Arizona, Photography

Unusual Neighborhood

by Ingrid

Gosh, I can’t believe the summer is half over. When Al and I decided to slow our travels down this summer and sit in one spot for several months, I thought for sure I’d have trouble with the stationary stay. The norm for me is to have hitch itch set in … ants in my pants … gotta move thing … going on after thirty days.

watson lake Prescott Arizona
It’s monsoon season in Prescott, Arizona – makes for dramatic and unusual skies

Perhaps it’s the landscape or the attractive town of Prescott or most likely the combo of the two that has held my attention. The enjoyable stay has Al and me actually contemplating the Prescott, Arizona, area as a ‘home base‘. Time will tell!

camping in Prescott Arizona
RV Fairgrounds – a bit on the unusual side – different

And speaking of home base, allow me share our RV park. We’ve been spending the summer camped at the Yavapai County RV Fairgrounds in Prescott Valley, Arizona. It’s definitely not your typical RV Park. The park is a mixed bag of folks; some living here year round, some staying a few months at a time (like us), and those just passing through.

Even though there is predator a common building with a laundry facility and an area to sit with free WiFi, (free WiFi??? … happy dance, happy dance!!!) there is no public restroom … weird, I know. And the office isn’t open on weekends or after 4:00 any day of the week. So unusual and very strange.

Although the park is working fine for our needs, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Earlier in the month, we befriended some folks here in the RV park who intended to stay for a month, but after two weeks, they decided to move on.

The fairgrounds itself no longer holds any active events, but it did come in handy serving as a temporary animal shelter during the Goodwin Fire.

unusual place to exercise
abandoned race track makes for an unusual place for Al and I to get in our exercise

Next to the fairgrounds is an abandoned race track. Yavapai Downs has been vacant for several years, but rumor has it, it has been purchased and the new owners hope to have it up and running by next summer.

Horse racing in Arizona

When we don’t have time to hit the amazing trails, and let me tell you, the trails around here are seriously awesome, we use the race track to get in our steps.

abandoned race track
Yavapai Downs – unusual place to exercise
horse racing
Yavapai Downs – abandoned – smoke from the Goodwin Fire in early July

Not only have we pretended to be horses and briskly walked the track (now there’s a visual 😆), we use the stadium stairs as our personal stairmaster. Yep, definitely an unusual place to exercise, but since it’s in my backyard and so convenient, I don’t have any excuses not to get in a workout.

unusual weather in Arizona
Monsoon season in Arizona – unusual and dramatic

We’ve been thoroughly enjoying our time in the Prescott, Arizona, area and with only a few more weeks to go before we get our wheels rolling again, we’ll be busy trying to squeeze in a few new explorations. Although considering it’s monsoon season around here, those plans may be curtailed. We’ve encountered some doozy storms which always brings about dramatic and unusual skies…. keeping us on our toes!

Prescott Arizona

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59 thoughts on “Unusual Neighborhood”

  1. Pingback: Waiting for the Sun to Set | Live Laugh RV

  2. That is what I call enjoying what you’ve got not what you wished for. The environment and landscape you are in reminded me of our stay also at a fairgrounds in Pleasanton. But I’d say your campground is much better, way better. Great photos of the dramatic skies and reflections. I have to contend myself with a swimming pool for reflection shots!

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    1. I wish we had a pool around this park but I’ll settle for the pretty landscape and dramatic skies. We’ve really enjoyed staying here. Much more than we thought we would. We may even consider a repeat next summer!

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  3. Glad the fairgrounds have worked out for you, great you can get your workout too. Prescott is an area I’d enjoy really checking out.

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    1. We’re really enjoying our summer in Prescott. Part of me will be ready to roll at the end of the month and part of me won’t be. We’ve settled in nicely here and may even do a repeat next year.

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  4. That’s quite a remarkable exercising facility I must say 😉. Hey If I were there and needed to find some way to be active I too would have gone to Yavapai Downs for an exercising. Looks pretty cool.

