Friday, October 11 Through Saturday, October 12, 2019
Getting there…. new freeway around Hoover Dam area.
Drove to the wrong KOA first. The people at the Grand Canyon / Williams KOA Journey were really nice about our mistake. Since they were affiliated with Williams / Exit 167 / Circle Pines KOA Holiday, our actual destination, they were able to verify that we did in fact have reservations at the other KOA before giving us directions to get there. Who would have thought there were two KOAs in little Williams Arizona?
We were one of many campers arriving at lunchtime to check-in the Friday of the Columbus Day weekend. The park was full during the holiday weekend.
Getting potable water is a problem in this area. There are constant reminders around the park to conserve water. Water is trucked in by big tanker trucks. The water is transferred to a large tank uphill from the office. The tankers delivered water multiple times while we were there.
Two Water Tanker Trucks Filling Water Tank
The campsites are small and crowded. In our case, our uphill neighbor, whose travel trailer was too large for his site, parked his truck in our patio area. He didn’t have anywhere else to park. A walk around the campground showed that we weren’t the only ones crowded by neighbors. Overcrowding was everywhere.
I had seen Conestoga Wagon styled cabins in Winthrop / North Cascades National Park KOA but didn’t get a good look at the interior. Near the park office, there was a Conestoga Wagon with a sign on it saying “*Open House* New Covered Wagon Sleeps 6.”
Looking inside I saw a large (king size?) bed at the back and two bunk beds on each side in the front. Looks cozy. Not sure how it would work in excessively hot or cold weather. The wagons in Winthrop Washington had air conditioners hanging off their bottoms. Didn’t see those here.
Away from the open house wagon, there was a teepee and Conestoga wagon camping area setup in a circle of sorts.
Some of the teepees were very festive looking, at least on the outside.
This park seems to be oriented toward families with small children. A number of activities are available for preteen and younger kids like the ones shown below.
In addition, there are activities for preteen and early teens like go-cart racing. I thought about taking one of the carts out for a spin until I heard a track attendant telling a family of go-cart racers the track rules. Racing go-carts isn’t fun if it isn’t fast, competitive and a little rough and tumble.
This KOA has three large areas for dogs to be off leash in. There are two dog parks side by side near the bottom of the hill by the freeway outer road.
Another dog park with plenty of roam around space near the go-cart track.
Campfire smoke was a problem for us and the dogs. Without breeze, smoke hangs in the campground. Roughly a third of the campers had wood fires going. Every campsite had fire pits and they were being put to good use. The smoke was thick enough that we had burning eyes, headache and stuffy nose. We closed all the windows and turned off the fans.
With the fans off, the revelers tending their campfires were heard. Not the best night of sleep.
After stopping by laundromat mid-afternoon and finding it overcrowded, we opted to do laundry at 5:30 in the morning. We weren’t the only ones washing clothes that early but all of us were able to get enough washers and dryers to do laundry.
Overnight, one of the camper’s propane bottles emptied. Walked over to office to buy ice and inquire about getting the empty propane bottle filed.
The nice desk clerk said, “It will be a half hour or so. As soon as he finishes cleaning the pool.” Fifty minutes later, after dropped the propane bottle off at the propane filling spot, a motorhome guy needing to fill his propane tank tried to tell me they were there was a problem with getting propane before getting into his motorhome and driving in a huff. Being an optimist, I didn’t quite understand what he was getting at.
In office, a different and not so nice clerk said, “It will be a half hour to an hour before he frees up.”
“That is what you said an hour ago,” I said flatly.
Angrily, she said, “It will take what it takes.”
My immediate thought “I’m being lied to. Bad customer experience. They have no idea when or if propane will be available.” I went back to the propane filling station, picked up my empty propane bottle and put it back in the camper. Then I finished packing up, hitched the Jeep and was ready to go on to our next park, Grand Canyon National Park.
This park is at most an hour from Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim Area. In the future, instead of wasting time at this KOA, we would either go further down the road or stay a few nights at the Grand Canyon.
Hope to see you on the road ahead!