Small Home – Big Yard

Good morning from Gold Canyon!

We’re about 7 miles due south of Lost Dutchman State Park and only about 5 miles from the KOA that we left yesterday morning. We’re parked in Site #12, a site that is less desirable than we imagined due to a large roll-off dumpster that is occupying site #13.  Having booked this site with one of the resort operators, it’s unknown if they understood that we’d be sharing space with a roll-off or not. At any rate, the nearly constant trash drop-off and the 6AM dumpster swap twice during our 7 night stay left us thinking we’d like to quickly move out of the “dump”.  The site is very trashy and we’ve picked up a handful of nails and other construction materials.

The expected site – Canyon Vistas at Gold Canyon, AZ

The actual site – Canyon Vistas at Gold Canyon, AZ

There are 37 sites here in the “short term” area – those guests that will be spending less than a month in the resort.  Along with the dumpster, these are also the noisiest sites due to the proximity of Highway 60.  And, just at the Apache Junction KOA, the WiFi here is nearly nonexistent.    Apparently the nearest access point is at the bathhouse, about 600 feet away.  Even with the extender, the connection is a solid 24KB download!  Pitiful for a resort that charges over $500 a month for resort/lifestyle fees.  Fortunately our T-Mobile coverage is a full 4G LTE signal here.

As with many RV resorts in the sun belt, Canyon Vistas is in the process of migrating to park models. We estimate about 50% of the sites have been converted to park models.  Within the “longer-term” park, the facilities are spotless and provide unlimited activities for the very active-focused community.  Options include pickleball, shuffleboard, softball, water aerobics, Zumba, woodcarving, scrap booking, stained glass, a computer lab (maybe someone could work on the WiFi network?) and dance lessons.  Laundry facilities are first-class and work on the convenient card system at a bargain rate of $1.25/load.

Canyon Vistas at Gold Canyon, AZ, site #15. Possibly quieter and no dumpster!

On Friday, along with friends from home, we’re off to spring training baseball and a game between the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamond Backs at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.  The weather turns out to be one of the best days we’ve had so far, and the cold beers, hot dogs and peanuts hit the spot.

Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamond Backs at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick