On the road to Laughlin

September 24 – We were heading to Laughlin, NV today!  We actually managed to leave earlier than we had planned, which is always good.

One of the peaks

The highlight of the drive was seeing the snow from yesterday’s rainy weather on the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff.  They were beautiful as we drove up I-17 and they west on I-40.  Then it was just a long drive to Laughlin/Bullhead City. 

We stayed in the KOA that is part of or related to Avi Casino.  We made the reservation months ago so we would be at the same park as our friend, Barry, who we were going there to visit.  Well, a week ago he called and told us he had moved into a

More peaks

different RV park that was more reasonably priced!  If we had known sooner we would have gotten a place closer to him.  The park is nice but it’s kinda far out.  Any way, once we got settled in we called and met Barry for dinner.  We had a great visit!  We came here 2 years ago to see him and could not locate him and he was not answering his phone.  We managed to find out he was in a horrific car accident, hit head on by a drunk

Hotels as we approach Laughlin

driver.  He was airlifted to Las Vegas and barely survived.  He spent a year in hospitals and therapy facilities. He has rods, screws, skin grafting but is really doing great for the shape he was in.

It was so good to see him!  We volunteered together a few years back at Navajo State Park in Colorado.  We’ve kept in touch over the years.  We’re hoping he will come see us in Florida!

We agreed to meet for lunch tomorrow and we headed back to the RV to rest up!

Sightseeing and saying good bye

September 23 – We were up early and went to the post office before picking Carole up for

Montezuma's Castle

our outing.  Montezuma’s Castle is only a few miles from Bryan’s house.  The weather was getting nasty out and we all took rain jackets.  We were surprised at how many people were at the National Monument.  We timed it perfectly to sit in on the ranger’s program.  We learned a lot about the castle and monument.  The castle is actually one of several dwelling and storage structures but the only

Model of what the inside looked
like

surviving one. It house 35 people with 25 rooms. 

It started drizzling as were walking along the rest of the valley wall checking some remains of other housing areas and thought it best if we headed back to the car.  We headed back to Bryan’s and dropped Carole off and went the RV until time to head back for the cook out.  The weather got nastier and was rainy on and off and the temp dropped quite a bit.

We got back to Bryan’s in plenty of time and I took some crocheting to keep me busy.  Once the rest of the gang arrived Bryan grilled the burgers and brats and we squeezed all 8 of us around the table.  Lunch was nice and then they brought out a huge birthday cake for Carole and Wyatt.  Both were on the 21^st!  Tara, Ray and Wyatt left right after lunch as they had plans for the rest of the afternoon.

Bill and Bryan ran an errand and Bill and I left about 6.  We said our good byes tonight at Bryan and Janet are leaving in the morning to take Carole back to Tucson and will spend the night with her before heading back.  We will get to Tucson on Thursday and will spend more time with Carole then. 

We watched the season opener of “Bull” on of my favorite shows. 

Shopping day!

September 22 – We got up kinda early and had a good breakfast and then Bill lay back down for over an hour!  We checked in with Carole and will picked her up at 12:30 to go to Prescott.  We ran it by the group to see if it would be good for us to pick up some rotisserie chicken and sides for dinner tonight and use paper plates so no one has to do dishes!  Everyone was happy with that! 

So off we went after lunch to Prescott.  Stops included:  Trader Joe’s, World Market, Michaels, Joann’s, gas station, and Basha’s Grocery on the way back.  I got the chicken for dinner and some potato salad and a kale salad in addition to a few groceries for us.  We dropped Carole off and told her to let them know we’d be back within the hour.

Molly was happy to see us!  We put our groceries away and I put the salad together and we went back to Bryan’s.  I took Chocolate Bombs for dessert.  We visited a while before getting the dinner on the table!   Janet added a few things she had on hand and no one left the table hungry!

We stayed until about 8:30 as they were all looking like they were ready for bed.  We were told that their granddaughter, Tara, and her husband Ray and his dad would be over at 1 tomorrow to grill out.  We told Carole we’d pick her up at 10 in the morning to go to Montezuma’s Castle here in Camp Verde.

Then we just read and relaxed til bed time!

Camp Verde Arrival

September 21 – Happy Birthday Carole!  We managed to leave before 9 so did not make it to the post office since they open at 9.  Every one along the route today was not open, so will have to mail Mike’s package on Monday from Camp Verde.  Today’s drive was 245

Leaving Monument Valley - where Forest Gump
was running  big tourist stop

miles.  We only stopped once at a closed trading post and had a break and lunch.  Traffic was not fun!  There is a mix of slow drivers and butt head drivers that ride their tales and barely make it back in from passing.  I slowed up many times to keep from being part of an accident waiting to happen!

