Cal-Am Luxury Resorts Attract Fun Seekers

RVers who want to lead an active life in the sun will never run out of things to do at the Cal-Am luxury RV resorts in central Arizona.

Take for example, Cal-Am’s Valle del Oro RV Resort, a Coast to Coast Good Neighbor Park in Mesa, just east of Phoenix. It has been described as hobby heaven, with 175 planned activities a week.

Interested in tennis? Valle del Oro has an active tennis club whose members participate in a tennis league that competes in and around Mesa.

Do you ride a Harley? Then, you might want to join the resort’s motorcycle club in its continuing quest to discover new and intriguing destinations.

For those whose hobbies include radio-controlled airplanes, the resort not only has a club, but also a workshop to help participants keep equipment in tip-top shape. Woodworkers have access to a unique, fully equipped shop that serves everyone from beginners to master craftsmen.

The facilities at Valle del Oro include two large swimming pools, two spas, a sauna, a ballroom, exercise room, billiard and sewing rooms, shuffleboard courts, horseshoe pits, and a library.

Marti French, who has been spending the winter at Valle del Oro with her husband, Dave, for the past three years, said, “We love it here so much we wouldn’t consider going anywhere else.”

Marti, who writes freelance magazine articles, said, “Our winters are so busy with all the fun things available that we must keep a calendar to keep track of what we have planned.

“It’s tough to be retired and have a busy schedule of play things to do,” she joked. “Actually we feel as if we were kids at camp.”

She said there are crafts opportunities galore in classes run by resident volunteers, numerous card games, and lots of ways to exercise, including swimming, hiking, softball, tennis and dancing. Best of all, she said, is the chance to make friends.

“We’ve never had so many friends of all ages as we do since we came here,” she said. “ My recent 60th birthday party hosted 71 friends on our patio. We really realized the blessing of all these true friends this summer when my husband had a major heart attack and they all rallied around us long distance through caring thoughts via e-mail, phone calls and snail mail from all over the United States and Canada. People are the key to why Valle del Oro is an awesome winter home.”

Valle del Oro is a vast resort, with more than 1,700 RV sites. Cal-Am’s Sunflower RV Resort in Surprise, west of Phoenix, is a little smaller, with 1,100 RV sites, but it, too, has plenty to offer on-the-go RVers.

Activities at Sunflower include dance lessons, chorus, yoga, sewing, quilting, woodcarving, stained glass, ceramics, lapidary, painting and bingo. And there are cookouts, computer and bicycling clubs, ice cream socials and much more, along with elaborate facilities, including two heated swimming pools, whirlpools, spas, bocce ball, shuffleboard courts, horseshoe pits, billiard tables and an 18-hole chip and putt golf course.

Similar facilities and activities can be found at Cal-Am’s other RV resorts in central Arizona, including five in Mesa. In addition to Valle del Oro, they are Mesa Regal, Apache Wells, Sun Life and The Villages at Val Vista. Canyon Vistas RV Resort is a little farther east in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains.

And, of course, in addition to all the activities at the resorts, there is a lot to do nearby, and plenty of sunshine in which to enjoy it. The Phoenix area has more than 200 golf courses, attracting 2 million visitors a year. Hikers and bikers can choose from countless miles of mountain trails that range from easy trips to rigorous climbs. The Sonoran Desert is a fascinating place that can be explored on horseback, by Jeep or even in a balloon.
Shopping opportunities range from little shops selling Native American jewelry to Scottsdale Fashion Square, the largest shopping mall in the Southwest.

Phoenix is one of only eight cities with top professional teams in four major sports: baseball, basketball, football and hockey. In addition, a dozen major league baseball teams conduct spring training in Arizona and play exhibition games in local ballparks starting in early March.

To learn more about Cal-Am resorts, call (888) 940-8989 or visit www.cal-am.com.