Palm Creek 411

• Palm Creek is indeed a first-class resort! As a 24-foot C-class motorhome, MineRVa seems somewhat the country-bumpkin in the line-up of 35, 40 and 45-foot mega-expensive, luxury A-class motorhomes. Many of these arrive towing companion luxury vehicles or ‘toy boxes’ from which are unloaded the luxury vehicles in combination with an assortment of all-terrain vehicles, golf carts, and bicycles. As well, there are various permanent park model housing units, the most prestigious of which line the resort’s 18-hole private golf course. One part of the resort is designated as the pet area and in the no-pet zones one dare not harbour so much as a goldfish.

• Upon arrival, each RV is met by a greeter who takes basic information and assigns a ‘ranger’ who leads the way to an assigned site, oversees parking and reads the electricity meter. Although water is free, electricity is not and the meter is again read prior to preparing the departure bill. The registration process includes obtaining a photo i.d. card which the rules declare must dangle from one’s neck at all times. An offender of this rule is all but shunned and certainly will not be sold so much as postage stamp by resort staff.

• The resort has very strict standards and reserves the right to turn away any RV that does not meet those standards. By the time the ranger had guided me to my site, I realized that mineRVa, my darling but lowly four-year old 24-foot C-class, was lucky to have passed muster. If Palm Creek had railroad tracks, mineRVa may well have been assigned a spot on the other side of them. In walking around the entire resort, I saw only one other C-Class and concluded that by Palm Creek standards, the C in C-class may stand for “Clampet” (which those knowledgeable about vintage television will recognize as the family name of “The Beverly Hillbillies”).

• Members of the resort community can volunteer for a variety of fun jobs, not to be confused with non-fun jobs like cleaning toilets or spraying palm trees to ward off scorpions and black widow spiders that may have wandered in from the desert. While on duty, the volunteer greeters wear official Palm Creek tee-shirts, computer room monitors get free internet access and rangers – which looks like the funnest job of all - roam around the resort in official golf carts bearing ‘ranger’ signs, front and back.

• When it comes to trash, the recycling options seem limited to paper, plastic and ‘everything else’. Early one morning, while delivering trash to the assigned bins, I encountered a man who to my surprise was a park resident volunteering time to fish paper and plastic out of the main garbage bins. In agreeing with my comment that recycling options are somewhat limited as compared to ‘back home’, he disclosed that he’s from Victoria. He mentioned being a retired Victoria city police officer and I suggested our paths may have crossed when I worked at Police Services Division of the BC provincial government. Yes, he said, I think I recognize your voice. When he later mentioned having worked for BC’s top-secret police agency dedicated investigating organized crime, I couldn’t help but wonder if that explained, at least in part, his apparent enthusiasm for poking around in other people’s garbage.
  

• Within my first few days at the resort, I did a full walk-about. There are currently 1911 sites with a plan to double that number. With the economic slow-down now being officially recognized as a recession, I suspect the expansion plan may now be on hold. The occupancy rate is one-third below what was anticipated during the pre-recession days of September. In the southwest section of the resort where the sites are laid out in rows of 40, there may be as few as 5 sites per row that are occupied. In addition to the brand-new park models displayed for sale on the “Street of Dreams”, there is a for-sale sheet, listing over a hundred units for sale by owner. Although many prices have been reduced there doesn’t seem to be anything on the market for less than $125,000.
  

• The Palm Creek community includes Canadians and Americans from every province and state. Many Palm Creekers have been coming here for years and many have extended their basic park models to include huge covered patios or decks, car ports, extra bedrooms or “Arizona rooms” that house fire places and 50-inch televisions supported by super-sized satellite dishes.
  

• Although the population of Casa Grande is over 38,000, there is no public transportation system. For some resort residents, local transportation options range from the Corvettes and Buicks to motorcycles, scooters and private golf carts that look like Flintstone cars. As well there are countless one-speed bicycles and needless to say mine are not the only feet getting a workout.