Tombstone and Boot Hill

Today dawned party cloudy about 40F and windy. Our plan for the day had been to return to Tombstone so we left here shortly after 11:00 a.m. and headed out. It’s about a 35 minute drive from here. First stop was Boot Hill. I took a photo of the sign for posterity and also because my friend, Lynn’s husband was always called Boot (last name Hill of course). Interesting that I should finally get to see the place.

We then headed into town and I looked in all the shops on the main street but didn’t buy anything. Another case of not seeing anything I liked better than my money. Living in an RV doesn’t give you much room for buying knickknacks which is good for the budget.

Gordon had planned to go to the shootout at the OK Corral but as it was clouding up and very windy he decided not to go so we left downtown about 1:30 p.m. Gordon said he was hungry so on the way in to Tombstone I had noticed a restaurant that served breakfast all day so we stopped at The Top of the Hill and had breakfast. Again good breakfast, décor lacking. The building was quite different, the dining area that we were in was actually triangular.

We arrived home just before 3:30 p.m. in time to feed my pooch who was very glad to see us. We had decided to leave him at home so I would be more relaxed about looking around the town. I don’t like leaving him in the truck if it’s sunny even if it’s cool outside. It gets too hot in the truck. I don’t think it bothers the dog as much as it bothers me.

I mentioned when we arrived at this park that there was a motorhome behind us that housed five mastiffs and two adults. Yesterday afternoon the male adult happened to be outside with the female mastiff, so here’s the photo of the dog. I left the car in the background so you could get some idea of her size – 230 lb.!

Since it looks like we’re going to have some less than perfect weather on Sunday, we may stay here an extra few days. It’s supposed to clear up by Wednesday. The forecast is for possible snow at 4500 ft. and our route through the mountains to Las Cruces, NM goes over 4500 ft. so with the wind forecast and possibility of rain/snow, we’ll probably stay put. We have to check with the office to be sure there’s room for us but there are tons of other RV campgrounds around. I’m sure if needed, we could find a space elsewhere in the area.

Today's remaining photos were taken in Tombstone today.

Looks like a typical evening of TV and internet.

Work, Work, Work

Today was mostly cloudy but a little sun peeked through every now and then. It reached about 64F this afternoon but was only 40F when I got up this morning. We’re expecting cloud tomorrow and rain on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll see if that happens.

Gordon left to go to Mescal Studios for a tour for 10:00 a.m. I think I mentioned the other day that it was built as the Old Tucson Studio was too filled with tourists so Mescal only allows tours on certain days and at certain times. Gordon was lucky, he was the only person for the 10:00 a.m. tour.

While he was gone I vacuumed and did dishes. Ever the drudge! I also got the laundry ready and completed that little task this afternoon.

After all my work, I decided I deserved a break today so we went out for dinner at Magaly’s Mexican Restaurant in Benson. The restaurant was full and we had to wait for about 15 minutes. The food was really very good however the restaurant itself was a bit lacking in atmosphere.

Now back home to TV and internet, our usual evening fare!

Today’s photo is one that I took yesterday morning in the park. Very interesting sky.

Local Bisbee Sights

This dog walks around Bisbee with a cat standing on his back. The cat has two white mice on its back. Novel idea for making money!

Open hole mine, Bisbee, AZ

Bisbee, AZ

Our Trip to Bisbee, AZ

Today we headed toward Bisbee, AZ. Neither of us could remember why we were supposed to be going there but knew someone had told us not to miss it. While going through Huachuca City, we stopped to look at a double wide modular home that we had seen yesterday. It was VERY nice and only $109,000 US. Photo is of Gordon sitting on the front verandah.

On our way to Bisbee we were rerouted due to an accident which we later found out was a propane truck that had overturned either in the tunnel at Bisbee or near the tunnel. The report we heard is that they were waiting for it to explode!

We reached Bisbee in a roundabout way and at first couldn’t figure out why this place had been recommended. We drove further and were stopped again by Department of Transport indicating there was an accident ahead and we could not continue on SR80. They let us go through to the Tourist Information and there saw the ‘open pit mine’ (copper). The lady at the Tourist Information recommended that we go in to Old Bisbee.

