palo verde rv park

There are some places we pull into and think Hmmm…. And yet by the time we leave, we say we would definitely come back. This was one of those places. Palo Verde is a small basic campground outside the small town of Winkelman, AZ, about an hour north of Tucson. The area is full of Saguaro cactus and mountain views and the sounds of coyotes every night, often running right thru the campground. We chose this campground because of its proximity to the Phoenix-Mesa airport and its affordable monthly rate. Our plans were to fly back to MN for two weeks over Christmas and New Years and we didn’t want to have to empty out the fridge and freezer to put the camper in storage. Owners Chuck and Sandy were so delightful and accommodating. They gave us a list of nearby places for shopping, eating and laundry. The town of Kearney was the closest for groceries and laundry. They also had a good pizza place and one bar. No food served there. This area was once a large copper mining community.

We met fellow campers Fred and Kathy who we joined for a trail ride. They took us up in the mountains where we found some spectacular views and a goldfish pond. Yep – goldfish out in the middle of the desert mountains. When we returned from MN after New Year’s, we met Joe and Becca who are also from MN, and Steve and Loretta from Wyoming. It’s always fun to ride the trails with a group of people. And we probably would have been lost without them. 

I knew that my old friend and neighbor, Jill and her husband Jeff were traveling through AZ with their camper also and we had planned to find a time to get together. Well guess who showed up to camp at Palo Verde?? Such a great surprise! The last time we saw each other was 23 years ago. Because of that, we extended our stay to enjoy more days of catching up and reminiscing and trail riding. They added a Jeep to our group of riders!