CRA -- Colorado
River AdventuresCRA -- Colorado
River AdventuresI strongly recommend that you do not buy a new CRA membership.
If you want a membership, there are many people who would like to
either sell theirs or even give them away.
Since the demise of the Class A and 5th wheels, demand has gone down
and the sales pressure has gone up. New contracts sound great --
but cost more. If you have a membership, CRA will not permit you
to just abandon it: you must resell it or continue to pay the annual
maintenance fee until you die. Maybe a good lawyer can help.
The sales people are great, they can make black into white.
Even their sales posters lie: Free shrimp. One hour drive. Etc.
Attempting to transfer a membership will cause extreme CRA pressure
on your buyer to instead obtain a new contract. The membership
transfer fee is high. CRA increases the new annual fee over what you
are paying. And the remainder of the process is not fun.
After all, you are costing them thousands of dollars when you transfer
your membership.. I have offered to give my membership to people
only to have them buy a new contract after talking to a CRA
sales person.
If you are interested in selling or giving away your membership, please send me your email address.
If you are interested in a membership for very little money, I can send you the list of these emails.
These lists are not long and are of short duration. If you
have any information in this area, please let me know. I make
nothing on such referrals.
It is interesting to me that years ago you could just drive in and
stay for your two weeks and leave. Now, you must make
reservations and their reservation computer is cruel and will often
tell you that a park is full when it is at least half empty.
Remember that using your membership costs them money.
You can still just use your time but CRA has found ways to add fees
and increase existing fees such that you can often stay at a local
motel for less money. To be fair, the last time I tried to rent a
trailer at 1000 Trails, it was cheaper to rent the motel room.
I have heard that CRA has bought back memberships from people that
they thought were hurting their image. But I think more than a
few web page words are required for this option.
You are seeing a web page in the middle of my updates. There are format errors following. I apologize and will fix them soon.
The Colorado River runs through some of the most beautiful and most
desolate desert in America. This means that the enjoyable season
in these parks is in the winter. KQ Ranch and Cherry Valley are outside
major California cities and not in the desert so this section does not
apply to them. The home park, Emerald Cover is on the river and
quite large. Power boat people live here even during the
summer.
This is a somewhat different group than live here in the winter.
But this is a desert. If you come in the summer, some of the parks
shut down. El Golfo and Yuma Lakes, for example, are open but
have none of the facilities working that people want to have. No
clubhouse activities. In fact, no activities at all. If you
do not bring your own amusement or cannot amuse yourselves, you will
quickly leave. This can mean a long, hot, unhappy drive unless
hot, dry, desert is what you want. We have people who believe the
sales spiel arrive in August and expect free shrimp and lobster.
There is never free anything. There is never lobster. In
season, there are shrimp for sale at good prices. In season, the
park has a loaded activity schedule. Out of season, it is so hot
that
your RV air conditioner will not keep you cool -- and there is no shade.
If you have one of the coupon books for extra stays, they are like cash: lose them and they are gone. When my RV was stolen, so were my books. I requested new ones and they sent me one. They claimed the other was no longer issued. I am thankful for the one as I used it every year at El Golfo. They did not have to do this.
CRA will scam its own members. For example, I received a call one day from the home office (Robin). I was informed my contract was invalid and that I must drive to the home office to correct the problem. I was told that this absolutely was not another sales promotion but that I would receive $60 for gas and a TV dish for making the trip. This was after I asked many questions trying to identify the source of the contract problem and why I must go to them to rectify it. So I took a week vacation and drove to Emerald Cove to talk with them. There was nothing wrong with my contract -- the trip was solely to promote the AOR campground association. I listened patiently and requested my money and dish. No money. No dish. When I protested they gave me a $10 certificate for their store and a $20 certificate for the gas station down the street. That price was $1.88 where the price in town was $1.40. Scam the public if you must -- but do not scam your own members.
After that, the CRA RV parks are not parks. They are RV
parking lots. The lots abut each other with no attempt at being part of
a natural setting. At the Lake
Havasu park little old ladies in the office make sure that any
enjoyment you might have found is quickly ruined.
