Canyon Vistas

Gold Canyon, AZ

After spending 2 weeks in the desert with no hook-ups, coming to a high end resort was a big swing to the other end of the spectrum. The resort has 2 heated swimming pools, 15 shuffle board courts, 6 bocce ball courts, pickle ball courts, tennis courts, and various craft rooms including the all important sewing room. Even though we currently don’t feel the draw to stay a full season at a place like this, we can certainly see the appeal with all the extra curricular activities that are going on every day.

On our first full day here, Dan had an appointment to have the truck serviced for regular maintenance. Once that was over we got the bikes out for a ride around the grounds. During our ride we came upon someone we knew! Dan Groth, former Kodak employee that Dan worked with at the summer Olympics in Atlanta, and his wife, Kathy, are work camping here for the winter season. We visited with Dan Groth during our first full day here and he suggested we try playing Bumbee Ball later that evening. Bumbee Ball is best described as volleyball rules with tennis rackets and a nerf like ball played on tennis courts. It was invented at this resort and may be the only place that it is played regularly. We did go over to play for a couple hours and had a lot of fun.

The next day, we took a hike in the Superstition Mountains with the trail head located in Lost Dutchman Sate Park. This was about a 20 minute drive from the RV park and we began the hike at around 9:30 am. The hike was graded as difficult. The first hour or so was very easy so we knew things would need to change soon and that they did. The climb became very steep on a slick rock surface with occasional patches of crushed rock that would slide out from under your feet and tumble down the mountain for 5 to 10 seconds. After scrambling up this for over 45 minutes, we reached a crest where the trail went down again and off in the distance, resuming its vertical trend. As we stood there contemplating our next move, a young man came by on his descent. We asked him how much further to the top and he informed us that we were at about the half way point. Given that it was already 12:30 pm, we decided to be smart and turn around at this point. We somehow feel as though we failed to complete a task by not making it to the summit but the hike was still enjoyable with spectacular views and we survived to hike another day.

Part of the reason we are staying at this plush resort for 2 weeks is so that we could celebrate Kristina’s 30th birthday with her. We met her and Rob on both Thursday and Friday night for dinner. On Friday, being the actual birthday, Amy and Kristina got to choose where we would go to dinner. They chose Mexican food in Old Town Scottsdale. We ended up at a small restaurant called Frank and Lupes. They had a large outdoor cantina where we had dinner.

On Saturday, Amy’s sister, Karen, and her husband Fergy came down from Monument, CO. to spend a few days with us. This makes them the first overnight guests we’ve had in our house on wheels. Prior to their arrival, we determined that the sofa bed was not very comfortable so we obtained a nice air mattress for them to use while staying with us. Kristina and Rob joined us for a short hike around Silly Mountain Park, located very close to the RV park. This park has a variety of trails that traverse the small mountain (hill?) and offers nice views of the surrounding area. One trail had a rather unique name that prompted Dan to pose next to it (see picture). After the hike we all went out to dinner at Uncle Bear’s Brew Pub, one of a few local brew pubs that we visited while staying here.

Karen and Fergy are in the process of determining which brand of 5th wheel they want to get so they can enjoy the RV lifestyle too. They like touring on their motorcycles so they are concentrating their search on toy haulers (term used for RVs that have a garage to haul motorcycles or ATVs). We know they are serious about getting a rig because they have already purchased a big dually pickup truck to tow it with. We look forward to the day when we can meet up with them.

In addition to the socializing with family, we got a lot of things done while staying at this resort. Amy was able to get some sewing done, utilizing the spacious sewing room provided by the resort. Dan installed mud flaps on the truck (long overdue) and we re-organized both the closet inside the RV and the basement underneath. All in all, it’s been a rewarding and productive stay at Canyon Vistas RV Resort in Gold Canyon, AZ.