In The News! Client Hits the Road in an RV from Owner's Rental
When Michael Clancy of the Arizona Republic set out to do a
story on vacationing in Arizona, he came to us to rent his motorhome.
Below is the full text of the resulting article.
 RV
having fun?
You bet! 1st vacation in motor home goes off without a major hitch
by Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
November 6th, 1994
I would have sworn I'd never be caught dead in a recreational vehicle.
The noise of the generators. The pollution of the great outdoors by the nuisances
of home. Why are these people even bothering to leave their comfortable nests
to fill our campgrounds, I'd wonder.
Now, with two very young children, ages 3 and 1, it isn't easy to camp out
in a tent. And at a time of the year when nighttime temperatures can get downright
frigid in the high country, I caved.
My family and I wanted to spend a week away from home, and we wanted to do
it in a way that minimized dining out. The options: a motel room with kitchenette,
a cabin or an RV.
The motel rooms in Flagstaff were along the main drag. Enough to rule them
out.
The cabins were in or near Sedona, and priced accordingly.
The RV was less expensive than a cabin for four, and we had the mobility to
stay in more scenic places than a motel across a busy highway from the railroad
tracks.
So our minds were made up. An RV it would be.
We left our trip itinerary flexible, aiming only to see some fall foliage.
Our first destination was somewhere in or around Flagstaff. First challenge:
those steep hills on Interstate 17 around Black Canyon City and then again north
of the Sedona exit, which have been known to slow big trucks to a crawl. The
23-footer we rented, with a Ford Econoline chassis and engine, slowed down considerably
but retained enough zip to pass the large semi trailers inching up those hills.
The zip came with a price: We had to refuel in Flagstaff.
We reached the black cinder fields of Sunset Crater National Monument by late
afternoon.
More airtight than, say, his house
We counted. Out of 40 or so spots at the Coconino National Forest campground
just outside the monument, only one was occupied by a tent. The rest - a few
were vacant - had RVs. It might have had to do with the weather - at 8,000 feet
altitude, Sunset Crater was the coldest spot on the trip. We would have frozen
in a tent.
It didn't really seem like camping, despite the $8 fee and lack of electricity
and telephone service. RVs are built to the standards of a mobile home, and
even this 8-year-old vehicle seemed more airtight than, say, my own house.
But the mobility of the vehicle enabled us to enjoy Sunset Crater and its
sister monument - Wupatki - which both are about as kid-friendly as can be.
The children enjoyed dashing through the cinder fields at the campground and
scrambling across the sandstone ledges along the short trail to Wukoki Ruins
at Wupatki.
The campground is closed in mid-October and reopens in the spring. Alternately,
several private campgrounds in Flagstaff - several of them at the north end
of town near Flagstaff Mall - remain open all year, and camping is allowed in
most national forest areas anytime. Backcountry camping is especially easy in
an RV.
Heading north on U.S. 89 toward Page, we refueled again at Cameron. Refueling
became a constant during the trip - we averaged 8 miles per gallon, which accounts
for the number of RVs that tow a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle behind
them.
The gas mileage, indoor ambience and, for some people, the price, turned out
to be just about the only things we could complain about.
Some comforts of home
Among the many positives, the second night out, at Lees Ferry, we dined
on grilled steaks, baked potatoes, green beans and biscuits. The vegetables
and biscuits were prepared inside the vehicle. In fact, the whole trip we ate
just like we do at home - without losing the option of camp cooking.
Although Lees Ferry did not offer much for the kids to do - a few historic
buildings, heavy-duty hiking and a dangerous Colorado River - it was apparent
that they were beginning to appreciate coming home each night to their "camping
truck." A small bathroom made bedtime cleanup easy, and ample lighting,
powered by the vehicle's battery, enabled us to maintain our bedtime-story routine.
Lees Ferry, part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, is open all year.
It serves primarily as a trout fishery and a staging area for Grand Canyon raft
trips.
Our next day's trip was a bit longer, from Lees Ferry to the North Rim of
the Grand Canyon. That's when we began to appreciate the roominess of the vehicle.
The cab is open to the living space. Even though the law requires people to
remain buckled up, and there are plenty of seatbelts, it is possible to move
around - if only to open the refrigerator for drinks.
The road to the North Rim Lodge is beautiful any time of year, but especially
in the fall, when the aspens are turning. The North Rim accommodates a mere
10 percent of Grand Canyon National Park's annual crowd, making it a great place
to experience the grandeur without the mayhem of the South Rim.
A hike 'n' a bath
We reached the camping and lodge area by early afternoon, allowing us to
take a hike along the rim through the pine and aspen woods from the campground
to the lodge. We ended up carrying the children in backpacks - the rim of the
canyon is no place for a 3-year-old to practice his balancing skills.
That night, we took advantage of a real luxury. We fired up the water heater,
gave the kids baths and took showers. The bathroom is convenient even if it
is a cramped, 3- by 5-foot space.
The North Rim - which has since closed for the season - was the first place
we visited where the number of tent users came close to those in RVs. On our
fourth and fifth nights out - at Zion National Park, which remains open all
year - those in tents probably outnumbered RV users.
On the way to Zion, we stopped at the seldom-visited Pipe Spring National
Monument, a Mormon homestead in the 1870s. With farm animals and crops, it is
a fine example of pioneer life. It features the spring, the buildings erected
atop the spring to protect the water source, and plantings that give it an oasis
feeling. Not a very large place, it was favored by the children for its water,
animals and open space. It certainly is worthy of more than the 50,000 visitors
it gets annually.
We reached Zion before dark, and discovered another drawback to a large RV.
The eastern entrance, through a long tunnel, requires a $10 fee for vehicles
of a certain size - virtually all RVs - because the tunnel isn't large enough
to accommodate them and oncoming traffic. Also at Zion, several popular parking
spots restrict RVs of 21 feet or longer. Fortunately, a tram from the lodge
serves visitors for a small fee.
Utilities mostly private
As at all of our stops, Zion did not offer electric or water hookups -
most of those places are privately owned and charge accordingly. On a long trip
a private campground with hookups and laundry facilities probably would be a
necessity once a week or so.
Of all the places we visited, Zion probably was the one the kids enjoyed most.
The bottom of Zion Canyon offered plenty of space for them to run around uninhibited.
The road dead-ends at a spot where the canyon narrows. A paved path called
Riverside Walk leads a mile along the banks of a fork of the Virgin River, then
abruptly ends where the Zion Canyon Narrows begin. From there the hike requires
a good deal of wading.
We didn't wade much - the water is too cold this time of year.
The trail was so easy, though, that our son actually ran the entire length
back to the tram drop off area.
From Zion back to Phoenix, we spent a lot of time in the truck, stopping only
for gas and for the night. If there was a time when I wished I had a smaller,
faster and more fuel-efficient car, this was it - although the RV made stopping
for the night and leaving in the morning a snap.
We had made a trip that, without an RV, might not even have been possible.
The price, even with all that gasoline, was a considerable savings over motel
and restaurant prices.
Would I do it again? Sure. I might tow that little car, though.
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