Dear Friends and Followers,
Gourmet Girl Gail here. We trust everyone had a glorious Thanksgiving! There is so much to be grateful for, and we feel blessed each and every day for our good friends, including all of you, and the wonderful possibilities for new adventures and experiences in the future.
A couple of weeks ago in a blog post, I mentioned the KOA in Gila Bend, Arizona, recently purchased by Scott Swanson. So, my friend Ellen and I made the trip to visit Scott to see what’s up and to spend our Thanksgiving weekend in the area.
On TG day, Scott and his crew cooked for 50 or so RVers staying in his park. They cooked two turkeys and a turkey breast. Below is Scott’s mom Sandy and another great KOA gal, Donna. Scott is carving.
Everyone else made the sides, which were plentiful to say the least. When Ellen and I arrived, we learned that there is no grocery store in Gila Bend. Yikes! We hadn’t thought well enough ahead about what we’d contribute. Thankfully, Scott had us covered. He had ordered from “Hello Fresh.” Although, as foodies with a camping cookbook no less, and it’s hard to admit, the stuffing was delish!
Scott has already done numerous improvements to the park which we got to enjoy along with the snowbirds who will stay through the winter before heading back home or elsewhere. The pool and gas fire pit on the veranda of the community ranch house were just the tip of the iceberg. Scott designed the fire pit himself. He put in three doggie parks for the guests’ canine friends and is about to open an awesome bath house.
Did I mention that the Gila Bend KOA won the 2018 Rising Star Award!
The day after Thanksgiving we hit the road in Scott’s rig for a couple of days. Now this was a real learning experience for me, knowing I want to join the gypsy bandwagons in the not too distant future. We visited Tombstone, Arizona, where the famous Wyatt Earp gunfight took place.
We also visited Karchnter Caverns State Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in the Sonoran Desert (both incredible). I will cover these in more detail in future posts. Here we are saying goodbye to our amazing host Scott and his sidekick, Winston, a most intelligent dog.
I’m always happy to return to Santa Barbara after being in the desert environment, which has its own allure. Seeing the ocean and smelling the salt water again was a pleasure. Many of you may have had similar experiences. Feel free to write and let us know what adventures you’ve had and what adventures lay ahead. We’d love to know!
Until next time, happy trails!
Gail, Denise and Lindsey
#gourmetgirlsonfire