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  5. What a great idea to use the stadium as your personal training ground … maybe you could do some “Time-Laps” photography! Although you might get a lot of “Stares” …

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  7. It must be crazy hot where you are these days! Or is Prescott at a somewhat higher elevation than I-40? Mark and I passed through Flagstaff this past week and actually spend the night near Kingman. (where we had a quick Chinese dinner before finishing the long and grueling day around 9pm). Well, we thought the day was finished, but when we realized it was still in the 100s when we went to bed closer to the border with CA, we had to move back the way we came to gain a little bit of elevation to be able to kind of sleep! That was at 1am…

    No time to meet up with anyone on that trip, but it would be nice to meet you and Al at some point in the near future. I’m curious about your upcoming plans!

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    1. We’ve enjoyed great sleeping weather here in Prescott. It cools off every evening, unlike other parts of AZ. Can’t wait to hear all about your reasoning for you Arkansas excursion. Feel free to email me about our upcoming schedule. I did email you several weeks ago, but not sure you got it.

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  9. I love your outdoor workout space. Do other people use it too, or is it your own private gym? Do you use whips around the race course? Yee haw!

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    1. Hmm… whips? What a visual 😆 We’ll need to get our stick ponies first. Although there is a worn trail in the weeds around the track, we rarely see anyone else. Thus, it has been our personal playground.

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  10. Isn’t it funny the places we encounter on our travels? Sometimes we have great memories from odd places like this race track. I love the stamina and spirit of adventure that you both have, wherever you are in the world. Glad you’re enjoying Prescott and a hiatus, Ingrid.

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    1. Although the abandoned race track may not be the most picturesque, I’ve enjoyed exploring the grounds and building during my morning exercise routine… lots of bunnies and birds to keep me company ☺

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    1. Sometimes it’s nice to slow things down and regroup and this area is functioning quite well for us to do just that. But I’ll admit, I am starting to get antsy 😉

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    1. Yes, there is another abandoned track in Goodyear. I’m sure it’s about dollars and not laws that have these tracks closing up. We’ll see if the new owner can get this one back up and running. Should be interesting considering the property is in bad shape.

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  14. We are have also talked about how livable Prescott is. I cant imagine actually being an Arizona resident, but if that were ever to happen, I would want to live in Prescott. I think we are always charmed by the fact that the spring flowering trees and shrubs in in their full glory when we visit in early March. After a long spell in the desert, I’m always more than ready for grass, trees, and flowers!

    Gorgeous photos, as always.

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    1. It was hard for me to give up my ‘Colorado’ drivers license and turn it in for an Arizona one, but I’m fine with it now. Arizona is a state with so much diversity that I’m not bored with it … yet 😉 I left the Midwest in the early 90’s and since I’m allergic to grass, I sure don’t miss it, but I understand why some folks do. Prescott seems to offer a nice balance between desert and high country living and is in serious contention for a possible ‘home base’.

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  15. So glad you did a detailed post on the fairgrounds campground. We need a different place to stay than Point of Rocks. The park is too dusty and the Verizon signal is terrible. I assume you have FHU’s?? Do you have 50 amp power?? We, too, really like the area but need to stay longer to really try out hiking beyond the Granite Dells. Your photos of the rocks are gorgeous. Boy is the water low!!

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    1. I’ll shoot you an email when I get a chance and give you a few more details on the RV Park. I got caught in another monsoon yesterday over by the Granite Dells. Water was pouring down from the rocks and onto the road hwy 89 … not fun and not the kind of adventure I was seeking 😵 worst part – I don’t even have any photos to share the drama!

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    1. Thanks and yes I always have plenty of room for an extra camera or two. One of my impulse buys last week was a little drone. The word ‘crash’ is being used frequently around here 😆 Once I learn to fly, I may actually learn how to use the camera!

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  18. That actually sounds like what we look for in a campground! You didn’t mention if it had full hook ups but sounded like it might have. We just need a quiet place where we can also get our exercise in and not pay for extra amenities we won’t use – usually on the go!
    So glad you all weren’t affected by the fires. It had to have been a bit scary.
    Nothing better than time with our adult children. I’ll be rooting for this area for when the time comes. We’re still wondering where our ideal place will be??? In the meantime, it’s that itch to hitch bug!!!

