Wilcox, AZ and Chiricahua National Monument
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| View along the Echo Canyon Loop Trail, Chiricahua NM |
Needing a pit stop between Alamogorda, NM and Tucson, we were planning on our first boondocking attempt at a truck stop along the NM/AZ border, but that option became less appealing as the time got closer. Instead, we opted for Grande Vista RV Park, a small RV park in Wilcox, AZ. There was not too much 'grande' about it and the 15-20 cats that roamed the park freely became somewhat annoying after a few hours once we discovered the entire park was basically their litter box.
However we did discover that the Chiricahua National Monument, which we had never heard of, was about a 45 minute drive from Wilcox, and set out the next morning excited by the images we saw on Instagram. Entering the National Monument off a remote 2-lane highway...not sure what to expect. We stopped in at Visitor's center and then made our way through the park. It is a fantastic park, made even better as you wind your way up the twisting roads to the summit.
Based on Tim's research, we took the Echo Canyon Loop, a 4-mile loop trail, and thankfully the ranger told us to take this counter-clockwise since walking up the Ed Riggs Trail is less strenuous than the Echo Canyon Trail. The route winds through spectacular rock formations including the Grottoes and Wallstreet to the densely wooded Echo Park. Seems like this has potential to be a National Park. Here is a short video of our hike.
Tucson and Saguaro National Park
I have a long time friend (actually he was my stand mate in orchestra!) I've been in contact with him since high school and he now lives in the Tucson area. I've been telling him for years we were going to come visit him and park in his driveway. Well 2022 was the year we finally made that happen. And although Mike's driveway is pretty big, and our travel trailer was pretty small, it was quite an ordeal to pull into, then turn around and back into his driveway, but we did it!
In addition to golfing and checking out the sites around Tucson, we took a driving tour through Saguaro National Park - both the east (Rincon Mountain) and the west (Red Hills) sites. The video below is shown at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center theater, and is co-produced by the National Parks Service and Western National Parks Association.
I didn't get many photos on the east side other than our traditional NP sign selfie, however I was able to grab some photos on our drive to the west side and during our visit to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, including capturing a great shot of a hummingbird.
Quartzsite, AZ
As mentioned in our planning blog entry, Quarzsite was actually the first location I added to our 2022 plans, partly due to the the large RV Show held each year as well as the interest from the book/movie Nomadland. What I can honestly say is, been there, done that, wish I didn't reserve it for a week. Oh well. We did end up seeing the fifth wheel we were interested in (check it out under Totally Random), and it was interesting learning about the area and it's history. Here's just a few links to stories we found interesting: the Hi Jolly Monument and a story about Paul Winer, who sadly passed away in 2019. And ok we did have fun at a few of the outdoor bars at the RV show and even got a hike in!
Finally, we evaluated Park Place RV Park in Quartzsite using our long term stay criteria (Weather, Activities, Cost, Environment, Vibe, Site, Food & Basics, Culture, View and Noise). While the monthly price would be amazing (for any month other than January!), and the weather is very nice even in January, most other items on our list rated rather poorly. Quarzsite rated a 48.2 on a scale of 100 for a long term stay option. Here is a video of our campsite in Quartzsite.
Overall, we did what we came to see in southern Arizona, and we'll definitely be back to Tucson in 2023. Up next in our Winter 2022 travels: Palm Desert and Joshua Tree National Park.
Have you been to Chiricahua National Monument or Saguraro National Park? Have you ever spent time in Quarzsite, AZ? Leave your comments below! Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.
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