Escapade and beyond

We found our way to Tucson to the 2015 Escapade – The annual rally of the Escapees RV Club. We came because we still have a lot to learn about this way of life and also because we thought we would find others who also live this way. We found what we were looking for.

The opening ceremony on Sunday afternoon was a little off-putting. We began with the pledge of allegiance followed by both the US and Canadian national anthems. I don’t have a problem with all of that… what was bothersome was the loud “UNDER GOD” inserted by some folks behind me and ending the pledge with AMEN. That didn’t turn out to be the theme of the event, thankfully. I don’t mind religion and I don’t mind patriotism but when they get all mixed up like that it’s kind of creepy.

After we got through that it seemed like we were in RV college… going from one seminar to another to learn about things like using cloud storage and using various software to make it look like we are good photographers, keeping the black tank from stinking too much, towing safely, driving safety, cleaning a bus in one hour and traveling to Alaska (now put off until 2016). Every time I went to a seminar I ended up wanting to buy the microfiber or some services. We met and talked to a lot of people who shared their experiences and wisdom. I cut out of classes early so that I could join the line dancers every morning. On Wednesday, the entertainment was provided by attendees…. The Ham-o-rama showcased some pretty good talent. Line dancers, including me in the middle of the 2^nd row managed to complete a simple number without the stage collapsing which was my main concern so it was a success.

We were “boondocking” at the Escapade. That means no hookups. We began with empty waste-water tanks and a full fresh water tank and ran the generator for electricity while the refrigerator ran on propane. That was a good learning experience for us as we hope to do more boondocking in the future.

We left Tucson on Friday afternoon and came to Wild West RV Resort which is downwind from a massively huge dairy operation with several thousand cows. We chose it because it was near the Sonoran Desert National Monument. We thought we would check out the monument and maybe do some hiking in the mountains. Turns out the monument is 486,

000 acres of desert with lots of organ pipe cactus. Roads going back to the mountains and hiking trails are closed to car traffic so we didn’t get much hiking in.

Today, Sunday we moved down the road and are now boondocking in the parking lot of Harras Ak-Chin Casino near Maricopa, AZ. We’re still downwind from the cows. Here we were able to take a mile hike around the parking lot, view wild life and win enough money to pay for the buffet. Camping is free. A pair of burrowing Owls are nesting in an area between the road and the parking lot. The owlets were not visible but the adults were very concerned when I approached their nest with my camera.

When we leave here, we’ll move up to the Phoenix area, visit a friend and spend some time with Kelly who is flying in on Wednesday morning.