Bisbee was founded in 1880 and at one time 24,000 people lived there. It is considered one of the best turn of the century towns in Arizona. It is mainly narrow streets and old buildings which are now shops and galleries and expensive! We walked around for a bit and then returned through Sierra Vista as SR80 was still closed and the information I heard in town was that the road would not be opened before tonight. We’ll have to watch local news to see what happened.

It is quite cold and windy today, only reached 52F. When it started raining about 3:45 p.m. it actually looked like ‘sneet’. Only lasted for a few minutes, thank goodness.

With the rain and sun, Gordon went off in search of rainbows. We were hoping to see one on our way back from Bisbee but the conditions just weren’t right. He didn’t have much luck this time either.

On the local news the propane truck was the lead story. Apparently the truck ran off the road and 80 ft down an embankment. It’s too far down for another truck to siphon off the propane so they have hooked up a hose of some sort and directed the propane that they are siphoning off away from the rig and burning it. They figure it will take 18-24 hrs to complete the job. Luckily the driver was not injured. The cab burned but not the tanker, go figure. What luck!

Sierra Vista

Lone Tree at Sunset

Gordon ran out of paper sleeves to house our DVDs yesterday so today after walks and showers we headed into Sierra Vista, about 30 miles away. We were told that Sierra Vista is the closest shopping place. Indeed it does have WalMart (not a Superstore), Target and a small shopping centre with Sears and Dillards as well as a Staples where we were able to purchase the paper sleeves.

On our way, the clouds to the east were very black and it started to rain. It rained all the way to Sierra Vista and most of the way back until we were about 10 miles or so south of our campground. Doesn’t look like this area got much rain at all. In fact when I was in town, one of the ladies in a store said that the town of Benson hadn’t gotten any rain.

After lunch I drove myself into the town of Benson. We didn’t stay at Sierra Vista long enough to do any shopping as the wind had come up and we had to get home to make sure the satellite dish hadn’t taken flight. Benson doesn’t have much – a 99¢ store, a Safeway Grocery, Radio Shack and a Family Dollar. There were some other stores like a Western Wear and various other small stores. I wandered around for a couple of hours, bought a few small items and got home in time to feed my dog, read my book and take a nap.

At sunset we went out and took some photos along SR90 which is the highway that runs by the RV Park. I tried to upload a photo of a lone tree but for some reason the server won't accept it so will have to try another time.

Despite the threat of rain, the temperature today got to a respectable 69F. It was 57F when I got up this morning.

The Grandchildren

L to R-Faith, Caden, Grace
At Caden's 3rd Birthday Party
Thanks to Michelle for sending all the photos.

Grace

Faith

Caden

Lillian

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Moved to Benson, AZ

Today we moved from Tucson to Benson, AZ, only 48.8 miles from the Prince of Tucson to Cochise Terrace. We left about 9:45 a.m. and arrived just after 11:00 a.m., got checked in and set up, went and got showers and then went for a drive to see what was in Benson. Benson is a small town with not much there so headed toward Tombstone, 23 miles away.

While we were setting up camp, we chatted to the guy behind us. He has a huge Newmar motorhome. He was outside with his dog, a two year old mastiff. He said that this one was small only about 180 pounds. Then he told us that they travel with four adult mastiffs and they also have a mastiff puppy. The adults range in size from 180-230 lbs. I can’t imagine! Maybe I’ll have a photo later in the week if they are still here. They are huge animals but very docile. They are from Buffalo, NY and the mastiffs are show dogs. They have such cute faces!

Tombstone is a neat little town, named “the town too tough to die”, very touristy and still has the original western street, wide and unpaved. One of the photos today shows the stagecoach which goes up and down the street and for a small fee, you can have a ride. They also have shootouts every day at 2:00 p.m. I expect we’ll be going back so we can stay longer. It was quite hot 81F and the dog was in the truck so we only stayed about 45 minutes. I expect that Gordon will have a more detailed account on our Nomads News webpage.

