A Week at the 2014 Escapade in Goshen, IN

Goshen, IN                         (Click on pics to enlarge)

On Saturday May 10th we moved a short drive from Elkart Campground to the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in Goshen, IN for the 54th Escapade of the Escapees RV Club.

We were efficiently parked by the parking crew in the infield of the horse track.  Pretty nice as we have full hookups with 50-amp electric.  A lot of folks came in early as the actual rally didn't begin until Monday.

Unfortunately, the first couple of days were our best "weather wise" as it was pretty darned cold and rained throughout most of the week.  This was a common view out the front of our windshield.  The grounds where we were parked got so wet and muddy that the fairground management allowed us to stay an additional day without charge to facilitate drying out of the grass and dirt area.

We attend Escapades for several reasons.  Probably the foremost is the chance to meet up with old friends and make new ones.  Kris and Bill Osborne (who pen the blog SeeingTheUSA) are fellow fulltimers from Virginia.  We had corresponded via emails and our blogs, but never met face-to-face until this rally.  We attended several seminars together while at the rally. Guys it was really nice to meet you in person!

Here was our first contact with the rally on Sunday at the registration tables.  Here you are able to pick up your name badges, programs, and get a chance to sign up for any volunteer jobs you might like to do during the rally.

This is our 4th Escapade, but we had never been a volunteer before.  We thought we've give it a go and get a chance to join with the fun and meet new folks.  Here was our first "gig".  Cooking up and serving free popcorn.  Believe me, when the words "free" and "food" are together, it makes for a busy, but very fun time.  We worked with new friends Happy and Ron Treml. I believe they are thinking about the fulltime lifestyle at this point.

The opening ceremony took place on Monday.  A pretty good turn out, as always, on the first day of the rally.  At the end of the rally the final rig count given was approximately 543.  A bit less than some years, but still a bunch of folks.

After the opening ceremony, an ice cream social was sponsored by one of the major vendors.  Here's Karen getting ready for the onslaught of hungry RVers.

Door prize drawings were held nightly, usually before the evening entertainment.  As expected, this part of the rally is well attended.

(L to R) Mary and Roger Baird, Laura and Paul Hutchison,
and Riley in the center

Getting back to my previous comments about meeting up with "old" friends, we were very fortunate to have Paul and Laura Hutchison (and their dog Riley), and Roger and Mary Baird parked on either side of us. (Roger writes the blog The Wandering Bairds).  We have known them since our days of owning Arctic Fox rigs together.  We first met the Hutchinsons this past September when both of us were camping at the same campground in Klamath, CA.  We got to know them  (and their dog Riley) much better when we both wintered over at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ.  Paul and Laura have an annual RV site there.  The good news is that we twisted Roger and Mary's arms and all three of us will be wintering over this coming season at Palm Creek.  Can't wait!

The Escapade always has a wealth of educational seminars.  Every topic from water filters and tire monitors to fulltime topics and how to make the best use of technology can be found at an Escapade. You can choose to do as many, or as few, as you'd like.  We especially like to keep abreast of the latest technology, so we attended several classes presented by Jim and Chris Guld (Geeks on Tour). We very much enjoy their style of teaching and ALWAYS come away with new ideas and information.

We had a great time at this year's Escapade and hopefully we'll be able to get out of the mud tomorrow.  We're heading back to Elkhart Campground for a few days prior to beginning our "serious" summer touring for this year.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Saguaro SKP Co-Op in Benson, AZ

Benson, AZ

On Friday we left Yuma and headed east on Interstate 8 moving ever closer to our "wintering over" location.  Because there is still an SKP Co-Op in this part of AZ we decided to investigate.  We jumped on Interstate 10, headed thru Tucson and arrived at the Saguaro SKP Co-Op in Benson, AZ just  after 2 PM.

All guests are escorted to their sites via the office.  This is done for several reasons. First, to aid a guest not familiar with the Co-Op layout and more importantly to make certain that the guest parks in the appropriate spot on the site.

In SKP Co-Ops there are normally two types of sites available to a "non-member" of the Co-Op. Either a regular FHU site or a dry camping site. The latter would normally be used by travelers just wishing to stay for a day or two, or could be used if the leased lots were full.



