5/14/2007
We got to Canyon De Chelly yesterday. When we arrived we drove into the visitor center looking for the campground. We could see it over the hill but didn't know how to get there. As we were driving through the visitor center parking lot a car pulled up beside us and ask if we were looking for the campground and we said yes we were. They said just follow us we are going there and we did. When we got to the campground the lady in the car said there are only two sites left that are big enough for your rig and she showed us where they were. We took the first one she showed us. She told us that they had the same problem the day before and knew how we felt in a strange campground. We thanked her for her help. They were from Montana and also had a large motorhome. One of the nice things about traveling is running into helpful people like that. The literature on the campground said it could only handle up to 35 footers, ours is 37 foot. Believe me there were a lot of RVs in there that were bigger than 35 foot. After we had been there 3 days we saw a lady coming around every evening taking down licence numbers. We ask her what the stay limit was and she said 5 days. The campground is free but has no hookups. It only has toilet facilities and a dump station. While we were there, we saw many natives coming in with their pickups and filling six to twelve 5 gallon containers with water. I presume to take home. Our 5 days were up on Saturday so we left for the Four Corners and Mesa Verda.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
5/09/-5/13/2007
5/09/2007
We were up early this morning getting ready to leave the Coconino Forest for Phoenix. At about 7 o'clock we got some unexpected visitors. First off to the east I saw two green balloons that looked like they were landing just over the ridge. While I was watching them one of our neighbors came out a said look behind you and this is what I saw. There were two of these balloons getting ready to land in our camping area. I want to keep reminding you that you can click on each picture to enlarge it. Also these are only a few of the pictures. You can click on my picture albums for more.
This was the first one to land but he was farther away.
This was the second one to land and he was only about 50 yards from the motorhome.
It certainly was interesting watching them land and deflate the balloons and roll them up and stow them in the trucks. They had two chase trucks with them and about 5 ground creww for each balloon in the chase trucks. When the balloons got close enough to the ground the men on the ground grabbed the ropes and the baskets and pulled them down while one of them pulled what I called the "stopper" out of the top of the balloon to let the hot air out. Some of the people that rode in the balloon said they had been waiting for 3 days for a windless morning so they could go up. They said they saw deer, rabbits and javelins and of course a great view of the area. They took off at 6 o'clock and landed at about 8 so there ride was only about two hours. They said it cost $150.00. 
The Meteor Crater is only six miles down the road from the campground. We got up Saturday morning early to try to beat the heat. We got to the Crater at 8:15 and were just getting ready to buy the tickets when the guard came over to Peggy and told her that she would not be able to go on the guided tour because she had on open toed shoes. Peggy usually carries an extra pair of hiking shoes in the car. Naturally today she had neglected to put them in. So we had to go back to the motorhome to get her another pair of shoes. Fortunately we got back in time for the 9:15
guided tour. It was a mile long over some very rough rocks. The guide warmed that if you had heart trouble or were not use to they altitude (it is at 5300 feet) you might not want to go. We decided to try it. We actually made it out and back. They didn't have to send a rescue party. :-)
The crater was created by a meteor about 50,000 years ago. It was originally 750 feet deep but erosion has reduced it to about 500 feet deep. It is about 4000 feet wide. That's why I couldn't get the whole crater in, in one picture. They say you could put 200 football fields in the bottom of the crater. 
This was one of our stops on the guided tour. The young lady on the left is the tour guide and the gentlemen on the right is one of the persons on the tour and I don't know the lady in the middle. :-) 
The Petrified Forest visitor center is just inside the park and has a great trail in back of it. It is covered in petrified trees and parts of petrified trees as you can see.
This is another area of the trail behind the visitor center.
These colors come from the different minerals that were absorbed to make this petrified wood.
This area is called the Jasper Forest and at one time was covered with petrified wood. However before the area was protected people would come out and haul the petrified wood away by the wagon load. Even after it was suppose to be protected but before there was any one here to protect it, it was still being stolen. Even today when it is illegal to remove any thing from the park, they estimate that they lose tons of it.
