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Friday, March 06, 2009

Just Call Me Spontaneous!

You all who know me just know that "spontaneous" is my middle name! NOT!!!!! :) But, today helped me to channel my inner Gumby (Do you remember Gumby? He was VERY flexible!)

The plan was to spend this next week in Benson, Arizona at an Escapees Co-op. Escapees Parks do not take reservations, it's first come, first served and if there are no sites available, you are welcome to dry camp. (Dry camping is without hook-ups; using your generator or batteries for your utilities.) Having no reservations is a HUGE deal to me - I like knowing I've got a place to plug in for the night! We have dry camped overnight in parking lots, but that's no big deal. You stop later in the day and get back on the road early the next morning. Dry camping for days is NOT my thing.

Anyway, we had been on the road about an hour and I figured I'd call ahead to ensure Benson had a site for us. Boy, am I glad I did!! They had nothing but dry camping available and it was taking three to four days for people to get a regular site. No thanks. Then, the hunt began for another park. I was truly grateful to God for our air card AND that we had service in the area we were traveling. Sometimes that's not the case.

Hello Arizona!
An interesting horizon
The first call I made was to Russ & Pat, our friends who we were meeting up with in Tucson. I asked them where they were staying. I also checked out the Passport America website to see what campgrounds they had in the area. Since this is "high season" for this area, most of the PA parks don't honor the discount, or it's not for many days. So, I called Desert Trails where Russ & Pat are staying - they had a site for the week and we took it. It's a bit on the pricey side for us, but we figured we'd be close to Russ & Pat and this way we'd save fuel because we wouldn't be running back and forth. (Benson is an hour south of Tucson.)

So glad it worked out. I know, I know!! All you full-timers out there who don't make reservations - you're just nodding your heads saying, "See, you don't need reservations!" YES, I DO!!!! :)

We got to Desert Trails before 1:30 this afternoon after an easy four hour drive from Deming. We registered and got into our site without a problem. And we are right across from Russ & Pat! That's great. Apparently, they had gone into the office and asked if we could be put close to them. How nice is that? :)

Once we got settled in, I had a brainstorm, or cramp depending on how you look at it. I asked Randy if we could just stay here for two weeks instead of one. I looked at our calendar and the plan we had and saw that we really wouldn't be spending much more money if we stayed here an extra week and this allows us to enjoy the area with Russ & Pat without feeling like we have to do it all in just a few days. Randy was up for it and I called the office to see if the site was available for an additional week. It was and we are. Staying that is.

And yes, this is spontaneous for me! :) I changed the plan on the spur of the moment. And that just doesn't happen very often.

A good travel day is always a reason for praise! Tomorrow's a chore day - laundry! :) Not sure what else will be happening, but I'll be sure to share with you.

Until the next time . . .

2 comments:

  1. Hey Guys..We are glad you made it safely...Be sure to check out Doc Justins Diamond J park next door to you...They are great people and we have spent considerable time there...The two parks even use the same desert walking trails..Hugs........Jim & Ellie

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  2. Anonymous8:34 AM

    Hi Terry, I am another fulltimer that struggles with spontanaity, so you're not alone. I enjoy reading your blog. Safe travels....

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