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    1. Absolutely FHU or we wouldn’t park here for a lengthy time period. Earlier in our travels, we didn’t mind the once a week trip to the dump station, but we do now. The newness of the RV adventure has worn off and we like certain amenities if we’re going to be stationary.
      Prescott is definitely the perfect location for us to still be near our children but not enduring the severe desert heat. We’ve also been enjoying the scent of pine when we hike in the national forest. Amazing diversity around here!

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      1. Yes, it’s like the “honeymoon” is over for us too! We have definitely changed how we travel and “park!” We like slo-mo for sure! Sounds pretty ideal! Especially the wonderful scent of pine! We had lots of it recently….

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  19. Sounds like an interesting place…glad you found it and like it!! Having amazing hiking trails gives it an added plus!!
    I’ve heard those storms can be something this time of year!!

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    1. The storms are something else around here. When they say ‘monsoon’, they aren’t kidding. I’ve been caught out and about in a couple of them and it’s almost impossible to drive…. need to pull over and wait it out. It’s seriously like a bucket of water being dump on you and the wiper blades can’t keep up.
      Always an adventure in the RVing world!

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  20. Ingrid, I am chuckling thinking of you & Al making your way around the horse track. Who speeds up when you get to the finish line?!

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  21. We spent 6 months 8n your area, drove by the fairgrounds often. You HAVE to go to the top of Mingus Mountain, great view if the whole Verde Valley from 7500′. Also hit Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, Red Rock State Park, and of course the town of Jerome and a super Copper Museum at Clarkdale. Take the Verde Valley Scenic Rail trip too! We so enjoyed central AZ with so much to see and do within an hour or so. More at http://www.herbnkathy.com

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    1. Thanks for all the tips. We do love heading over to Jerome. When my daughter first moved to Phoenix, Jerome and Sedona were the first places, I introduced her to. So many interesting places to visit throughout this state and we’ve enjoyed exploring it the past five years.

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      1. Gr8, you probably know it better than us. We workamped 2 days a week at Camp Verde so we had lots of time to explore too. We may come back, in Michigan now, Texas this winter then who knows?
        Enjoy!

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    1. It is affordable and offers nice spacing between sites. So it works well for us and we may even return next summer. It allows us to work on some projects and still visit with the kids in Phoenix.

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  23. We encountered a bad hurricane-like storm one year in February…torrents of rain, 97mph winds that actually blew a travel trailer next to us off the jacks and a camper door off across from us at Hickiwan Trails RV Park in Ajo, AZ…And it blew all day, night and the next day, so no sleeping. We were waiting for our big rear window to blow in…but it didn’t. not a fun time…I love Arizona, but just as there is no perfect place, it does have it “weather “…Be safe!!

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    1. We had another doozy of a storm last night. A bit scary especially since I was alone. Al spent the night with our daughter in Phoenix enjoying some daddy daughter time. And today I got caught in a downpour while running errands. Not fun ☹They’re not kidding when they use the term ‘monsoon’. Some adventures I can do without 😉

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  25. We are so glad you are enjoying your summer stay in Prescott, it is a beautiful area and we have often said it would make a good home base if and when we ever want one. I had to laugh at your outside gym, we are always amazed at what we can use to get a workout in😁

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    1. Prescott is not only lovely but it’s the perfect location to still be able to engage with our kids. As a matter of fact, Al is hanging with our daughter today in Phoenix and last Saturday was my turn ☺

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  27. Didn’t realize the track was closed. In 2013 when we stayed there they were doing dirt car racing, which was actually kind of fun to watch.
    We agree, Prescott might make a good home base. It has a lot to offer!

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    1. The race track has been totally abandoned which makes for a very quiet area. Thus, it has been a really nice place to hang for the summer. We may do a repeat next summer!

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  28. I visualized you and Al prance around the track, but I am certain that wasn’t what both of you did. Trotting may be.

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