The first year, I arrived at El Golfo with my paid week out coupon
book and my 30 stay coupon book. I had planned to stay for two
weeks but I liked El Golfo so much, I used the books. I used my
two weeks and then the paid week out coupon. I staid that week
and two more weeks on contract. Then I used the 30-day coupon and
then two more weeks. 11 weeks total. Great. I
loved El Golfo. After a few years CRA changed the rules: two
weeks or a coupon. Every year they manage to shrink the contract
apparently within legal limits.
CRA used to be one of the strong supporters of the Coast to Coast Organization. This is history: some CRA parks no longer accept Coast to Coast. This does not impact me since I could not use Coast to Coast at a CRA park anyway: I bought Coast to Coast through my CRA membership.
Cell: Phones work well. Location: 34.0N 117.0W ZIP: 92223
This is a cute little park of primary interest to the Riverside area for weekend getaways. The hookups are good and the park is clean.
The major drawbacks are the noise from I-10 (which runs parallel to the park) and the small sites. The noise never stops. The noise reduction wall doesn't.
The sites were built before slides were popular:
it gets really cramped in here. Most sites are level, asphalt,
drive-thrus with full hook-ups. The tiny grass islands with two
picnic tables and large trees are cute but leave people wiggling their
RVs into positions such that they do not step on each others belongings
nor run their awning into a tree. Me, I would rather have the
nice tree than worry about the artificial shade from an
awning. The drive-roads are overhung with a lot of RV tail
ends. Enjoy the pool and the fishing pond and the banana splits.
The park is the only thing here: no local attractions.
There are better places to stay if you are interested in amusement parks (e.g. Disneyland) or dune buggies. This is a rural area only to those people who are accustomed to downtown Los Angeles. Many people come here to listen to the CRA sales spiel. The sales office is not quite honest about El Golfo. Visitors are told that there is free shrimp -- all you can eat. They are also told that El Golfo is one hour south of Yuma -- this is actually printed on a large poster in the sales office window. With all this, I really doubt the remainder of the sales spiel.
Like many parks, life in this park is seasonal. The season is from October to Easter. During that time, the clubhouse and activities are part of the social life. Off season the park is open, the clubhouse is closed and there are no activities.
Off season the holidays get busy with ATV's. Other people come off season just to avoid the crowds and the social life.
This park is the primary (only?) reason to join CRA.
It is not much different than the others in architecture: park your RVs right up next to each other.
The difference is in the environment and the people. The employees are really great people. The whole world is at peace in El Golfo.
Beach front spaces are in high demand but the
corrosive ocean spray will cover the back of your rig. I avoid
beach sites.
The night guard or other workers, wash rigs --
$30 gets you the best wash you have ever had. $30 mores gets your
rig waxed.
See my web page on El
Golfo or my dissertation at the end of this page..
El Golfo is on a sand beach overlooking the Gulf of California / Sea of Cortez. The village of El Golfo de Santa Clara is immediately north.
You can buy fish at the stores north of the park. Ask the park management for the preferred store.
You can buy water at the water store across from
the school or in the park. The Park has good inexpensive water
pumps for your 5-gallon bottles.
During the season, trucks stop at the gate with fresh produce, shrimp, and fish.
Cell: Be careful here – many work but you pay a premium rate Internet: WiFi wireless is available. Location: 31.7N 114.5W ZIP: None
DishTV: Az: 167 El: 51 Skew: 94 (Dish and Direct values are posted at the clubhouse)
This is the CRA home park.
The sites are packed so closely that you measure your distance from the
ramada (if you have one) in inches on either side of your rig.
In the summer you need the ramada. Dual ACs will
not keep you cool in this climate after April.
Nothing of value here. Socialize with your
neighbors or drive your high-power boat on the Colorado River.
Trying to hike outside the park is impossible
without Vaseline
for your nose: they septic across the highway so walking into the hills
makes you nauseous.
Boat trailers park in the roadway so that
getting in and out of the sites is impossible without finding a trailer
owner.
Cell: None. Go back to Parker for cell coverage. Location: 34.2N 114.3W ZIP: 92242
I am not a member of this park. I have not been here.
This is a giant gravel parking lot with hookups. There is an adult center in the middle of the park. The park uses both sides of the street but the river side is not so pretty -- they use it for Coast-To-Coast reservations. The river side is really nicer than the member-only side but it is sort of run down.
The only reason to be here is to overnight between other parks or to drive into Lake Havasu.
