A GoneCamper minivan conversion is the LEAST expensive option for travel and camping!
Do you like to travel? Do you like to see the sights and explore new areas? Do you like to save money?
Then you will LOVE traveling and camping in a GoneCamper minivan conversion!
We recently returned from a 1,000 mile loop around southern Arizona. We wanted to visit Organ Pipe National Monument, the Saguaro National Park and the grasslands around Patagonia, Arizona in the spring to take in the blooming desert.
Blooming ocotillo cactus in southern Arizona
Now the Spring is also prime tourist season here in Arizona. People flock to Arizona to enjoy the beautiful scenery and favorable temperatures, and this includes families with children on Spring break from all over the U.S. and Canada. As a result, motels raise their rates and many are booked solid! It is not unusual to pay over $200.00 per night for an average motel room, and over $300 is not uncommon.
Instead, we traveled for four days and paid a total of only $52.00 for three nights in established campgrounds! How? By traveling in the GoneCamper minivan conversion. On top of this savings, we averaged 27 miles per gallon driving up and down the mountains in southern Arizona, including a trip to the top of Mount Lemon at nearly 10,000 feet
The last snow remaining on Mount Lemon, north of Tucson, AZ
The first day of our exploration took us to the southern border of Arizona and the Organ Pipe National Monument. This park has the only growth of the organ pipe cactus which also extends into Mexico.
We stopped at the Visitor's Center, and then drove a 25-mile loop on a gravel road to see the endless variety of cactus in the park.
Driving the loop road within Organ Pipe Monument
The gravel road was an easy drive in the Dodge Caravan. But this road would not be recommended for motor homes or vehicles pulling trailers. The GoneCamper accumulated some dust, but we enjoyed the easy drive and took in the panoramas.
After driving through the park, we returned to the campground near the headquarters. We chose an inexpensive tent campsite (even though we did not have a tent) without electricity for only $16.00. Fresh water and a bathroom with shower was only a short walk from the campsite. We were self-contained in the GoneCamper.
Camping at Organ Pipe Monument in the GoneCamper
On Day Two we drove east towards Tucson and the Saguaro National Park. The park has two sections, with a Visitor's Center in the section west of Tucson. Again, an unpaved loop takes you into the back country to see the many varieties of cactus up close.
While driving the loop within the park, we decided to take a dead end side road and were pleased to find that it led to a perfect picnic spot - with no one around! In the middle of a busy park, we had the whole desert to ourselves. Again, this would not have been possible in a motor home, even a "mini" motor home would have been unwieldy on the gravel roads, water drainage dips, and sharp corners.
A great picnic area in the Saguaro National Park
After our picnic lunch, we decided to take a drive to the top of Mount Lemon. the views were great and the air was cool at 10,000 feet. Our plan for Day Three was to start early with a visit to the Sonoran Desert Museum. This museum is just outside the Saguaro Park, and we found a tent campsite in a campground run by Pinal County. Again, we needed no facilities other than access to water and a bathroom and the cost was very reasonable. The GoneCamper has a full-size bed and we slept comfortably, then woke early with the sunrise.
The full-size bed in the GoneCamper, with storage below.
The Sonoran Desert Museum is a botanical garden and a zoo combined. We saw a huge variety of plants, trees and cactus surrounding natural settings with animals, birds, reptiles, insects, amphibians and fish that inhabit the desert.
We left the park at midday and drove south and east to Sonoita and then Patagonia. This area of Arizona boasts some sweeping grasslands, so impressive that this area was used to film "Oklahoma"!!! After visiting the old mining town of Patagonia, we drove a few miles south to Lake Patagonia State Park. We took a hike and listened to the song birds along the lake shore. After supper, we were treated to a magnificent sunset over the lake
The last day we started for home, but took the long way through Roosevelt Lake and Payson, Arizona. Along the way we stopped at the Tonto National Monument which includes massive cliff dwellings.
Our "camper" parked at Tonto National Monument, with the cliff dwellings above.
Returning home, it took only a few minutes to unload the cooler and place our camping clothes in the laundry. The GoneCamper bed folds back behind the second row of seats. The Caravan remains usable for up to four passengers without removing the camping package.
Would you like to take road trips like this, too? You can! Just install a GoneCamper conversion in your minivan. In the span of a short vacation, the money you save will pay for the GoneCamper! Contact us today to schedule your GoneCamper delivery.
"Traveling Efficiently, Camping Comfortably, Living Frugally"