When we got back I called my sister who has just returned from Spain. She had called as we were packing up to leave this morning. We had a nice chat. They are leaving for Florida soon and then heading out on an Amazon cruise. What great lives we have!

The other photo for today is of our site at Cochise Terrace. Much nicer and more spacious than Tucson and no smell of sewer gas!

We both thought that we would like Tucson but I found it quite old and dumpy. There were parts that were okay but we were glad to move on. The smell of sewer gas in the campground and the area around was too much sometimes. I think there must have been some industry in the area that was providing the odour. At first I thought it was the RV next to us that didn’t have his sewer hose hooked up properly, but I guess it was just the general area. Glad we weren’t there longer than a week!

Saturday in Tucson

Since I finally got my letters for our plaque yesterday I decided to get busy at it this morning. I painted the outside border dark green and then sponged the face of the plaque with the same dark green, white and a lighter green. By then it had warmed up enough that I could sit at the picnic table outside to trace the letters onto the plaque and paint them. The photo shows what I’ve done so far. It was very difficult painting as it’s so dry here. Every time you pick up paint you have to pick up water too so I guess I won’t be doing my one stroke flowers until we get to somewhere with some humidity as you don’t use water when doing one stroke. By the time I finished the plaque it was nearly 2:00 p.m. so I tried sitting outside to read for a while but the breeze was pretty strong so I went inside and lay on the couch to read.

Gordon then asked if I was coming with him to take some late day shots so we wound up going to the St. Xavier Mission south of Tucson and then into Saguaro National Park. I didn’t take many photos today, wasn’t in the mood. When we got home, I prepared my hamburger stew as we’re going into a cooler climate tomorrow.

Now we’re watching Panic Room with Jodie Foster.

Choices

Sample plaque

Today, Bib didn’t want to go out at all. I managed to drag him out but he wouldn’t go to the doggie park. Every morning when we go out there are trains blowing whistles and he’s decided he’s scared of that. What a phobic dog!

I then called the campground in Benson as I hadn’t heard anything from my online reservation. She said the online system was new and it was good that I had called. So we’re booked in to the Cochise Terrace RV Resort for one week starting this Sunday. Here’s the link to their website: http://www.cochiseterrace.com/index.html

So, we got showered early and then I headed to Marana to WalMart to get groceries since we’re going to be in Benson and I know there’s no WalMart there let alone a SuperWalMart. I’ve known other RVers that have come back to Tucson to shop for groceries. While there I had a nice leisurely Cobb salad at McDonalds.

I have been trying to get Gordon to do my letters for me for our outside plaque. While I was at WalMart I was looking at stencil lettering so I phoned him and asked him if it would be easier if I just bought a stencil for my lettering and he said, yes. So, when I got home I traced out my letters and found that they were too big so I tried doing some in PowerPoint but they were too small. In the end, Gordon did the letters so now I have to get busy. When we were at Camp Verde there was a plaque outside one of the RVs that I photographed. Mine is a different shape and size but I liked this one and photographed it as a reference. I’m using it as my photo for today.

When I got back from WalMart it was still before 2:00 p.m. so I sat outside and read for a while. The wind came up a bit. It was warm when I got home – 80F so I had put on shorts but sitting outside was cool so I took my blanket out with me.

While I was outside, an RVer came in from Alberta. He was over looking at our DirecWay dish and said that he saw a Canadian in Mexico with a DirecWay dish and they had internet & TV through Star Choice. I emailed our installer in Lindsay and he says that he can provide us with the equipment for Star Choice so I checked out their programming and it really sucks so now I need to find out if we can get US programming through Direct TV. It would be so much easier choosing campgrounds (and cheaper) if we didn't have to rely on the campground having cable. The campgrounds in Canada (except for Vancouver) don't have cable so we have to rely on local programming all summer. It can be very boring!

Another night of local TV and computing! No cable at this campground!

Lazy Thursday

Today was another slow day, just reading and napping.

Gordon left around noon to go to Tucson Studios. I have no interest in seeing this so saved the $15 entry fee for me anyway. He had planned to stay for sunset but arrived home about 4:30 p.m.

