nature enthusiasts in the park on our many jaunts to the preserve.

On any given afternoon we will drive the 8-10 minutes to enjoy a nice walk. We have hiked all of the trails within the park and have seen many different species of birds. With fall migration in full bloom we have seen some birds one wouldn’t expect to see in the desert such as Whirl Pelicans and even a Roseate Spoonbill!

Another neat aspect of this preserve is the abundance of rabbits. While walking on trails throughout the preserve you will see 100’s of rabbits and even more Gamble's  Quail and Abert’s Towhees. These species have obviously benefited from this wetland oasis in the desert.

What makes this preserve even better for us is the proximity to the old downtown area of Gilbert AZ which has become quite the entertainment district. After hiking/birding in the preserve we can be found at one of three downtown establishments who offer up some of the best food and happy hours we have encountered during our travels.

O.H.S.O. in Gilbert is a brewery currently offering $7 32oz. pitchers of any of their Arizona craft brews until 5pm. Along with a nice selection of food on happy hour and some great burgers this is a must stop in town.

Another favorite is a wine bar called Postinos who offers $5 32 oz pitchers and $5 glasses of wine from 3-5pm. Wine lovers can also opt to have the whole bottle for only $20. On Monday and Tuesday evening they offer a deal of $25 for a bottle of wine and a bruschetta board with ample portions of various bruschetta choices.

Our favorite has to be the Joyride Taco House where we have become somewhat regulars during our stay here in Mesa. Their 3-5 happy hour offers $5 32oz beers as well as $5 margaritas (until 6pm). Even better a basket of hot chips and salsa is served to everyone for free. Finishing the evening with 2 or 3 of the street tacos at $2.50 apiece makes for not only an inexpensive dinner but a great night out on the town. Joyride is always an energetic, happy place to be.

We are certainly going to miss these locations when we leave this area on November 1st…