This area is called the Blue Mesa, this part is still in the petrified forest. Certainly is unique. 
This is part of the Painted Desert. I must admit that after seeing Sedona I wasn't as impressed with this. It is pretty but Sedona's reds are deep and more impressive to me.
We were up early this morning getting ready to leave the Coconino Forest for Phoenix. At about 7 o'clock we got some unexpected visitors. First off to the east I saw two green balloons that looked like they were landing just over the ridge. While I was watching them one of our neighbors came out a said look behind you and this is what I saw. There were two of these balloons getting ready to land in our camping area. I want to keep reminding you that you can click on each picture to enlarge it. Also these are only a few of the pictures. You can click on my picture albums for more.
This was the first one to land but he was farther away. 
This was the second one to land and he was only about 50 yards from the motorhome.
It certainly was interesting watching them land and deflate the balloons and roll them up and stow them in the trucks. They had two chase trucks with them and about 5 ground creww for each balloon in the chase trucks. When the balloons got close enough to the ground the men on the ground grabbed the ropes and the baskets and pulled them down while one of them pulled what I called the "stopper" out of the top of the balloon to let the hot air out. Some of the people that rode in the balloon said they had been waiting for 3 days for a windless morning so they could go up. They said they saw deer, rabbits and javelins and of course a great view of the area. They took off at 6 o'clock and landed at about 8 so there ride was only about two hours. They said it cost $150.00.After they left we headed for Phoenix (actually Mesa) and the Ambassador RV Park. Fortunately it was only a block from the repair shop.
5/10/2007
The next day we took the motorhome for repairs. While they were working on the motorhome we had to go to Glendale to pick up our catalytic heater which was also being repaired. I didn't realize how big the Phoenix metro area is. It was over thirty miles to Glendale. Actually there are many suburbs of Phoenix; Glendale, Mesa, Scottsdale, Apache Junction, Tempe and some smaller ones. They are all side by side. Thankfully, they finished the work on our motorhome. We stayed one more night at the RV park.
5/11/2007
We are finally on our way to traveling again or are we? On the way up the mountain to Flagstaff the motorhome started to over heat. The Cummins engine usually runs very cool, less than 1/4 on the gage. Thankfully it would cool down if we weren't pulling a steep grade, so we were able to make it to the Meteor Crater RV park. It's about 30 miles east of Flagstaff on route 40. I made some calls and have an appointment Monday to check the motor. I'm hoping that it is just a clogged air filter. The air filter is about 4 years old. In the mean time we are getting to visit the sites in this area.
5/12/2007
The Meteor Crater is only six miles down the road from the campground. We got up Saturday morning early to try to beat the heat. We got to the Crater at 8:15 and were just getting ready to buy the tickets when the guard came over to Peggy and told her that she would not be able to go on the guided tour because she had on open toed shoes. Peggy usually carries an extra pair of hiking shoes in the car. Naturally today she had neglected to put them in. So we had to go back to the motorhome to get her another pair of shoes. Fortunately we got back in time for the 9:15guided tour. It was a mile long over some very rough rocks. The guide warmed that if you had heart trouble or were not use to they altitude (it is at 5300 feet) you might not want to go. We decided to try it. We actually made it out and back. They didn't have to send a rescue party. :-)
The crater was created by a meteor about 50,000 years ago. It was originally 750 feet deep but erosion has reduced it to about 500 feet deep. It is about 4000 feet wide. That's why I couldn't get the whole crater in, in one picture. They say you could put 200 football fields in the bottom of the crater.
This was one of our stops on the guided tour. The young lady on the left is the tour guide and the gentlemen on the right is one of the persons on the tour and I don't know the lady in the middle. :-)5/13/2007
Today we went to the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. They were about 70 miles east on route 40. I didn't realize that they are connected but the Petrified Forest is the part on the south side of route 40 and the Painted Desert is the part on the north side of route 40. You can get to the south entrance by taking route 180 at Holbrook, which is what we did. So we started at the south end and worked our way north.