Lake Havasu is an Arizona retirement community growing very fast after a slow start for the last 20 years. Nothing here but the rebuilt London Bridge and many little shops under the bridge. I understand London wants their bridge back – claim that they misunderstood that it was being moved to Arizona!?
Cell: In town only but service and quality are very poor. Note 1. Location: 34.5N 114.4W ZIP: 86404
Go West of Colorado River on I-40
Exit River Road/W. Broadway.
North along river at stop
1 mile to gate.
I have not been here.
The CRA directions are a bit confusing. I think I stated it better.
See the off-season description of El Golfo: it is much the same.
Nothing here but a sick lake and lots of sites.
At the CRA park turnoff, go straight instead to
BLM land – you may spend overnights here. CRA calls this
Gilligan's Island.
The BLM land gets crowded and smells during the season.
Register at the flag when it is up.
Yuma has historical significance but nobody bothers any more. "People do not go to Yuma -- they get sent to Yuma". The primary entities here are the marine air base and the Ford proving grounds. The original territorial prison is now a museum. Yuma is now the third or fourth fastest growing city I the country. If you like it, buy now while you still can.
The sales tax is confusing in Yuma. The tax gets up to 10.8%. Other places in Arizona get up to 12%.
Algodones: Go west on I-8 to the Algodones exit. South a mile to the Indian reservation parking lot. This is the best Mexico crossing coming north. This is where you go to the dentist, buy glasses or buy drugs. Careful coming back to the USA with drugs. You can park your RV in the park or boondock up the hill. On the hill they will find you,
Cell: Getting there. Location: 32.7N 114.5W ZIP: 85365
If you are at the El Golfo park and have mail or packages shipped,
make sure that the shipper uses USPS or UPS -- never FedEx. The
Yuma Lakes park accepts packages and mail for El Golfo. Make sure
you are in the park for more than two weeks or you may find your
package sitting on a table when you arrive at El Golfo next year.
But if you do have a package sent to Yuma Lakes for El Golfo delivery
(by shuttle or whomever is good enough to make the delivery into
Mexico), make sure the package is sent by UPS or by mail (USPS).
FedEx has a problem delivering to Yuma Lakes. The driver may mark the package as an "Address Exception" claiming
the absence of a site number. All of FedEx knows the address is
an RV park and although the package will be marked for El Golfo, the
driver marking this exception gets to go home early. It gets
worse.
If FedEx routes the package through Phoenix, the package without a
site number (that is, ALL El Golfo packages), will never even even get
to Yuma. Some Phoenix clerk will mark "Address Exception" and
lose the package. The package may never be found again.
Once it took 6 weeks, multiple visits to the Yuma FedEx warehouse, and
many 800 calls -- everyone denied knowing the location of the
package. One day after the merchant refunded my money, the
package mysteriously appeared in Yuma. I was unhappy the merchant
was out the money as I did not return it. I was out more than
that amount for confrontational trips to Yuma. If the package is
sent such that Phoenix does not see it and it is sitting in the Yuma
FedEx warehouse (you know this by tracking the package on the FedEx web
site), then you can visit the warehouse to pick it up or call them (you
need their local number) to try again -- after they have heard 100
times, that El Golfo marked packages do not need a site
number. This week this happened to me and I went to the FedEx
Customer Service Web site and emailed every address on the site twice:
once for return email notification and once for telephone
notification. The package was delivered the next day although the
response emails threatened additional charges for "rerouting" the
package. There were no phone message responses.
USPS and UPS understand this (for the most part) but FedEx likes to stay closer to town. And yes, I do understand the frustration of driving the 9 miles and back for a package that does need a site number. Holding all packages hostage until the complaint volume gets high enough is not good practice but saves some truck trips to Yuma Lakes. They could save the same trips if they treated Yuma Lakes as a business delivery and the truck arrived during office hours. Then the driver could leave the package at the office and not worry about locating someone, somewhere in the park to take the package off of his hands.
Mexico is building a new highway to Puerto
Peñasco from the highway to El Golfo. Someone decided that Puerto
Peñasco needed more California tourists. The end result is land
speculation in El Golfo. Already there are many more tourists
than a few years ago. In 5 more years?