While he was gone I sat outside and read for a while, came in and vacuumed and cleaned a bit back outside to read and then came in and had a nap.

It was a beautiful sunny day although cooler when I got up this morning at 47F. It did get to 77F during the day.

Tonight we’re watching TV again and I’m updating my blog.

The photo is one I took at sunset last night.

Rainy Wednesday

Today when I got up it was 57F. It was quite warm all last night and I kept waking up putting covers on and taking them off. For some reason we never sleep with the windows open. We have to try that. I was able to go out to walk with just sweats this morning.

After walking, we headed over to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. This is the last complete breakfast that we’ll be able to have on the gift certificates that I got from my co-workers at BreconRidge when I left in August 2004. That was such a great gift!

We then went to WalMart as Gordon needed to buy more DVDs to back up the photos that we’ve been taking. He also bought some headphones to block out the noise of the TV when I’m watching and he doesn’t want to hear it (or me). I also picked up some groceries while there and I managed to get out of there under $50. A first for this trip I think!

When we returned to the RV, our neighbour was gone (he of the sewer connection with no donut) however later this afternoon another huge motorhome from Texas has arrived. It started to rain a bit, just a sprinkle really so I lay on the couch and read for a bit. Then tried to think of what to have for dinner and figure out if I have everything I need. A little late since we just got back from the grocery store. So I wound up making Tamale Pie. It’s the first time I’ve made it. Someone made it at one of the potlucks we were at, I think at Catalina Spa at Desert Springs and Gordon thought it was really good. It’s made with a cornbread crust so he can eat it.

I also prepared our monthly expenses for February and I’m including a chart of our end of month expenses as some people are interested in that sort of thing. Unfortunately blogspot does not support tables so I’ve converted my table to text. It didn't turn out very well but I think you can figure it out.

February /Per Day
Campground Fees $583.35/$20.83
Groceries $439.88/$15.71
Laundry $14.25/$0.51
Wine/Spirits $0.00 /$0.00
Entertainment $2.25 /$0.08
Snacks $8.83/$0.32
Eating out $108.46 /$3.87
Fuel Truck $410.21/ $14.65
Propane $16.84 /$0.60
Dog Food/Vet etc $35.00 /$1.25
Repairs RV/Truck $38.37/ $1.37
Misc $82.51 /$2.95
Insurance $140.58/ $5.02
Internet $99.85 /$3.57
Cell Phones $97.55 /$3.48
Medical/Dental $0.00 /$0.00
Gifts $59.27/$2.12
Totals $2,137.20 /$76.33



The temperature today only got to about 66F but it’s supposed to clear up later today and be nice and sunny tomorrow and about 79F.

We’ve decided that we’ve seen enough of Tucson this week or will have by Sunday and our plans are to head east to Benson. It will be cooler there as the elevation is higher but the campground is less expensive and it has cable, that is, if they have room. I’ve sent an email reservation to them. The campground is called Cochise Terrace RV Resort. If I haven’t heard from them by late tomorrow, I’ll call.

Since it’s been cloudy and raining most of the day, I’ve borrowed a photo that Gordon took a few days ago at Saguaro National Park of the skeleton of a saguaro cactus. I thought it was very interesting.

A Quiet Fat Tuesday

As it turns out the neighbour’s door facing us would have been better. The guy next to us put his sewer hose out as soon as he was parked and just put it in the sewer without a donut (a ring that blocks the sewer gas from coming out) consequently all we got all day was an odour of sewer gas wafting through our windows. We have been keeping the windows open when we’re here instead of using the air conditioning as even though it has gotten up to 89F in the RV, it’s not humid so it’s just warm. The fans circulate the air and it’s great. Anyway, this guy next to us needs a slap upside the head. I had hoped he would leave today but he’s still here.

Anyway, this morning it was 54F when I got up. Yeah! All I needed was a sweater to walk the dog rather than splash pants, two sweaters and a coat. It’s also warmed up to a respectable 83F with a gentle breeze but it’s clouding over and the weather forecast is calling for a 30% chance of rain. It hasn’t rained in 78 days here.

I managed to get the laundry done this morning and this afternoon sat outside and read my book for a while till it clouded over.

