Kartchner Caverns SP and our winter destination....Gold Canyon, AZ

After we left Las Cruces, NM we headed to Kartchner Caverns SP for a couple of days. We had been there after leaving Gold Canyon, AZ last spring on our way to IL for the summer. So it was fitting that Kartchner was our last stop on the way back to AZ for the winter. Kartchner Caverns SP is to us getting back to nature. We prefer state parks and more natural setting than RV parks but sometimes you have to do them. Anyway, we got the site we had last spring, site #4, a pull through with electric and water.

Mesquite trees between the sites for privacy and the park wasn't very full this time of year. the views from our window were just what we like. Since we were only going to be there for one full day we planned on hiking the Foothill Loop. The loop doesn't have too much elevation change but the landscape is perfect for high desert. We loaded up some water and a snack and headed out. The loop is about 2.5 miles. We didn't get out as early as we should have and it got pretty hot as we hiked but we took breaks and found some shade at the top of one short climb.

Love the high desert

Had to get a selfie

Stairs to heaven?

 

We had a great hike and did some wandering around the gift shop afterward in the visitor center. Our awning was on the east side of the rig so we were able to sit out in the afternoon with some shade. The low humidity and breeze was very comfortable. It was a perfect break before moving on to Gold Canyon and our winter destination at Canyon Vistas RV Resort. We booked our same site from last season and looked forward to seeing friends and our son, Chris. The trip to Gold Canyon was very easy and only about 150 miles. We arrived on Oct 15th and checked in. After paying our site fees and getting some information we took the rig over to 9th street and our site #319. It's a end of row site and faces the west and some green space. Our neighbors from last year behind us were there already and our neighbors on the back side were there too. We thought about how we would back in this time and with a little more experience than last year I got the rig parked with only one minor adjustment.

 

The rig is a mess from all the traveling and we got an appointment with a rig pressure washing company for November 5th. So far we've done some prep cleaning to get some black marks off the slides and the big bugs off the front cap. Other than that after getting settled we have enjoying riding our bikes around the park. Talking with other residents and we spent some time at the pool. A great start to our winter. We're just waiting for some folks from Canada to get here that we meet last season and we look forward to getting together with our friends, Faye and Dave Malouf(The Wandering Camels), who will be workamping at a nearby RV park and Steve and Debbie McCormack(Down the Road),who started fulltiming about the same time. We also spent some time with Steve and Debbie in NM at Pancho Villa SP and City of Rocks SP last spring. This is what I hoped full time RV'ing would be like. Great friends, new adventures and scenery.

 

Everyone has their way of doing this RV thing. We like being in nature at State Parks, County Parks and more natural settings but sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses in just one place. That's what's nice about this lifestyle. you can do it whatever way YOU want. We're doing it our way.

I'm sure we'll be ready to move again after 5 months here but for now we're enjoying it. The fun has only just begun. Stay tuned. Thanks for following along.