Southern Arizona

[elolson]

I am thinking we need a Southern AZ rally. I have noticed the locations of a few of you folks and there are at least a couple from Phoenix and at least a few others from good 'ol Tucson. Now that it is out of the triple digits and you can almost touch the skin on our airstreams, it is time to think about getting out and about.

Suggestions:

1) Roper lake state park, safford.

Pros: Has a stocked lake, Mt. Grahm, Safford has a festival somewhere about this time of year, and the park takes reservations, the only state park that does. Hot springs and dunes nearby. Safford golf course is dirt cheap. 2 people, 9 holes, a cart, 18$.

Cons: Its Safford and let's face it, you can talk it up all day, but that town is not exactly a happenin night spot and it is kind of a drive no matter where you are coming from.


2) Juniper Ridge RV Park ouside Show Low.

Pros: They have a *nice* tennis court. Lot's of room, full hook-ups, tons of stuff in the white mnts. Great golf course in snowflake that is not that far away.

Cons: It is a 55+ park and you have to smoke a half a pack of camels before calling so you sound like you are in your 90s when you make the reservation. Seriously, as long as you were quiet and did not have 20 kids tearing the place up they did not seem to care. Could be restrictive, don't know your circumstances.

3) Suggestions? I think there are some great spots down in the Chiricahuas but need to check with my buddy on the exact spot they went.

4) I'd be good with Mexico, but that is a touchy place with some. My favorite spot is San Carlos.

Pros: The beach, good golf course, the beach, shopping, and did I mention the beach?

Cons: It is a haul. That drive takes us 7 hours down, 9 back because of the border. Would need to be a 4-5 day trip minimum to make it worthwhile which means Thanksgiving or Xmas and that is family time for a lot of people. Not exactly cheap either, the good park is 28$/night and the tolls round trip are 60$.

Just seemed like it would be nice for some of us to attempt a rally down in these parts. Any interest?

[Airstream25]

elolson,

El Mirador RV Park just outside of San Carlos is nice.
Phone: 011-52-622-227-0213 E-mail: mirador@tetakawi.net.mx Full hook up site rate in US dollars: $22/day or $140/week. Ten percent discount for cash.
These were the rates June, 2003.

Originally Posted by elolson

I am thinking we need a Southern AZ rally. I have noticed the locations of a few of you folks and there are at least a couple from Phoenix and at least a few others from good 'ol Tucson. Now that it is out of the triple digits and you can almost touch the skin on our airstreams, it is time to think about getting out and about.

Suggestions:

4) I'd be good with Mexico, but that is a touchy place with some. My favorite spot is San Carlos.

Pros: The beach, good golf course, the beach, shopping, and did I mention the beach?

Cons: It is a haul. That drive takes us 7 hours down, 9 back because of the border. Would need to be a 4-5 day trip minimum to make it worthwhile which means Thanksgiving or Xmas and that is family time for a lot of people. Not exactly cheap either, the good park is 28$/night and the tolls round trip are 60$.

Just seemed like it would be nice for some of us to attempt a rally down in these parts. Any interest?

[azflycaster]

If you want to meet some other Airstreamers in the area, go to a 4CU rally. We had one in Tucson earlier this year at Gilbert Ray by Old Tucson. We have the New Years Rally in a couple of months at Picacho Peaks State Park. In February we have Dead Horse 2 which is in Cottonwood which isn't Southern Arizona, but still not that far. We are working on a Rally at Kartchner Caverns State Park, but that one is in still in the planning stages. For more information about the unit, click on the link at the bottom of this post. Guests are always welcome and most become members. We would love to see you at one of our rallies.

[elolson]

Originally Posted by Airstream25

elolson,

El Mirador RV Park just outside of San Carlos is nice.
Phone: 011-52-622-227-0213 E-mail: mirador@tetakawi.net.mx Full hook up site rate in US dollars: $22/day or $140/week. Ten percent discount for cash.
These were the rates June, 2003.

This is the place I was talking about, it is now up to 28$ as of April '07. It is still the nicest but the guy is not keeping it maintaind, you can see that it is starting to fall apart around the edges with landscaping and the pool. Still, it is as good as most in the US.

[elolson]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

If you want to meet some other Airstreamers in the area,.....

Thanks AZFLYCASTER, I saw all the FCU unit rally postings and thought we needed one down here. I keep thinking FCU means Farmington and that is *far*. That is apparently a misnomer. We will definitely check you guys out at an upcoming event.

In the interests of community involvement, I still think it is time to add another outing in the near future in this area. The temp is still kind of high, I am thinking elevation has got to be in the equation.

[azflycaster]

This map shows where the 4CU rallies have been or will be for 2007. Not bad for the first year!

[silverback]

My two cents: Turquoise Valley RV Park in Naco or Patagonia Lake State Park. I have heard excellent reviews of the RV park and I can personally recommend the state park. Richard is right you need to join up with the 4CU then you can host a rally at the destination of your choice.
-Ken

[LHall]

I would be interested... And would like to suggest Fool's Hollow Lake in Show Low. Was just there last weekend, very nice campground, concrete pads, full hook ups, and a very nice lake for fishing, small boats etc...

[elolson]

I have driven around fools hollow. I did not realize that it had full hook-ups. That is almost a slam dunk. Water, close to town, up in the mountains. Nice weather at night and not that far from either Tucson or Phoenix.

Time to pick a date. The big thing is do they take reservations.

I am thinking Nov 9-12. I checked the rally calendar and it is the same time as the FCU Bosque trip. That's a sure way to make friends, split the community. Another option is October 12-14. But that does not give a whole lot of time for folks to plan.