The Petrified Forest visitor center is just inside the park and has a great trail in back of it. It is covered in petrified trees and parts of petrified trees as you can see. 
This is another area of the trail behind the visitor center.
These colors come from the different minerals that were absorbed to make this petrified wood.
This area is called the Jasper Forest and at one time was covered with petrified wood. However before the area was protected people would come out and haul the petrified wood away by the wagon load. Even after it was suppose to be protected but before there was any one here to protect it, it was still being stolen. Even today when it is illegal to remove any thing from the park, they estimate that they lose tons of it.
This area is called the Blue Mesa, this part is still in the petrified forest. Certainly is unique.
This is part of the Painted Desert. I must admit that after seeing Sedona I wasn't as impressed with this. It is pretty but Sedona's reds are deep and more impressive to me.We ate lunch at the visitor center on the north end and then headed back to the motorhome. Had to fill up with gas at the Flying J in Winslow at $3.05 a gallon. Also stopped at the Wal-mart in Winslow for a few groceries. Tomorrow I'll take the motorhome into Flagstaff for the bad news.
Monday, May 7, 2007
5/2-5/6/2007
5/2/2007
We moved today to the Coconino National Forest. As you can see it is a boondocking site, but it is free with a Red Rock State Park pass or a Golden Age pass. So the price is right. It really is a nice area, quiet and peaceful. It is just off route 89A about 5 miles from Cottonwood and 10 miles from Sedona. Remember you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.
5/3/2007
Our camp site is about 5 miles from the Page Spring fish hatchery. We went over to check it out. They raise mostly rainbow trout here until they are about 9 inches then stock them in creeks in Arizona in the fall when the water is colder.
This is a view of the tanks they raise them in. It is an enclosed building. They can raise about 1,000,000 trout a year.
This view is of the display pond and the only place where you are allowed to feed the fish. They are all rainbow trout.
From the fish hatchery we went to the Red Rock State Park. It has a great visitor center with lots of information displays and a 55 minute video about the area. The picture above is a view from the visitor center.
5/5/2007
We moved today to the Coconino National Forest. As you can see it is a boondocking site, but it is free with a Red Rock State Park pass or a Golden Age pass. So the price is right. It really is a nice area, quiet and peaceful. It is just off route 89A about 5 miles from Cottonwood and 10 miles from Sedona. Remember you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.
5/3/2007Our camp site is about 5 miles from the Page Spring fish hatchery. We went over to check it out. They raise mostly rainbow trout here until they are about 9 inches then stock them in creeks in Arizona in the fall when the water is colder.
This is a view of the tanks they raise them in. It is an enclosed building. They can raise about 1,000,000 trout a year.
This view is of the display pond and the only place where you are allowed to feed the fish. They are all rainbow trout.
From the fish hatchery we went to the Red Rock State Park. It has a great visitor center with lots of information displays and a 55 minute video about the area. The picture above is a view from the visitor center.
5/5/2007We went to Flagstaff today via route 89A. Remember this is the same route we took to Prescott.
It's not much better going this way as you can see. There are two more levels of the road there that you can't see because my lens isn't a wide angle lens. This picture was actually supposed to be after the next one but since if I move it, it can't be clicked on to expand it, so I had to leave it here.
This one was suppose to be before the U-curves picture above because this is the first thing you get to coming out of Sedona. The bridge is built over Oak Creek Canyon. Oak Creek is the creek that flows through Sedona and the Page Spring Fish Hatchery.
At least after traveling up the curvy road the view is worth it. This is Oak Canyon from the top of the mountain at about 7000 feet. From here the road levels out some to Flagstaff which is only at 6700 feet. We ate lunch in Flagstaff and then headed home on interstate route 17. The picture below shows what we ran into on the way back. Remember this is May 5th.
