Saturday, April 21, 2018

A Week In Prescott, Then Summer in San Diego

We'd planned to spend at least a month in the high desert of Arizona but when the opportunity to house sit for my dad came up we cut our stay in Prescott down to a week.

We really like Prescott, it's high on our list of places to live. We love the dozens of miles of trails right around town and the relatively mild four season climate. But so do many, many other people. Real estate, both old and new, is in high demand. Those looking for work in construction and healthcare should be able to find jobs here for a very long time...if they can find housing.

In the meantime, we don't know if Prescott area will be our landing site, but for now we really enjoyed our week long stay.

Granite Mountain anchors the western edge of Prescott., as seen from the Williamson Valley trail head.

We spied a few locals hanging out along Butte Creek.

Beautiful Watson Lake sits right behind our RV park with miles of trails through the Granite Dells.



We love that Prescott is really focused on expanding their already robust trail system.
This is a scene along the new Easter Island trail.

Watson Lake with Granite Mountain in the distance.

Approaching an old cottonwood grove on Wilson Lake.

Some of the oldest trees in this grove are home to cormorant and great blue heron rookeries.

Cormorant nests overhead.

To stay on the trails through the Granite Dells we follow the white dots...

The claret cup hedgehogs were just beginning to bloom during our stay.

Miles and miles of fantastic boulders!


Scrambling through a canyon.

An amphitheater-like viewpoint.

We like staying at Point of Rocks RV Park, many of the perimeter sites back up to a boulder field.
That's our rig in site 56F.

We delayed our departure by a couple of days because we didn't want to drive hundreds of miles in wind like this!

We left Prescott one week ago and are now settled into my dad's house in San Diego for the rest of the summer. Our RV is parked in the driveway; stowed away and out of service for the first time since we bought it in 2012.

Rosie is running around the whole house like a maniac...you'd think she was a kitten, not a 10 year old! It's weird to be in a house, we have to walk so far to do anything...makes us appreciate how functional an RV is! But having a big kitchen and washer and dryer is pretty darn nice.

While my dad makes his fifth RV trip to Alaska, I've got a garden to work in all summer long, Hans has pickleball nearby, and the neighborhood walking can't be beat because the Pacific Ocean and San Diego Bay are each less than a mile away as the crow flies. San Diego is not a bad place to spend the summer!

32 comments:

  1. San Diego is a great place to spend the summer and get used to living in a house again. Happy you made it back! How long will you be there?

    ReplyDelete
  2. You lucky dogs!

    ReplyDelete
  3. San Diego is a great place to spend the summer, especially in a real house!
    We'll be heading to Prescott next week and will have to check out the Easter Island trail. We really like
    it there too, but it's a shame that the housing market is so tight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, we can't complain about being in SD for the summer especially in the cooler part of the city!

      Delete
  4. Okay next time I visit Arizona, I'm definitely stopping in Prescott! :) Enjoy your summer in a real home! I'm sure it takes some adjustment after living in a tiny RV for so many years. Lisa, I know you will love the full size kitchen and garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know you would get a kick out of the boulder hikes in the Granite Dells!

      Delete
  5. Joe and I agree with you about Prescott. We fell in love with it a couple of years ago. Your beautiful pictures bring Very. Ice memories to mind! Watson Lake is a fave!

    Happy house sitting! Can’t wait to see pictures of your garden!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I better get right on the photos...plenty of things are blooming in the garden right now!

      Delete
  6. I think house sitting for a few months is a good transition from being nomads. After that, will be a question of should we get serious in finding a landing home or continue being nomads for a while. And I think San Diego is the best spot for summer, perfect weather.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So sorry I missed you guys. It would have been fun being "neighbors" once again.

    Suzanne...from POR Site #61

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well darn it! Sorry we just missed you! Let us know if you head to SD...

      Delete
  8. You could do worse than having the Dells' Granite and sky blue lakes to hike around. Too bad Prescott has been discovered, but is there any decent place left that hasn't been? Maybe you can find a nice quiet cul-de-sac...on a hill...overlooking Watson. Naw. Keep looking...after your house-sitting gig.
    Box Canyon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, we worry that Prescott is too discovered (like Bend, OR), but compared to San Diego just about anything is "small town" enough for us!

      Delete
  9. Good for your daddad. we wew wimps and put our truck on the Alaska Ferry and then drove home. He kills it. Enjoy chilling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My parents first time to Alaska was in 1975, it was a six week family trip, and we took the ferry from Prince Rupert to Haines then drove all the rest of the trip...I have incredible memories of that trip!

      Delete
    2. I see where you get that travel bug.

      Delete
  10. Alaska is a lot of driving from SandyEggo. But your dad knows what he is in for after 4 previous trips. Enjoy your summer at 'home'.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your photos of your hikes in Prescott are wonderful! We want to get back there for some hiking and exploring (it's been many years since we were there). Love that they keep expanding the trails...Easter Island is a perfect name for that trail.
    It does seem that the really interesting places get "discovered" and then become really expensive. The trick is to find a cool place just before it goes viral. :-) As you said, though, just about anything would seem like a small town (and be less expensive!) than San Diego. However, you do have a lovely place to spend the summer! Enjoy your gardening!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that is the trick...gotta find that town that wants to develop an outdoor focus before anyone else discovers it!

      Delete
  12. We really enjoyed Prescott and all the hiking and paddling!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a great area, especially when you include all the stuff around Sedona and Jerome and Cottonwood!

      Delete
  13. Love those rocks!! The scrambling is such fun. And, of course, the lake is so pretty:)

    Having a house is a lot of walking!!! the bathrooms are all so far away! I like being three feet from everything:) But we are adjusting. Loving the privacy and quiet. But property is hard to come by here in Boulder City, as well and very pricey. It seems like a lot of people have discovered this town, as well. Enjoy your time at your dad's gardening and enjoying the ocean. SD is a perfect summer spot!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's crazy isn't it, how much exercise it seems we get just walking around a house compared to an RV!!!!

      Delete
  14. After looking at your beautiful photos, we will have to put Prescott and the same RV park on our future agenda.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The perimeter sites are the best, some have terrific access to the boulders. Use Google satellite to help you choose a site.

      Delete
  15. Have fun this summer! Enjoyed your Prescott photos.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It's really a shame that Prescott has been discovered. It seems that so many of the really great places to live have been. Enjoy your summer in SD in a big house.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wonderful place. Amazing shot of rocks, nest etc...

    ReplyDelete