Gila River | Wild Camping

Sandwiched between farmland, canals, and mountain foothills, this patch of land is popular with ATVers. I don't know who manages the land but it's obviously well used. The camping area is huge so we parked far away from a large group and closer to a single fifth wheel. As it turned out the large group was quiet and the kids camping in the fifth wheel were the ones buzzing around in the dirt for several hours. :D This was during the week and I'm sure weekend will be pretty noisy with a lot of activity. 

The ground is hard packed so rolling is fairly easy.

The area is large enough for any vehicle, The road down to the camp area is rough with large rocks but should be navigable with any vehicle. 

Camping     33.08068, -111.31207

Casa Grande Neon Sign Park

 A very nice collection of restored neon signs from defunct Casa Grande businesses have been erected in a landscaped lot donated by the owners of the local newspaper. The neon shows up nicely at dusk. We stayed later for the full night effect but I'm not very good at taking night photos.

The site is accessible with paved paths circling around all  of the signs.

The main lot is gravel without a ramp to the paths but there are three paved lots and street parking that can be used. I recommend the lot behind the Covenant Church for easy wheelchair access and RV parking. Vehicles longer than 40' should be parked in the gravel lot. Park   32.87821, -111.75401 

Dwarf Car Museum

 I was poking around on Google maps looking for boondocking spots when I noticed the Dwarf Car Museum icon. The museum is out in the middle of nowhere and even after looking at the museum website I wasn't sure what to expect but since we stop everywhere, off we went!

What an unexpectedly interesting stop! Ernie Adams started building wheeled contraptions with scavenged bicycles parts and appliance motors when he just a kid. At 22 he built his first dwarf car using old refrigerator sheet metal and simple tools,. 

There are about a dozen cars in the museum, each built on a 11/16" scale with everything but the engines and transmissions made by hand. The attention to detail is amazing especially considering that many of Ernie's tools have been made or modified by him and one of the most used tools is a hammer. Watch at least part of the movie that runs in a continuous loop to see construction details. 

 

The museum walls and shelves are filled with antiques and memorabilia. Visitors are welcome to roam the grounds where old metal appliances and other scrap metal is stored for future projects, although, at 82 Ernie is probably not going to do any more building. He is, however, on site most days and willing to answer questions. I spoke with him briefly and wanted to take a photo of him but unfortunately he went home before I got the chance. 

Make sure to check out Ernie's original workshop. 

 

The museum is accessible. There are several ramps where visitors using wheelchairs may need assistance and the grounds are rough in spots. 

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. Museum  32.89585, -112.13603 

Sonoran Desert NM Boondocking

Route 238, which connects Maricopa to Gila Bend, travels through the Sonoran Desert National Monument. Several dirt roads on the north side of Route 238 venture into the monument. Most of the roads have sign boards with all the rules and information. As far as we could tell vehicle travel is limited in this area to dirt bikes, ATVs, and jeeps. There are also signs blocking access to open areas but we found an large area without a sign that had been previously used, possibly for offloading ATVs. Use caution when camping here because we may have been breaking rules. 

 

We were only about 600' off of Route 238 but we walked/rolled a short distance farther before we came to places where the road was too rough for easy rolling. Monument  33.04208, -112.33112 

Talking Stick Resort Casino

This is one of the few casinos we've visited that charges to stay in their lot. However, it's very convenient to Arizona Boardwalk where we had passes to some of the attractions ( a Christmas present from our daughter :) ) so it was a perfect spot for us to spend a few days.

RV parking is the far northwest corner of the casino lot. Check in and pay at the gift shop then go to the lost and found/security booth to get a pass. Stay is limited to six consecutive days in every thirty days, 

Go east across the parking lot to get to the closest entrance which is by the parking garage. People without mobility issues can use the stairs by the garage entrance. A passerby suggested that we use the elevators  in the garage but there may be a ramp that we didn't see. The casino floor and machines are accessible.

Arizona Boardwalk is a little over a mile from the casino. It's an easy level walk with a good sidewalk so we walked/rolled there and back a couple times. The Boardwalk is a two story entertainment complex with nine attractions plus restaurants and shops located around a central courtyard.

Casino  33.54169, -111.87291

Museum of Illusions

 Mirrors, tilted floors, op art. and photo manipulation create a alternate reality where nothing is quite as it seems. Games and hands-on exhibits add to the fun at this small museum. The museum was almost empty when we visited so we could experience all of the exhibits but that might be harder on a busy day.

Some of the exhibits have tilted floors which makes wheelchair access difficult. Other exhibits only work correctly from a standing position. 

 

The parking lot at Arizona Boardwalk where the conservatory is located is large enough for any vehicle. Museum  33.5553, -111.87639