The Best for Last and Bye for Now!

Hard to believe, but we’re only a few days out from ending this nearly one and a half year voyage.  Other than the six weeks at our home in AZ last spring, we’ve lived in The Enterprise since the first week of August, 2021.  And we definitely saved the best for last!  Since mid September we’ve stayed at two of the nicest parks in the country.  I wanted to make sure I discussed those in the blog so we have all the highlights to look back on.  And then later, when Tami and I argue about where we were when, we can consult the internet! This is an image heavy post, so hopefully you enjoy all the pictures!

Before the best two, there are couple honorable mentions.

Lake Havasu, AZ.

We actually stayed at Lake Havasu on our way north last summer, but it didn’t make it into the narrative yet.  Lake Havasu was formed in the 1930’s by damming the Colorado River, which is the border between AZ and CA in that area.  There is no speed limit on parts of the lake, including the section where we stayed, so it’s popular with high performance custom speed boats worth half a million or more.  These ‘super-cats’, so called as they are twin hull boats (catamarans), cruise by at Ludicrous Speed and are not very quiet in doing so.  But fun to watch!

The other claim to fame for Lake Havasu City is that it is the home of the London Bridge.  The bricks from the original bridge, built in the 1830s, were shipped to Arizona and reassembled in 1971.  We drove over the bridge several times, even with the motorhome, so those bricks are doing pretty well.  On either side of the bridge is a fence where people hang a padlock and throw the key in the water.  Better than a gum wall I suppose.

We had an early evening visitor here as well.  Our neighbors told us there was a bobcat spotted in the area, so we brought our dogs inside and I set up one of our Blink cameras just in case he paid us a visit.  Sure enough – SHE did, just a short while later.  She had cubs with her but they didn’t make it on camera.

St George, UT

This is one of our favorite places to visit and we’ve been here several times now.  We’ve even looked at real estate here as I think we could easily make St George home.  One of the best parts about St George is Snow Canyon State Park.  A bit of a misnomer according to locals as it doesn’t snow much, this park is like a mini Zion National Park.  High red and white rock formations rise straight up from the valley floor attracting hikers and those crazy cliff climbers, and giving us old folks something to look at.  There is a paved path that winds most of the way through the canyon and starts in a high-end housing development just outside.  I know if I had a place there I would get a lot more biking in!

The town is surrounded by mountains and the views are stunning from just about anywhere.  The quaint downtown has everything you’d expect, including restaurants, museums, shopping and of course, Mormon Temples.  Just outside of town is a lake (reservoir) that’s perfect for all types of powered or manual watersports.  The surrounding areas are full of hiking and mountain bike trails rounding out the plenty to do list.  It’s a lot like Bellingham in that aspect, but without the nine months of rain.

And now The Best of the Best!

Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort (LVM)

Las Vegas Motorcoach resort is about 5 miles south of the strip, and although the address is Las Vegas, it seems like it’s actually in the city of Enterprise.  We’ve stayed at a few parks throughout our travels where the lots were privately owned, but this takes that up several notches. Owners are allowed to develop their lots, and ours was nicely done with several ‘palapas’ (a shelter with a thatched roof), and a full outdoor kitchen.  The palapas are lit from underneath which allowed us to extend our outdoor activities into the evening.  We ate outside most nights, played cribbage, had an occasional cigar and a nightcap.  There are 5 pools in the park so there is always one nearby.  Ours was right across our little road so only a few steps from home.

I wasn’t sure how it would be living in Las Vegas, but turns out we loved it!  We used to do Vegas a couple times per year and only ever experienced it while staying on the strip.  But although it was close by, this time we only visited the strip a few times as there is plenty to do outside of that.  There are lots of smaller casinos off the strip that all have great restaurants.  Friends visited for a few days and we took in the NASCAR semi-final race which was only about a half hour from our location.  My brother and his wife showed up for a few days as well and we did dining and shopping at the local Bass Pro.  On the down side, a dust storm came up during our stay and that seemed to kick off allergies that are bothering us a month later.  But LVM is a place we will surely visit again, especially as we can be there in a day from the AZ house in the motorhome.

Going back through our Vegas pictures – it doesn’t look like we did much more than eat! 🤣 But it’s worth sharing some food porn so here you go!

Motorcoach Country Club, Indio CA

If Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort took it up a few notches, this place needs an additional set of notches added on!  This is the absolute pinnacle of all places we’ve stayed, and should be as it’s rated #1 in the country.  There is nothing else like this that I know of, and whereas it is an actual country club with the golf course in the middle, it is also a high end class-A motorhome resort where million dollar coaches are the norm.  Like LVM, lots are individually owned and the option to rent is with the owner.  But whereas LVM limits what you can build, that doesn’t seem to be the case here.  Our site contained a building with sliding doors that completely opened up one side of it.  A completely enclosed section contained a separate bathroom and shower, and the the glassed in section consisted of a living room and kitchen.  At the end of the kitchen/bar area were sliding windows that opened to the fully enclosed back yard, complete with a private pool and hot tub, as well as an outdoor kitchen with a washer and dryer.  The landscaping was gorgeous and nicely lit in the evening.  Five waterfalls were built into the pool rock work, and the hot tub also had a rock facia where the water flowed down into the pool.

There are several additional pools onsite for those that don’t have one on their lot, as well as several small lakes.  Owners can take advantage of the yacht club – not even really sure what that gets you but most waterfront lots have some sort of boat as well.  There is also a fine dining restaurant on site with an excellent menu that offers additional specials throughout the week such as Mexican night, Prime Rib night, and Fillet and lobster. 

Although we never really wanted to leave, we did visit friends who are snow-birding in the area, went up to Palm Springs, and found some great little restaurants and shops in Old Town La Quinta which is only about 10 minutes away.  Ten minutes in the other direction is the Empire Polo Club, home of the famous Coachella Music and Art Festival, as well as ‘Stagecoach’.  We also took a day trip to the Salton Sea, and if this entry wasn’t so long I’d explain more about that – but it’s a huge landlocked ocean formed by a diversion from the Colorado river.  As water levels have dropped the salt content has become so high that the water is now toxic.

There is so much to do here that this takes the cake (mmmm cake) over the Las Vegas place and luckily it’s also a destination we can get to in a day with the motorhome from AZ.  We will be back!

Heading Home

Now though, it’s time to head to Fountain Hills and find a place for all the stuff in our storage units that should be arriving in a week or so.  It’s funny – when you’ve been gone so long it’s the coming home that feels like vacation!  Although there’s some anxiety about actually making Arizona our home, we’re definitely looking forward to it.  Our AZ home will finally be a place we can make our own and we always enjoy that process.  It seems that every time we think we’re done with that though, it’s time to do it somewhere else – so we’ll see what happens here in the long run!

We will likely take a trip or two next year, but they won’t be as long.  When The Enterprise embarks on future missions I’ll continue to post on our Bourbon and Chocolate Blog for those of you that travel vicariously with us.  And of course, as I mentioned, for future argument resolution.  (We really don’t argue that often).

Lastly, as we enjoy our first holiday season in Arizona, we hope you all have a wonderful time doing whatever it is you enjoy during this time of the year.  Thanks for reading, and Happy Trails!

-G&T