300 Series Sites

This Co-Op has two additional offerings, however. One section (700s) can be rented for up to 6 months at a time. The lots are unimproved, but have FHUs.  The second offering (300s) can be rented for up to 1 year and have a small shed in addition to FHUs.  Renters on both of these sites can come and go as they please within their period of rental.

All of the roads within the Co-Op are paved, very wide, and in very nice condition.








Another difference in this Co-Op from the ones we've visited thus far are the allowance of "casitas".  These can be up to 288 sq. ft. with an additional 200 sq. ft. under a patio.  The units are allowed to have water, electric, and sewer inside, but residents are not allowed to "live" in these units and there must be an RV on site for living. (This is due to the type of local zoning requirements for the type of park.) 

Some of the casita owners are quite creative with their designs.  There are many different buildings in the park.

Here's a front and rear shot of one of my favorite casitas.  It truly embodies the "look" of the southwest.

The park has a central clubhouse where meetings and activities take place.

Some of the spaces inside include a general meeting and dining area, a room for playing billiards, a puzzle room, a library containing books and videos, and a stage for shows.

The park also has a very nice (and very clean) laundry room.

Also, for those interested in woodworking, a small shop is open to anyone visiting the park.  The maintenance shed has a wealth of tools (rakes, shovels, etc.) which may be used by anyone.  Just sign them out.

Aside from the "improved" lots with casitas already on them, there are a few totally unimproved lots which are still available to those who would like to design and build their own structures.

If not interested in building a casita, you can just build a small shed to store a few items.








I'm spending a bit more blog space on describing and showing different facilities at this park because we're actually thinking about adding our name to the "waiting list" here.  We like the infrastructure of the park, but we really like the friendly people. We met a couple, Betssy and Tom, a few months ago at the Sutherlin, OR SKP Co-Op who told us that they have a leased lot here in Benson and that they would be back for the winter months.  When we checked in on Friday, we were a bit saddened to find out that they weren't here.  Well, guess who showed up on Saturday!  They are  a super nice couple and Betssy was on the "welcome" committee in Sutherlin and the first person we met there.

The Co-Op is at an elevation of approximately 3700' and is cooler in the summers than some of the valley areas nearby.  The views of the surrounding mountain ranges and desert landscape is "growing" on us easterners.

This view of the mountains from inside the park is looking back toward the entrance.

Even the various types of desert plants are beginning to look good to us.

Lastly, here's a picture of the park in relation to the desert and mountains as seen from the area of the water storage tank above and to the rear of the Saguaro Co-Op.

The Saguaro Co-Op is not our place for "wintering over" this year, however. Mainly because we've already made reservations for Nov. 1st thru Feb. 1st, and also because during the winter months the Co-Op will be full with leaseholders and it would be a bit tough to get a FHU site for any length of time. We'll be moving at the end of the week to that location.  Stay tuned!

Thanks again for stopping by to take a look.

Southern California at the SKP Co-Op Park JoJoba Hills

Aguanga, CA

Wednesday we left the central California area and headed south 335 miles to arrive at the SKP Co-Op JoJoba Hills in Aguanga, CA. The length of the drive wasn't too bad, but it's been a bit since we've driven in "big city" traffic. Getting around the Los Angelos area reminds me a lot of the Washington, DC area, but perhaps the drivers are even more aggressive (if that's possible).

We use Pilot/FlyingJ stations a lot when we travel and the California stations have been the most expensive we've seen in our first year of traveling across the United States.  Several stations had diesel for $4.17 per gallon (before our .08 cent) discount.  Hey, what can you do?

This SKP Co-Op is closer to a true RV "resort" than any we've visited thus far.  It also happens to have the highest buy-in and maintenance costs of any.  I guess you have to pay if you want to play. Our site is along the perimeter of the park and is slightly angled vs. being rectangular.  Very easy to park the rig. The site is large enough to easily park vehicles on both sides of our MH and still have space.

Being on the perimeter we have an unobstructed view of the surrounding mountains and high desert. Here's our view out the front windshield.

 

The sites are arranged so that they are not in the typical "cookie cutter" side-by-side pattern common to many parks.  The members have a lot of freedom to landscape and personalize their sites.

The park has many common areas scattered throughout the park.  This is one of six man made ponds around the park. Water makes for a welcome relief as the surrounding area is pretty dry and brown this time of year.

This area is just inside the front entrance gate and shows some of the typical plants in this part of the country. This is all very new to us "easterners".

