Day 16 - Sedona at last!

Bell Rock



Red Rock State Park



It's Saturday (YEAH!) so we got up early and made our way to the Red Rock State Park near Sedona where we took a 1.8 mile hike over the Javelina Trail.  The hike was great but, once again, no wildlife other than a lizard or two.  Of course, that could be a good thing.  There are 6 different trails through the park so we will have to return another day to experience the other 5. 

After the hike we headed toward Sedona and stopped at several viewing areas for picture-taking and, honestly, this area is as spectacular (to me) as the Grand Canyon.  My favorite was Bell Rock. 

Then, in Sedona, we stopped at an outdoor quilters exhibit at the Quilters Store of Sedona where we got to vote on our favorite quilt.  Pat is a quilter and belongs to several guilds in CA so she didn't want to miss it and, quite frankly, I enjoyed it myself.  The guys, however, stood around with arms folded bored to tears. 

By this time we were ravenous so we had lunch at Javelina Cantina which was recommended by a neighbor of Tom and Pats - good recommendation!  It was a very modern/southwestern decor' with 2 outdoor patios that were filled so we enjoyed our food inside.  We also learned that a "javelina" is a big hog-like creature....which is what we felt like after lunch!  We were in a shopping area called Ridgeway and walked around all the unique shops.  There were lots of artsy wind chimes and "wind art" that fascinated all of us.  There was a loveseat made of large pieces of stone in the courtyard which was amazing and amazingly comfortable but so was the price tag - $5k. 

That was about all the shopping the guys could take so we returned to the RV Park, however, I didn't get my fill of Sedona so I took off in the car for further exploration.  I roamed up and down Highway 179 and 89A taking in all the sites, pushing my memory to remember where everything was and stopping at as many shops as I could before the 6-0'clock hour.  Once I returned to the park, we were not hungry after the big lunch so we just chilled out and experienced another beautiful sunset. 

Day 15 - Beautiful Verde Valley

Verde Valley



Howdy Cowboys!



After George finished work, we took a ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad from Clarkdale to Perkinsville throughout the Verde Valley which was a 38 mile/4 hour trip.  We opted for the first class coach which afforded the four of us two comfortable loveseats with lots of leg room and a large coffee table.  The railway provided a buffet of finger sandwiches, chicken wings, salad, cheese tray, vegetable tray and brownies.  They served champagne once we pulled out of the station, then opened the full bar.  This was a very nice relaxing trip that I highly recommend.

 There was an outdoor car attached to our car and we spent most of the time out there enjoying fresh air and the beauty of the valley.  The scenery was awesome plus we saw some wildlife, such as an eagle, hawk, deer, cattle and more funny looking squirrels.  There was also an elk but I missed it.  Once back at "the ranch", we grilled hamburgers and reminised about the actvities of the day.

Day 14 - Camp Verde

Montezumas Castle



Montezumas Well

 We got on the road about mid-day and arrived at Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde, AZ around 2:00.  Camp Verde is maybe 10 miles south of Sedona and the RV park is nice, new and affordable as opposed to the parks in Sedona.  We were able to get two sites next to each other with ours being an end lot.

We toured Montezuma Castle which is a 5-story, 20 room adobe dwelling built into the wall of a mountain...really quite amazing.  After that, we toured Montezuma Well which is basically a limestone sink formed by an underground cavern with multiple springs feeding out from it. 

That's all the attractions we had time for today but looking forward to 3 more days in the Sedona area.  The weather here is fantastic so we cooked brats on the grill with my soon-to-be-famous southern style potato salad!

Day 13 - And GRAND it is!

The Grand Canyon & Colorado River




George, Pat & Tom



No one can prepare you for your first visit to the Grand Canyon.  It actually took my breath away it was so awesome, so vast, so spectatular, so marvelously beautiful and so darn big - and we only saw a small portion of the South Rim. 

Our day started off with a short, outdoor western show prior to boarding the Grand Canyon Railway train to the canyon.  It was a nice ride with entertainment by a fiddler and more antics by the western actors.  We saw some mule deer and odd looking squirrels but not much wildlife out today. 

Once at the canyon, we boarded a bus which took us around the eastern side of the South Rim, stopping for about 20 minutes at each of the Hopi Point, Pima Point & Hermits Rest Outlooks - all offering different and spectatular views.  The picture to the left shows Class 8 rapids on the Colorado River.  Our bus driver was from MI but his love of the canyon brought him here permanently and he is quite knowledgeable about the area making our tour much more enjoyable. 

Once the bus returned, we ate lunch at Bright Angel Cafe, made a quick run through the gift shop, then caught the train back to the RV park.  This time, we were entertained on the return train ride by an accordian player and a faux train robbery by the western actors. 

