Rich & Kelly's Traveling Adventures: Tuesday, April 8, 2014 (Oracle, AZ)

Today is the day that we are driving up to Saddlebrooke Ranch. Rich had done some research on a better route to Saddlebrooke than the one we took last week when we did the day tour and had to drive up Oracle Rd with tons of stop lights and it took us forever. Rich found another route which had some hills but would hopefully be a much faster and easier route since we would be pulling the 5er.

We got packed up, both the 5er and our suitcases and headed out around 11:00 a.m. The gate leaving the RV park is very narrow and the guard shack roof line is very close to the road but we made it out just fine. The drive went well, though it was pretty hilly and we were climbing in elevation. We arrived at Saddlebrooke Ranch around noon. We pulled in and parked along side the road and gave our sales agent Terri a call to let her know we arrived and find out where we were to park the 5er. While we were waiting for a maintenance man to come and direct us to our parking place, we had a quick lunch in the truck.

Brad, the maintenance man came along in his golf cart and directed us to our parking spot behind their construction office. We weren't able to check in until 2:00 p.m. so we decided to take Gracie over to the dog park and hang out for awhile. They have a very nice fenced dog park area which is grass and is divided; one side is for dogs 25 lbs and above and the other side is for dogs 25 lbs and below. They had a nice shaded seating area, so we had a nice spot to hang out and relax and enjoy the surroundings and Gracie got to run around a bit. There was only one other dog at the park but it was on the other side but they got to say hello through the fence.

Finally it was time to go and meet with Terri. One thing that is really nice about this community is they are very dog friendly and even have a sign in the parking lot saying not to leave your pets in the vehicle but to bring them inside with you. I know part of the reason is because it gets so hot here and leaving your pets inside a hot vehicle is not a good idea. The other reason is the founder of these communities apparently is a dog lover and brings his 3 dogs with him when he comes to visit. Everyone always loves Gracie and comments on what a good dog she is, she's very friendly and loves people and when we were sitting talking with Terri she will just sit nicely on our laps.  Anyway back to our check in, we got our keys and instructions from Terri and headed to our house for the next several days.

We had so much fun walking through the house, it was huge.....this is going to be so much fun. Once we got our suitcases unpacked, we had to head to the 5er and unpack the refrigerator and freezer. Since we don't have an electric hookup, the refrigerator could run on propane, but because it is so warm outside, there is a fan that kicks on periodically through the day and we weren't sure if it would run the batteries down so decided to just unpack everything and haul it to the house. I couldn't believe how much stuff I have crammed in our refrigerator/freezer as it totally filled up the fridge/freezer in the house. I know we have what is considered a "residential" refrigerator but I didn't think it was as big as a regular refrigerator but it is.

After we got unpacked, we made a quick run to the grocery store which is about 10 minutes down the road and got a few quick easy breakfast items since we weren't going to mess with our "traditional" oatmeal breakfasts.

After we got back to our "house" and unpacked, we had a nice dinner out on the patio and then took a drive on the golf cart to check on the 5er.  Neither Rich or I had ever driven a golf cart before and once we got it figured out, it was pretty fun and a good way to get around, I see why so many people have them.