The next day was rainy, so we decided to make the best of it and run into Buckeye to do laundry and get our grocery shopping done. By the time we got back to Saddle Mountain, it was raining hard. So, we decided to leave the next day. And that's when things got interesting.
#1 Misstep:
We packed up and left Saddle Mountain.
Lesson Learned:
If you are comfortable in your RV even though it's raining; AND you are in a safe place with no danger of washed out roads or flash flooding, STAY PUT.
#2 Misstep:
We headed for Cottonwood after getting a late start. (more on that in a later post)
Lesson Learned:
You need to have some sense of where you're going--especially when you are later than you intended to be. Maps and camping apps can only tell you so much. We'd never been to Cottonwood before and had only done limited research into where we were heading. It would have been smarter of us to have made a couple of phones calls before we got there.
#3 Misstep:
Our first and second campground choices were a bust.
Lesson Learned:
When you can't get into the fairgrounds for an overnight stay because of an upcoming gem show and it's about 5 in the evening, DON'T head for something on BLM land--especially when it's been raining all day. The road was not great, but it was passable. However, the campsites were mud-holes! And because of that, we were unable to turn around until we had gone a long way up the road. So it was dark by the time we got out of there. We pulled over and made a couple of calls to find a campsite; and because it's Spring Break here and almost everyone was full, we got to spend the night in a "resort" next to the freeway. Thunderstorms and traffic don't make for a great night of rest.
#4 Misstep:
After a supper of egg burritos at 9:00 PM, we tried to figure out where we would go the next day to get out of the rain.
Lesson Learned:
When the day has already been stressful, DON'T try to make important decisions. We stayed up way too late trying to figure our next plan of attack. When we finally gave up a couple of hours later, it looked like we were going to head back to Saddle Mountain. Which leads to...
#5 Misstep:
We tried to find a way to outrun the weather.
Lesson Learned:
When all the weather apps say it's going to rain or snow whether you head north, south, east, or west, just accept your situation and try to make the best of it. Even though we didn't sleep great the night before, we did have clearer heads the next morning. We decided that even though the weather wasn't going to be great for a couple of days, we'd try to find a place to stay and ride out the storms. And because we were successful, we were around to see the rainbow.
(I've put together another Gallery of H's photos from Saddle Mountain. Enjoy!)
Lesson Learned:
If you are comfortable in your RV even though it's raining; AND you are in a safe place with no danger of washed out roads or flash flooding, STAY PUT.
#2 Misstep:
We headed for Cottonwood after getting a late start. (more on that in a later post)
Lesson Learned:
You need to have some sense of where you're going--especially when you are later than you intended to be. Maps and camping apps can only tell you so much. We'd never been to Cottonwood before and had only done limited research into where we were heading. It would have been smarter of us to have made a couple of phones calls before we got there.
#3 Misstep:
Our first and second campground choices were a bust.
Lesson Learned:
When you can't get into the fairgrounds for an overnight stay because of an upcoming gem show and it's about 5 in the evening, DON'T head for something on BLM land--especially when it's been raining all day. The road was not great, but it was passable. However, the campsites were mud-holes! And because of that, we were unable to turn around until we had gone a long way up the road. So it was dark by the time we got out of there. We pulled over and made a couple of calls to find a campsite; and because it's Spring Break here and almost everyone was full, we got to spend the night in a "resort" next to the freeway. Thunderstorms and traffic don't make for a great night of rest.
#4 Misstep:
After a supper of egg burritos at 9:00 PM, we tried to figure out where we would go the next day to get out of the rain.
Lesson Learned:
When the day has already been stressful, DON'T try to make important decisions. We stayed up way too late trying to figure our next plan of attack. When we finally gave up a couple of hours later, it looked like we were going to head back to Saddle Mountain. Which leads to...
#5 Misstep:
We tried to find a way to outrun the weather.
Lesson Learned:
(I've put together another Gallery of H's photos from Saddle Mountain. Enjoy!)
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