But -- the CRA park. as of 2006, the "owner" of the CRA El
Golfo park has been replaced. The previous owner was not all that
great. He had other agendas. The El Golfo CRA park has
always been
sort of an orphan. Other CRA parks get amenities. El Golfo
none. All of the amenities at the El Golfo park are created by
the
members themselves. Tables and chairs in the clubhouse:
members. Screen porch area: members. Gathering corner at
the baños: members. The workers work hard to keep up the park but
it is hard when they fire and do not replace the assistant
manager. The maintenance supervisor has taken over the job and
keeps the same hours as his predecessor (that is you can never find him
working).
The park manager is overworked to the point that I worry about his
health
and sanity. They cook quit over disputes on tips and the owner
gave back the bar liquor license. The hardest working woman you
ever want to meet that worked landscape off season and at the bar in
season was fired. So there is a minimum of maintenance. Two
guys have been sweating over replacing the plaster on the pool wall all
summer. If the rains come there will be only half the staff we
had last year to prepare the park for the onslaught in October.
Maybe there will be no onslaught. There will be no more
bar. There will be no more restaurant. There will be no
more long stays unless you have extended contracts. The
30-day coupons are now an either-or. They can no longer be used
to
pay for a week out. When I first arrived, you could use coupons
to stay 11 weeks consecutively. Now the most you can stay without
extra contract is 4 weeks. Who was the Dicken's bah-humbug
character? He was Santa Claus compared to the new park rules.
Those of us who were considered full time "staff" volunteers have
been evicted. I worked my heart out last year to provide Internet
wireless to the park. For what? I expected to live in the
park during the off season. Why not? I put in twice the
time of most volunteers. The contract for the Internet does not
quit for the summer. But I was informed after Easter that I had
10 days left. I used my 30-day coupon to find another home.
I have taken the Internet dish with me (my expense as it still has 6
months to run on its current contract). I have helped install the
TELCEL ADSL. So people will come back to what they had
before. Only better and I shall not be around to deal with their
gripes. The system should be much better than it was so people
who blamed me before will be able to know that I was the culprit.
In the meantime, a wonderful friend has let me move onto her
lot. I paid for a fence and a septic tank and additional facility
for my motor home but I now live in a peace usually only found after
you
die. Angels deliver me meals. Mexican angels. The lot
owner is a policeman. I have better security than if I were still
in the park. If you want to find me, ask anyone in town where
Marisol lives. Shoot, even people in San Luis know Marisol.
I have searched all of my life for people to love me as much as I
loved them. My friends just laughed and told me to give it
up. I have never given up on any goal in this lifetime. I
am glad I did not give up on this one. You cannot know what it is
like to have to watch the love you give freely spat upon all of your
life and then walk into a little fishing village and find people who
call you family. And they mean it. If I died tonight, I
would have had the happiness that God promised to me when I was 20
years old. But that is a different story.
But CRA. They need help. I do not know if Pat, Liz, and
the members can pull it out of its new found hole. The one thing
I think it will do is force the members to be more interested in the
Mexican community than they have been before. This is a plus.
The park is working. Volunteers are making it survive. Since you no
longer can stay past your two weeks, there are fewer volunteers.
My old office has been turned into a massage parlor. Many people
are deciding that a two-week visit is not worth the expense or the
trouble. But a good number are here and you will meet old friends
and you can bring your own booze into the clubhouse.
If I had thought CRA was bad previously, it has gone seriously downhill in
the past couple of years. The entire RV industry has
crumbled. Many membership park organizations are making
accommodations for the high cost of travel. 1000 Trails is selling
lots since many motor homes are becoming stationary residences.
Mine is stationary but I have moved out of the CRA park onto a private
lot.
The CRA previous
owner was a Mexico aficionado. The new owners are what you would
generously refer to as anal-retentive, accountant-types with no concept
of management or social skills. And they really hope that you
never read your contract to know your rights.
Coupons must now be used in place of regular visits rather than
additive to a regular visit. "Free" weeks now include a service
"clean-up" fee. Facilities are now closed leaving the parks more
and more like RV parking lots. Paid "Week Outs" cost $230.
This amounts to the cost of your electric usage for two months.
My summer monthly electric bill on my private lot has approximated $100
each month all summer -- and this is a very hot summer.
The owners have decided to eliminate all of the
current employees. The manager was fired after they had made his life
so miserable for for a couple of years that they figured firing was the
only way to get rid of him. They also have invited a couple of
his friends who live in the park (and pay the exorbitant fees) to
leave -- even offering to buy back their contracts. The
manager had been the assistant ten years ago and put his heart and soul
into the park until the ownership change.
