Page - Lake Powell Campground

September in the Southwest is an ideal time to go camping. The destination was Page, Arizona near the eastern portion of Lake Powell.  This area of Lake Powell is near the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  Lake Powell is an extensive lake covering a large geographic area.  The camp ground we choose was the Page-Lake Powell Campground located on Navajo Nation land.  We planned to stay from Friday through Tuesday.  The campground was full each night. Given the popularity of the campground, reservations are recommended.  The campground accommodates a variety of different size campers and includes areas for tents. The sites are wide enough that you do not feel parked on top of each other. Most sites include shade.  The campground is pet friends and our Yorkie girls enjoyed their frequent walks through a pathway, the playground area and several sitting areas.  The park was clean and well kept.  The wifi signal was pretty good most of the time - something I have come to appreciate. The park has a little camp store, but sparse on items.  The campground also includes a laundry facility, shower facility and game room.

Generally if you are camping in this area you are not there for the amenities of the park.  Near by is The Point, a marina located on Lake Powell.  Here you can rent personal water craft, house boats, ski boats and kayaks.  Calling ahead to rent these items is recommended.  We walked up to the marina and only the kayaks were available.  We were able to take a boat cruse of the Antelope Canyon.  That was a beautiful cruse that lasted about an hour and 15 minutes.

Visiting Antelope Canyon was the main reason we selected this area and the campground.  There are two walking tours of the canyon.  A walking tour of the lower canyon and a walking tour of the upper canyon.  We were advised to take the lower canyon tour.  It was good advise.  It was a Saturday when we took the walking tour of the lower canyon.  It was a busy day.  We booked our tour on-line prior to that day.  On the day of our tour we checked into the main area and received our tickets.  The tour is a walking tour so having hiking boots was a good decision on my part.  It was not a far hike from the check in booth to the beginning of the tour.  The lower canyon is deep into the earth and to access the canyon you had to descend five short flights of stairs.  There is really no ADA access to the canyon.  The tour guide was knowledgeable and provided several helpful tips for taking great pictures of the canyon.  The walking tour lasted about two hours, generally longer than advertized, but most likely due to the heavy numbers of people taking a tour on a Saturday.  Words and pictures really can not capture the beauty of the canyon.

On Sunday we took the Antelope Canyon boat tour.  We book the tour on Saturday on our way back to the campground.  We arrived at The Point on Sunday and boarded the tour boot about 10:00 a.m.  The total trip took about an hour and fifteen minutes.  The boat made it way along the waters lined on both sides with the canyon walls.  The scenery was magnificent.  The gentle ride allowed for picture taking and casual conversation about the beauty.  Again, pictures and words do not begin to describe the beauty of the canyon.

On Monday we return to The Point and rented kayaks.  A half day rental was $25.00.  I felt this was extremely reasonable. Our two person kayak was more than adequate for us.  The time frame was plenty for exploring part of the shoreline of Lake Powell along the area leading into Antelope Canyon.  The water was familiar to us because we had traversed the area on the boot tour the day prior.  The day was hot and sunny.  SPF 80 suntan lotion was still not enough to keep all the sun rays away.  I was glad we took the kayak trip on Monday as there were fewer speed boats making the water rather calm and easy to navigate.

Stayed:  September 16-19, 2016
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Casa Grande RV Resort - Arizona

On our way to Page, Arizona we left our house in the late afternoon and needed to stay one night along the way to break up the trip.  We decided to book a night at the Case Grande RV Resort. Getting into the park from I-10 took longer than I expected, but the roads leading to the park were easy to navigate.  We pulled in late at night and the paperwork was ready for us and in good order.  We found our lot with no difficulties as the park was well lit.   The park is rather large. The lots were spacious and there were not many trees or other obstacles to work around as we backed into our lot.  The amenities were outstanding even though we did not have an opportunity to take advantage of them.  They had two swimming pools, a "bark park" for the dogs, a fitness center, a billiard room, a computer lounge and much more.  The WiFi was very good - something that is a must for me.  We stayed during the "off" months so the park was exceptionally quiet.  I was disappointed that we could only stay one night.  This would be a park that I would consider staying at for a longer period of time.

Silver City RV Park & Cabins

At times I enjoy a three day weekend rather than a week long vacation.  These brief weekends allow me time to refresh without the pressure of preparing to be gone for an entire week.  This weekend we took a three day trip to Silver City, New Mexico.  A university town of just over 10,000 folks located in some beautiful foothills that include the Gila Cliff Dwellings and the City of Rocks.  While our weekend did not allow us to see these sites, we were able to get some rest, enjoy nature and walk the historic downtown area of Silver City.

We choose to stay at Silver City RV Park and Cabins.  The park is downtown, an easy walk to the historic area where you can eat and browse the shops.  We were there on a Saturday so we could also visit the Farmer's Market.  The Market was small, but a great place for fresh meat and vegetables.  The campground was rather small and the sites a bit closer and narrower than I would prefer.  Backing into the site took a bit more skill than the novice RV driver.  The campground was clean and well kept.  The WiFi was unreliable, disappointed to me as I do like to stay connected.  The campground was not very big so evening walks were short and the neighborhood around the park did not look like a place to walk at night.  The best walk was the one we took on Saturday to the historic down town area.  The park is located in an area of the city surrounded by homes, so the views were not memorable.  For a short weekend trip to Silver City I would recommend the park, but if you were going to spend a week in the area and visit the Cliff Dwellings and the City of Rocks I would recommend a different RV park outside of the city in the surrounding areas.

The historic downtown was quaint.  Several of the older buildings had been converted to art shops to displace the work of local artists and native Americans.  Several restaurants were available along with a coffee shop.  It was a great location to spend a day walking and looking at the various shops. An interesting exhibit that we past on our walk to the downtown area was an 1870 replica log cabin donated to the city by Ron Howard and place at the site of Billy the Kid's homestead from his childhood.  Silver City was also home to Anita Scott Coleman an author and poet who lived between 1890 and 1960.  Her mother was a slave and her father a Buffalo Solider.  I often find wonderful nuggets of history located in these little cities throughout the west.  I look forward to visiting the area again when I have time to visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings and the City of Rocks.

Stayed:  August 11-13, 2016
Rating:  2.5 out of 5 (5 being Excellent)