On Oct 16 we left Holbrook and traveled about 120 miles west to Flagstaff. Our stay would be at the
KOA in Flagstaff and would be for a 4 day duration. During that time we planned to continue our one day trips to see and enjoy the area.......
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| Our Site at KOA Flagstaff |
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| Roads and access to sites were at times challenging. |
The KOA in Flagstaff was a particularly busy one and most sites in our area were occupied for the time that we were there. We found the Flagstaff area very interesting and one that we very much enjoyed. As with most of the major towns in Northern AZ, it is situated adjacent to the BNSF Rail lines and trains are a regular site. To the tune of probably one every 10 minutes going either east or west. And now on to our One Day Trips. The first on our list was Sedona. It involved a very scenic drive of approximately 35 miles south of Flagstaff through some really beautiful country......
Just below the visitors center the Navajo women had a number of booths set up and were selling Native American created Jewelry and things. And would you believe that Mary found a Turtle Ring? Not only did we find it, we bought it.
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| On the road to Sedona |
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| Along the way |
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| The winding road below is one we would travel to Sedona |
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| Another view of the road |
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| And another view |
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| M at the overlook |
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| The scenery here was incredible |
The end of our trip had us in "down town" Sedona. An unbelievable tourist destination. They were there by the busloads - from everywhere. Everywhere were boutiques, souvenir stores, and restaurants. Not to mention the Bus Parking Only signs. We made a quick drive through and headed back along the same route to Flagstaff. If we didn't have Molly with us, we probably would have made more of our time in Sedona, but for now anyways, we saved that for another day. We did decide that it was most definitely worth coming back some time especially to explore the West and South areas of the city.
When we got back to Flagstaff we travelled through Northern Arizona College area and were quite impressed, but not as impressed as we were when we got back "home" and discovered via an email that our own Bernie Sanders was going to be at the college that afternoon campaigning for Democratic candidates in AZ. Small world. Oh, I need to mention that on the way back to the KOA we stopped at a neat place for lunch - The Fat Olive, where we did a lunch for 2 that included a salad and a wood fired pizza. We both had to admit that it was probably the best pizza that we had since we went on the road. If ever in Flagstaff - it is a must stop.
The next one day trip was north to the Grand Canyon. And what a trip it was. Driving distance was about 73 miles from our KOA home. Before we actually got in to the National Park, we stopped at what appeared to be a Navajo overlook of the Little Colorado River Gorge. It was breathtaking.....
At the entrance Navajo women had set up a "market" to sell custom Jewelry and wouldn't you know it, Mary found a Turtle necklace. I do have to admit, the Navajo are certainly talented when it comes to these types of things. And then we were off to the Grand Canyon - just a few miles further up RT 64.
First off, I have to say that it is everything as advertised. It is unbelievable. It is a Bucket List item says it best.
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| A look up towards Desert View Visitors Center |
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| Desert View Welcome |
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| Desert View Watchtower |
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| Along the path to the Canyon overlook |
The crowds were amazing and it was noteworthy that most of the people that we came in to contact with were foreigners- Germans, Japanese, Chinese - and those were the ones that we could identify - many we just knew as foreigners because we couldn't understand the language they were speaking. But EVERYONE spoke camera.......
It really is hard to put in to words what an unbelievable experience this is. The views, the scenery, just awesome. When we left Desert View, we travelled along RT 64 and stopped at a number of overlooks, among them Navajo Point, Lipan Point, and Moran Point. These overlooks allow you a place to park, get out of your vehicle and walk to the rim of the canyon. And of course, to take pictures.
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| Ravens soaring in our vicinity |
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| Interesting tree growing on canyon wall |
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| a site |
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| The pink jeeps were a common site at a lot of the overlooks |
Eventually we got to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. What a busy place. We ended up having to park in Lot # 3(there are 4 parking lots) not to mention the one just for the tour busses.
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| Main area at Visitors Center |
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| Lot #3 where we parked - basically FULL |
Day Trip #3 was a little closer to home, just involving a trip of about 13 miles north on RT 89 to the entrance to
Sunset Crater Volcano with a continuance to
Wukoki Pueblo Ruins and
Wupatki National Monument. From the Visitors Center at Sunset Crater Volcano to Wupatki National Monument was a trip of about 21 miles. And what an interesting trip it was. All along the way to the volcano we saw evidence of the last eruption- lava flows everywhere.....
