12-17MAR13 - Phoenix, AZ (mesa really-via balmorhea, tx, las cruces, nm, & benson, az)

Tuesday, 12MAR, we departed Kerrville enroute Phoenix, AZ, on I-10 West with our first stop at Saddleback Mountain RV in Balmorhea, TX; where we stayed last year when driving the RV & a rental Penske truck w/our furniture to Sultan, WA. This is a bare bones RV park with only water & electric hook-ups for $10, no showers or TV/cable. Eventually Dan was forced to setup our satellite dish to catch the evening news. We must make a note to stay elsewhere the next time we pass thru this area again.

Wednesday morning we continued down I-10 west, taking state road 375 around El Paso. For the night we stopped at Hacienda RV in Las Cruces, NM, where we have stayed before. We set out that evening to try a “roadfood” Mexican restaurant that Dan discovered on the internet; but it was closed for no apparent reason. So we headed into the town of Mesilla (which we have visited several times) & discovered the Double Eagle Restaurant & Peppers Café, two restaurants in the same building. We chose the Double Eagle home of the only dedicated beef ageing room in NM. A fantastic dinner, even if a little pricey:)!

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2011/03/29-31mar11-las-cruces-nm.html

http://www.double-eagle-mesilla.com/

Thursday we continued driving west on I-10 into Arizona; where we discovered Arizona does not observe daylight savings time & we were now on Pacific Coast time. We stopped in Benson, AZ, at a RV “resort” that advertises nightly star presentations using their own observatory, but the observatory was closed for repairs.

On 15MAR13, Friday morning, we completed our drive to Phoenix (Mesa really), AZ, where we set up camp at Good Life RV Resort where we have stayed before in NOV10 & APR11. An interesting thing we note in Arizona compared to Louisiana, Texas & New Mexico is that gas in AZ costs 20 cents more a gallon, but diesel is 20 cents cheaper than the other states? The reason we have come to the Phoenix area is to get our annual Freightliner preventive maintenance done at the Freightliner facility in Tolleson, AZ, that we have used several times in the past. We were hoping to have the maintenance done soon after our arrival; but soon learned that the first opening for an appointment was 29MAR! So we have decided to stay in the Phoenix area for two weeks, while waiting for our appointment.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2010/11/06-16nov10-phoenix-az-red-stick-la.html

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2011/04/14-21apr11-phoenix-az-mesa-really.html

As described in our NOV 2010 BLOG entry Good Life RV is an adult (55 plus) RV/Resort community, that is very common here in Mesa, AZ. As we also described in our BLOG entry there is a tremendous amount of activities throughout almost every day; including dances, concerts, plays, etc, at night. Both times we have been here before the park was pretty much empty either because the snowbirds hadn’t arrived or they had just left; this time it is almost full because all the snowbirds are still here. Eighty per cent of the lots are occupied by what are known as “park models” & the other lots are used by RV owners. Park models are a smaller version of mobile homes; that are towed to the lot for almost permanent installation similar to a trailer court. Unfortunately Good Life RV was recently purchased by Cal-Am Properties & many of the long time residents are unhappy with their management – there are over 120 units for sell!

http://www.cal-am.com/

Saturday around lunch we headed to “spark!” the Mesa Arts Center’s festival of creativity. It was primarily centered on children’s activities, but it kept us entertained for a couple of hours. Especially the Squonk Opera from Pittsburgh, PA, a musical spectacle on wheels!   

http://www.mesaartscenter.com/

http://squonkopera.com/

On the way back to the RV, we stopped at Pete’s Fish & Chips for a late lunch. Pete’s was started by Peter McLane Grant Jr, in 1947 after his return from WWII. It turns out Mr Grant is another example of the American “success” story; which has made the USA the place for countless entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. Before WWII he was already a teacher & a coach, who had played collegiate basketball & went on to be an international golf champion British Pro-Am. During the war he was a PT Boat skipper, but unfortunately contracted malaria, dysentery, & rheumatic fever. He was advised to move to somewhere hot & dry like Egypt or Arizona; not speaking Egyptian he moved his family to Phoenix, AZ, after the war. Rather than returning to teaching & coaching he used all his money to open a fish & chip shack, making $12 his first day. Now there are eight Pete’s Fish & Chips in & around Phoenix; & it is still a family owned & operated business. Oh yeah, the fried fish & chips are very good!

http://www.petesfishandchips.com/

Sunday, 17MAR, we headed to Scottsdale for the “Made in Arizona Festival” featuring the handicrafts of over 50 Arizona craftsmen/women (in our opinion we’ve seen better craft shows elsewhere). After touring the Festival we headed back to “old town” Scottsdale for lunch. Before sitting down for lunch, we walked about old town which was filled with boutiques selling Native American crafts, western/cowboy crafts, & south of the border imports. For lunch we discovered Davids Original Hamburger rated as one of Phoenix’s best. As an added bonus while eating lunch we were serenaded by a yodeling, cowgirl, country singer dressed as a Leprechaun for St Patties Day! After lunch we stumbled upon one of the last singing cowboys serenading tourists:)    
http://www.davidshamburgers.com/