TRAVEL DAY
From: Jim Kortsen West Pinal Park, Maricopa, AZ.
To: Painted Rock Petroglyph Campground, Gila Bend, AZ.
Day 108 – At 7:30 a.m. this morning it was 43 degrees and sunny. We are headed to a new campground to meet our friend, Cathie and her dog, Pete, spend some time catching up – and also to check out the petroglyphs.
We departed West Pinal Park at 10:40 a.m. It was 53 degrees and sunny. It was supposed to be about an hour’s drive, but we had stops to make. Since there was no place to leave our trash, get water, nor dump our tanks at the Park, we searched ahead and found places we could stop in Gila Bend – various gas stations could accommodate us. These chores took almost an hour, making our journey almost two hours.
Most of our traveling was on I-8 heading west. It was a good road with few bumps or potholes, a major truck route, and we passed or saw many RVs, Vans, and Trailers. There are LOTS of people camping for the winter in Arizona! At first there were hills in the distance, but eventually it was all flat land. In Gila Bend we stopped at a Pilot for propane for the RV and dumped tanks. At Love’s we got gas for the RV and water for our tank. Before we reached the campground, there were a few more hills; it was pretty much all desert land.
We arrived at our campground, Painted Rock Petroglyph Campground, at 12:35 p.m. It was 65 degrees and sunny. Cathie and Pete had arrived shortly before us and picked an excellent campsite. We parked next to them in another great site, #38. It was a large campsite with a picnic table and grill. This campground offered no hook-ups and was run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and formerly it had been an Arizona State Park. There were 59 campsites and as the day went on, the campground began to fill up. By the weekend, it will be full. They do not accept reservations. We paid $8 per night for three nights.
After visiting with Cathie and Pete we had lunch, set up the campsite, and put up the screened tent to give us some shade. Cathie and Pete joined us later in the tent and we caught up with where we’d been and what we’d seen. It was a good day.