The woman at the gate, Liz, has been fired. Mexico has
termination benefit laws based on longevity and payroll. CRA
attempted to pay her a third of that amount. They paid the full
amount when she hired an attorney. For the last three years since
they closed the restaurant/bar, she has been at the gate year
around. For the last two years with the manager not living
in the park (I moved out shortly after he did), she has basically
managed the park. She had no real responsibility but she was the
focal point of all maintenance and scheduling requests. For the
last six months she also did basic bookkeeping and payroll. One
of the owners had assumed the dual roles of owner and manager.
Since he had no concept of management, Liz was the effective
manager. Now she is gone.
Sort of on the side. Many of the members do not like me.
There may be reasons for this but the lies they spread and their
attitudes towards me make me believe that if I were a black in Selma in
1954, I would be better off. Last month a couple of them, Mike and
somebody (members are always referred to by their two first names) went
to the owner manager and complained about my dog. They were upset
because they found a pile of dog poop on their street and also found my
footprints on their street (I often walk barefoot). Their
conclusion was that I, a non-member ( a common lie about me), had
walked my dog on their street while they were out and did not pick up
my dog's poop. These are some of the nastiest people you will ever
encounter anywhere, I do not know a large group of people but all
of those I do now do not like Mike and whoever. Since I know the
poop did not belong to my dog, I can best presume, that God came down
and shit on their street as a gentle hint. I write all of this
because it is very likely that our owner/manager who has become
frustrated with his role as manager shall appoint Mike and whoever to
be the new managers. There should be a new sign at the park entrance: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter".
The activities director and directress were invited not to return to
their current position next year. In fact I think that they had
already decided that they would not do it again. Directing
activities in El Golfo is a full time job and removes any enjoyment from
the visit. The work could be handled but I know from my
experience with Internet support that there are always members sniping
at you behind your back. WIth the owner wanting you gone, they is
no reason at all to want to be here. I doubt anyone can be found to replace them.
Since the new owner/managers have made it clear that they intend to
fire or evict anyone previously associated with the park, other
employees are just waiting to be told to leave. I have offered to
the owner/manager to support the Internet for free. I refuse to
accept any money as that would make me the target of more
sniping. I made the offer after someone else offered to manage the Internet for
a mere $2,000 plus salary.
People who bought lots and built casitas are not living in
them. During the season, maybe. Some lots have been
resold. The daily fee for living on your lot has gone up to over
$150 per month. Fewer people every year are visiting the El Golfo CRA park
although the town tourist business has increased substantially.
A few years ago the park was full in late December through middle
February. Now it is half full during those times. And the
reservations office turns people away claiming the park is full.
The park is not full but I suspect that after a certain population the
electric bill escalates so badly that CRA finds it easier to turn
people away than pay the park costs. Years ago you could drive up
and they would take care of the reservations. Now they may turn
you away if you do not have confirmed reservations. This puts you
in the position of having driven 100 miles or more into Mexico and
having to return.
Oh. And the owner/manager has informed the gate to charge
people twice the contract rate for RV storage. He will reduce it
to the contract maximum upon displaying your contract.
Mexican law requires that Mexicans be hired to work unless it can be
proved that no Mexican is capable of doing the work and then the
employer must make training available. Liz has been fired.
There is no one able to replace her in this part of Mexico. Liz
is bilingual and will probably get a new job as a professional
translator. She knows when to say "no" to members and when she
can say "yes". I have trouble saying no to anyone for
anything. She knows the entire park operation and has handled the
dispatching of all maintenance and repair requests. She is on
good terms with everyone from the maids to the maintenance staff.
The reason that CRA wants to get rid of her is that they think she is
overpaid and can find someone else cheaper. It might have been a
good idea for them to find such a person before firing Liz,
Some people accommodate changes. CRA seems to see the reduction
of RV travel as a reason to increase scalping their members rather than accommodate them.. As I
discovered shortly after I joined ten years ago, CRA has one and only
one objective: sign up as many members as legally possible and then
squeeze them dry. This may have worked in more lucrative times
but in today's economy, the primary losers are current members.
The owners are rich enough that to them it is just a sick game of
extortion. Economically equal to pulling the wings off of flies.