On Wednesday last week we moved over to Phoenix International Raceway.
They have two major racing weekends each year; one in March and one in November. Jim’s been to this race a few times before and this time promised to be a little different as we were going to camp at the track.
They have two major racing weekends each year; one in March and one in November. Jim’s been to this race a few times before and this time promised to be a little different as we were going to camp at the track.
For $60.00 a week you can’t beat it!
Camping in the desert with no hookups and lots of new friends to be made. When we say lots we mean lots! I heard one estimate that there were 10,000 RVs there and if you saw what we saw you would believe it too. RVs as far as the eye could see.
Talk about a weeklong “Tailgate Party!” there was every type of RV from Pup Tents to the most expensive and biggest motor homes you’ve ever seen and everything in between.
They mark off the lots on the ground with white chalk (must take weeks to do) which are 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. It took us about 10-15 minutes to set up camp (No Hookups of any kind). I love it!
There are many secrets to learn when camping in a situation like this and we didn’t know any of them other than look for level ground (or something similar to level).
First of all you don’t want to park by an out door generator. A lot of the older RVs had Gen Sets parked and chained outside next to their RV’s. Some of them had so many electrical things hooked up we learned the next lesson – don’t park beside them because they will run their generators all day and night! The next lesson is; if you have to park beside a generator that’s outside look for the little quiet ones like a Honda 2000 not the big diesels!
Some of these camp sites had everything from their favorite Team Flags being displayed to Plastic Palm Trees with lights, of course the mandatory Patio Lanterns. Some had huge Shrines set up for their favorite teams or drivers (A little over kill I might add) and then there’s the others with flood lights, major bar set ups, dance floors and much much more.
The more they have the louder they will be and the longer into the night they party. The rules said quiet time was from 1am to 6am each night; well I think they don’t even bother trying to police that. So if you ever try to attend one of these “Woodstock
We had an awesome time and the people were all friendly, helpful and loved Canadians.
We parked next to a group who were from Wisconsin and wintered in Tucson
We got a long just fine and had a real good time with them!
One thing that was really cool was some of the breeches of security. One example was what they call Chinese Lanterns. These can be bought down the street for $5.00 each. You light the burner and the lantern rises up into the sky like a Hot Air Baloon! Some of them go really high and it’s amazing to watch how far they will travel. There were a few low flying airplanes that I'm sure decided to change course and all the helicopters that were coming and going; some for filming for TV I'm sure had to watch for these home made “Hot Air Balloons” on every tour over the campground, even the Sheriffs.
Another example was the fireworks and what a show we saw. Every night someone would put on another firework display and it was all awesome to watch. Add to that each night the clear desert skies and stars were something you could watch for hours.
On the Friday night Jims old Buddy Fred and his son Ryan flew into town and stayed with us till Sunday. We also had daily visits from our local Phoenix
Each day was something different from going to the practice sessions, qualifying and the big races. A great time I must say, even if you’re not a NASCAR fan you should take in the spectacle. Even the Air-force showed up as they do at most major races down here and did a "fly-by" just before the green flag. I admire the Americans for being so patriotic! Next year I'm bringing my Canadian flag down to fly high!
It’s amazing at how well they organize and run these big events. For almost a week prior to the race the RVs come in from all over. We met a few Canadians from far and wide, Vancouver all the way to Nova Scotia
For $60.00 they have a grocery store (huge - Bashaws) set up, free clean showers, lots of porta potties (you can rent your own personal one too), Garbage pick-up every morning and all sorts of services including Trams to take you all over! All for $60.00 a week! It turns into a small city and I just can’t say enough about the experience. You owe it to yourself and if you have an RV then do it like we did!
On Monday morning we packed up camp – Most of the RV’s were already gone and there were no traffic issues coming or going. We headed over to Mesa Sask
Our Home in Mesa - Talk about Relaxing!
RV QUIRKS
When living in an RV you get to learn all the little quirks and issues that can come along with it. It’s a life style where you learn to expect little issues to pop up here and there. It’s all fair in my mind because I don’t have to cut the lawn nor do I have to shovel the walk so fixing quirks and adjusting things is like having a hobby.
Last night I went to bed about 10pm (which is quite common now). About 1230 am I was awoken by a high pitched squeal and let me tell you it was loud! It sounded like a loud smoke detector going off! After a quick check of Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors I couldn’t find anything wrong until I got on my knees to find a Propane Gas detector under the sink area. That was the culprit!
I don’t have the best “smeller” in the world but I was quite confident that there was no gas leak? So I re-set it and went back to bed. About 15 minutes later it went off again. Now the frustrating part was I was already back to sleep! So I got up and yes, re-set it and went back to bed feeling rather confident that I had patched the problem as there still was odor of propane. About 15 minutes later as REM was starting to set in....
my heart started to pound and I bounced out of bed ready for war as it started screaming again! I thought to myself what could possibly be causing this detector to go off and why at one in the morning?
As I scratched my head I had a thought. I opened the cupboard below the kitchen sink where we keep our kitchen garbage and yes an odor was well on its way to developing from the 25% full garbage bag. It had a few BBQ chicken bones and some left over salad in it and not much else. I thought could it be?
I took the garbage out and left it where it belonged outside! I re-set the detector and sat up for another 20 minutes or so (I'm learning now) and no alarm? My guess is that in this weather the day old garbage was emitting enough methane gas that it was setting off the detector! Another lesson for the RV Rookies!
I just know that Barb will be happy now because you guessed it; I will make sure the garbage goes out on time every day even if it’s near empty! All that I can say is that it’s a good thing there isn’t one of these detectors in the bathroom too!
So today I sit here enjoying the morning sun and blue skies out on the patio in my shorts pondering what will I do? Ever since booking in here and paying extra for Wi-Fi it hasn’t worked so that maybe one more challenge. Another will be cleaning up some of the “moss” from the outside of this motorhome (It lived in Washington State after originally moving from California
So this afternoon before my nap I will do some Real Estate work too if the internet stays up running?
Its bigger than it looks. Our living room.
TV (free digital) and another one in the bedroom.
Recliner... Ahh.... this is where Jim sleeps during good movies & shows!
TV (free digital) and another one in the bedroom.
Recliner... Ahh.... this is where Jim sleeps during good movies & shows!
The best way to reach us is by email should you need too. That’s if it works on our end. Jim’s email is JGMessner@Gmail.com & Barb’s email is BMessner1@Gmail.com
PS: you can also sign up for our “feed” down below (bottom of page) on this Blog if you want. If not remember to check back often!
Have a great day and we will send more updates soon.
PPS: I promise to get started on pictures too. Jim
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