On the Road with Dan & Amy

Sawtooth Canyon

From Indio, we knew we wanted to head to Death Valley National Park but needed a place to stay along the route. Jim had located a free BLM campground south of Barstow, CA called Sawtooth Canyon Campground. After having some free waffles (available every Thursday morning at the RV resort) we hooked up and headed for some boondocking adventures.

Boondocking in Arizona

After leaving Patagonia Lake State Park, we drove a short distance up I19 to spend a night in a casino parking lot. After unhooking, setting up the RV, and checking in with security, we headed out to get some laundry done. Once the laundry was done and put away, we met up with Dan and Mary for dinner at Manuel’s Mexican restaurant. This is a favorite of theirs and most of the staff knew them. We had a great time and plan to hook up again with them before we leave the southwest later this spring.

Patagonia Lake State Park

After leaving the busy week of the Escapees Hangout, we set up camp at this highly rated state park in southern Arizona. Nestled in the mountains near the Mexican boarder, Patagonia Lake State Park is said to have two seasons: boating season and birding season. We were there during the birding season so most of the accompanying pictures are of birds.

Escapees Hangout – Tucson

One of the best things you can do for yourself as you embark on a life of RVing is to join the Escapees RV Club. There are many benefits to being a member of Escapees and one is a relatively new program called Hangouts. A hangout is a small gathering of RVers for a week of social activities and local exploration. Our friends, Laura and Rob (with us in photo above), were hosts for the Tucson Hangout. Once we learned this, we signed up as soon as registration opened back in November.

Lost Dutchman State Park

When we left Quartzsite, we stopped in Buckeye for a couple nights to do laundry and take care of our tanks. From there we headed to Lost Dutchman State Park on the eastern side of Phoenix. This park is very popular and we were happy to have reservations to spend the week with friends. Little did we know that we would spend time with more friends than we had planned.