Apache Junction is a popular Winter destination for many retired elderly people looking to escape the ice-cold temperatures of their northern homes. Some of these visitors commonly come from Michigan. Temperatures average below freezing on most days in the glove state. 

 

Doug, is a retired business owner from Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Doug has been snow birding with his wife in Apache Junction for over 20 years after he was recommended to the city by a close friend of his. 

 

Doug and his wife only stay out in Apache Junction for the winter months of the year. This is a common trend with most winter visitors. The summer months in Arizona are challenging to deal with for these elderly citizens. The temperatures in Apache Junction average above 100 degrees, compared to the 80 degree summers in Michigan. 

 

“Well, we had another Sheltie just like this. Just like this dog, and we had 13 and a half years, and we had to put her to sleep in May. I wasn't going to get another dog, but I decided to, and here she is. Everybody in the park loves her.” Doug said. “ She gets me out of my recliner. You know what I mean? I liked to hike, I loved hiking. I can hike hundreds of miles over the years though here. I mean, I made up superstition.”

 

Golden Sun RV Resort, 999 W Broadway Ave, Apache Junction, is six miles from the Superstition Mountains. One of the most popular activities for the snowbirds is hiking. Apache Junction sits central to many hiking trails. Some of the most popular in the area are Silly Mountain, The Hieroglyphics Trail, and Flatiron. 

 

The Golden Sun RV Resort offers an affordable living situation for these visitors. A snowbird can choose to bring their own RV, but many of them are long term investors in their property. A cost of a full size Park Model is $5,000 for the year. 

 

Snowbirds often fall victim to boredom, most of these visitors have worked nearly every day of their lives. The Golden Sun RV Resort comes with a solution, offering residents who are willing to work a job. Bill Knollinger, 75, has lived at the park for eight years. 

 

Knollinger is a retired auto parts store owner, from Grand Rapids, Michigan. After retiring, he started out snow birding in Florida, and according to him the humidity was too much to handle so he came out to Arizona. 

 

"I am turning 75 Thursday, and im still working.  I got bored when you work all your life. I mean, I own businesses. So I was always on the go. And coming down here and I was bored and I had to find something to do.” Said Knollinger. “I started hiking with one of the locals here. I did that for the first three years and then got tired of that. Park offered me a job, so I went to work for them.”

 

The snowbirds are a community of people who just want to relax in the way they know how. For some of the elderly, it’s working and for others it is walking their dog. This community brings value to the economy, and a little more excitement to the quiet city of Apache Junction.