December 2018 – Greg & Amelia's Airstream Adventures

Merry Christmas sunset

Just like last year, we decided to spend Christmas at McDowell Mountain Regional Park (MMRP) in the Scottsdale area. This time the Birches traveled with us. So we figured safety in numbers and again risked life and limb and drove the I-8 along the border. Once again we didn’t see hide nor hair of the Mexican Cartel or the Caravan. Maybe they both take the holidays off from spreading disease and raping and pillaging the United States of America. (This is when you are supposed to laugh.)

The little missus was adamant about not spending Christmas Eve and morning in the Yuma Walmart parking lot. So we researched our options and found a decent spot only twenty minutes out of our way off of the US 95 by Mittry Lake Wildlife Area. The next day we just continued north on the US 95, a stretch of road we’ve never been on before, through Quartzite, then east on the I-10. We couldn’t believe all the blooming Sand Verbena and Brittle Bush. Fields of purple and yellow were everywhere. It looked like springtime, not Christmas Day.

Quartzite area was as advertised: a massive boondocking area packed with rigs of all types. It made Clark Dry Lake out in Borrego look like nothing.

After over five years of Airstreaming we are calling MMRP our favorite campground. It’s spacious, quiet, 360 degree views, no generators, and biking right from your front door. The only thing it’s lacking is full hook ups, instead it’s just electric and water, but the free hot showers are great!

We knew the cold snap was coming, and it came. Lows in the 30s and highs in the mid 40’s with a biting wind. A solid 25-30 degrees cooler than our last visit. Not our favorite biking weather, but we certainly weren’t going to stay holed up in the Airstream bitching and moaning about it. We had a special treat this trip: our mountain biking friends, Quan and EJ, from San Diego were in Scottsdale and we toured them around the trails two consecutive days. It’s always fun riding with a group of friends.