There was some nice scenery as expected and some run down areas as well.  Lots of small native communities.  We passed the roads to cut off to Grand Canyon north and south, Canyon de Chelly, Sunset Crater Volcano NM, Wupatki NM, Walnut Canyon NM and Dinosaur Tracks.  Places we’ve been to but will plan to see again!

We arrived in Camp Verde about 2 (mountain time)and forgot they have 30 amp only!  Ugh!  I wanted to do a load of laundry and a load of Bill’s cleaning rags.  He left to go see his siblings up the hill from us while I did 2 loads of laundry, ironed my stack of clean laundry, and typed of up some my journal.  He got back around 3 (mountain time) and we needed to be at his brother’s by 5:15 pacific time to go to dinner.  I had turned on the generator so I could run the AC and the dryer at the same time and turn it off before we left. 

Elephant legs we saw along the road

Since today was Carole’s birthday, Bryan and Janet drove down to Tucson to get her yesterday.  She turned 86.  It was so good to see her!  It’s been 2 years and we don’t talk on the phone like we used to all the time.  She seems to be doing well after Herb’s death and has adjusted OK as he hadn’t lived at home for about a year before his death.  She’s slowing down but aren’t we all as we get older.

We gave Carole a nice card and I put together some of my crocheting projects for her.  I know she will use my newest one to make for her lady friends and her kids as they come to visit.  She and I both don’t watch TV without a project in our hands!  She loved the new stuff and the nylon scrubby as she can’t do them anymore with her arthritis. 

Bryan picked a steak place in town and we had a great dinner!  Bill and I both had sirloins that were so flavorful and tender.  The salad could have been fresher but the meat made up for it.  We sat and just visited quite a while before they started getting busy and we went back to Bryan’s for a while.  They were all ready to go to bed at 8:30 their time.  So we said our good-nights and headed back down the hill to our RV.

We decided to make a run into Prescott tomorrow so I can get some yarn and a few groceries.  Carole is going with us but Janet can’t get into the truck and Bryan had no interest so it will be just the 3 of us.

Lunch out and more sights to see

September 20 - I was too tired to take a shower last night and get all the sand from every orifice of my body.  My shoes were full and my scalp and my ears!  Once we had breakfast I got in the shower and boy, did it feel good!  Bill washed the RV window and with all the wind and blowing sand we couldn’t see out very clearly.

After doing the windows, Bill took a nap and I worked on my journal and all of the photos we took today.  Then we left to have lunch out at the Olde Bridge Bar and Grille.  It’s literally on the water’s edge at the bridge on the San Juan.  Bill had a Navajo Burger, which was a large fry bread cut in half and each half had a burger with the trimmings on it and there was a side of fries.  He brought half home!  I had a Navajo Taco which wasn’t nearly as big but was pretty tasty!

We checked out the Trading Post next door and they had some beautiful rugs made by local Navajo but the least expensive one we looked at was $1,100.  If I found the perfect colors

Mexican Hat

and design I might be willing to negotiate – a lot!

Just south of Mexican Hat is the stone pillar for which the town is named.  Today was much clearer so I got a better photo of it.  I can’t believe all the wind here hasn’t blown the top off the hat!

A few miles further south is the road to Goosenecks State Park.  It’s a few miles in and a bit curvy and up and down, but on the way you see some beautiful huge mesas.  It’s $5 to get into the park, which really isn’t much as far as facilities.  Several dry camping spots with covered picnic tables and fire pits and a vault toilet, and a parking and day use area with a vault toilet.

BUT, you’re not there for those things, you come to see the goosenecks engraved deep into the mesa where the San Juan  River River flows.  It’s spectacular!  The water looks green from the top and believe me you are a long way from the river!  It was VERY windy today and I was being super careful not to get too close to the edge of the overlook and lose my balance to the wind.  It’s a long

My panorama of Goosenecks

tumbling fall and then – ker-plunk, you’d drown if the fall didn’t kill you!  It’s truly an amazing sight!

We found out that the boat launch is behind our campground and the road is beside us so once we got back we drove down to see what it’s all about.  The people launching are supposed to fill out a registration form stating the date,

Unique stripping in the mountain

number in the party, number of days you will be gone.  They go as far as 30 miles and we guess this is so if they don’t come back on time someone will go look for them.  There were 2 groups returning we think.  They sure take a lot of gear!