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| Lava Flow |
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| Sunset Crater Volcano |
One of our stops along the way was the Cinder Hills Overlook. The view from here was amazing - looking off in the distance to the Painted Desert.....
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| That's the Painted Desert way off in the distance |
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| The sign says it all |
Our next stop on the National Park tour was Wukoki Pueblo.
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| A Thinker |
Then it was off to Wupatki National Monument.....
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| Check the Painted Desert off in the distance |
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| A Raven enjoying the breeze. |
On the morning of the 20th we left Flagstaff for the trip to Kingman. Traveling on I 40 meant paralleling the BNSF Railroad and all along the way we experienced the trains. The trip was uneventful thankfully but we did experience the decent from 6000' to just over 3000'. Kingman was definitely a little "warmer" than Flagstaff. Daytime highs in Kingman were in the low 90's and nights in the 40's - which made for some good sleeping weather. We elected to stay at the Kingman KOA and it proved to be a good choice. Campground hosts were friendly, the sites were very good.
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| Our home in Kingman for 4 days |
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| Our spot # 92 |
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| Our row |
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| One of our neighbors on the row - a Newell Coach, which are BIG $$$$$$$$$ |
After all the traveling we did last stop, we decided to just take it easy for this one. On day # 2 we did have to go out and that was to visit a local Vet to discuss problems with Molly. Molly does not travel too well and this has been evidenced a couple of times in the form of Stress Related Colitis. Her stools get rather loose and there is evidence of blood in them. The remedy is a prescription drug called Metronidazole. Fortunately for us, Mary got us to a good vet who understood the problem, got us the prescription drug, and had us on our way. Other than that visit to the vet and a trip to the grocery store our only other venture out was to the Old Rt 66 Section of town.
It was ironic that when I stopped along RT 66 to take this picture, Mary noticed a store that we were parked in front of - S & S Handcrafted Arts & Gifts. Their specialty was Gourds, including Thunder Gourds. Because of our interest in this area, we decided to venture in. We were not disappointed. As soon as we mentioned that we had been to the Gourd Farm in Casa Grande the discussion and tour of the place got started. It was pretty neat. The gentleman was really quite talented. Mary did end up buying one of his creations......
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| Some serious work went in to this bowl |
After the visit here, we continued down Andy Devine Blvd to........
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| We visited the Farmers Market- where Mary bought a neat shirt for daughter-in-law Karen |
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| Couldn't pass this up...... |
And then come the stories. When we had parked our truck and were walking to the Power House, a BNSF Freight train went by - and what it was pulling kind of astounded me.....
There were probably a hundred cars involved here, and everyone of them had military equipment on them. It was like it was transporting a complete division. Sure wish I knew where they were going.
And then there was the Quilt Shop. And yes, there is a story here too. We had walked up from the Farmers Market looking for a certain restaurant to have lunch. What we found was the Quilt Shop. Mary decided to go in and browse while I walked back to get the truck and bring it a little closer so that she didn't have to walk so far. She found some Fabric that she liked, but not what she was looking for - which was Balloon Fabric. The stuff the quilters at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta said was very hard to find now because the manufacturers had quit making it. Anyways, as we were getting ready to leave, she casually mentioned it to the sales person, who responded that she thought she had seen some there in the store - and went looking. Not finding it, she said that maybe it had been sold. She also said that probably as soon as we had left the store, she would find it. I said that in that case, I'd leave our card, and she could call us. Guess what? We had no sooner got a block away and she called. She had found the fabric. Did we still want? Well, that was a no brainer, so we hung up, turned around and headed back to the Quilt store. And needless to say, Mary bought all that was left......
We did make it to lunch eventually - Floyd & Co Real Pit Barbeque. And it wasn't bad.
While Mary was in the Quilt Shop, if it had been open, I would have been visiting next door.....
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| Too bad they were closed at the time we were there |
A view of the Mountains in the area....
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| Really an interesting area |
Kingman ends our Northern Arizona tour and tomorrow we get back on I 40 and head to Lake Havasu City where we'll pick up AZ RT 95 and a trip to Quartzsite, AZ for a 4 day stay before heading to Ajo, AZ and a visit to Organ Pipe National Park. Then it is off to our winter home in Yuma. Before closing here, I have to say that this northern AZ trip has been really enjoyable and a rather pleasant surprise. I definitely can see us coming back to these 3 really neat towns: Kingman, Flagstaff, and Holbrook.
