Saturday, March 25, 2006

RV living in Tucson: It's the destination!

900,000 RVers come here throughout year

POLLY HIGGINS

Tucson Citizen

Forest Koenig relaxes in a lawn chair, focused on a perfect Tucson winter day. It's in the mid-70s, with a slight breeze, and his white Persian cat sleeps next to him.

The 73-year-old is enjoying all the comforts of home, minus the frigid temperatures that go with being a New Yorker this time of year.

Koenig and his wife, Phyllis, are two of the nearly 900,000 folks who pack up their travel trailers and motorhomes and point them toward Tucson throughout the year, according to a 2003-04 Arizona Travel Parks Association study.

These travelers' estimated expenditures while here, the study states, total almost $48.5 million.

"We recognize that RVers are a really important part of our economy," Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau spokeswoman Kimberly Schmitz says.

The Koenigs have been RVers for nearly two decades, and the past four winters have seen the couple in Tucson from December through March.

"We come to Tucson for the weather and the nice people," Phyllis Koenig, 71, says.

"It's just a nice, little 2,300-mile drive," her husband says, smiling.

Carol Bojarczuk, who works at the Cactus Country RV Resort, says February is the busiest month at her park, although earlier this week the 265 available spots were at 97 percent occupancy.

The Koenigs will drop some more dollars at area restaurants and shops before pulling out of Cactus Country next week, but 41-year-old April McTier, her husband and two children plan to stay at the park for a while.

The family has been living in a travel trailer at the Southeast Side park since August, McTier says, while her husband sets up a business in Tucson. They still visit their home in Phoenix some weekends, but have yet to decide where they will ultimately land.

"We've done good. You don't need a lot," she says. "You sit outside, eat outside, look at the stars and enjoy the simple things."

She says she also likes the friendliness that results from frequent potlucks, pancake breakfasts and other social events.

"It's been really nice for the kids here," McTier says. "All the kids play at the park, because it's small inside."

Claude Loueder puts it in a soundbite any RV seller would love: "The house is small, but the backyard is huge."