Both of us felt kind of icky today, don’t know if its from the smell of sewer gas or not so we just lounged around until after 5:00 p.m. then drove to downtown Tucson and Gordon took some photos of the architecture, mainly doors, I think as I haven’t seen the photos yet. I didn’t take any that are good enough to post so my photo tonight is of Gordon barbequing the night of our arrival with the pink sky from the sunset.

We wound up our drive trying to find a Taco Bell. We eventually found one but there was lots of traffic!

Back home to watch TV which isn’t great since we don’t have cable here!

By the way for those of you that don't know, today is Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) in New Orleans. We call it Shrove Tuesday. Instead of pigging out on pancakes, we pigged out on Taco Bell since Gordon can't eat pancakes unless they are made with gluten free pancake mix.

Sightseeing

Two of our neighbours left yesterday afternoon after I posted my blog so we didn’t have anyone right outside our door until we got home tonight. These people parked the other way so we can only see their sewer hose. Not sure which is worse! Also yesterday after they left, we moved one of their picnic tables onto our site as we didn’t have one. It’s been so long since we’ve had a picnic table, I can’t remember. Most campgrounds in the west don’t supply them so we have a fold up table that we carry for the barbecue but I was hoping to get my plaque started with our names on it and our camp chairs are too low to work with our table.

Today dawned bright and sunny again. This morning it was 45F when I got up and reached 81F this afternoon.

Gordon had gone to see Saguaro National Park West yesterday afternoon so today we headed through the city to see Saguaro National Park East. They have a one way eight mile drive through the park that we took and stopped in a picnic area to eat our lunch. The photo is of Bib and I after our picnic. We took several photos and then took a different route through the city and continued on the the Western park where we took more photos which you can see on my Yahoo photo site at: http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smerrikin/album?.dir=9ae2

On the way back we stopped to pick up some water. We got spoiled when we were in Mesa. They had two water machines at the resort and you could buy water from the machine for 25¢ per gallon. It was convenient and cheap! I still don’t like drinking campground water and we’ve heard on the news how terrible water is in Arizona. It’s amazing how here in the desert they can sell you water so cheaply and at home in Ontario, it’s so expensive!

Something else I’ve noticed in Arizona is they don’t have motorcycle helmet laws. Consequently very few motorcyclists don’t wear helmets. I guess no one down here values their brain! After 26 years working for State Farm Auto Claims handling injuries, I can’t imagine anyone riding a motorcycle without one. On the other hand, most bicyclists do wear helmets. Go figure!

To check out Gordon's web page click here:
http://web.newsguy.com/gordonw/News/News.html

We've Moved to Tucson!

When I arose this morning we were in Camp Verde, AZ, temperature 31F at 7:00 a.m. and mostly cloudy. We packed up and hit the road by 8:45 a.m. with Tucson as our destination. Thankfully we had an uneventful trip and got through Phoenix okay. There was still a lot of traffic. I guess it’s getting to be like Los Angeles there, there’s really no good time other than the middle of the night to get through the city.

We made one rest room stop near Casa Grande and arrived at our park, Prince of Tucson RV Park at about 12:15 p.m. I had called at around 9:00 a.m. when we got on the road and they told me that if they didn’t have a full hook-up site for us today they could put us in overflow with water and electric and we could move to our full hook-up site tomorrow. Luckily by the time we arrived, the other people had vacated so we were able to get into our full hook-up site and get set up. We’ll be here for a week. Prince of Tucson RV Park is an older resort and the sites are much smaller. They are also all gravel, no concrete pads. We are actually in two sites. We’ve done a tour of the grounds, the washrooms and showers are very clean and they have a nice pool, spa and clubhouse. We’re also very close to Saguaro National Park. Gordon has gone to check it out but Bib and I decided to stay home and relax.

As of 3:10 p.m. it’s 84F. Quite a change! It’s mostly sunny here but we had a lot of cloud on our trip south.

As you can see from the photos the sites are small and our front door faces our neighbour’s which I don’t like but what the heck! I’ll just sit at the front under the overhang of the trailer.

Preparing To Move On !

