Sunday, January 28, 2007
Desert's Edge RV Village, Phoenix, AZ
October 15-22, 2006
So we found this place called Desert's Edge RV Village as we traveled down the road. Air cards are very handy when you don't have a plan.We stayed there for a week, and really loved both the park and the city.
Our first night there, we were a bit confused. Luckily, Michelle, a resident of the park, led us to the open overnight spaces. Brian, Ian, and Zorah headed to the pool immediately after setting up. I met them there afterward, unsuited. Having been to uncounted swimming pools on our trip, as you must know from my rant early on, I have to say that this one was great. It was a combination of curious and attractive; attractive for the smooth stones forming the patio in which the pool was situated, curious for the yellow and purple paint job on the walls. Maybe the owner was an alumnus of Williams. Maybe the University of Arizona has those colors. Who knows. Not me!
As we were driving to dinner that night, we noted that the Arizona State Fair was running while we were there. So, of course, we had to go. On their ad on the web, they advised to try any food which is fried or on a stick. The next day, or the day after, we set out.
Apparently, the Chinese stand had read this blurb and decided to do it one better. Fried and on a stick! Woohoo! Everything on a stick! I'm not sure whether I forgot to keep looking for stick foods, or if these were only the most amusing of a myriad.
The first attraction we came across was a ski lift which went from one end of the fair to the other. I suppose it makes sense. There aren't many ski lifts in Arizona, I would imagine. Zorah and I got into the ticket both line while Brian got a drink. There, behind us, a bit of a drama unfolded. A young couple with their two children were behind us in line, but daddy had disappeared. He came back with a beer. Mom started cursing him out, asking if he wanted to go to jail again, grabbed the beer our of his hand and dumped it on the pavement. The rest of the time they muttered at each other, a counterpoint to the happy sounds of the fair. I didn't take their picture.
After the ski lift, where I took the food on a stick pictures, we went on the big slide. Zorah went once with me, then once with Brian, then insisted on going all by herself! It was a proud moment to watch her struggling up the ramp with a mat bigger than she was.
She held up the line, until a little girl about ten years old helped her the last third of the way up. Curiously, there were two big teenage boys behind her up the ramp who never offered to help. On second thought, maybe that's not so surprising. Heh, heh. Anyway, she loved it.
We went to the petting zoo at the fair as well, which, surprisingly, had quite a variety of animals! Not only the standard farm animals, but zebras, a giraffe, and other oddities. Well, oddities on a farm. One sad alpaca stood out from the rest. Why? Behold!
The poor thing was done up like a poodle! I know that they harvest an alpaca regularly for its wool, but they should at least allow it to maintain its dignity in the process, don't you think?
After this, Zorah went on a pony ride, which she loved. Not at first.
She was a little hesitant, but quickly felt at ease. She wanted to ride again, but then she saw the next creature with a saddle. I was glad, because I got to go on it with her, and it was so much fun! It's not like we went very fast, but the camel's humping gate would probably have gotten pretty uncomfortable at high speeds. We just got led along, as in the pony ride. It was great. Let's cross the Sahara!
Zorah was getting hot and tired not long after our camel ride. It really was hot! We had some ride tickets left, and Brian saw a log flume, so he and Zorah went on it. I didn't want to all go together in case we got really wet. This seems to happen a lot when I go on a water ride. Why? I don't know. I was worried that Zorah wouldn't like it. Lately, she hasn't liked having wet clothes. No need to worry though; they only got lightly sprinkled with water during the ride, and Zorah wanted to go again with me.
So I gave Brian all my stuff, and Zorah and I went on. I hadn't been watching the ride at all except their log, but I figured there was a likelihood of getting soaked. One time Brian and I went on one of those 8 person raft rides at Six Flags and were the only ones who got wet on that whole raft. And not just wet, soaked. Every single water feature of the ride landed only on us. As expected, a similar thing happened in this situation. The first plunge was fine. Then all of a sudden, a huge wave splashed over us from behind! The ride operator had timed the release of the log on the top slope so that all the water would spray onto Z and me. When we came out of there, Zorah was upset and I was amused, but soaked through to my skin. Brian was jealous. He had wanted to get that wet when he went on. I offered to change clothes with him, but he didn't want to. Anyway, we headed home soon after that. It was great to be able to put on warm, dry clothes.
The next morning, Zorah and I went for a walk to the office to settle up, when we saw a small rental RV had pulled up. Inside were about 6 adults and 10-13 kids! It was an RV version of a clown car! Of course, Zorah wanted to go over and say hello, as she does with almost everybody, and she played with the kids for a while. I brought my camera over, and a bunch of the kids crowded around me asking if I could take their picture.
I didn't mind. The beauty of digital cameras! These three families were here for the kids' grandmother, who was ill. We left shortly after that for a motorcycle/truck ride with our neighbor, who had recently retired. Unfortunately, they were gone when we came back.
The ride was great, though. As I said, our neighbor invited Brian to ride with him through the Arizona desert. He had recently retired and had bought a toy hauler trailer as well. He and his wife had been traveling around the country, and he often plotted out bike rides. Brian agreed to join him, and suggested that the three of us follow in the truck, then have a picnic. So we rode off, and finally ended up in a state park for lunch. It was a bit difficult to find the place, and we stopped a couple of times to look at the map. Here is Brian being happy to be riding his bike:
Yes, the sign says "Road Weenie".
I wish I could remember the name of the state park, something beginning with an R, I think. Anyway, we made sandwiches and drank apple seltzer or beer. The trees out there were interesting. Even the trunks were green. I took a picture of one with Zorah underneath it, but you can't really see the color of the trunk. It really just looks kind of brown here, I think.
Oh, well. Still, I loved the desert landscapes. Twisted trees on a backdrop of red orange and blue. Of course, what did I do? Took a black and white photo. I took some color ones, too, but they didn't come out as well as this. 
If you leave a comment, I can post one of the lesser color photos. Or you can copy, paste, and print my photo, and color it in yourself! A blog activity!
Anyway, it was time to head out again to Texas to visit some friends. Bye, Phoenix!
