I live in the Desert Southwest. I tire of seeing posts from RVers that complain of no lush green grass in the campgrounds out here. Folks it's the desert. Hot, Dry, mostly under water restrictions, get over it. I can take you to several campgrounds out that are fully functional in all aspects, but lacking in the greenery that is found in other states. I always rate my stays based on my expectation. A dry dusty park without shade in the upper peninsula of Michigan wouldn't rate high as my aesthetic expectations were not met, but I would rate them well if they too had fully functioning services. The bottom line is to be realistic in your ratings.
Well said! As someone who lived in ABQ for 5 years, I learned to appreciate attractive xeriscaping. Turf grass isn't natural to the desert and doesn't belong there IMO.
I have been visiting the American Southwest for the last few months. I find the landscapes (and they differ from region to region) to be amazing! Having come from a rain forest environment (in the winter) to this hot, dry (not barren at all) climate is a treat. I too, wonder why folks who don't like the desert are here! Darrell & Jerry
Perhaps they enjoy the warmer weather, but have some issues with the dryness and the lack of green grass. I know my DW couldn't take the low humidity any longer, so sadly we no longer visit the desert. I have always thought the desert was great. I've seen more flora and fauna in the Sonoran desert than many parts of the Great Basin or the High Plains.
One of our favorite destination areas is the desert area of the Pacific Southwest with the Sonoran being where we stay the most when we travel there. When the desert is in bloom it is a spectacular sight to see as you drink your morning coffee. And watching those amazing sunsets at the end of a perfect day makes for a wonderful night's rest. We live on the other side of the tracks, up in the No.Calif. Sierra and that has a beauty all its' own too but we look forward to throwing out the anchor each spring and drinking in all the beauty the desert has waiting for us. To those that haven't RV'd in the desert, you don't know what you're missing. Notice I said RV'd in the desert, and not in some in the city fansy-shmansy RV resort with cement everywhere............ BankShot.............(aka Terry)
We've visited the southwest several times over the years, both with and without an RV, and have always enjoyed the scenery and weather. As we've gotten older though, the dry heat has not done well with my wife's breathing problems, so we've made the more humid southeast our winter choice now. We also love seeing the greenery here, especially in the state parks that have a more "jungle like" feel to them. If we had the choice, we would likely alternate between the SW and SE. Maybe the folks that complain about the lack of greenery in the SW should get together with the folks that complain about the dense foliage in the SE. They could have a heck of a "pity party" I think. Maybe the couple at our last park (Midway Campground - NPS) in the southern Florida's Big Cypress Preserve that complained they were never coming back because the park "allows" alligators in the pond and canal could join them...
So what's there to be afraid of with an 8 foot alligator? As long as you can swim faster than the other person in the pond, you be safe............ BankShot........(aka Terry)
We were at one South Carolina park that had two large signs by the pond, "No Swimming" and "SC law prohibits feeding alligators". I figured the second sign was probably the reason for the first sign...
