Buckskin Mountain State Park AZ

Several sources had mentioned this park on the Colorado River, so we made plans to visit there this year. The park is located 11 miles north of Parker and about 20 miles south of Lake Havasu. I was thinking that being on the river = cooler. WRONG!!!! We had four nights there with daytime temperature 93-100 degrees. Too hot for me! The state park only offered 30 amp services which means only on AC, and that could barely keep up. We arrived a day early so we had a site in the trees and then had to move the next day to full sun. I told the man in the next site that he would hear our AC running. He responded that he needed 50 amps to run his AC. I asked how many units he had, and then explained you don’t turn them all on. He was sooo surprised. He didn’t think of that. Immediately his front door closed and he turned on an AC unit.



The park sits within an oxbow of the Colorado River. An oxbow is where the river loops out and returns a little south of the original turn. It creates a shape more than the letter C and a little less than the letter O. A small peninsula of land fills the interior.





We could see the river by looking left or right from our campsite. Large grassy area and lots of big trees filled the park. Rocky hills provided a beautiful backdrop to the river view. I would like to return here in many Jan. or Feb. when the temperatures are more tolerable for me.



Sitting on the river bank, under the shade of trees, and with a slight breeze felt wonderful.



Some sites have full hook-ups, and others have just water and electricity. Taking in a full tank of Sun City water turned out to be a great idea. The park water was questionable….but that’s what filters are for in Arizona and Southern California.



A well-marked swimming spot kept the boaters away. However the water temperature felt like the ocean, so we never saw anyone swimming.


Boats, Boats, and more boats filled the lake. From early morning until sunset a loud roar filled the air. The Johnny-go-fast cigarette boats raced up and down the river. The big ski boats came next in the noise rating.



Pontoon boats filled with lots of people vied for river space.




Then the ever present jet skis running flat out swerved in and out of wakes.




Kids on simple floating devices stayed close to the shore and enjoyed the river too.




We were surprised by the lack of water safety measure. No obvious regulations seem to be in play. Neither kids nor adults wore life vests. Three young girls, maybe 9-12 zipped up river on a jet ski without vests.

The park includes a grocery store, an arcade and a restaurant. One large room sells nothing but swimsuit. Most people ran around in swimsuits….no matter how old or what shape they were in.



The park also includes a lovely cactus garden.




Derrille took advantage of the hiking trails that looped through the mountains above the park. He said the views were awesome. Of course he never remembered to take the camera, so we just have his word on it. The lovely mountains above the park also blocked cell phones and computer hook ups.We drove into Parker and Lake Havasu for coverage. He used his phone when out walking in the hills.

Parker has all the essentials. Every fast food joint, a Safeway and a Wal-Mart. They even have a Bealls Outlet which I checked for tops. We explored the RV sites and land between the park and Parker.



The La Paz County Park has two rows of sites. The front row sits on the river. The sites are closer together and without greenery, but right on the river.


The Emerald Canyon golf course is here also if you like to play golf.



In some inlets the houses appear crammed together.


RV parks dot the riverside.





As we got to closer to Parker, big houses fronted the river.




Many of the garages are built to accommodate large boats.



The park sits on land owneds by the Colorado Indian Tribes Reservation. So, of course they have a lovely casino.


We drove south through Parker and crossed over the river. With the taxes in California, the Arizona side of the river draws the population. However check out this sign on the California side of the parks between Parker and Havasu.


One day we drove north to Lake Havasu. We aren't sure why, but Havasu doesn't appeal to us. We did cross the London Bridge and explore a bit. I did appreciate the AC in Burger King. BK provides wi-fi, and we set up the computer with our secure mi-fi connection.

Perhaps someday we will return to Buckskin Mountain State Park.

Winter 2013

The sun reflected tessellations patterns on the floor of the crystal clear pool as I swam my morning laps. I could feel the warmth of the sun when it decided to peek out between the clouds. The outside air temperature measured 61 degrees and the flags flew straight out. Thank goodness the pool heater worked properly. Welcome back to Chula Vista!


Winter in Sun City AZ rates the coldest one yet. We experienced a week below freezing. It snowed in Mesa and baseball for the Diamondbacks was cancelled due to snow on the field! The cold created many days where even driving the car to the pool remained out of the question. The weather continued to flip between cold and hot for a few weeks. We had a severe wind storm with rain and hail. Then in March it decided to warm up and cause us to fire off the air conditioners both day and night. The shifting temperatures didn’t allow me to acclimate as well to the 90 degree weather that showed up near the end of the month.




More visitors discovered the wonders of a little Arizona vacation this year. We found ourselves dining out two, three, or even four times a week. What a gift you are, my friends! I’m looking forward to seeing all of you again next year. This year our friends across the street even had us over to their house twice. I hope to cook for them next year. One evening we returned from baseball and were deciding what to have after we cooled off from sitting in the sun. Our neighbor knocked on the door and said “dinner’s ready, come on over”. So we did. She had invited three other couples and made it a party. How great was that?




Since the RV is “home”, we chose to remove the sofa. The angles needed to sit on the sofa and watch TV were uncomfortable. So we purchased a recliner and end table. I love my chair! When I sink into its softness, I don’t want to ever get up again. (That presents another kind of problem, but “Oh Well”!)




Baseball began early this year on March 22nd. Except for a few days off, we saw a game almost every day. Derrille and I attended 33 baseball games this spring training season. As usual, the people we met came from all around the country and provided interesting visits. Next year we plan to alter the schedule with at least one day a week off. A game every day for twenty days straight proved to be a bit taxing. After attending games together for 11 years, plus another year where just Derrille and my brother-in-law, Roger, came down, we’ve seen a lot of games.

I’ve thought about the blog many times and even taken photos to include with the different topics. Then time slipped away and writing time remained nonexistent. I’ll try to do better now that baseball is done for another year.



We left Paradise RV Resort in the afternoon of Tuesday April 2nd. Our park model neighbors all came to say good-bye. Then we drove down to the Freightliner facility. Last year they created a great parking place for RVs coming in for work. They provide nice wide spaces, big enough to send out all of our slides, a 50 amp plug and a covered outside waiting area with picnic tables. They even put in a doggy park. We went down to “Camp Freightliner” and plugged in. The lady next to us had been a school bus driver. Her husband died last fall, so she had her sister-in-law and brother-in-law with her. Their kids were teachers. Derrille spoke with others there, and they were retired teachers. As advertised: the Freightliner techs assigned to each rig arrived at 7 AM and drove each rig into the shop. Derrille and I went to breakfast and ran some errands before picking the rig up at noon and heading west.