The amenities are many here at JoJoba Hills Park. Most are centered around the building known as Friendship Hall.  It is extremely well maintained and the members of the park are rightfully proud of it.

Some of the amenities inside Friendship Hall include: the craft room, the sewing room, the kitchen, and the main meeting/dining area.

 

Another part of the complex holds the exercise room, the billiard room, the well-stocked library (including VHS and DVDs), and an outdoor dining area on the patio.

 

The outdoor areas at Friendship Hall also include one of the cleanest pools I've seen in quite awhile. The pool is heated to 85 degrees year round.

For Paul Dahl, I had to include a picture of one of the two hot tubs for use.  All of the amenities are available to be used by members and guests alike.

 

After the first afternoon of rain on Wednesday (which has been pretty rare in this area), the remainder of our stay is supposed to include nice weather every day.  We're looking forward to it!

 

Just a nice sunny evening as the sun goes down beside the nearby mountain range.

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!



Further west to the Escapees Co-Op at Sutherlin, OR

Sutherlin, OR                      (Click on Pictures to Enlarge)

We left Thousand Trails near Bend, OR on Tuesday and headed west about 175 miles to come to the Escapees Co-Op at Sutherlin, OR called Timber Valley.  For those who are Escapees, but not familiar with the differences between the regular Escapee campgrounds (called Rainbow Parks) and Co-Ops, here's a quick overview.

Rainbow Parks are owned by the Escapees RV Club and offer transient campsites to anyone who wishes to stay at their parks. Within the Rainbow Parks, deeded lots and leased lots are also available. The major distinction between the Co-Ops and the Rainbow Parks are that Co-Ops are owned and run by the members of the Co-Ops and offer a lifetime membership in that particular campground.  Members "buy into" the co-op lots, but do not own the land.  They pay an annual fee (similar to maintenance and operations fees elsewhere).  These fees usually include everything with the exception of electricity use.  The interesting thing about the Co-Op setup is that should you decide to leave that particular co-op, then you receive your original "buy in" money back, along with any special assessments made during your membership in the co-op.  There is no selling of the lots, as the lots are simply put back into a pool (of which there is a waiting lists at ALL of the co-ops).

This was the first Escapee Co-Op we have ever visited.  I will have to say that we are impressed. The grounds are maintained very well and EVERYONE we've met has been very friendly.  This might be because of the requirement that anyone desiring to stay (either long or short term) must belong to the Escapees.  We have found the Escapees members to be some of the friendliest folks of any of the RVing organizations we've had contact with.

Timber Valley is just a short distance from Interstate 5 thru Sutherlin, but is located in an area unto itself beside the mountains.  Nothing like the mountains near Bend, as we've crossed the Cascades and we're in what's locally called the "banana belt" to the milder weather.  (That means generally warmer than the Bend area, but milder overall.)

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All of the sites are currently leased, but when the lessee is away, the lots are put into a rental pool for transients like us.  The sites here are 50 x 70 and some are developed with landscaping, but some are undeveloped like the site we occupy.  All sites have a shed, but is not available for use by renters.

The park is very well laid out and easy to maneuver with any size rig.  This is the recycling area and dump station located in the logical place of outside the main registration area and away from the rigs.

The registration area is just past the dump station and recycling area and is very wide.  The registration office also includes the mail room where lot holders pick up their mail.

A wide area to obtain propane is located near the office and has one of the cheapest rates we've seen yet at $1.65 per gallon.

As mentioned previously, some lots have been improved, some have remained as they were.

There is a nice lounge and activity center where club events are held.  This Co-Op was celebrated its' 25th anniversary this past week.  There are spaces inside for meetings, billiards, card and board games, and for just relaxing and watching TV if desired.

The streets are wide and paved throughout the Co-Op.

The rows of lots are spaced well and usually have some grass and trees separating them from the next row.

Although no one claims to be feeding them (it's actually against the law here), there are several deer and their young ones, wild turkeys, and a black-tailed jack rabbit observed wandering slowly thru the park. They do not seem afraid of humans at all.

Here were a pair right outside the activity center the other evening.










If it sounds like we like this park, you'd be right. There are currently 84 names on the "wait list" to get a spot here and I think Karen would like to make it 85.

As always, thanks for stopping by to take a look!