The sleet, snow and wind was really blowing around. About half way down the mountain the ground was covered with snow. But by the time we got the rest of the way down it was clear but cool. Own campground is at 4000 feet so right now the nights are pretty cool and our catalytic heater is in Phoenix being repaired.
It's not much better going this way as you can see. There are two more levels of the road there that you can't see because my lens isn't a wide angle lens. This picture was actually supposed to be after the next one but since if I move it, it can't be clicked on to expand it, so I had to leave it here.
This one was suppose to be before the U-curves picture above because this is the first thing you get to coming out of Sedona. The bridge is built over Oak Creek Canyon. Oak Creek is the creek that flows through Sedona and the Page Spring Fish Hatchery.
At least after traveling up the curvy road the view is worth it. This is Oak Canyon from the top of the mountain at about 7000 feet. From here the road levels out some to Flagstaff which is only at 6700 feet. We ate lunch in Flagstaff and then headed home on interstate route 17. The picture below shows what we ran into on the way back. Remember this is May 5th.
The sleet, snow and wind was really blowing around. About half way down the mountain the ground was covered with snow. But by the time we got the rest of the way down it was clear but cool. Own campground is at 4000 feet so right now the nights are pretty cool and our catalytic heater is in Phoenix being repaired. Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Sedona II
4/30/2007
Made our second trip to Sedona today. The picture below shows what a beautiful view there is in downtown Sedona.
We took a jeep ride. The scenery was great. The trip taught me that I don't want to take another jeep trip unless I'm driving. The road was as bad as the haul road in Alaska and that's 500 miles of ruts. This one wasn't as long but the road was just as ruff. That wouldn't have been so bad at a reasonable speed, but the driver drove like she was in the Baja 500. These roads are rutted and narrow and there are no guard rails.
As I said the scenery was great. With your imagination here is a turkey and a camel
and here is kissing rock.
This is the view from the top at 7000 feet on the Mogollon Rim which is part of the Colorado Plateau.
We look like we are standing in front of an old western movie back drop.
Another view of Sedona. Sedona comes in two parts. The old down town area is the tourist shops and restaurants. No super markets and no banks. The newer section in the west end has the super markets, banks and restaurants. The two pictures in this set are both from the old part of town.
We also took a trolley ride it is a 55 minute narrated tour. This is one of the pictures from the trolley ride, look closely and you'll see the house in the middle of the picture. It was much more pleasant except we had driven over the same route the other day when we were here. The lady driver was very knowledgeable and did point out some things we had not seem previously.
Made our second trip to Sedona today. The picture below shows what a beautiful view there is in downtown Sedona.
We took a jeep ride. The scenery was great. The trip taught me that I don't want to take another jeep trip unless I'm driving. The road was as bad as the haul road in Alaska and that's 500 miles of ruts. This one wasn't as long but the road was just as ruff. That wouldn't have been so bad at a reasonable speed, but the driver drove like she was in the Baja 500. These roads are rutted and narrow and there are no guard rails. 
As I said the scenery was great. With your imagination here is a turkey and a camel
and here is kissing rock.
This is the view from the top at 7000 feet on the Mogollon Rim which is part of the Colorado Plateau.
We look like we are standing in front of an old western movie back drop.
Another view of Sedona. Sedona comes in two parts. The old down town area is the tourist shops and restaurants. No super markets and no banks. The newer section in the west end has the super markets, banks and restaurants. The two pictures in this set are both from the old part of town.
We also took a trolley ride it is a 55 minute narrated tour. This is one of the pictures from the trolley ride, look closely and you'll see the house in the middle of the picture. It was much more pleasant except we had driven over the same route the other day when we were here. The lady driver was very knowledgeable and did point out some things we had not seem previously.Jerome, AZ. 4/29/2007
We went back up the mountain today to Jerome the "Largest Ghost Town in America". Founded in 1876 to mine the copper ore. Jerome was once the fourth largest city in the Arizona Territory. The population peaked at 15,000 in the 1920's. After World War II the demand for copper decreased to the point where in 1953 the mine closed. Today Jerome is a tourist and artist community with a population of about 450. On the Sunday when we were there the population must have been 4,450. The tourist business has really picked up. Jerome is built on the side of Mingus Mountains at an elevation of 5300 feet and a 30% slope.
