Chandler, Arizona and friends

We spent the nights of March 31, April 1 and 2 at a pretty fancy RV park (their website calls it a "boutique" RV park) in Chandler, Arizona, a southern suburb of Phoenix. Chandler is home to lots of high-tech companies including Intel, where Jim used to work. Intel has a chip manufacturing plant there with over 11,000 employees.  It's also home to some of the autonomous (self driving) vehicle companies and we saw a lot of those cruising nearby.

We spent part of a day walking around downtown Chandler, which looks like its being torn down and rebuilt. Easter morning we hiked part of a nice trail at South Mountain Park, a Phoenix municipal park and the largest city park in the US per Wikipedia. And there was an outlet mall on the other side of I-10 from where we were staying so I had to go there. Our type of camping is usually closer to deserts and forests (which we like) but I couldn't pass up a trip to a very nearby outlet mall. I did more looking than buying.

But most fun were visits with two friends of mine from my former lives.

First was dinner with a friend from high school who now lives in nearby Mesa.  Another day Jim and I drove to North Phoenix to see someone who worked with me at the Postal Service. It was nice to see old friends and catch up.

Bev and April, who graduated from Wellington, Ohio, High School, class of 1969.  I remember going to an alumni meeting the year I graduated. When the 50-year class was introduced I thought "How do those people even walk?" April and I are walking quite well, thank you.  Thanks for meeting up with me, April.

We stayed at MotorCoach Resort in Chandler.  The 18-month-old RV park has beautiful desert landscaping, was very clean, and had level cement parking pads.  But it was the most expensive place we've ever stayed at $65 a night.  I find it hard to find a good RV park at a reasonable rate near Phoenix.  A lot of them have age restrictions on motor homes (rigs older than ten years not allowed) or weight restrictions on dogs (no dogs over 20 pounds.)  Our rig is a 2003 and our dogs are 40 and 50 pounds so we are a no go on those.  Motor Coach Resort disallowed trailers and fifth wheels.  Jim said he thought it was because none of their sites were pull throughs, but that's the first I've ever heard of a "no trailers" policy.

Arlo and Maddie looking for who knows what out the window of our RV. Maybe for a trailer trying to make an illegal entrance.

A fountain at  the RV park where we stayed.   The park was in an industrial area, just barely off of I-10, and across the freeway from a race car track.  But it was very convenient to shopping, restaurants, and all the stuff you need when you travel.

Craig and I worked together at a USPS Law Department in Utah.  He and his wife Maryanne now live in North Phoenix. Craig listened to the radio at work and was my news source -- he reminded me that he's the one who told me Elizabeth Smart had been found (just a couple of block from our office) nine months after being kidnapped.  When Craig retired I became way behind on the latest news.

Craig, Maryanne, me and Jim at Craig and Maryanne's lovely home in north Phoenix. I might never recover from the video Maryanne showed me of a snake slithering up a saguaro.  

Jim and the doggies at South Mountain Park Preserve in Phoenix, which has 16,000 acres and 50 miles of hiking trails.  We did only about a mile and a half, so there is plenty for next time. Unfortunately, it was also the site of the slithering snake mentioned in the above photo.  I'd still go back.