With major league baseball’s Cactus League spring training just around the corner, a visit to Arizona might be in the plans. Located just 60 miles east of Mesa is Apache Gold Casino Resort in San Carlos. The resort features a 60-site RV park and 18-hole championship golf course designed by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina.

 Apache Stronghold Golf Club is a par 72 and measures 7,519 yards from the tips. Its course rating is 74.9 and the slope is 138. The course elevation is at 3,500 feet, and offers a comfortable climate – usually 10-15 degrees cooler than the Phoenix area. Highlights of the course include two par-5s that measure in excess of 600 yards each, and five par 4s that test your golfing skills. Many of the fairways on the front nine are isolated in their own valleys, surrounded by 20 to 50 foot hills covered in sage and mesquite trees.

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One does not have to leave special interests, hobbies, and talents behind to move into an RV, full-time or part-time. We carry with us a full-sized keyboard, a hammered dulcimer, two mountain dulcimers, and a trumpet. At times, we’ve added a full-sized harp, a mandolin, and guitar. Others pack sewing machines, fabric, and items for crafts. Some take along wood working tools. No matter the interest, RVers have a unique knack for finding space for their special things inside their rolling homes.

This winter while visiting Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, I discovered volunteer Carol Miller from Connecticut who was demonstrating oil painting on the patio of the Visitor Center. “My grandfather gave me a set of oil paints on my 13^th birthday,” she said, pointing to a wooden box of paints near her easel. “He was my encourager and I’ve painted ever since.”

Volunteer Coordinator, Sue Walter says Carol’s application to be a volunteer was not accepted because she is an artist. “Some times a gem like Carol drops into our laps, and we utilize her talent,” Walter adds. “Most of our volunteers give patio talks about various aspects of the Sonoran Desert, but Carol sets up her easel twice weekly and demonstrates painting the mountains and cacti.”

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Loading up the RV and heading off to your favorite vacation destination is enjoyable and exciting, especially for the children. Unfortunately, it’s also very stressful for the adults. There are hundreds of things to remember and pack, so finding space for everything can be challenging. Hitting traffic on the road can start to stress you and the sheer boredom of a long drive can leave you feeling extremely edgy. Fortunately, there are ways to counteract stress on the road. Here are some tips to help you arrive at the campground safely and stress-free.

Sing-Along

Put in some music, turn it up and sing along with your favorite artist. Singing can be relaxing in and of itself, plus you children can join you for the performance. The best part of traveling in an RV is that you can enjoy the tunes in the driver’s area while the kids go enjoy their own music in the bedroom.

Accept the Timing

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Yesterday was a real eye opener.  A single lady in the park has her home up for sale.  Two men came to look at it and one asked to use the bathroom while the other wanted to go outside and discuss the roof.  Yup, you guessed it.  She later discovered that her jewelry was gone.  The outcome certainly could have been far worse then that.  In later comments, she said she now realizes she should have had a neighbor or friend with her while they were there. 
This kind and gentle lady, as most of us do, wanted to believe that people in general are good and honest.  Unfortunately, we don’t know which ones are and which ones aren’t.  Living so close to the major city of Phoenix, we have heard far too many stories of what happens to those who show their houses, and a lot of it isn’t good.  Now the thieves have invaded our RV/home complex, forcing us to be much more vigilant.

On the lighter side, February seems to be a visiting month for RVers.  I love it when friends come into the campground with all their own facilities and bop over to sit on my back deck or enjoy the sun room.  JJ and Peggy Williams from Idaho filled me in on their activities and destinations for the rest of the winter but we had only one day to do it.  That’s not nearly enough, guys.

Fellow blogger, Arline Chandler and her husband, Lee, were here for a week and that isn’t enough either!  We did manage church, breakfast, and one evening for feasting on pizza at our local pizza place on the mountain.  You aren’t apt to see it if you aren’t looking for it but it has lots of atmosphere.  I’ll tell you about it more in depth one day when I write my column about Yarnell.

As I look out my huge office window toward the mountains this morning, I’ve seen a number of people with cameras walking the path through Saguaro Park.  A few clouds are dancing around the heavens but the sun is warming the desert, not at all like the heavy snow and avalanches being experienced in the mountains of Washington.
The four politicians are in Arizona this week, bashing each other for whatever they’ve done or haven’t done or promised to do or didn’t promise to do.  Now they’re fighting over who is a Christian and who isn’t.  Seems to me I remember a president who was impeached for his behavior a few years back, and another who just recently had a book written about his actions with a White House intern.  So, I’m not entirely sure it makes any difference what they claim to be while running for president!  Ah well, God Bless until next week. 

Minshall’s RVing Alaska and Canada is available thru Amazon.

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This customer like many toter owners tows a race car behind this coach. It is mostly used to hang out at the tracks during slack time at the races. Big TV's, new flooring and furniture were the items they came in looking for.
The front cab over was just open to the living room area, so this space was more than big enough to accept a fairly large TV. We installed a 55" 3D LCD TV and a sliding pocket door to close off the bunk area. The old TV space was moved out towards the wall with a new bank of cabinets to fill the hole.