The pictures below were taken at pull off just below the town.
Jerome, AZ. In the early days of the town they had problems with buildings sliding down the hill.
The white looking building is the visitor center for the Jerome State Park. The large building in the back ground was a hotel built to house the mine workers.
A view of the Copper Smelter in Clarksdale where the copper ore from the mine in Jerome was taken.
View of Clarksdale from Jerome. The ridge in the far background is part of the Colorado Plateau. For more in formation on Jerome, AZ. click on the link below.
http://www.azjerome.com/
The pictures below were taken at pull off just below the town.
Jerome, AZ. In the early days of the town they had problems with buildings sliding down the hill.
The white looking building is the visitor center for the Jerome State Park. The large building in the back ground was a hotel built to house the mine workers.
A view of the Copper Smelter in Clarksdale where the copper ore from the mine in Jerome was taken.
View of Clarksdale from Jerome. The ridge in the far background is part of the Colorado Plateau. For more in formation on Jerome, AZ. click on the link below.http://www.azjerome.com/
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Train Ride 4/27/2007
We took our train ride today. It was wonderful. The scenery was beautiful. The weather could not have been better. The ride started in Clarksdale and went to Perkinsville. It's a 40 mile round trip and takes about 4 hours. You can ride in a Pullman type car or an open car as shown below. We rode in the open car on the way out so we could take pictures and in the Pullman type most of the time on the way back. The railroad is called the Verde Canyon Railroad and was originally built to haul copper ore from Clarksdale to Drake 38 miles away. It connected with the Santa Fe Railroad for shipment to other parts of the US. I believe you can click on the pictures to expand them, especially the eagle one. Then you can actually see the eagle. :-)
This is the first thing you see when you leave the station. It is copper slag. It covers about 40 acres and is about 40 feet deep. It's the result of 40 years of copper mining. The rods and tin roofing were used to keep the slag off the tracks.
This is one of the trestles the train goes over on the trip and one of the many curves.
I know this is not a good picture of an eagle, but he was so accommodating. He flew right by the train and then landed on the pinnacle and posed for us. I don't believe I could have gotten a better picture even if I would have had a stronger telephoto lens. The train was shaking so bad that I am amazed that the pictures turned out as well as they did. On the way back we saw the nest with two eaglets in it. They have named the eagles Black and Decker. They have raised broods here for 10 years.
This is the Verde River. It is the water supply for the whole Verde Valley. This riparian area brings a lot of different types of plants and wildlife that wouldn't be here if there wasn't any water. The main type trees are the cottonwood and the white bark sycamore. The animals are the heron, elk and eagles. They say that a large tree can transpire a 100 gallons of water a day. Of course there are many other types of plants and animals that use this area.
This is the only tunnel on the trip. They brought 25 Swedes over from Sweden to make the tunnel in 1910. They had to blast through solid limestone. It took them six months. The tunnel is 680 feet long and is curved.
This is just one of the many beautiful views on the trip. At one place on the trip you can see the Mogollon Rim which run 300 miles though New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and of course Arizona.
The cars all have names, we were in the Tucson Pullman type car and the Mesa in the open car. Each Pullman type has an open type with it so you are not too crowded.
This is the first thing you see when you leave the station. It is copper slag. It covers about 40 acres and is about 40 feet deep. It's the result of 40 years of copper mining. The rods and tin roofing were used to keep the slag off the tracks.
This is one of the trestles the train goes over on the trip and one of the many curves.
I know this is not a good picture of an eagle, but he was so accommodating. He flew right by the train and then landed on the pinnacle and posed for us. I don't believe I could have gotten a better picture even if I would have had a stronger telephoto lens. The train was shaking so bad that I am amazed that the pictures turned out as well as they did. On the way back we saw the nest with two eaglets in it. They have named the eagles Black and Decker. They have raised broods here for 10 years.
