4 STOPS IN 4 NIGHTS - ALL IN ARIZONA (AZ)



FRIDAY - We waited until nearly 11:00AM for the temperature to get above freezing (32°F) this morning.

At that point we quickly broke camp, visited the dump station and got back on the highway. By taking the long way around Deming, NM by going through the town of Hatch, NM we were able to visit Griffin's Propane and get two empty propane bottles refilled. We've purchased propane here before back in February of 2023.

With us being unplugged and the temperatures below freezing we've been using a lot of propane to keep warm, day and night, for the last few weeks. Temperatures aren't supposed to change much over the next 10 days so I'm glad we once again have all 3 propane bottles filled.


We've continued our trek westward on Interstate 10 and made it 2-miles inside the state of Arizona for tonight. We're at a Rest Area that serves as the "Unofficial Welcome Center" for Arizona. There are a bunch of maps and tourist guides available, along with vending machines and restrooms inside of the heated building.

We're not expecting 10°F temperatures again tonight, but 28°F is still below freezing, so more propane will undoubtedly be burned tonight.




SATURDAY - I must have got my "mojo back" when it comes to making National Park reservations because this morning, on the first try, we now have a third reservation for Glacier National Park.


We had intentions of spending the night at a Cracker Barrel here on the north side of Tuscson, but when we drove by we realized there was no way we were getting into or out of their parking lot. Luckily there was this Walmart just ½-mile down the street.

We've spent 3-nights at Cracker Barrels before, once each in Indiana, Louisiana and Florida, but none of them had as tiny or crowded a parking lot as this one.

When I asked at the Customer Service Counter, like I always do, I was told the parking overnight was officially against policy just like the signs in the parking lot state. But, and this is a big but, people do it all the time and nobody bothers them.

I've run across that answer before and it always turns out alright, i.e. no knocks on the door at 3:00AM. As I was leaving the Walmart employee gave me a smile and mentioned that her boss comes in at 7:00AM and "takes notice of RVs in the lot".

I'm not sure what that comment was meant to convey, but I'm going to risk it!


Tomorrow we'll be bending our route a little farther north, away from the Mexico border, in order to avoid going anywhere near the wildfires outside of Los Angles when we enter California.




SUNDAY - Today we got an early start, like a 6:30AM start! I woke up and just had a bad feeling about yesterday's conversation with the Walmart employee. I felt like we should be gone before 7:00AM arrived!

We didn't go far, just across the street actually, to the Dunkin Donuts. Tricia went inside to get our food while I waited in the big empty parking lot with ROVER and THE POD. We ate our breakfast and then headed a short distance up the road to purchase gasoline.

By 7:15AM we were rolling north at 65MPH on Interstate 10.


Today we basically traveled northwest on I-10 from Tucson until we neared Casa Grande, then we transfered over to I-8 West towards Gila Bend, before starting the last leg on AZ-85 North into Buckeye.

By doing so we added 18-miles to our route, but avoided going through the Greater Phoenix area on Interstate 10. Well worth it in my opinion!

The stretch of I-8 we traveled today goes right through the Sonoran Desert National Monument. About halfway across I-8 was a Rest Area that we pulled over at "to kill some time" since we got such an early start.

The National Monument is administered by The Bureau of Land Management and there are several FREE dispersed camping areas inside the property. We have plans to revisit this area late this year and will share our findings with you then.


The last leg of the route today was along AZ-85 and that's where we encountered the scene in the next two photos. Even from 10-miles away it didn't look good!

When we were 1-mile away we realized it was on the side of our roadway.

The driver pulled the cab away from the trailer and then safely stood by his door ready to move.




MONDAY - I looked it up! For the first time since October 18th (when we were still up north in Maryland) I paid more than $3.00 for gasoline. It's not the end of the world or anything, but at $3.05 a gallon it doesn't feel like such a bargain.

I guess I shouldn't complain, because tomorrow we cross the border into California where I'll be guaranteed to be paying over $4.00 a gallon.

And let's not even talk about the gasoline prices in Hawaii! At least there I'll be driving a rental subcompact car that hopefully gets 30+ MPG.

In case you were wondering, YES, Hawaii has the highest gasoline prices in the entire country and is closely followed by CA in 2nd place. WA is in 3rd with $3.94 and NV is 4th with $3.66.

But enough of the bad news, here's the good news. We're going to Hawaii!


For our final night in Arizona we're camped at the Buckskin Mountains State Park, located halfway between the towns of Parker and Lake Havasu City on the eastern bank of the Colorado River.

This was a last minute reservation and we were lucky to get any site, let alone a prime large pull-through site with full hookups. We even have enough room to not unhook ROVER from THE POD, seeing as we're only staying the one night.

The entrance to Buckskin Mountains State Park.

A view of the campground and beach area. Can you spot THE POD?

The Colorado River as it flows south away from the park.

These beach areas must be packed with people cooling off in the Arizona summers.



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