Phoenix Area - McDowell Mountain Regional Park

By Ross

Is this an adventure blog? Well if kicking back in a beautiful park under warm days and cool nights is adventuring, then we're the Magellan's of travel trailer living. McDowell is a large county park in the desert northeast of Phoenix proper. Surrounding the park are the high end retirement golfing communities of Fountain Hills and Troon North, or as I like to call them, the Scottsdales of Scottsdale. Given the tasty weather, I can see the attraction to the area.

As usual I spent my mornings biking the multitude of area trails while Robin ran her workouts. One morning during a run she was approached by a ranger who cautioned that the rattlesnakes were out and about and that she should stay in the middle of the trail. I told her that it was a classic pick up line that I used all the time in my youth.

On occasion we drove into town for provisions, mostly spinach and kale. Because...yum. The nearest organic, non-GMO, non-MSG food store was 20 miles away which is not a problem in our big diesel truck. We believe in balance. We stopped at the famous Sugar Jam Bake Shop known for their pies and took home slices of apple and pumpkin pies. Let me just say these were the best slices of pie we've had on our trip to date. And the young baker-owner had the happiest baker demeanor.

And now we're heading down to Catalina State Park near Tucson and camped overnight at a Harvest Host winery called Windmill Winery. Harvest Host is a paid membership program that organizes free overnight camping at farms, wineries, and the like with the expectation that we might make a purchase from the host. We spent some time at Windmill's lovely wine tasting room and purchased a bottle on the way out. Arizona produces a fair amount of wine. Who knew? We don't drink nearly as much wine as we have in the past but still enjoy a nice bottle every now and then. And with that exciting tidbit, we'll see you down the road.

T’Chat enjoying a sunrise in McDowell Mountain Regional Park

The fountain of Fountain Hills, AZ

Windmill Winery