Scope Photos by Harold Merton

In our last issue we featured the first of our 55 plus RV resort stories
on Rincon Country West RV Resort in Tucson, Arizona.

There's becoming a much greater interest among our readers in winter
seasonal parks and we travelled to one of the most popular winter escape areas for that story - Southern Arizona. In this issue we present our second winter 55 plus seasonal RV resort, a sister park to Rincon West, Rincon Country East RV Resort on the other side of Tucson.

We had arrived in Northern Arizona at the Flagstaff KOA in Flagstaff when we met up with two Ontario Airstream owners who had just come north from the southern part of the state.

In a discussion with those two Ontario RV families we learned that there
was a very nice RV park on the east side of Tucson that was not near the railway, didn't have the bad smell from the local sewage pollution plant creeping into the park and had a new manager from Ohio that was keenly interested in attracting Canadian RVers to Arizona and his park for the winter season.

It would be some weeks later that we finally ventured far enough south to
consider the Tucson area. After visiting the Mesa area we called the park and spoke to manager Gary Fisher.

Mr. Fisher was very enthused about the possibilities of RV winter
vacations in the Tucson area and listed a number of things in the area that make great things to do on an extended vacation including spring baseball at Tucson Electric Park and a number of fine golf courses.

He also mentioned the Arizona Desert Museum and the fact that Rincon
Resorts were right in the centre of the Old West territory with a number of attractions including the Old Tucson Studios, a location were western movies have been filmed for years, and the famous town of Tombstone, about an hours drive away. We made arrangements to head down to Rincon East arriving a few days later. This park was built by George O'Leary and family in 1979 and opened as a destination park for 55 plus residents. Mr. O'Leary had built a mobile home park nearby previous to that but decided a good RV park for 55 plus residents had potential.

After building this resort he built the second Rincon park on the west
side of Tucson a few years later.

Rincon Country East RV Resort is built on a 25 acre site and now has about 460 sites. This is a very beautiful park with great attention to landscaping and recreational facilities.

There are two types of residents here, those who are permanent (either for the season or for the year) and those RVers like ourselves who stay either for a few days, a few weeks or even a few months when they find out how much they like the park and the residents.

When we arrived at the park to check in we were greeted by park
Ambassadors Lee and Sharon Wanovich. They are part of a group of volunteers who take you by golf cart to the site where you will be staying, then assist you in hooking up. After that is done they drive you around the park to show you where everything is and to familiarize you with the layout and recreational facilities.

We had a choice of taking a spot near the front for short stay visitors or
being in the interior of the park with the park model units. We chose to be in the park and it was a great choice because we met some very nice people in the time we were there.

The park has a gated entrance and one either has to punch in their code number or use a magnetic swipe card to get the electric gates to open.

Once inside you are virtually overwhelmed with the beautiful landscaping that lines the main roadway up to the office. Large evergreens reach to the sky and are flanked by beautiful flower beds and they actually have grass, a rare sight in Arizona.

In the centre of the park is a large complex that houses their offices,
recreation hall, activity rooms, library, laundry, washroom buildings and
one of the nicest swimming pools we have had the pleasure of using. The pool area is built up above the surrounding streets and RVs so that when you are on the pool deck you can look over the RVs and see the beautiful mountains and fabulous sunsets. If you like sunsets well this area is for you - they are breathtaking!

We met with the congenial manager Gary Fisher and knew immediately that this was one stay we were really going to enjoy! He went out of his way to make sure everything was to our satisfaction and that we knew what was happening. Gary took us on a tour of the fabulous recreation room and we came in on a great buffet pot luck that the residents were holding. Many of the residents come back year after year and this is a second home and a second family for them. Getting together with friends for a good meal is just something one really enjoys in a great place like this park. We moved on and saw the other facilities in the complex.

Of course the sites were top rate. We had a spot with a large concrete pad beside our motorhome with services in the right place. The water, electric and sewer connections were all right where they should be and as a bonus there was a TV cable hookup as well.

The washroom building was just a short walk from our site and the O'Leary family has not cut corners here. The showers were wonderful and kept very clean by their own staff. As we walked to the showers each morning we passed the folks at the shuffleboard courts who completed their daily ritual before the temperature rose in the day. We found the weather absolutely fabulous for March and early April. The pool area is very popular with the sunbathers and those who just come to read and relax. The park is located in a residential area on the east side of Tucson with fabulous views of the mountains. It is very quiet and the air is delightful ... just what we were looking for.

Adjacent to the pool and office area are a number of activity rooms for
crafts, ceramics and other hobby pastimes and there is a great library that any of the residents and visitors can access. A beautiful little grassed area in the midst of it all houses a water fountain that gives a relaxing atmosphere for those who would just like to sit and relax.

While there we made side trips to local attractions, some fabulous malls
and some very delightful restaurants - but every time we returned to the
park we went back to a great bunch of residents who really made us feel at home.

There are a number of clubs in operation each winter and they are very
popular. We peeked in on folks doing line dancing, lapidary, carving,
computers, cards, sewing, ceramics, photography, woodworking and a number of other activities that would keep anyone busy for weeks.

Outside they have activities both in the park and nearby including
horseshoes, golf, swimming, Tai Chi and others too numerous to mention. There also is a storage area for residents to keep RV, trailers etc. on hand ready for their return home.

The park also brings in periodic entertainment and on one of our first
nights there was a family of musicians that comes once a year to entertain. They were good, the crowd loved them and it was obvious that the park's social directors were busy looking after the recreational needs of the parks residents.

We really found this park to be very relaxing. Isn't that what we are all
looking for when we search out an RV resort?

The manger Gary Fisher went out of his way to be friendly with everyone, the ambassadors continually made contact with us and the local residents accepted us as just another family enjoying the great winter in Arizona. This is one stop we are really glad we made.

Mr. Fisher is encouraging Canadians to "come down and enjoy the fabulous winter in Arizona." With plenty to do and a great park with great people, this would make a great winter destination for any of us. There already are several Canadian families who make the resort their home each season and I am certain others will add to it in the future.

"Gary Fisher, Manager"

They are a Good Sam Park so offer the same discount as other Good Sam Parks do to the members. They have a new section of deluxe RV spots that should be finished by the time you read this story and they have about 10 park models that they rent on a monthly basis just in case you would like to fly down for a month or so.

For $40,000 to $50,000 you can buy yourself a great new park model with Arizona room and leave it there for years.

Their rate is $575 a month for RV spots right up to $3,500 for a yearly
site. A seasonal site (which runs for 5 months) is available at $2,295 and you can leave your RV home on the site for the entire year then come back again next winter.

Many of their residents arrive in mid-November and leave in early April.
They take full advantage of the fabulous weather and then head north to
their other homes for the rest of the year. It can get hot in Tucson in
summer months with the thermometer passing the 100 degree mark. That is why so many of the residents leave in April to head north.<

You can't go wrong with this resort. It is beautiful, functional, there is
plenty to do and the staff, volunteers and residents are tops. The rates are certainly reasonable for all that you get. We'll give them the blue ribbon for our "Best RV resort of the year" and we see a lot of RV parks in our travels.As I write this story the temperature is well below freezing here in Ontario and the snow outside is blowing. My mechanic just called to say my snowblower is repaired and he'll be back with it in a while. Man I wish I was at Rincon Country East instead of here!