Today we’re getting mentally and physically prepared to move on tomorrow. We are heading to Tucson even though we don’t have a reservation at a campground. I have spoken with the office at the Prince of Tucson and have been told that they can put us in a water/electric spot probably for a night or two and then move us to a full hook up site. For a week we don’t really need full hook ups though.

Yesterday I had noticed that there was someone else in the campground from Ontario and the license plate said that their Saturn had been purchased at Pickering Saturn. They also have a DirecWay dish on their C Class motorhome from 3i Communications. So today when we came back from our showers they were outside with their dog so we talked to them for a while. Their dish is automatic and costs $8000! It takes 5-10 minutes to find the satellite so even though we have to set ours up physically it usually only takes 15-20 minutes to get it set up so for the extra $, I think we’ll keep what we have.

This afternoon I headed west to Cottonwood to go to WalMart to buy groceries. I never seem to get out of there under $100 these days. I drove around some side streets in Cottonwood and then headed back to Camp Verde. I stopped at the little shopping mall there but didn’t find much. Then I drove into Camp Verde and back to the RV park to unload and put away the groceries.

After feeding the dog, he and I went for a walk, then I had a short nap.

I’m looking forward to moving on tomorrow. I think Gordon has mixed feelings. He mentioned this morning that he wouldn’t mind staying another week but as of now, I think we’re going. All that could change over night though!

I have two photos posted for today, one is of the countryside area around the RV park. The photo was taken from the park and the other is of the office/clubhouse at the RV park. Very nice clubhouse with free wifi.

A Really Slow Day!

Today we were both totally wiped out from our trip yesterday so we didn’t do much all day. I sat outside and read for a while and took a couple of walks. Although it was only 26F when I got up this morning, it got up to 70F and was sunny and clear with few clouds. The only clouds were just above the mountains and other than that the sky was clear blue.

Around 4:30 p.m. we drove over to the town of Camp Verde with the intention of taking some photos of the town but instead we just drove around and wound up driving west on Hwy 260 to Cottonwood about 15 miles away. It is much larger than Camp Verde and has a SuperWalMart so guess where I’m going tomorrow. I had thought about booking a campground there but thought Camp Verde was closer to Sedona, turns out, its not however the campgrounds looked small and old and the one we’re in is new and clean with nice large sites with concrete pads.

So, we wound up not taking any photos and coming back in time to prepare dinner and watch TV.

Since I didn’t take any photos today, I’m putting up one of a view from the campground that I took earlier in the week.

Wupatki Pueblo Ruins

Sunset Crater and Bonito Lava Flow

Grand Canyon Views

Sunset Crater, Wupatki Pueblo and The Grand Canyon!

We left Distant Drums RV Resort at 8:45 a.m. to head north to the Grand Canyon. Gordon had spoken with Fred (his photographer friend) and some of his friends and it was recommended that we enter at the eastern rim of the canyon. There were also some sights to see on the way. The drive was uneventful thank goodness and we noticed along the way that apparently you aren’t someone unless you have a horse corral in your front yard! We got through Flagstaff and headed north, our first stop to be Sunset Crater Volcano.

Sunset Crater first erupted in the winter of 1064-65. It is the most recent in a six-million-year history of volcanic activity in the Flagstaff area. What is now a 1,000 foot high volcano began to form when molten rock sprayed high into the air from a crack in the ground, solidified, then fell to Earth as large bombs or smaller cinders. As periodic eruptions continued over the next 200 years, the heavier debris accumulated around the vent. The lightest, smallest particles were carried the farthest by wind, dusting 800 square miles of northern Arizona with ash. Perhaps as spectacular as the original eruption were two lava flows, the Kana-a in 1064 and the Bonito in 1180. They destroyed all living things in their path.

We walked on the lava flow, walked along the pathway and took some photos. One of the photos I took is above. It’s very pretty to see all the black lava-like sand with the green trees against the blue sky.

Then we stopped at the Wupatki ruins. To me this is history and I’m not a history type person but these ruins of the pueblo were interesting because it was all red rock like the rocks at Sedona.