This is the Verde River. It is the water supply for the whole Verde Valley. This riparian area brings a lot of different types of plants and wildlife that wouldn't be here if there wasn't any water. The main type trees are the cottonwood and the white bark sycamore. The animals are the heron, elk and eagles. They say that a large tree can transpire a 100 gallons of water a day. Of course there are many other types of plants and animals that use this area.
This is the only tunnel on the trip. They brought 25 Swedes over from Sweden to make the tunnel in 1910. They had to blast through solid limestone. It took them six months. The tunnel is 680 feet long and is curved.
This is just one of the many beautiful views on the trip. At one place on the trip you can see the Mogollon Rim which run 300 miles though New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and of course Arizona.The red rock only out crops for about 25 miles around Sedona.
On the way back the engine goes to the back of the train and pulls us back, with the cars going in the opposite direction from the way we came. Fortunately the seat backs switch so that you are not riding backwards.
On the way back the engine goes to the back of the train and pulls us back, with the cars going in the opposite direction from the way we came. Fortunately the seat backs switch so that you are not riding backwards.Thursday, April 26, 2007
Prescott and Montezuma's Castle
We drove to Prescott today. It's about 40 miles from Cottonwood but it seemed like a hundred. Route 89A to Prescott from Cottonwood is the curviest, mountainous road I have ever driven. About a tenth of the way up is a town called Jerome. It is an old mining town and it is literally hanging on the the hill side. Many of the buildings are cantilevered out of the mountain side. The road is narrow, there is no shoulder and you are right up against the guard rails, when there are any. The views are great, most curves are listed at 20 miles an hour and many of them are U curves. When we got to the top it said the elevation was 7000 feet. Going down wasn't quite as bad. When we got to the other side it was amazing, there was a flat plateau as far as the eye could see. There is a new town growing up there called Prescott Valley. We still had about 15 miles to go to Prescott but it was all on a flat plain. We drove around town stopped at the town square and visited the shops around the court house. We ate lunch at a Taco Bell and headed back home. Peggy is really afraid of those windy, mountainous roads so we took another but longer way home. We went back by route 69 and 169 to interstate 17. The good thing about doing that is you get to see a different part of the country. We decided to stop at Montezuma's Castle on the way back. It is just a few miles off interstate route 17 near Camp Verde.
This is the only pull off we could find with a view. The pull off is just around one of those U curves. Didn't get any pictures in Prescott it's just a big town. It's weather is pleasant in the summer because it's at an elevation of 5300 feet.
This is Montezuma's Castle it was built around 1000 AD as were most of the Pueblos in the southwest. This one was built by the Sinaquas. They were all abandon around 1400 AD and no one knows why. Hopis claim they are the descendants of these tribes.
This is the sand stone that the castle was made from. It looks very crumbly to me. There are hole all through it. Some of the slabs have broken away and look like they are going to fall at any minute. For further in formation about this National Monument click on the link below.
Sign telling the benefits of the Creosote Bush and how it was used.
Picture of a Creosote Bush in bloom. There are more pictures in the album under Arizona.
This is the only pull off we could find with a view. The pull off is just around one of those U curves. Didn't get any pictures in Prescott it's just a big town. It's weather is pleasant in the summer because it's at an elevation of 5300 feet.This is Montezuma's Castle it was built around 1000 AD as were most of the Pueblos in the southwest. This one was built by the Sinaquas. They were all abandon around 1400 AD and no one knows why. Hopis claim they are the descendants of these tribes. This is the sand stone that the castle was made from. It looks very crumbly to me. There are hole all through it. Some of the slabs have broken away and look like they are going to fall at any minute. For further in formation about this National Monument click on the link below. Sign telling the benefits of the Creosote Bush and how it was used. Picture of a Creosote Bush in bloom. There are more pictures in the album under Arizona. Tomorrow we are going on our train ride.
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