Back at North Ranch

February in central Arizona this year had been 10 to 15 degrees below average with nighttime temperatures getting into the low 30's almost every night.  The Mini has an excellent heating system but it chews through the propane pretty quickly and, if boon-docked without hook-ups, really draws the house battery down in no time.  I have a small propane canister fueled heater but it doesn't have a thermostat -- it's either on full or off depending on when I turn the knob so it's useless for warming the Mini at night, although in the morning it quickly heats the inside of the Mini to comfortable temperatures.  So, rather than trying to "tough it out" through the cold spell I drove over to the Escapee's North Ranch RV facility near Congress, AZ.  I reviewed North Ranch previously here:  North Ranch Review .

The office at North Ranch.

With the hookups at my campsite at North Ranch I was able to run my electric space heater, which has a thermostat, at night and it managed to at least keep the Mini in the 50's through the night.

A flock of sparrows live in that cactus and serenaded me throughout the day.

I spent two weeks at North Ranch at a cost of $17.50 a day with my Escapee membership which is an outstanding value for full hookups in Arizona's busy season.  Today is the last of my 14 days here so it's moving day tomorrow.  Heading south tomorrow (hopefully for warmer climes) I'm planning to hit an Anytime Fitness in Buckeye for a workout, stock up the Mini at a near by Walmart then head south of Phoenix to more BLM land at a place called Gunsite Wash, where I've never camped so I'm looking forward to that.

Thanks for reading!