Our Journey Across the Country
Viewpoint RV Resort, Mesa AZ | 1/13/22 - 1/25/22
Mesa, AZ was our first official stop outside of the California borders. For 2 weeks we stayed at Viewpoint RV Resort in Mesa. This was an “age qualified” park for people 55 and older, and we got carded at the gate! (ha ha). It was a fascinating look into active retirees and what they like to do. This resort is primarily a (nice) mobile home park which also has many RV spots throughout. There are numerous amenities from hobby classes like ceramics and woodworking to TWO golf courses inside the park, as well as softball, pickle ball, ballroom, and multiple swimming pools and fitness rooms. There is even a restaurant at the gold clubhouse. We saw first hand a lot of “snowbirds”, people who spend the winters in warmer climates and summers in cooler climates. Some folks had RVs and some rented or owned mobile homes in the park. There were many people from Canada there, so many that the main road into the park is lined with alternating American and Canadian flags. The mobile homes ranged from $26K single-wide units from the 70’s to fancy $200K double-wides near the golf course. Some even had adobe-style walls built around them so that they looked like permanent homes. People were out everywhere - socializing in someone’s carport, walking, riding bikes with tennis racquets or golf bags in tow, cruising in their golf carts. Most smiled and waved, some introduced themselves or struck up conversation. Retired life must make folks happy!
Our 2-week stay here allowed us to settle in and just Live, rather than be always vacationing. This is the first time we set up all of our outdoor items - catio, rugs, tables and chairs, shade tent, grills and table, even strung some outdoor lighting. Mike discovered that the camp grill is pretty messy and must be thoroughly cleaned before packing it back up, so we have not used it as much as we had planned. The long stay allowed Mike to set up the music studio and do some more recording.
The first week we found our preferred fitness room (the park has 2) and walked there (about 1 mile round trip) and exercised every day. It felt great! We also worked on setting up the website (what would it be, how would it be laid out, etc), and taking care of some grocery and fix-it chores. We drove out to Scottsdale to see an arts & crafts fair, which turned out to be tiny and disappointing. Still, we did a little sight-seeing in that part of the greater Phoenix area.
In the middle of the 2nd week we got our Covid booster shots, and similar to the 2nd dose it knocked us down, especially Mary. She was out of commission for 4 days, and fully recovered just in time to move on to the next stay. Luckily, we had arranged to meet up with Mike’s sister Jill and her husband Steve in nearby Queen Creek right after our shots, so we had a really great visit & dinner out with them before the booster kicked in. Although we had med briefly in Sacramento when Mike’s dad was in the hospital, this was the first time Mary really got to know Jill and Steve. Because the shot had Mary laid out, we only got in one more visit with them before we left. We also managed to get out on the Apache Trail, up past Superstition Mountain to Canyon Lake, which was a fun and neat trip. Mary was still not fully recovered (which is reflected in the photos, lol) but needed and appreciated the time outdoors. We saw many saguaro cacti in so many poses but did not snap the photos quick enough. Some of the poses were Gansta, some the shapes of letters - Mary thinks someone should make a alphabet photo book where all the letters are found in cacti.
Fun Fact: Arizona includes a lot of artistic embellishments on their freeway overcrossings and walls. We found the freeways in Arizona to be generously sized, and seemed to be built BEFORE the development, rather than waiting until the demand is already there as is done in California. 10 points to AZ for their high quality roads!
The resort had 2 large fitness centers. Here's Mike working the treadmill.
The full timers in the park all had golf carts. Some were very cool like this one.
The common area around the fitness center we used near the golf course - the fancy side of town!
home life - making music
wardrobe turned music studio
a fun border of Viewpoint RV
moonrise over Viewpoint RV
The saguaros were huge, some 40' or more.
stamp mill
Superstition Mountain
The weather in AZ in January is quite nice. The temps were in the 70s when we were there.
This is Canyon Lake near Mesa AZ. It is just a 20 min drive outside of Superstition Mountain near Tortilla Flat. It's a great place for an afternoon picnic.
The water is crystal clear and deep enough for boating/waterskiing.
Lots of ducks!
We were able to visit with Mike's sister Jill and her husband Steve. They live in Queen Creek, AZ