Once we got home I made some Chocolate Bombs to take for Carole’s birthday tomorrow.  Bryan drove down to Tucson to get her today and he will take her back the day we leave.  They never come to Tucson any more to visit so for them to all be together this is what it takes!  After getting the bombs in the fridge, I started on making a batch of caramel corn.  I was a neglectful friend and forgot to make it before Mike and Darlene came this summer.  So I finally found the time to do it and have it boxed to go to the post office tomorrow.  Dar, be on the look out for it!!

We couldn’t have dinner until it was out of the convection oven so I couldn’t heat up our leftovers until then.  I managed to clean a few items out of the fridge and since we have Styrofoam containers from last night and today we are good to go for lunch on the road tomorrow.  I think we have about 250 miles tomorrow, so that’s not bad!

Time to get today’s photos in order to put in the post!

It was a long day, but Super!!!

September 19 – We were on the road by 9:30 and barely got out of Moab when we came

Wilson Arch

upon Wilson Arch on the left of the highway.  Of course we stopped to get a few photos and were back on our way.  We only had a drive of 135 miles but ran into 6 stops for road construction!  Geez!  Some were not bad but one took forever it seemed.

The drive was nice with more of the beautiful red rock and quite a few 6 – 10% grades to go up or down.  Of course there

Just along the way...

was a lot of picture taking on Bill’s part as we drove.

We arrived at Valles Store and RV Park in Mexican Hat, Utah by lunch time.  IT is called Mexican Hat after a rock formation.  I called it a Deliverance park, but Bill defended it.  It’s clean and very level with sewer and pull thru spots, but had only 30 AMP or 20 AMP and is just desolate looking.  Not much in the way of green

Rock for which Mexican Hat
was named

and puny little trees.  When we got home from our afternoon excursion, we were the only ones in the park.

It didn’t take long to get set up and have lunch and we rested a while and left at 2:30 for Monument Valley which is 22 miles.  We crossed the Snake River and Colorado Rivers and you could see some of the monuments in the distance.  Wow, so breath taking!  Such a different site than you will see anywhere in the world.

We had signed up for a tour at 4 so before that we explored Goulding’s area.  He established the first trading post in the valley and it has since grown to have a hotel, campground, gas station, grocery store and museum.  The original trading post is now a museum.  It is the only non-native American owned place in the valley.  There is a KOA but they have a long term lease.

Mittens come in pairs

We were to meet the tour at The View Hotel which is on the crest of the valley.  They have a restaurant and huge gift shop that is mostly Native American made jewelry, pottery, paintings, weaving and carvings.  Beautiful stuff for sure!  You can drive some of the monument for the $20 car admission that EVERYONE but natives pay, but to get into the sacred areas you must be with a licensed guide. 

Our guide and ride!

Bill booked our tour a few weeks ago and we had a super guide!  He knew so much about the names of the formations, history of his people, and he shared so much with us. He did native chants, explained about herbal use of plants we passed, their beliefs and rituals, we could not have gotten a more knowledgeable and personable guide than Derrick.  It was well worth the $85 each for 3 hours of history, stories and legends.

We visited John Ford Point which is famous for John Ford’s

Bill at Ford's Point

movies shot in the area.  He did the first movie there and starred John Wayne, The Stagecoach.  After that many movies have been made there and continue to be.  Along some of the stops there are craft booths with mostly jewelry for sale.  There was a place that sells Fry Bread but by the time we got to that stop it was closed!  Bummer!

Ceiling of Big Hogan

I can’t say enough about what a great tour it was!  I hope my pictures captured the essence of Monument Valley.  Since it was 7 when we got back, the sun was setting and I got some photos of the sun on the Mittens formations.  Then we had dinner at The View restaurant.  We lucked out getting a window table where we could see the Mittens!  Dinner was OK, the portions were huge and we both

Sun's Eye

brought half of our Fry Bread sandwiches home.  You get a trip to the salad bar with most of the dinners and it was adequate, but nothing special.  Most of the meals had spicy peppers and I can’t

Ear of the Wind

have that so went with something a bit milder.  It was a shredded beef but had no pizzazz!  Bill had a ------.  We left full and will lunch for another day!

It was really dark by the time we left and Bill took it slow on the single lane roads that curved and went up and down.  When we got back to the campground, we had

From the hotel as the sun was setting

no neighbors and were by ourselves for the night.  We’re behind the store and there’s an apartment above it and on one side is a park model where we think the owner and her son live, so we’re not really alone!  Plus we can see the 7-11 gas station from the RV!

Arches National Park - you've got to see it!

September 18 – After a leisurely morning, we left at 10 for Arches National Monument.  I

Yes, we're waiting in line!

packed the cooler with lunch and drinks as there are no places to get food once you get into the park.  The line to get in was 2 lanes and full!  However, once we got through the entrance station traffic moved right along. 

