Grand Canyon Railway RV Park, Williams, AZ

After some very chilly nights on the road, we’ve finally arrived in Arizona.  However, just 40 miles west of Flagstaff at nearly 7000′, the temps are still almost as cold as Durango and Monument Valley.

We’re parked at the Grand Canyon Railway Company, a railroad, hotel and RV park in central Williams.  The park, of about 125 sites is very well laid out, roomy, with all asphalt driveways and pads.  Utilities are convenient and include “DirecTV cable TV” outlets.  The 480p, stretched image broadcasts out of Phoenix are interesting to say the least.

Grand Canyon Railway RV Park

Grand Canyon Railway RV Park, BBQ Gazebo

Situated between I-40 and the Grand Canyon train rail line, we expected this park to be very noisy.  However, with minimal tourist trains running, and our electric heater providing background noise, we found the park to be fairly quiet.  We’d stay here again.

Conveniently located across the street from the RV Park is Grand Canyon Brewing & Distillery.  The brewery offers about a dozen brews, about 8 specialty spirts and 4 “ready to drink” canned cocktails.  In addition, they offer tasty food items such as brewery wings, soups, salads and burgers and sandwiches.  MENU

After 3 nights in Williams, we’ll head to Lake Havasu City, and hopefully warmer temps.  More from Havasu!

Desert Gardens RV Resort

Desert Gardens RV Resort, Site #D53

After seeing ads in Trailer Life magazine, we were curious about this 70+ acre, 200+ site RV Resort Coop where the individual sites are available for sale.  About a hour south of the Phoenix metro area and less than an hour north of Tuscon, Desert Gardens is just outside the small but interesting town of Florence, AZ.  The ads that the resort have been running proclaim some of the largest RV sites available – and we’d have to agree.

The largest sites are 60×70, the next are 60×55 and the “smallest” are 40×50.  Upon arrival we were assigned D-53 one of the “smallest” sites.  Site depth seems about the same as other large sites, but across the site was plenty of room for a large patio, the truck beside it and then still about 10 feet before reaching the next site.  The developer has done a great job of preserving much of the natural desert including trees, cactus and the huge towering saguaro.

We arrive with no preconception of what to expect and left very intrigued about the possibility of RV site ownership.  The sense of community was evident – we met many of the staff and residents who were friendly and open to talking about their decisions to purchase.  We toured the great amenities including a gym, pool/hot tub, wood working shop, a glass craft shop and the clubhouse.  All around we noticed the attention to detail, the obvious pride of ownership and friendly, out-going nature of everyone.  Thanks Eric and Marcy – we’re very impressed with what we saw!

Desert Gardens Resort Map

Typical street, corner lot

Lot F32, 55′ X 60′

Lot E7, 60′ X 70′

Lot E7

Clubhouse Gardens

Hot Tub

Pool

Pool

Workout Room

Pool tables in Clubhouse

Library in Clubhouse

Available D57 & D81

Available D81 & D57

Available D24 & D46

Available D46 & D24

Typical landscaping with Gazebo

Sunset over Desert Gardens