Campground Review: Escapee's Saguaro Co-Op Benson, AZ

I transitioned from complete off the grid boondocking on BLM land at Indian Bread Recreation Area to the full amenity hookups at the Escapee's Saguaro Co-Op in Benson, AZ.

The Saguaro Co-Op check-in office.

The reason I made this move was two-fold.  First Benson is the closest town of any size to Indian Bread rec area and after a week there some of the Tank's supplies needed restocking.  The second reason was that the Co-Op offers a tremendous first visit deal to Escapee's, seven days of full hookups and use of their facilities for $50.00!  (I'm uncertain if non-members can get the same deal, call ahead and ask.)  The hookups even include free cable and the RV park has very strong WiFi that was more than usable.  For less than $8 a day you can't beat this deal anywhere.

The view from the Tank's site at the Co-Op.

Here's the Co-Op data sheet:

Hookups:                                             30 and 50 amp, water, sewer                         

Fire ring:                                              No                                          

Water Access:                                     No                                          

Fresh Water:                                        Yes                             

Trash Service:                                      Yes                                         

Toilets:                                                Yes                             

Showers:                                             Yes                             

Dump station:                                      Yes                             

WiFi:                                                   Yes, strong                             

Level sites:                                          Yes                             

Laundry:                                              Yes                             

Store:                                                   No                                          

Pool:                                                    No                              

Shade:                                                 No                  

Verizon reception:                                4G, 4 bars                                                       

Internet reception:                                4 bars  

Cost:                                                  $50 for 7 days (first time visits only)    

The residents at the Saguaro Co-Op are like Escapee's everywhere, uniformly friendly and older than me and they really welcome renter's because the rent goes into a master fund that defrays any annual assessments the residents may incur like road repair or storm damage repair, etc.    The Welcome Lady (every Escapee facility has one) who comes by the first day to explain the Co-Op and tell you about the facility only put the mildest of sales pitches on me in encouraging me to get on the Co-Op's wait list to buy a spot in the Co-Op when it opened up, no time-share type grilling.  I figure I have several years of full-timing in me before I "settle down" so I politely passed on putting down the $500 refundable wait list deposit, but she did mention the list was 275 names long!  

The Co-Op clubhouse.  It even had a workout room with weight machine!

   

In my exercise walking around the quiet streets of the Co-Op (speed limit 15 mph) I was struck by how meticulous the grounds were kept, both resident's sites and the common areas.  Almost every plant in the landscape schemes had hand lettered little name plates telling you the name of the plant which was kind of cool!

A cactus in one of the public areas with it's name plate.

As the Co-Op is in the middle of the desert a few miles south of Benson the landscape scheme centers around desert plants and stone, I don't remember seeing a single blade of grass but the whole place was very attractive with the mountains in the background.

I enjoyed the luxury of having hookups and exercise facilities for a week at the Saguaro Co-Op and would recommend taking advantage of their tremendous first visit offer.  You DO have to pay for your electricity but my heavy usage only came to $3.75 for the whole week so no big deal there.

Thanks for reading!

Campground Review: Indian Bread Rocks Recreation Area Bowie, AZ

If you are driving along west on I-10 and take the Bowie, AZ exit and then proceed south on Apache Pass Point Rd for about seven miles you would come upon Happy Camp Canyon Rd.  Turn onto it and after about four miles of road that is marked by signs like this:

The road wasn't as bad as this sign makes you think.

You cross four cattle guards and come to the Indian Bread Rocks Recreation Area which is administered by the BLM.

Elevations from 4000 to 7500 feet.

As you enter the recreation area there is a small picnic area on your left underneath a giant (and the area's sole) live oak tree.

This is the only "real" tree in the whole rec area.

Because Indian Bread Rocks (I have no idea what the name refers to) is BLM land you are allowed to camp for free for up to 14 days out of each 30 day period, which is why I drove there.

The Tank's campsite at the very end of the access road.

I drove down a two-track dirt/rock access road for about two miles, stopping to reconnoiter some potential sites (they are marked by stone fire rings)  until it ended and I lucked into what I consider the best boondock site in the whole area.  The site was secluded and there were no other campers within sight of my camp and zero traffic along the access road.  Here's the campground data sheet:

Hookups:                                             None

Fire ring:                                              Yes

Water Access:                                     No

Fresh Water:                                        No

Trash Service:                                      No (pack in, pack out)

Toilets:                                                Yes – by the picnic area

Showers:                                             No

Dump station:                                      No

WiFi:                                                   No

Level sites:                                          No

Laundry:                                              No

Store:                                                  No

Pool:                                                   No

Shade:                                                No

Verizon reception:                               4G – 3 bars

Internet reception:                               3 bars

Cost:                                                  Free up to 14 days

Indian Bread Rocks Rec Area is the access point to the Dos Cabezas Mountains Wilderness area which covers 11,700 acres in Cochise County, AZ.  Beyond the beautiful desert environment the main attraction of the rec area is.....rocks!

One of the climbable rock formations in the rec area.

This looked like one the bad guys rolled in front of the stagecoach to rob it.

You have to look where you're stepping because, like a lot of BLM land, the rec area hosts free range cattle who happen to leave little "surprises" (and some NOT so little) behind wherever the graze.

Grazing cattle, they stayed well clear of my camp.

  I never saw any water tanks and there was zero standing or running water in the area so I was never able to figure out how the cattle drank but I did run across salt licks.

Note the tongue impressions from the cattle licking the salt.

I was only able to stay at Indian Bread Rocks for a week because I had to file my taxes which entailed needing to print out some documentation (the Tank doesn't carry a printer) and I actually considered driving into Wilcox, AZ (Bowie is extremely tiny, make sure you stock up at Wilcox or another decent sized city because there is nothing in Bowie.) and coming back but plans changed so I had to mark it down as a "will definitely return" location.  On my way out of the area I ran across this little guy by one of the cattle guards:

He was either lost or wild, I think he was wild.

Indian Bread Rocks Recreation Area might have a strange name but it is an outstanding boondock location that is especially great in Spring, (I would guess it might be too hot in the summer) or Fall.  I fully recommend it, just remember to bring everything you're going to require!

Thanks for reading! 

Back to Dreamcatcher RV Park

I crossed over into New Mexico hitting the Anytime Fitness club in Las Cruces and then continued on to Deming, NM to the Escapees' Dreamcatcher RV Park I previously reviewed here:  Dreamcatcher Review .

As always the staff at the Escapee park were super friendly and I extended my stay for a few days while zeroing in on a great looking boondock destination on some nearby BLM land.  I'll review that location in my next post.

Thanks for reading!