After resting up a bit, we had dinner in Williams at Pancho McGillicuddy's, the oldest Mexican restaurant in town, and ended the evening with pie from Pine Country Restaurant, purported to have some 40 different kinds of pies.  Also, my neighbor, Carolyn, highly recommended this one.  Pat and I were too full to eat ours so we brought ours home for tomorrow.  We're packing up and heading out to Sedona tomorrow...another exciting place that I'm looking forward to visiting. 

Day 12 - The Grand Canyon IMAX

A cold and windy day limited us to indoor activities so we went to the Grand Canyon IMAX Theatre late this afternoon.  The movie was awesome..we probably saw more of the Grand Canyon via the movie than we will see  in person!

Up until we went to the movie, George worked and I started kniting a wine cozy.  WC Tom & Pat are hosting dinner tonight.  Pat is fixing Chicken Olivia', however, she forgot her casserole dish so we used my silicone cookware and baked it in our convection oven and it turned out perfect!  I love my silicone cookware....it's flexible, light weight, packs well and food comes out of the pan without sticking.  Early to bed as tomorrow is the real thing - The Grand Canyon!  Yippee!

Day 11 - A Segway Experience

Woke up to another beautiful day...not as windy this morning.  Today is the dreaded laundry day although I checked out the laundry facility and it get's a solid 10.  Met a nice lady from Southern Oregon in the laundromat so it was a much more plesaant experience.

"WC" Tom and Pat rolled in at 3:10 PM and, once they got set up, we had a welcome cocktail waiting then walked around the area a bit.  We changed our Grand Canyon tickets to Wed as tomorrow is supposed to be cold and windy.  George and I both took Tom's new Segway for a spin around the park- how cool is that!  We hosted dinner in our coach then off to bed early.

Day 10 - Meteor Crater, a very big hole in the ground

 

Painted Desert

Cats enjoying the ride

 Off to Meteor Crater where took the tour and it was amazing!  It's quite windy so the walking tour was cancelled.  My picture didn't turn out but, trust me, it is a very big (awesome) hole in the ground. 

After that, we were off to Williams, AZ where we arrived at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park around 4PM and some 2,114 miles from home.  We are here for 4 days (yeah) and West Coast Tom & Pat will arrive tomorrow.  After our arrival, we checked out the attached hotel, restaurant and bar then back to the RV to cook a large pot of Jambalaya.  What is more fitting than a pot of Jambalaya on Easter Sunday!  Did I mention that it's windy?  How about 50 mph wind gusts....are we in Chicago or AZ? 







Day 9 - Standin' on the corner in Winslow, AZ

Winslow, AZ

Albuquerque is a beautiful city and looking forward to spending some time here on the return trip.  Heading westward, we toured the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest and both were fascinating....got lots of good video.  Unfortunately, it's very windy and we're not able to go on any of the hiking trails.  The scenery here in the desert is just magnificant. 

Heading westward to Winslow, AZ where, naturally, we had to find a corner for which to stand on.  We checked into the Meteor Crater RV Park and will stay here overnight and check out the crater tomorrow.

Day 8 - Steppin' Out

Thank you Myers RV Center

Today was all about getting the steps fixed despite my desire to roam around Old Town.  We must have looked like a couple of Alabama rednecks using our ole rusty step stool as a subsitute for our entry stairs!  Anyway, the RV repairman, Jason Quinn, was in the park today and his diagnosis was a bad control unit.  We contacted Tiffin since it's still under warranty, who referred us to Myers RV Service who, luckily had the part we needed.  George installed it with some assistance from Jason and his buddy and, VOILA, we have steps!  How many guys does it take to install a pair of entry steps?  The answer is 3 - really wish I could have captured that on film.  Picture six legs all in a row sticking out from under the motorhome...guess you had to have been there (tee hee).

Day 7 - Git me outta Texas!



Hmm...maybe it's a fuse

 What with the threat of wildfires and high winds, we're ready to git outta Texas.  We packed up and were ready to move out this morning when we had another little "incident".  Our steps would not retract under the coach.  It's like they just didn't want to leave Texas.  George tried multiple options - all to no avail, including calling 3 or 4 mobile RV repair shops - no one was available to help us.  So, determined to get outta dodge, George proceeded to totally remove the steps from the rig with me there cheering him on!  We will not let the steps defeat us!  We will make it to Albuquerque before dark!  And indeed we did....another couple of hundred miles (300 to be exact), another knitted scarf.  We rolled into the American RV Park at 7:30 PM.  Really nice new park and helpful staff that directed us to a mobile repair guy.  Will call him in the AM to see if he can fix our steps.  A glass of wine is now in order.

