A few days rest in Tucson, Arizona

 

As planned, we stopped at the KOA in Tucson for a driving break and to monitor the weather up north.  It was a hard and long winter for most of the US and Canada and the blustery weather wasn’t quite gone in early April when we crossed into the US.  We were in no rush to drive through any of that white stuff.

The Tucson/Lazydays KOA was such a pleasant surprise.  We’d stayed at only one KOA before, in Las Vegas last year.  It was a very nice park but the Tucson KOA blows it out of the water.  It’s a huge park with many different kinds of spots, from your basic back in site to pull throughts, fire pits, adirondak chairs, some covered, many with fruit trees (lemon and orange) and some with their own raised deck. 

I asked for the cheapest site they had available.  We didn’t need anything fancy. As a bonus, they happened to put us right beside one of their WiFi boosters for the park so the free park WiFi actually WORKED for our whole stay.  A great bonus as it saved us in using any of our Solis day passes while there!  I’ll definitely be requesting that site again for future stays 😉 

The park has gorgeous desert foliage, two very nice pools, two laundry rooms, a fitness centre, a pickle ball court,  an onsite restaurant, insite shophorse shoe pits, putting greens, a small pond, an RC race track, basketball hoops, indoor pool and shuffleboard tables, small individual size dog areas and a 1/2 acre fenced dog park to boot! And there is probably other stuff I’m missing. It is HUGE and so well maintained.  And, the staff were very friendly and welcoming.  We spent a lot of time walking around with the boys and taking pictures.  

Sites with fully enclosed pet enclosures, fire ring and table/chairs

A “buddy” site where two RV’s can pull up and have their doors open onto this shared patio, dining area.  So nice and such comfortable furniture! That’s our rig in the top right of the photo.

Beautiful and fragrant fruit trees.  This one is lemon 🍋 

Sites with fire pits and raised decks some covered with sunshade cloth

After our first of two nights, we knew we wouldn’t be ready to leave so we added on another night.  Then, after that night we added on another two nights.  We REALLY enjoyed our stay here and have plans now to spend at least a full week on our trip down to Mexico next snowbird season.

Playing with different camera features

And to improve your enjoyment watching the stunning sunsets, they have an area with very comortable adirondack chairs surrounding large fire pits.  A perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine while enjoying the sunset!

The chairs were so comfortable, I ended up ordering some for our own enjoyment.  They’re folding too so we can pack em up and take them with us when we head south next year.

And, during the high heat of the late afternoon we all frequently enjoyed a nice nap.

Temperatures in the mid/late afternoon got very very warm.  Our temperature sensor registered into the 50 degree celsius range every day at this time.  So hot that you had to be careful when opening the door of the RV which is a black metal handle.  I’m not sure how locals manage this kind of heat, let alone when it’s the heat of summer.  Although, I think the few days of high heat we got while there were a bit of an anomaly for that time of year.  The dryness too is sure something to get used to.  Our bodies never did transition from the high humidity of Mexico to the desert dryness while there.  Even poor Heffay had a huge dandruff outbreak.  He looked like he’d walked into a dusty bush or something.  It was crazy!  

The early morning and early evening were very pleasant, great temperatures for walking and exploring.

A short video mash up of HeyZeus and Heffay enjoying the pet friendly park.  When playing the video click the bottom left square to view in full screen.

We even got a chance to enjoy the pool and hot tub almost all to ourselves on a hot afternoon.  Very refreshing!

We did contact the local Freightliner Service centre but were advised they don’t make appointments and the only option was to drive over and wait in line in hopes of being seen.  Well, that wasn’t going to work.  Not when we’re living in the RV with three cats and a dog.  So strange, no appointment.  Who has time to sit in a line all day in hopes of being seen?   Other than relax for a few days, we also used the opportunity to stock up on groceries and pet supplies and enjoyed a wonderful pizza delivered to our door!  

All in all, a very enjoyable stay.  One we wished we had stayed longer at and one we’ll definitely repeat next season.

Total Accommodation costs: 5 nights - $246 US ($332 Cdn)

Dates:  April 9-13