[elolson]

Originally Posted by silverback

My two cents: Turquoise Valley RV Park in Naco or Patagonia Lake State Park. I have heard excellent reviews of the RV park and I can personally recommend the state park. Richard is right you need to join up with the 4CU then you can host a rally at the destination of your choice.
-Ken

Patagonia is a great place. The catch is that the rest of Tucson and its 800k residents agree with you and they do not take reservations. So, unless you really lucky or show on say Tuesday, that place is packed with RVs waiting in the parking lot to find a spot. We have tried and ended up driving home at midnight on a Thursday because there was not where to stay in the park.

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by elolson

I have driven around fools hollow. I did not realize that it had full hook-ups. That is almost a slam dunk. Water, close to town, up in the mountains. Nice weather at night and not that far from either Tucson or Phoenix.

Time to pick a date. The big thing is do they take reservations.

I am thinking Nov 9-12. I checked the rally calendar and it is the same time as the FCU Bosque trip. That's a sure way to make friends, split the community. Another option is October 12-14. But that does not give a whole lot of time for folks to plan.

Fool Hollow Lake State Park is one of our favorite places to go in AZ... We usualy go up for a week in the fall and a week in the spring when it's not so absolutely packed. I posted a review of it at: Airstream Trailer & Motorhome Reviews - Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area - Powered by ReviewPost
The website for the park is included in the review.

They do not take reservations and it is a very popular destination, so it might be iffy to get everyone in, and it would probably not be possible to get everyone near one another. (I do not know if they will make exceptions for organized groups...never hurts to ask!) We have been there when other groups converged...I think it was a "Hi-Low" group...

It is a great park and the weather and ammenities are great.

We were just at Roper Lake State Park last weekend and you can make reservations there... See our travel thread post at: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ain-36172.html

TB & Greg

[elolson]

That is great info. The fact that Roper takes reservations is the reason we have stayed there in the past. Nothing like driving a couple hundred miles to find out you are staying at the rest area on the interstate and not the nice park you thought you were.

When in the fall do you figure it drops off based on your past experience?

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by elolson

That is great info. The fact that Roper takes reservations is the reason we have stayed there in the past. Nothing like driving a couple hundred miles to find out you are staying at the rest area on the interstate and not the nice park you thought you were.

When in the fall do you figure it drops off based on your past experience?

Fool Hollow begins to thin out some after Labor Day because school has begun...and I'm not sure when, but they close down a couple of the loops (the upper ones which don't all have sewer hookups) sometime in October...so that limits availability some. We usually try to get back up there at least by mid-October before it gets too cold. Even then are always a little anxious going up because they don't take reservations and it's a 4-hour trip for us (going through Salt River Canyon north of Globe on highway 60)...one time we were not able to get in and ended up staying at a private place...talk about a bummer.

Later,
TB

[Boondocker]

Im on the far edge of doable in Oklahoma, but depending on the dates and the distance you can bet I will be keeping my eye on potential rallies

[elolson]

Lawton, OK, doable? That has got to be 800 miles. I spent four years at OU in Norman, Go Big Red! Must be the Okie in you to make such a statement Although, if you came across 40 and down 77 from Holbrook that might not be that bad. All interstate and 75 all the way. I am so used to driving up from Las Cruces to get to OK, I forget that there are other ways to go.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by elolson

Lawton, OK, doable?

Well, doable has several components. Distance, price of fuel, time since last trip, time available (is there a school break? ect) and destination. AZ is way out there for me, but if there was a long break at school and the place was really neat, who knows?

[elolson]

OK, Here is the update. I talked to Gary at FHLSP and he said hook-up utilization has been 80% for the past few weeks and dropping weekly. Fesitval this weekend, car show next weekend. While he could make no gurantees, he said that he had high confidence that there would be plenty of hook-up sites available as they are heading into their slow season.

Also, a very interesting thing. He said that they have made exceptions in the past for larger groups. Meaning a real live organized rally like what the FCU guys put on. That would take a discussion with the park manager Jim Wilson. I think that for the 2-3 of us that have expressed interest, we ought to just show up and provide some recon for the forum and do a more professionally organized rally in the future.

My wife has off 10/12 and 11/12. This would make each of those weekends a 3 day weekend for us. Is there any preference on either of these dates?

[elolson]

My wife has weighed in. The weekend of November 10-12 is the date Fools Hollow Lake State Park is the place. Should start to be getting failry frosty up there that time of year.

Clearly this is not some well organized extravaganza, but I'll see if I can figure out how to add it to the calendar and if a few of us go we can do a happy hour social and can play the rest by ear.

[LHall]

Originally Posted by elolson

My wife has weighed in. The weekend of November 10-12 is the date Fools Hollow Lake State Park is the place. Should start to be getting failry frosty up there that time of year.

Clearly this is not some well organized extravaganza, but I'll see if I can figure out how to add it to the calendar and if a few of us go we can do a happy hour social and can play the rest by ear.

We are heading up to FHLSP on October 10-13 for a long weekend. We may not be able to make the trip in November, I have a business trip to Alaska coming around that time. I will keep it on the calendar as a possibility.

[jimmini]

Last year around 15th of Oct. we got snowed on in Pinetop-Lakeside on our way to Benny Creek cg at Greer.Spent two night in the snow and moved to Ponderosa cg on 260 east of Payson to get down lower and warmer.
We would like to join you if I can make your date.
we are always to have any of you from down south visit a 4CU Rally and see if you like our camping style.NO pomp,NO meetings,JUST fun and . If you like the unit then you can join .Our next near you will be New Years at Picacho Peak state park .Please see posting about it under WBCII Rally on the forum.
Hope to meet you al soon