The Journey Begins

Before we left, we had a few days of excitement at Countryside Resort. Just a reminder to us to not return the next time we’re in the area. Neighbors having some sort of screaming match and cops everywhere…somebody got arrested. We had so much drama while we were there, not just in the past but just about daily this time. Usually, we don’t mind having a corner site, especially way in the back where we thought we would not get any traffic, but that was not the case here. On the first night just after dark, we were watching TV, heard a noise and lost our reception. A huge 5th wheel taking the corner too close hit our dish that was located a foot from our trailer. For our two weeks something new every day, we were happy campers to finally leave.

On Sunday, we headed north to get out of the heat driving 133 miles to Verde Valley Thousand Trails Resort. It took us about 2 ½ hours but over an hour just to get out of Phoenix from Apache Junction, traffic was really heavy for a Sunday morning. Temperatures are perfect, 70/80s daytime, 40s at night for the next 4 nights of our stay here.

We both forgot how mountainous I-17 was, and our first time pulling the trailer was challenging, especially going down the Crown King downhill, but we made it even with the few added challenges, like the wide loads, several other very slow vehicles, and lots of traffic.

Our next part of our journey finally took us off the Interstate in Flagstaff where we began driving US-89. For many miles of US-89 there were rough road signs where the roads were wavy as can be and we felt as if we were bucking broncos, it was treacherous, but for the most part it was a great road.

We drove 200 miles to Page, AZ to the Antelope Point Marina & RV Park where we got a pull through with magnificent views. We then made our Antelope Canyon Boat Tour reservations for the following day.

The daily boat tour is about an hour through just one of the 98 canyons in the area and it was amazing. They have a longer tour but it is only on certain days at this time. Our Captain and Co-Captain were knowledgeable, entertaining and very accommodating.

We had lunch on the floating restaurant. Jerry had the Big Dog Burger with French Fries, with the fresh jalapeños on it, it was spicy hot. I had the Rueben with Onion Rings that was scrumptious. The onion rings coating was light and crunchy. The sandwich was delicious, the corned beef was not tough and melted in my mouth.

It is such a unique experience, you catch golf carts that take you up and down the very steep area to and from the water. The docks, including the restaurant and store are all floating and are attached by cables only because the water depths are about 400’. We would highly recommend everything, everyone was so accommodating and seemed as if they enjoyed their jobs.

Antelope Point RV Campground

Navajo Nation Reservation

537 Marina Pkwy

Page, AZ

(928) 645-5900

4/2024

 

We paid $154.08 for 2 nights for a pull through with water, 110/30/50 amp electric and sewer site on a level cement slab. There is an additional $30 charge to enter the area if you do not have a National Park Pass.

A quiet park with hardly any amenities, except of course the exceptional views and the Canyon water access. There is a restaurant, store, marina with boat tours and watercraft rentals of all types. It’s a unique experience that we would highly recommend.

Verde Valley Resort TT

6400 E Thousand Trails Road

Cottonwood, AZ 86326

(928) 634-8158

4/2024

We used our Thousand Trails Membership for a 50-amp electric with water and sewer on gravel pull through buddy site that we paid $21.27 extra for 4 nights.

This resort is HUGE with sites on tiers with magnificent views. Now seeing some of the other sites, we would have preferred a back-in in section F or G that would have been perfect because they had so much more room everywhere, and we would not have had to share our patio with a family with several kids.

Verizon was terrible, even after paying an extra $15 a week or $6 a day for WiFi, the service was still terrible.

 

There was a “Food Truck” on-site that just happened to be a short walk from us, so we tried it when we arrived, and we were definitely NOT disappointed. The Swiss Mushroom Burger was so scrumptious, the mushrooms were sautéed to perfection leaving their flavor to pop with each bite, and the Swiss cheese skirt was a nice touch. Onion Rings were crunchy but not too well done, and the coating was flavorful. French Fries were good, and the California Burger also had a cheese skirt and was tasty. We would highly recommend trying them when you’re at the resort, they were not very expensive either.

Because of no internet and no laundry on site, we will not be returning.