On the floor we installed a congoleum wood plank pattern vinyl.  On the passenger side we installed a Flexsteel Easy Bed, and the slide out recieved a Flexsteel Easy Bed with the wrap around style dinette set all in Ultra Leather.

The opening to the front cab area came from the factory with a pleated fabric curtain to pull across to close off the cab area from the living rooom. We installed custom built solid oak sliding doors to do a better job of seperating the two and a much richer look.

In the stairwell we did a combination of heavy duty rubber step treads and the vinyl planks, and in the bedroom we installed a 37" LCD tv.



For those of you wintering down south, come see us at the Rally in Phoenix March 22-25.

Thanks again for visiting our blog!

David Ast

Dave & LJ's RV Interior Design       360-225-7700       www.daveandljs.com

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While my boondocking travels have been limited to the western United States, I keep my eyes open for boondocking opportunities all across the United States. On the chance I am able to make an epic sea to sea cross country RV journey, it is good to have advanced knowledge on where boondocking is allowed in the states with limited public land.

Following is a reference I came across online for boondocking opportunities in Kansas:

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One of Utah’s best-preserved panels of Indian rock writing is usually bypassed by hurried travelers, which is unfortunate given the peaceful setting and ease of access. Located about 12 miles west of U.S. Highway 191 between Monticello and Moab, on Highway 211 leading to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Newspaper Rock National Historical Site is one of the few petroglyph panels that you can literally drive right up to— no hiking required. Since this mixture of human, animal, and abstract forms can be seen and photographed up close, plan to stop and take a look at these amazing and perplexing 2,000+ year-old rock carvings.

Surrounded by towering cottonwood trees, Newspaper Rock features a 200 square foot area of extremely dense Native American petroglyphs inscribed into desert varnish, a blackish manganese-iron deposit that gradually forms on exposed sandstone cliff faces. Vandals have added a few of their own scribblings, but those are easy to spot and disregard. Concentrate on the real carvings, which are thought to have been made by the Anasazi (AD 1 to 1300), Fremont Indians (AD 700 to 1300) and Navajo (AD 1500 onwards). Newspaper Rock is about 250 feet tall, but the glyphs are located at its base, with only a chain-link fence to remind visitors not to touch.

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There’s another golf trail that’s been paved; this one in the Jayhawker or Sunflower State. Kansas has joined the growing list of golf course cooperatives that have mushroomed around the country in order to increase the collective number of rounds. Of the 273 golf courses in Kansas, 11 have banded together to form the Sunflower Golf Trail (SGT), which officially began operating on New Year’s Day.

Participating golf courses include the following: Emporia Municipal, Stagg Hill in Manhattan, Rolling Meadows in Junction City, Salina Municipal, Hays Municipal, Turkey Creek in McPherson, Carey Park in Hutchinson, Hesston Golf Park, Prairie Trails in El Dorado, Quail Ridge in Winfield, and Mariah Hills in Dodge City.

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Lake Havasu City, Arizona, founded in 1963, is a youngster as far as towns go. Its Southwest-styled homes and businesses in sun-baked desert colors rise on sandy slopes along Arizona’s Highway 95 and hunker among sand dunes close to the lake. The deep blue waters of Lake Havasu, formed by Parker Dam about 25 miles to the south skirt the reddish-brown Mojave Mountains. For two weeks, we made our home at Colorado River Adventures’ Lake Havasu Resort located near the upper end of the lake on London Bridge Road.

One sunny day stretched into another as we hung out at our motorhome with a view of the lake and mountains over the top of swaying palm trees. We read books, played music, wrote stories, and set no clock for bedtime or breakfast. Spot and I took long walks into the neighboring desert dotted here and there with clumps of yellow brittlebush. Conveniently located about a mile from the Shops at Lake Havasu and Ultra Star Cinema, we went to movies and shopped at Wal-Mart. We browsed a used book store in town and visited the Mohave County Library for speedy Internet connections.

On Sundays, we attended morning worship with local Lake Havasu Baptists. Twice we met friends, Norm and Chris Denton, once for dinner and again for a Sunday lunch. On February 9, we celebrated our 10^th wedding anniversary with dinner at Chili’s. This was not our first anniversary to mark in Lake Havasu City; or our first to dine at Chili’s on our special day.

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 Weekend trips are a regular event for the RV’ing community. It’s common for people to round up the supplies they need and hop behind the wheel for a two or three day escape into the wild outdoors. You want to still eat healthy on these trips, but you also want to simplify the packing so you can enjoy more of your time camping rather than cooking. Here are some space-saving and time-saving tips that will help you eat healthy even on a short trip.

Make Salads Ahead of Time

Potato salad and macaroni salad are fantastic side choices for any meal when you’re camping. However, the boxes of pasta and vegetables take up a ton of space in your RV. Make the salad at home and just take a single covered bowl with you on the trip. You will save space in the RV and you won’t have to spend time making the salad at the campground. If you’re worried about the pasta getting soggy, then just add the dressing at the campground. You will also avoid warming up the RV by boiling water inside.

Chop, Cut, Grind and Puree at Home

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