RV Parks, Mesa

The big excitement here today was the departure of our neighbors to our East, Howard and Donna.  They were here when we came in November, and had paid for four months.  At the time, I wondered how you could stay on one site for that long.

We rented for three months, but knew that we would spend the December time back in KC.  Only the trailer would be here in Phoenix.  So that broke up our time.  But now we have extended for the fourth month.  So H & D were not all that far off.

But after they left, it seems so empty and open on our door side, as we have two sites that are empty before the big class C, three over. 

The second site over is a really small one, with the electric transformer in front, and a palm tree.  Also the driveway for the car is not paved, so your trailer could not have any slides, and not be over 25 feet long.  Your car would be parked on the gravel, with only a 5 foot wide concrete strip as a patio.  Needless to say they have never rented that site since we have been here.

We have been in about 10 of the over 50 RV parks here in Mesa.  And they have a common theme to them.  Some are bigger, and some have a golf course, but mostly if your have been in one, then you have been in them all. 

Back several years ago, the big thing was to buy a park model, and the parks tried to become exclusively for them.  Rent is by the year that way, and maintenance is largely on the part of the renter.

Most of the ground is concreted, and the renters poured their own slabs.  But now that the park models are gone, the concrete is not uniform from site to site.  So as RVer’s we get what is left behind.

This is a problem, for these older parks, as when they were platted, there were no slides on trailers, and the gravel beds under the rigs tended to only be about 10 feet wide.  The later park models were 12 feet, but were often shoehorned onto narrow lots.

As Mesa Spirit, removed the ooold park models and sold them down the road (Mexico) for 500 or some such amount, then they have struggled to redo the spots to accommodate modern big rigs with slides on both sides, and 40 plus feet long.

The streets are laid out with two rigs back to back with the lots only being 35 feet deep.  This worked fine, until the local fire folks decided that there had to be 3 feet between the back of the rig and the lot line.  (Six feet between trailers)

With a 2 foot set back, then the longest rig on these old spots is now 30.  This is not just Mesa Spirit, but all the parks up and down the main part of town.  So things are slowly being re designed to be 70 foot pull thru spots, which requires moving all the utilities and water sewer connections.  Concrete needs to be jack hammered and re poured, and so forth.  The sites were originally offset so that the rigs were not back to back, so they do not line up as pull thru spots.  You get the picture, a mess.

In the back of the park, where they have redesigned the entire layout, they have rented every spot.  Largely to motor homes and large fifth wheels.  The sites are 45 feet deep, and hold a big rig nicely, and are over 30 feet wide.  But reserve ahead as these spots are taken every winter by the same folks.

Another thing you miss here if you are from the Midwest, is grass.  There is none.  Repeat after me “Grass is a Flower.”  “Dogs must not do do on it.”

Now as I think about Llano Grande in RGV of Texas, we were in the old part of that park as well.  And our lot was even narrower and only 35 feet deep.  We happened to get a lot with some newer concrete, but with our rear door, we stepped out onto the thistle grass that is down there.

Had we been in the newer part of that park, which was recently designed for large rigs, we would have enjoyed pull thru spots that are long enough to hold your car and trailer all together, or with the truck parked behind the 5iver as is the popular custom.  I have yet to see that kind of a site here in Mesa.  Especially not one with grass!

We do have every conceivable activity here in this park.  The bulletin is printed weekly, and is like a book when you get it on Friday.  Llano Grande had a softball team, which they do not have here. 

It is 200 miles to Mexico, not 5 so runs for meds and such need to be thought out ahead of time.  We did not feel anywhere near as safe in Nogales, so going to Yuma and crossing at Algadones is recommended.

Lastly it is not as warm in Arizona as it is in Texas.  We are about 10 degrees colder on any given day.  But we have NO wind, and it is sunny almost all the time. Humidity here is lucky to be 40 percent, so you never have a bad hair day either.

It was sunny and 75 today, with a WSW wind at 3 to5 mph.  That is as perfect as it could get.

Retired Rod