Steven & Fran's Travelog for 2009
The Reunion Tour - Part 6
Reunion Tour Travelog Part Six
Day 26 - Travel Day - Lee's came by to see our new house while we were preparing to go. Everyone is always so surprised to see that it has two bathrooms. A neighbor came by to chat a minute. She and her husband are workcampers employed by the contractors lining the American canal with concrete. It will soon be getting too hot for the outside workers so the project will halt until it is cooler again. Bill and Betty will be heading back to Illinois for the summer and return in the fall.
We left behind the humongus palms at Sans End and departed Winterhaven just before noon. Crossed through Yuma to Arizona state highway 95 and headed north. We had no destination in mind. Quartzsite? Maybe.
When we got to Quartzsite it was pretty deserted. We drove around the main area but nothing was happening ...didn't even see any activity around the 'naked man' bookstore and he usually is open all year around. So we refueled the truck and headed north again. By the time we got to Parker, AZ, we decided we were headed for River Island State Park at the big bend in the river below Parker Dam. Have I mentioned we love that place?
The Colorado River was as full as we had ever seen it ...with people as well as water. Arizona’s Riviera along the states west coast was populated with fun and sun seekers enjoying the events and activities that are gearing up for summertime.
We pulled into River Island State Park. This small but beautiful park is surrounded on three sides with steep rock hills. The other side is the beach with the turquoise/blue river flowing by. The tent sites along the river end of the park were all in use, but there were only four RVs staying there.
It was the Saturday before Easter and we had been hoping this State Park was not full. We didn't want to travel much further that day. We were lucky ...got there just in time. The ranger was anxious to leave but said we could go pick a spot and let him know which one because no one would be in the office again until Monday.
We went to the site the ranger suggested and while Steve stabilized the house I walked back to the ranger station to pay for two nights.
Day 27 - Easter Sunday - A day of peace and contentment. River Island State Park Arizona. We were excommunicated from the world.
The surrounding rock hills prevent any access to television, cell phones or internet. What a peaceful day and a half we had there! We were totally isolated. No news or worries about what was happening in the rest of the world. We watched a bunny, lizards, quail and a Red Racer snake ... who needs TV!
Boats and jetskiis constantly plied the cold, blue waters of the ‘Red River’ (according to it’s name ...Colorado). Festival activities at parks and campgrounds across the river could be heard as they celebrated the end of snowbird season, bid farewell to the winter guests and welcomed the active summertime folks. It was easy to sit back and enjoy the day knowing spring is on it’s way and, just for a short time, our whole world was a peace.