Lake Pleasant - Roadrunner Campground

 

This is our forth or fifth time we have been at Lake Pleasant just north of Phoenix.  The picture above was from our 2019 visit, as is the one below.

Yes, I/we took pictures, but without a photo editing program I can not make the physical size of the picture small enough so that Blogger will let me publish.  I plan on downloading Photoshop Elements once I am in the Sacramento area, and sometime, I hope, I will publish some of these pictures.

It was a very easy 160 mile drive.  My biggest concern was getting gas, but there was a Pilot right at the freeway entrance when we left the Fairground RV Park.

Check-in at the campground starts at 1:00 pm, and we arrived before 1:30.  We have a nice wide spot, level enough that we don't have to use our level ramps, and Indy has two or three dogs nearby to keep her attention...however, each dog is four times her size, but that doesn't stop her one bit.

I enjoyed using their showers...nice and clean, parking right in front of the facility, if only when you pushed the on button it would give you more than 30 seconds of water.

It will be nice to not have to get up in the morning at any particular time, and to have a relaxing morning and day.  We have been on the road for seven straight days...it has been exhausting.  

We meet Laurie for dinner at 4:00, and Indy won't like that...perhaps I can find a dog movie to keep her occupied.

Relaxing Day at Lake Pleasant Arizona

 

Today was such a relaxing, warm, comfortable day at Lake Pleasant.  The sun was out a good portion of the day, hidden behind high clouds for some of the day.  The lake had a few boats on it...not that we heard any of the boats from where we are camping...but we can see them now and then.  Today's high was around 85 degrees, the low will be in the low 50's.  WOW, what a wonderful place to be as we go from November to December.

The Lake offers lots of recreation opportunities...fishing, rowing, sailing, general motoring around.

The lake covers 7,500 acres, while the park covers over 23,000 acres which includes the lake, desert lands, and recreational activities outside of the lake such as dirt bikes, general off road vehicles, and a dirt racetrack and large glider airport.

There are two campgrounds at Lake Pleasant...one with electricity and water, the other being primitive with no services (although both can use the dump station). Just outside the park there are many areas where one can boondock...but most are used by those with off road vehicles.

The Roadrunner Campground in which we are staying is divided in half by the Park's Road.

In this view below, you can see a cell tower...which is probably why we have 4-5 bars of 4G with our Verizon Aircard...not sure if they have 5G on this tower, but I would not doubt it.

The Roadrunner Campground has three or four bathrooms, each with two locking single shower rooms for males and for females, one handicapped for each.  The showers are free, but when you push the on button, the water flows for 10-15 seconds...but you can keep pushing the button as much as you need.  To me the water is hot, to others they might think it is cold...there is no way to control the temperature.  Last time, as well as this time, I found the bathing area to be very clean.

The campsites easily fit Class A Motorhomes, with room for a vehicle.  Yes, there are a 'few' smaller sites, but around 90% of the sites fit large motorhomes...and most of those will fit a tow car too.

It is now close to 9 pm, it is very quiet, and the outside temps are at 70 degrees.  We have been here in the late spring/early summer...we have been here before and after Christmas.  I like the December visit...the temps are just perfect, and the park, mid-week, is not crowded at all.  We have also been here, with reservations, for a weekend too...now that get just down right busy.

We head out in the morning, set on getting to Tucson for a night of boondocking.  It will be nice to not feel like we have to get up and go at the first sign of light since it will be less than 200 miles of travel with a stop at a Flying J for Gas and Propane.

Passed by McDonalds in Wickenburg, Made it to Lake Pleasant

 

We have camped at three different Maricopa County Parks...McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Cave Creek Regional Park, and Lake Pleasant Regional Park.  I doubt we will try any of the other parks, we LOVE Lake Pleasant.  Oh, we liked the other two, but the water is a nice attraction in an area in which there is so much brown, and that which is green is typically a cactus.

But the first thing we needed to do was to get to Lake Pleasant...a 225 mile drive.  We continue east on I-40.  We got up at 6 am, were on the road by 6:30, and into Arizona by 8 am (we lost an hour due to time zone.)  At Kingman we stop to get gas at the Flying J ($3.46 per gal), the same place where we foiled a scam.  Back in December of 2017, while filling up the gas tank, some guy in a AAA car stops behind us, starts saying something about oil dripping from under our rear end, gets on the ground, followed quickly by me, and tries to squirt oil up on the rear carriage claiming there is a leak.  I quickly tell him to get out from under MY MOTORHOME, and told him that I will have it checked out when we get to Phoenix.  (Read original blog here.  That blog had a comment from someone who did fall for the scam...same story.)  I reported to AAA and a followup email confirmed that they had an investigator looking into it.  So bottom line, I felt uncomfortable getting gas at this Flying J today, but no scammer...although a pickup truck blocked one of the RV gas lanes for the entire time forcing me to get gas over at the normal pumps...the guy just sat there in his pickup truck, never did see him get gas or anything.  I just get a creepy feeling there...

Good-bye California, Hello Arizona

About 20 miles east of Kingman is Highway 93.  Another 100 miles is Wickenburg, where we catch highway 60.   Ten miles later we turn on Arizona Highway 74 and 18 miles later we are pulling into the road leading to Lake Pleasant.  Highway 93 is a mixture of 2 lane and 4 lane.  Some of the road is good, some of it is a bit bumpy.  Indy does not like the bumpy part at all.  We stop, she does her business, and off we go and all is well.  Guess it scares the [BLANK] right out the poor little girl!  Unfortunately you don't always have an exit to pull over at, and I don't want to stop along an Interstate unless there is a mechanical breakdown.

Highway 93 is also home to the Joshua Tree Forest Parkway, an Arizona Scenic Route.  For about 10 miles you literally drive through a forest of trees...Joshua Trees.  There is a picnic stop in which we got the above and below image...the the second image below was taken while driving.

There are three roundabouts as you get close to Wickenburg.

At the third roundabout...you come out of it and you are on Highway 60.

This is the McDonald's made famous by Al of the Bayfield Bunch!  He and his lovely wife Kelly use to have a USA home in Congress, about 15 miles away...and Al liked driving over to Wickenburg to get his morning cup of coffee, and occasionally a treat for Pheebs, his loyal four legged friend. (The Bayfield Bunch) Their primary, and now only, home is in Bayfield, Ontario, Canada.  Al writes a very popular blog filled with travel, and interesting bits of this and that, and lots of wonderful pictures.

We did not have reservations, but we got in for two nights at the Roadrunner Campground at Lake Pleasant...there are lots of spaces available...but they will be full come Friday for another busy weekend.  Best to make reservations, and make them early if you want to spend a weekend. Tomorrow I will share some pictures, again, of Lake Pleasant.