The Drive to Camp Verde, Arizona: Grass, Trees and Flowing Rivers

With mid-day temperatures reaching into the 90's at Apache Junction, the time had come to look for more moderate weather. Our stay at Apache Junction, combining time at Carefree Manor and Budget RV, totaled nearly two weeks and our 'feet were itchy' again.

The next destination, Camp Verde, Arizona, was about 130 miles north of Apache Junction.  It took an hour to drive through metropolitan Phoenix, traveling east along highway 60 and then north on I-17 between the Prescott and Tonto National Forests. 

See the grass and weeds...

Along the way we drove out of the cactus filled, dusty, flat desert and climed to 3,000+ feet elevation where, in place of the beautiful succulents, we saw clumps of grass and weeds along the roadside. Later we saw medium sized trees. 

The air got cooler as we drove higher on this highway into Flagstaff, where we will not go as the night temperatures are regularly well below freezing. 

Here's some more of what we saw:



Grassy roadsides.






The trees are getting bigger...

More green.  Some grasses and weeds too.

The trees are taller here.

We begin to see cedar trees reaching some 20-30 feet.

We called ahead to be sure the Western Horizon at Camp Verde Campground would honor our CampClub USA membership. Our site will not have sewer and has a 3-day limit. There is a real river (more like a stream) that runs along the edge of the campground.  At $15 a night, that works for us.  We arrived in early afternoon and settled in comfortably. The daytime temperature is in the mid-70's.  Ah ha and oh joy!



Our site.  It has grass but no "doggie sidewalk".
  Lexie has not seen grass since December.
She does not like walking on it. Prefers dust.




See the "real" trees on our campsite.
The trees are budding.