07-23-2020 02:02 PM - edited 07-23-2020 02:10 PM
Arizona is one of my favorite states to visit from January through May! The weather is comfortable and there is so much to do throughout the state! In the last four years, we have mostly been to Phoenix and Quartzsite but we hope to spend some time also in Yuma and Tucson this coming 2021.
Phoenix: This is a haven for snowbirds in January, February, and March and we've found it difficult to find a place to park our RV unless I make our reservations at least six months in advance.
We go here mostly for the great weather and off-roading opportunities in the Superstition Mountains. There are so many backcountry options to drive around here!
Quartzsite: There is a HUGE RV show and gathering here every year in late January. This event brings from 750,000 to 1,000,000 people in all kinds of RVs and camping options. Much of the land here is BLM (Bureau of Land Management) owned by the United States Government. The BLM land here is flat desert and the RVs and campers spread out in ALL directions for miles and miles and miles and miles! We normally spend a week here and gather with a group that has motorhomes by the same manufacturer as us. All campers must boondock (or dry camping) because there is no water, electricity, or sewer. While here we also do a lot of backcountry driving in the hills and back roads.
For all of our off-roading, we expect to have no internet while driving. Before we go out, I download the maps on Google, and then we use our GPS to find our ways around.
Have you ever heard of the Four Corners in the United States? It's where four states (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico) meet at exactly one place! It's in the middle of NOWHERE! ...but it's one place I've always wanted to go to. We made a detour just so we could go by here, be in all four states at the same time, and get some photos!
Do you have the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park on your bucket list? If not, it should be! These are back to back parks and they are just off the major highway 40 that runs east to west. It's easy to get off the highway and drive through the parks and then get back on the road to your final destination. The parks are so easy to drive through that we drove into the parks with our motorhome with the Jeep attached and was able to easily stop at any of the viewpoints to see the sites! The desert is just stunning and I just love to see the forest of stones laying out in the desert. This is really a wonderful place to visit and we were able to see it with about a two-hour extension to our trip.
This post is part of the #StateChallenge organized by @Kwiksatik and myself. If you want to find out more, check out our post here and here, and you can also find other submissions by searching the #StateChallenge hashtag. There is also a virtual meet-up on Arizona coming up which you can sign up to here!
07-23-2020 03:40 PM
Again you make me so jalous!!! I would Love to do the same travels like you or better with you! Maybe Im able to join the Arizona meet-up!
Regards from Germany!
07-23-2020 04:48 PM
Hallo @Denise_Barlock
Toller, motivierender Bericht über eure Reise in Arizona. Wie ich aus eigener Erfahrung weiß, ist Winter eine wunderbare Jahreszeit für diese Gegend.
07-23-2020 04:50 PM
@TorM aaaahhhh.... but you have some amazing sites and views where you are! We were just talking last night how much it would be wonderful to be able to visit Germany again. I know you can't have the big RVs there as we have here but when I was there last, I saw lots of trailers???
07-23-2020 04:52 PM
@Anonymous I'm not an "official" snowbird but I mostly live like one as much as possible 🙂
07-24-2020 07:58 AM
If I lived in the USA, I'll definitely like do be a "snowbird," @Denise_Barlock. Living in Rio de Janeiro all my life, I cannot imagine myself living in cold places. Nice article about Arizona. Thank you for sharing.
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07-24-2020 08:12 AM
@AlexandreCampbell I, too, do NOT like the cold weather to live in... but then I'm also not a fan of very hot. Arizona is over 110+ degrees in the summer as it is right now. It's very unpleasant to be there now. The snowbirds... They are currently up in Michigan, Montana, Wisconsin, Minnesota. This is the first year that we have not gone up to the northern states for the summer and I doubt we'll want to be in the South again for the summer going forward. hahahahaha... The snowbird life is the way to go!
07-24-2020 05:23 PM
@Denise_Barlock you have the most incredible adventures! I wrote my own article about my memories of Four Corners, and here you are with the most fabulous photos of yourself there!!!
07-25-2020 07:33 AM
@Kwiksatik The Four Corners is a VERY cool place! I just love that it's on an Indian reservation and there are so many little shops all around the marker. It's such a very unique place!
07-25-2020 01:00 PM
@Denise_Barlock some of my favorite turquoise jewelry is from my visits to Four Corners as a child! The location wouldn't be the same without those little shops!!