Day 6 - Texas is big



Palo Duro Canyon

 And we're still in it!  We toured Palo Duro Canyon today (aka the Grand Canyon of Texas) which is purported to be the second largest canyon in the U.S.  It's 120 miles long and 600 - 800 feet deep and really quite beautful.  Could have really used the binoculars today....they are in the lanai back home.

There are some nice camping areas inside the canyon which I wouldn't mind spending a few weeks exploring but that will have to wait until another time.  Later this afteroon was the dreaded laundry day...it's really quite a bummer not having your own built-in W/D combo and I haven't given up on the idea of installing one. 

Mark texted to advise that the Phillies won 4-3 against the Brewers - GO PHILLIES!  We ended the day by sipping margarita's and feasting on mexican food.  Tomorrow - on to Albuquerque.

Day 5 - Get your kicks on Rte 66



Cadillac Ranch

Does anyone know how many miles it takes to knit a scarf?  I do cause that's what I did today.  218 miles = 1 silk ribbon scarf. 

We have arrived at the Amarillo Ranch RV Park, Amarillo, TX.  After checking in, we went to see Cadillac Ranch made famous by Route 66.  We're actually on Route 66 which is now know as I-40.  We travelled down the "old Route 66" and it is quite sad....old worn out motel buildings with broken windows and grafitti all over them.

Day 4 - Shopped til I dropped



Corky's Rain Boots

 

Wichita "Falls"

We are staying at the Wichita Falls RV Park in Wichita Falls, TX.  Nice little park and Kay, who works in the office, was very helpful directing me around town to all the cute shops such as Cadillac Ranch Creations, Polka-Dot Penguin, Harvest Boutique, The Finishing Touch and the largest Yellow Box shoe store in the US.  Yes, I bought another pair of shoes.....I'm calling them my Texas Flip Flops. 

OK, I have a confession to make.... I "left behind" one of my meds, however, Kay came to my rescue and directed me to a CVS Pharmacy where Josh was able to get me an early refill.

Bought this cookbook back home called "Six Ingredients or Less" which, along with the crock pot, is perfect for motorhome travel and will take care of a great deal of our meals while on the road.  Beef Stroganoff is simmering in the crock pot right now, then, after dinner, we are off to find "the falls" - there's bound to be falls in Wichita Falls, right?  We hiked around Lucy Park and indeed found "the falls" so my mission here is now complete.



Tomorrow we are off to Amarillo.  C'mon Phillies dig yourself out of this hole!



Day 3 - Tow problem solved

Dog Park



Gassin' Up



Shealia, THANKS for the coffee cake you made us for the trip....it's already gone!  Off to Walmart this AM to get a battery for the car and, yes, more gas....so far, she hasn't met a gas station she doesn't like!  The battery was apparently the problem as we haven't had any trouble since. 

Rolled into Wichita Falls, TX at 6:05 PM after driving 341 miles today.  We will be staying at Wichita Falls RV Park for a couple of days so George can rest and get some work done. 

Drove around town tonight and spotted a carnival.  Didn't know they existed anymore and can't believe they make enough money to survive.  Anyway, we walked around the carnival and it brought back some childhood memories....what fun.

Day 2 - Water, water everywhere (?)

Max, Me & Jack

Well, we woke up to no water...."somebody" forgot to fill the fresh water tank.  Have you ever tried to take what my mother called a "sponge bath" with bottled water?  Very interesting. 

Anyway, we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop in Daphne, AL and called my cousin Maxine and her husband Jack.  They came over to the motorhome and visited for a while.  They are headed to Chattanooga for the family reunion in 2 weeks and I was scolded again for missisng yet another reunion. 

On down the road, we stopped to run the engine in the tow car only to discover that the battery was dead as a door knob.  I went into the convenience store and hawked out a guy with jumper cables and he obliged.  Two glitches in one day was just about enough. 

OK...on to our destination - Tall Pines RV Park in Shrevport, LA some 456 miles today.  Very nice camp...if it's good enough for Bob Tiffin, it's good enough for us.  The nice dinner and hot shower was just what I needed to end this day.

Day 1 - Let's get some miles behind us

After saying our good-byes throughout the neighborhood, we drove 402 miles and in fact just made it into AL. Abigail hid under the bed for the first couple of hours while Misty spent her time sleeping and peering out the cat window.  Very uneventful day but we made good progress.

Off we go......

Well, today we start our western journey although I doubt we will make it out of the State of Florida.  For those of you who haven't heard....we're headed West - not East.  The plan is to meet up with "West Coast Tom & Pat" (as opposed to our "East Coast Tom & Pat").  They just purchased their first motorhome and coaxed us into meeting them out West, however, it didn't take much coaxing...OK, it didn't take any coaxing - we were going to go West in the Fall anyway so now we are just flip-flopping the trips. 

So, are going to the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park and others, plus Sedona, Santa Fe' and Albquerque so stay tuned....