I thought we might fare better to go to the far end of the park and work our way back. Having been here before I know how tempting it is to stop and take photos like crazy. 

Landscape Arch

As our luck would have it, that was the busiest parking lot we were in all day!  We finally got parked at Devil’s Garden Trailhead and venture to Double O Arch and Landscape Arch.  The walk was 2.6 miles round trip to Landscape Arch.   It’s not a difficult trail but windy in some places.  It was another 2 miles round trip to go on to Double O Arch, but we could see it from where we were.  It was pretty crowded.  There was another trail to 2 other arches but they we decided it was early and we’d have more walking to do.  My right ankle is not doing so well and I didn’t want to stress it any more than necessary.

There are over 200 arches in the park but not nearly that many along the main road.  There are gravel roads we could have gone on and there are roads that you must use 4 wheel drive.  Bill’s not into all that bouncing and jouncing or rough rides for his truck!

Our next stop along the road was to see Broken Arch and Sand Dune Arch.  Sand Dune is

Broken Arch

right by the road and Broken Arch further back in.  We heard numerous accents from many countries today.  Also

Kelly at Sand Dune Arch

there are a lot of serious hikers.  There have been numerous warnings as well as to the amount of water you should carry.  There are only 2 locations in the park with drinking water.  I think the numbers are geared to middle of summer weather. 

Bill squeezing out the
opening from Sand Dune
Arch

Not so much today!

The Fiery Furnace Viewpoint was next and I don’t really get the

One section of Fiery Furnace

name!  I think is has to do with the iron in the soils and caused coloring as if it was done in a furnace. 

We took the side road off to Wolf Ranch and then on to the view points of Delicate Arch.  There’s an old home at Wolf Ranch from when it was really a ranch.  You can park there and hike to Delicate Arch which is 3 miles round trip over difficult terrain.  We did that years ago and at this point we optioned for the closest point walk!  It’s just a beautiful arch on the edge of a

Delicate Arch

mountain, all by itself and hanging on to life.  It is the most exposed arch that we have seen in the park.

Back on the main road we drove 2.5 miles to the Panorama Point.  Lovely views, It was a quick stop.

There is another side road that leads to Double Arch, North Window and South Window.  The park was enlarging the parking area there so traffic was a mess.  Rather than wait for parking and walking

South Window Arch

closer to the arches, I managed to get some photos from the truck.  Bill was able to pull off for Double Arch where you could also see the

North Window Arch

beginnings of new arches forming. 

We parked at Balanced Rock and walked back in to see Pothole Arch.  It’s very different and getting in there is all beach sand and a very

Double Arch

narrow opening.  There weren’t many people coming and going but we thought it was a really nice arch to see.

Of course we could see Balanced Rock from quite a distance since it’s in the open and pretty tall.  Some day

Balanced Rock

erosion will take over and it unfortunately will tumble to the ground.

Now we were on the home stretch!  We stopped briefly to view the

Petrified Sand Dunes

Petrified Dunes.  They look like sand dunes but are solid rocks.  They cover acres and acres!  Then we drove through an area with numerous points of interest on both sides of the road.  There’s Tower of Babel, Sheep Rock, Three Gossips, Courthouse Towers and The Organ.  You bare get past those and you begin your decent zig zagging your way down the mountain.  There’s a decent view of the

Sheep Rock

Visitor Center as you drive down.

The Three Gossips

We stopped at the Visitor Center and watched the movie which was excellent.  Of course there was a visit to the gift shop as well.  We checked out the exhibits and headed home.

Time for some rest until dinner time!  Since Bill picked the lunch spot yesterday, I got to pick dinner tonight.  I checked on Yelp and Trip Advisor and chose Sultan’s Mediterranean!  Bill is not big on that kind of food but I checked and there were some things I knew he’d eat.  What a find!  Even Bill raved about his meal.  We shared an appetizer of Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and they were yummy!  That was the only thing Bill had a negative comment on as it was cold and we normally have them hot.)  He had Chicken Shish and I had Havarti Chicken Shish!  That was the moistest chicken and so nicely seasoned.  It came with yellow rice and a salad.  Then for dessert (not like we were not already full) and Bill went with Baklava and I had the rice pudding.  The baklava was made a bit different, with pistachio nuts and no honey but Bill said it was excellent.  The rice pudding was a different also.  It was all creamy and no rice bits and seasoned with some ginger in addition to cinnamon.  I liked it but prefer the rice pudding from the little Greek place at Winter Garden Village!

Needless to say, we were stuffed!  Once we got home we did start to ready things for our departure tomorrow as we like to make as fast of a getaway as we can.  I did a bit of posting and working on my photos.