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On the Cheap Road with an RV
By Bob and Sheila Everhart
Dust storms in El Paso, 14 inches of snow in the high Sierra Madres, rain in the desert. Not so unexpected this time of year as Bob and Sheila Everhart, and their daughter Bobbie Lhea, of Anita, make their way through Arizona to California.
As they write, it must surely be very very cold in Iowa, their home state, but they have just spent four days in the mysterious old silver-mining town of Tombstone, Ariz.
This is where the Earp Brothers took on some ruthless killers at the OK Corral. The wooden sidewalks, the gun fights, and the old-time food are still all there. You can RV park two blocks from the activity, and feel the sense of history that envelops this strange town, too tough to die. They still have stagecoaches that take you for rides, they still have a shoot out at the OK Corral, they still have Big Nose Kates Bar where Wild Bill Hitchcock did his drinking, and they have maintained the town much like it was over a hundred years ago.
If you like cemeteries, this one is full of history, but the most fun is to simply walk the old wooden sidewalks, better still, walk them after all the shops close up, when the night is still, the moon is full, and the whispers of soft wind and ghostly moans make it an eerie experience.
For the Everharts, it’s a worthwhile four days, camping fees are right at $23 per night, and the restaurants don’t over charge either. One in particular, the Longhorn, has a specialty of the house called Two-Bean Soup. It’s so full of hamburger, beans, and other southwest vegetables, it’s almost a meal in itself.
Not far from Tombstone is Tucson. This is a complete change for the Everharts. They go from history to nature, as they check in at the Gilbert Ray Campground. “We found this several years ago,” says Sheila, “when we were looking for a good nature place for our daughter. Very near here is the Suguaro National Park, but it’s the campground that is so much fun to stay at. For instance, when we arrive this time around, a roadrunner was just ahead of us making a quick dash for the desert. But that’s not all, during the three days we stayed here, we saw quail right near our camper, cotton-tail rabbits, cardinals, woodpeckers, furry tailed chipmunks, hummingbirds, purple finchs, and Bobbie Lhea’s favorite a coyote walking right down the road next to our camper. You can hear them wail at night, especially on dark clear star-strewn skies. It’s also a neat place to go rock hunting. Bobbie found a very nice piece of raw turquoise, and when we took our daily nature walks, we were reminded of the great Marty Robbins song that Pat Boilesen does so well, “Man Walks Among Us, Beware, Beware.” The critters and birds at this particular campground are pretty used to man however, are well protected, and enjoy being around us, especially if we have a few orange slices to share with them.”
It costs $20 per night to hook up to electricity at the Gilbert Ray Campground, only a few miles from Old Tucson (a movie set), and Arizona Wildlife Museum and Zoo.
The Everharts are on the road to California, working hard on their annual festival, which will feature the first “USA Native American Flute Championships.” They have already established contact with a number of Native Americans, and hope it will become a major attraction in LeMars, Iowa, Aug 31-Sept 6.
After a stop in Gila Bend (there is a Wal-Mart in Casa Grande, but they will not allow overnight camping.) Gila Bend is only a short distance away, and the Flying-J Truckstop offers special camping privileges and discount benefits if you accept their card. Of course the Everharts are on the list, so the camping tonight is free. Fortunately they have a propane furnace in their RV because now the nights are becoming cool.
As they write, it must surely be very very cold in Iowa, their home state, but they have just spent four days in the mysterious old silver-mining town of Tombstone, Ariz.
This is where the Earp Brothers took on some ruthless killers at the OK Corral. The wooden sidewalks, the gun fights, and the old-time food are still all there. You can RV park two blocks from the activity, and feel the sense of history that envelops this strange town, too tough to die. They still have stagecoaches that take you for rides, they still have a shoot out at the OK Corral, they still have Big Nose Kates Bar where Wild Bill Hitchcock did his drinking, and they have maintained the town much like it was over a hundred years ago.
If you like cemeteries, this one is full of history, but the most fun is to simply walk the old wooden sidewalks, better still, walk them after all the shops close up, when the night is still, the moon is full, and the whispers of soft wind and ghostly moans make it an eerie experience.
For the Everharts, it’s a worthwhile four days, camping fees are right at $23 per night, and the restaurants don’t over charge either. One in particular, the Longhorn, has a specialty of the house called Two-Bean Soup. It’s so full of hamburger, beans, and other southwest vegetables, it’s almost a meal in itself.
Not far from Tombstone is Tucson. This is a complete change for the Everharts. They go from history to nature, as they check in at the Gilbert Ray Campground. “We found this several years ago,” says Sheila, “when we were looking for a good nature place for our daughter. Very near here is the Suguaro National Park, but it’s the campground that is so much fun to stay at. For instance, when we arrive this time around, a roadrunner was just ahead of us making a quick dash for the desert. But that’s not all, during the three days we stayed here, we saw quail right near our camper, cotton-tail rabbits, cardinals, woodpeckers, furry tailed chipmunks, hummingbirds, purple finchs, and Bobbie Lhea’s favorite a coyote walking right down the road next to our camper. You can hear them wail at night, especially on dark clear star-strewn skies. It’s also a neat place to go rock hunting. Bobbie found a very nice piece of raw turquoise, and when we took our daily nature walks, we were reminded of the great Marty Robbins song that Pat Boilesen does so well, “Man Walks Among Us, Beware, Beware.” The critters and birds at this particular campground are pretty used to man however, are well protected, and enjoy being around us, especially if we have a few orange slices to share with them.”
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The Everharts are on the road to California, working hard on their annual festival, which will feature the first “USA Native American Flute Championships.” They have already established contact with a number of Native Americans, and hope it will become a major attraction in LeMars, Iowa, Aug 31-Sept 6.
After a stop in Gila Bend (there is a Wal-Mart in Casa Grande, but they will not allow overnight camping.) Gila Bend is only a short distance away, and the Flying-J Truckstop offers special camping privileges and discount benefits if you accept their card. Of course the Everharts are on the list, so the camping tonight is free. Fortunately they have a propane furnace in their RV because now the nights are becoming cool.
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| Peace Haven News |
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preston long wrote on Dec 26, 2008 3:10 PM:
http://www.eloquentbooks.com/HuntingWithFather.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wis4_MObTo8 "