We then headed on to the eastern rim of the Grand Canyon. Glad we purchased the National Parks Pass last year. We’ve gotten our moneys worth. It’s $20 to enter the park if you don’t have the pass. We stopped first at the Desert View overlook and a nice lady took our picture on my camera and it is included with today’s blog. We then stopped at almost all of the viewpoints going toward the south rim mainly looking for a good spot for sunset photos. We saw lots of rock, canyons and trees. It is indeed a place to see and I’m glad we went (even though it was a very long day and today I feel like I’ve been pulled through a knothole) however I have to say that the Sedona area with all the red rock is prettier (again in my opinion) and I think Big Bend National Park is also prettier and more interesting. I have however included some photos taken of the Grand Canyon.

We wound up leaving the park just before sunset after taking some photos in the golden light. The sun was bright and there were no clouds so we decided to head back. We left through the southern rim exit and drove toward Williams hoping to find a Taco Bell for dinner.

Not much by way of fast food in Williams but it was interesting to see the town. This apparently is where a lot of people stay when going to the park. It is quite a distance though probably an hour’s drive to get to the south rim.

We continued on, not finding a sign for Taco Bell anywhere even going through Flagstaff. We didn’t get off the Interstate relying on the signs so decided to head back to Camp Verde where we knew there was a Taco Bell. We arrived back at the RV at 8:45 p.m., a very full 12 hours, traveling 340 miles!

Vegged Out Today!

Low 26
High 66

Today Bib and I vegged while Gordon went shooting photos with Fred. Before Gordon left this morning we signed up for one more day here so we can travel through Phoenix on Sunday. Hopefully the traffic will be better on Sunday.

I recorded our monthly expenses, read a bit both inside and outside, went for a couple of walks and packed a lunch for us to take tomorrow on our journey to the Grand Canyon. It’s supposed to be a high of 50Fand sunny at the Canyon tomorrow. The low is 11F but hopefully we won’t see that temperature. We’re leaving fairly early but not before dawn but will probably stay for sunset.

No photos today. My camera is being charged in preparation for tomorrow!

Snoopy laying on his doghouse with Woodstock on his nose

Sedona scenery

Sandra on hiking trail

Beautiful Area but Too Cold!

27F this morning. I think we won’t be staying here another week as we had talked about. Beautiful area but too freaking cold! They even shut the water off in the campground last night. Not that that’s a big deal as we have our own water on board.

Slow start this morning but this afternoon we headed into Sedona for more photo shooting. Gordon is still wiped from yesterday’s shooting from before dawn to after sunset and he has another day planned like that tomorrow. Then we’re off to the Grand Canyon on Thursday for the day, weather permitting.

We drove around and took pictures of the Sedona area. Awesome scenery here! We stopped in the downtown area and looked around the shops for an hour but didn’t see anything I liked better than my money that I could afford anyway. So all I have to show for today are lots of photos. We got home about 6:45 p.m. so it was a full afternoon.

Monday Monday

This morning’s temperature at 7:15 a.m. was 29F. Brrr! But, by 8:20 a.m. it was 39F and warmed up to 61F and was sunny. Mesa days were bright blue sky while here the sky does have some cloud. It’s definitely cooler here but quite pleasant in the sun. I think Mesa is also getting cooler weather right now.

Gordon left before dawn to take sunrise photos and then was picking up Fred, the photographer that we met yesterday and going to Jerome.

• Jerome is located on top of Cleopatra Hill at 5,200 feet. Once known as the wickedest town in the west, Jerome was a copper mining camp and grew from a settlement of tents to a roaring mining community. Four fires destroyed large sections of the town during its early history resulting in the incorporation of the City of Jerome in 1899. Founded in 1876 it was once the fourth largest city in the Arizona Territory. The population peaked at 15,000 in the 1920’s and when the Depression of the 1930’s slowed the mining operation, the population dwindled to around 50. It was promoted as a historic ghost town.. In 1967 Jerome was designated a National Historic District and today is a thriving tourist and artist community with a population of around 450. The town sits above what was the largest copper mine in Arizona and produced 3 million pounds of copper per month. Men and women from all over the world made their way to Arizona to find work and a new way of life. Today the mines are not worked and Jerome has become the largest ghost town in America.

