Mesa Arizona

It was not in our plans to spend October through March April (we added a month due to the coronavirus pandemic, hopefully only one) in Mesa, AZ. In fact, we had reservations and deposits to spend the winter in Naples, FL. However, our need for some medical care made stopping here in October and then staying here a necessity. We are really happy we stayed in Mesa. We found a great RV Park, new friends, fantastic outdoor activities, and a comfortable climate. We have enjoyed it so much we have already committed to stay here next fall and winter.

Valle Del Oro (VDO) is the 55+ RV park where we stayed and it is by far the best RV park we have been to. It is a mix of mostly park models and some RV sites. This is a huge park with nearly 1800 fairly spacious sites packed into 90 acres. If you get bored at this place it is your fault. There are two pools, two hot tubs, live music at the pools and tiki bars (Yes John Hein plural tiki bars) each afternoon, a fitness center, sewing room, and more clubs and activities than can be described here. A few examples: photography club, hiking club, pottery studio, stained glass studio, silver smith, lapidary, wood shop, pickle ball, softball, tennis, billiards, and much, much more. It is like winter camp for geezers!

Jane immediately got involved with the sewing room, making quilts for Project Linus. The ladies in the sewing room (and the occasional gentleman) make over 500 quilts and blankets for sick and needy kids each year! She also has taken several quilt-related classes and field trips to local quilt shops and shows. The sewing room has 18 sewing machines and an embroidery machine, a longarm quilter, rulers, rotary cutters, cutting mats, etc., for working on your own projects.

Jane also has made a stuffed, jointed teddy bear and bunny. She learned how to make these in a class called “Make Your Own Teddy Bear”. They are made completely by hand, with needle and thread.

Joe got very involved with the Photography Club. The club sponsors local photography trips and short lectures on various photography topics. On his first trip with the club they went to lunch following the outing and discussed how to share our photos. When they learned we had our own website (journeywithjoeandjane.com) it wasn’t long before Joe had agreed to design and build the club website. For those curious it is vdophotos.com. Our son Shaun generously agreed to host the club website on his server in Houghton, MI.

Jane came to Mesa to get help with knee pain and peripheral neuropathy. Unfortunately, Mayo Clinic has not been able to help much and she is still sidelined from many of her favorite activities. Joe arrived in Mesa with the meniscus in his left knee torn in two places and a sprained MCL. After four months of physical therapy he started some hiking. A lot of the best hiking in the area is centered around Tonto National Forest and Superstition Wilderness area. Before the Stay at Home rules went into place he enjoyed several hikes in the area.

The above photo was made on a hike named Peralta Trailhead to Fremont Saddle. You hike about 3 miles up a valley to a pass between two mountains, passing the rock formation above and many others along the way. The view from the pass is of Weaver’s Needle shown below. This was Joe’s favorite hike this winter.

About 500 wild horses live in Tonto National Forest. Fortunately one of the herds can usually be found about a 20 minute drive from our campground. These mustangs are descendants of Spanish, or Iberian, horses that were brought to the Americas by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. The name was derived from the Spanish word mustengo, which means “ownerless beast”.  Once escaped, these horses evolved without the influence of man and through survival of the fittest, into the incredibly durable and tough breed we see today. We have enjoyed several trips to visit the horses. We are about 50/50 at finding them. They are wild, but accustomed to the presence of humans so we can get within 20 or 30 feet without disturbing them.

In addition to the horses many birds make a home along the Salt River. Below is an Arizona Cardinal. Sorry for the sports joke! BTW – we are still Packer fans and have a favorite bar we and other Packer fans can go to watch them each fall weekend.

Another favorite place is the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert. It is where Gilbert, AZ recycles the output of its sewer plant into the local groundwater. It is also a great place to photograph birds and a short 15 minute drive from our campground. All of the bird photos below were taken there.

Through the photography club Joe has found some friends who take field trips together and help each other become better photographers. The Milky Way below is an example of something Joe learned how to better shoot from his friends.

Shaun visited over Christmas and as part of his visit we went to Grand Canyon National Park. There were a lot of people and a little snow on the ground. No matter the time of year, the Grand Canyon is beautiful and a wonderful place to visit. We hiked a couple miles down Bright Angel Trail into the canyon. We stopped when we felt it was getting a little dangerous to continue due to ice on the trail.

We have enjoyed our seven months in Mesa. It is not as warm as south Florida, but it has a pleasant climate with very few bugs! It has great RV parks with large spaces and more activities at a much lower price than the Florida RV parks. However, it does not have beaches, which we miss. It does have desert wilderness and mountains. With both of us being from WV, mountains, even without trees, are a welcome sight.

Our plans for the next year have been dramatically changed by the coronavirus pandemic. We won’t be traveling east to see our moms, kids, grandkids, siblings, other relatives, and friends. Mesa is too hot for RV living in the summer. We will be moving higher in elevation, planning to spend May in Camp Verde, AZ, June in Kanab, UT, July in Escalante, UT, August in Torrey, UT and September meandering back to Mesa. Interesting places we plan to visit (assuming they are still open or open up again): Sedona, Horseshoe Bend, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Bears Ears National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, and Petrified Forest National Park. This will be a circle itinerary through the high desert of southern Utah and northern Arizona. Then fall and winter in Mesa.

We are fortunate that Shaun visited us over Christmas and both of us visited our moms during the winter. Joe also was able to spend a long weekend with his brothers and mom to reminisce and enjoy time together with his brother Pat as he fights stage 4 cancer. Unfortunately, we have not been to see Kellie and her family. Given what we know about the coronavirus, we will plan to keep our distance from others and spend some significant time in remote places to minimize our chances of catching this thing.

To all our friends and family: be careful and stay healthy.