Rolling in the Goodyear

January 1, 2013 - It was a cool 3ºC and sunny on New Years Day as we took our time preparing for our trip to Cotton Lane RV Resort in Goodyear AZ. 

The Rose Parade from Pasadena had started at 9:00 am so Randal taped as much as he could before 10:30 am. We got to see Donate Life Float that my cousin Larry's daughter, Julie Humeston was involved with. It was pretty impressive.

We left Holiday Palm RV Park at 11:00 am and headed east on I-10. We noticed that the terrain had “blowing dust” signs, for the loose find sand. There appeared to have less cactus and no black varnish weathered rocks. The desert along the highway was fenced in. The Harquahala Mountain Range was seen in the distance to the North.

It was a 120 mile drive to Goodyear, East of Phoenix As we entered Maricopa County at Tonopah. We could see bellows of smoke off to the South, above the mountains. A sign saying “Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station” is a nuclear power plant located in Tonopah, AZ about 45 miles west of central Phoenix. It is the largest nuclear generation facility in the United States. Located in the Arizona desert, Palo Verde is the only nuclear generating facility in the world that is not situated adjacent to a large body of above-ground water. The facility evaporates water from the treated sewage of several nearby municipalities to meet its cooling needs.

We passed over the dry Hassayampa River, an intermittent river, the headwaters of which are just south of Prescott, AZ, and flows mostly south towards Wichenberg entering the Gila River near Hassayampa , AZ. Although the river has only subsurface flow for much of the year, it has significant perennial flows above ground within the Hassayama River Canyon Wilderness.

There are cotton fields in the area. We arrived at Cotton Lane RV Resort, Goodyear, Maricopa County, AZ. www.arizonaresorts.com at 1:00 pm. The sites are very wide so there is a lot of room to park the truck and still give us room to spread our mats. Right away our neighbours introduced themselves. The are from Wintson Salem NC. The Resort is a large one with over 400 sites. It is only half full. And very open. The office is closed today so we will register tomorrow.

After we set up, had a lunch, Randal connected to and paid for a months internet service with Jabba Communications, for $29.95, We now have a very good WIFI, the best for a long time.

We went for a drive around the Resort and down Van Buren Street into Goodyear ans Avondale. We found where the business section was. The housing developments and golf courses look very recent.

Goodyear was established in 1917 with the purchase of 16,000 acres of land by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to cultivate cotton for vehicle tire threads. World War II was important to Goodyear in the 1940's as the current Phoenix Goodyear Airport was built, but after the war, the economy suffered. Goodyear became a town on November 19, 1946. At the time, it had 151 homes and 250 apartments, a grocery store, a barber shop, beauty shop and a gas station. In January 1965, a harness racing track opened. At the time, there was no Interstate 10 or any major roads from Phoenix to Goodyear for access to the track. It closed under two years later, but still stands, and has not been used since then. The town became a city in 1985. In the 1980s, the remaining 10,000 acres of the original Goodyear Tire acreage was sold for future development. The Phoenix Goodyear Airport was renamed to its current name in 1986. Throughout the 1990's and 2000's, new homes and communities brought the population increasing rapidly. Goodyear continues to grow as more communities and homes are continuing to be built.

We could see the beautiful sunset this evening from our dining-room window. We have a good view of the sun rise from the office window tomorrow. Not obstructions.

How better can that get and what else is possible?