While the boys were out taking photos, I stayed at home with Bib and got my housecleaning done, went for a few walks and took a few photos.

The park has really filled up today. Looks like a rally of hi low trailers plus a bunch of others. We now have neighbors on all sides but no one behind us yet.

Yesterday when we were at Fred and Nan’s house a couple of havelina happened by their front door right in the city of Sedona! I snapped a quick photo which is above.

Facts about the Javelina (pronounced Havelina)

• Collared Peccary (Javelina) is the only wild, native pig-like animal found in the United States
• They are called Javelina because of their razor-sharp tusks, Spanish for javelin or spear.
• You may smell a peccary before you see it.
• The prickly pear is ideal food for the Collared Peccary due to its high water content.
• Collared Peccary have poor eyesight and good hearing.

Our site - #111 at Distant Drums RV Resort, Camp Verde, AZ

Meeting New People!

This morning Gordon was out taking sunrise photos while I had a slow start and after our walks took another nap. I knew today would be a busy day as we had made arrangements to go to the home of one of the guys that Gordon has met through pbase.com, another photographer who lives in Sedona. We were to be at their house for 2:00 p.m.

We left at noon not because it’s far away but because Gordon wanted to scout out photo opportunities. There are certainly a lot of them in this area. Sedona itself is a very pretty little city surrounded by red rock mountains of different shapes. The adobe architecture is beautiful! There is not much by way of shopping here but there are all kinds of galleries and craft places. After our photo scouting mission, we arrived at the home of Nan & Fred on time and enjoyed our afternoon, the guys talking photography and places to photograph and the ladies talking about painting and crafting. Nan is taking both oil and watercolor lessons and has done some excellent paintings. She enjoys doing portraits and is really good at facial features. We then went to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, Judi’s in Sedona.

Gordon and Fred are getting together tomorrow and heading over to Jerome while Nan is at one of her painting courses and I’m being a drudge and doing housework and spending some time with Bib as he was all alone all day.

Tonight is TV!

Photos today are of a Sedona scene and the four of us at the restaurant.

On to the Sedona Area

After yesterday’s cloudiness and last night’s extraordinary sunset, today dawned bright and sunny in Mesa. We only had two cloudy days in the three weeks we spent in Mesa.

We got packed up and were leaving the park by 9:15 a.m. and got through Phoenix by about 10:10 a.m. There was a lot of traffic northbound on I-17 just on our way out of Phoenix but that was only for a short while then it cleared out. We stopped at a rest area at Sunset Point and took a couple of photos but other than that the trip was good. We arrived at our campground, Distant Drums RV Resort at about 11:45 a.m. and got set up in good time. Distant Drums is a new resort, 2 years and 4 months old and unlike Mesa, we’re back in the country so it’s only a short walk for sunset shots.

After we were set up we took a drive to Montezuma Castle which is very close by. We had seen the sign on I-17 at our exit. Montezuma Castle is cliff dwellings that were built by the Sinaugua farmers early in the 12th century and then were abandoned in the 1400’s. No one seems to know why. A photo of the cliff dwellings is posted above.

After that we drove into Camp Verde to have a look at the town. It looked very much like we thought a western town should look and we’ll probably take some photos of it another day. We then returned home and I read some of the literature that we picked up at the Chamber of Commerce in town and had a nap.

We walked out to the vacant land beside the park (I think it’s their expansion area) and took some photos of the sunset. It wasn’t as impressive as last night’s and my battery was about to give out so I came back and took Bib out for a walk. He hasn’t wanted to go outside much when in Mesa due to all the noise so he seemed quite keen here.

Tonight it’s hamburger stew for dinner and TV.

Highway Art

A few days ago I commented on how beautiful the retainer walls were along the highways of the Phoenix area. Here are just a few photos that I managed to snap on our way through today. Some might not be very clear but you get the idea.

Our Goodbye to Mesa Sunset!

Since Friday had been cloudy all day we were very happy to have this beautiful sunset for our last night in Mesa!