Trip Planning Across Northern AZ and NM

(Today's pictures are from the Colorado River, the border between California and Arizona)

Today I'm at Ridgeview RV Resort in Bullhead City, Arizona. I stayed here last night and will stay again tonight. It's not much of a destination, more of a stopover, to me. The resort is just across the river from Laughlin, Nevada, where there are lots of casinos.

I had thought about going over to Laughlin just for laughs, so to speak, but when I got here to the resort, everyone was all excited because today is their yearly Bash. It's a day long event involving a pancake breakfast, a cake walk and some games, an open bar, and a chicken dinner. I decided to pay my $5 so I could eat the pancakes and chicken, but I'm not interested in the rest. Most of the participants are snowbirds who spend a good part of their winter right here at Ridgeview, so they all know each other and are having a Bash before they go home to Canada, Alaska, Michigan, or wherever. I did meet a very nice couple from British Columbia this morning over breakfast.

I spent a good part of the day using my road atlas, the Internet and a AAA tripbook to plan my route for the next couple of weeks. I want to be in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, two weeks from today to meet a couple of my online VanDweller friends. In the meantime, my itinerary looks generally like this:

• March 27-28--to Williams, AZ, and take a train day trip up to Grand Canyon
• March 29-30--Sedona/Flagstaff/Prescott area
• April 1-5--Head east to Albuquerque and Taos area, hopefully meet my online friend Bridget
• April 6-9--Head south to see the aliens in Roswell, plus maybe Carlsbad Caverns, then loop back west to meet up with my friends in Truth or Consequences.

I'm not sure how long I'll stay in TorC--a few days, I hope, before continuing the push eastward. I'm just really glad to have the opportunity to do some sightseeing and relaxing here in the beautiful Southwest. I have been here several times before, but never was so struck by how beautiful the landscapes are or how temperate the climate can be. My previous trips to the Southwest were usually a little later in the spring, during my kid's spring break from school, so it was hotter. I could really see spending significant times of the winters in desert settings--and that's part of why I'm traveling this year, is to get an idea of what sort of place or places I'd like to spend more time.

I'm sure looking forward to taking the train up to the Grand Canyon! I was so conflicted on whether to go camping up there. The daytime temps are still in the 50s this time of the year, and the night time temps can be well below freezing. I wanted to go and I didn't want to go, so much. Radical ambivalence. I finally decided to camp at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park and take the train up for a day. It's expensive, but it will be very memorable and I know I will enjoy it.

Time to go out and spend the rest of the day in the sunshine before I join the red neck diesel pushers for a fried chicken dinner.