A Little About the Area

Our current campground is part of a private network of campgrounds in Southern Arizona and California--a membership campground. You pay an large amount of money upfront to purchase a membership which entitles you to stay "free" for two to three weeks at a time before you have to leave the park system for a week which in theory allows other members access to the campground. You also continue to pay yearly dues for as long as you own your membership. We figure we used the system enough to have paid off all our fees by the second year, so it has worked for us.

What is strange about this particular park is that the campground does not own the land it sits upon. The Colorado River Indian Tribes own about 300,000 acres along both sides of the Colorado River (Arizona and California)and they worked out long term leases with the various campgrounds and mobile home parks on both sides of the river. Coming up Hwy. 95 from Ehrenberg you'll see fields of cotton, alfalfa and sorghum being grown by tribal members and of course there is the ubiquitous casino in Parker. The CRIT has apparently come to an agreement with Wal*mart to build a new store and shopping area in Parker, which would save everyone about an 80 mile round trip which would be handy. But they are also planning on creating a new museum at the Poston War Relocation Center where thousands of Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II, so the efforts of the tribe are not simply commercial. How ironic that a group of people who were forced from their native lands onto reservations are creating a monument to another race of people who were forced onto a different type of reservation.

The town of Parker exists mainly on the tourist traffic--those who come to play on the Colorado River. There are a few restaurants, a couple of fast food places, two grocery stores, a tiny museum, the casino and some small retail stores. Like so many towns in southwestern Arizona, its populace swells in winter when the RVers arrive which can be a double edged sword to those who live here. Unlike many other towns overrun with snowbirds in winter, the people who live here don't seem to resent our intrusion too much. And believe me, after a while, you come to appreciate that a lot. Of course, the river draws people year round for water skiing, jet skiing, boating (the cigarette boats are fantastic here), fishing and leisurely cruises on pontoon boats so the folks around here are used to tourists. It's a good place to relax or to be a busy as you want with water sports or hiking/biking/ATVing in the desert hills. Just don't come to shop.