Sedona, AZ and Saguaro National Park

10/26/19 to 10/29/19 - Williams, AZ to Camp Verde, AZ (83 miles) stayed 3 nights at Distant Drums RV Park
10/29/19 to 11/5/19 - Camp Verde, AZ to Tucson, AZ (218 miles) stayed one week at Diamond J RV Park

High Desert to Low Desert

In the short drive from Williams to the Sedona area, we descended from 7600 feet to 3300 feet, thankfully.  Bill is really effected by altitude.  And as much as he complains about the humidity in South Texas, he cannot deal with humidity in the single digits.  And don’t get him started on the dust!  So, now we know, we could not retire permanently to the desert.

But there is a stark beauty about the desert.  Everything here has to work to survive, and is ready to defend itself with prickles and thorns.  You don’t dare accidentally brush up against anything out here.  And if you walk slowly and quietly, life reveals itself to you.

We stayed at a park near Sedona called Distant Drums, very near the Montezuma Castle National Monument.  This cliff dwelling has 5 floors and about 45 rooms.  It was built by the Sinagua people between 1100 and 1425 AD.  I love these ancient ruins and can imagine life along the creek, protected by the canyon, growing crops among the cottonwood trees.

Of course, there’s a Native American casino here, too, called Cliff Castle Casino.  This one was really well done.  Along with an attached hotel and conference center, they had a play room for kids, where they were safely supervised, a video game arcade for older kids, a full bowling alley, and Johnny Rockets, and best of all,  smoke free area to play slots.  Again, I’m not much of a player, but when the park gives you free play and a free shuttle, and you get more free play when you join their player’s club, it’s a nice way to spend an afternoon, especially when it’s too hot to be outside.

My favorite part was the drive to Sedona called the Red Rock Scenic Byway.  There were beautiful formations along the 30 minute drive and places to get out and walk/hike, if you had a day pass, which someone was kind enough to share as they were leaving.  The first time we drove to Sedona was on a Sunday, and it was packed!  We drove through town, didn’t find a place to park, and left.  We came back the next day and had a lovely time walking through shops and galleries without the huge crowd.  I understand the attraction, but wouldn’t want to live there on the weekends.
 

Somewhere on the drive between Camp Verde and Tucson, we began to see Saguaro cacti dotted throughout the landscape.  In Tuscan, they are like the trees of the desert, filling the rolling hills.  People landscape with them and form boundaries between properties, they are that prevalent.

We spent a whole week in Tuscon.  The first night I reconnected with a friend I haven’t seen since our first trip around the US. Then, we visited her in Portland, OR.  Now, she lives in Tuscon with her son’s family playing grandma to her grand babies.  It was fun to catch up, but kinda weird to start the conversation, “So, what have you been up to for the last 18 years?” We ate great Mexican food in a trendy downtown restaurant and chatted for hours.

The park we stayed at had trails winding around the back of their property.  They even gave me a map to help navigate, but I got lost once.  It was a little scary to not be able to see the RV and not know which way to go, and look for snakes, and scorpions, and tarantulas, and coyotes, and try to get back before the sun was totally gone! The sunset was amazing though.

We also drove through the Saguaro National Park.  There is such a variety of plant life that sustains the animals that live there.  I could tell that they had just bloomed after a recent rain, but I was too late to see them.  That would be gorgeous to see the desert in bloom.  Did you know that the saguaros don’t start growing arms until they’re over 70 years old?!

The Grand Canyon

10/21/19 to 10/26/19 - Las Vegas, NV to Williams, AZ (223 miles) 5 nights, stayed at the Grand Canyon Railroad RV Park.

Get your kicks on Route 66!

With a name like the Grand Canyon Railroad RV Park, you’d better expect that you’re going to be staying near active railroad tracks.  Williams, AZ was the last town on Route 66 that was bypassed by Interstate 40 in 1984, and still retains that nostalgic charm with a train depot, neon signs, motels and diners.  When you stay in Williams, you can take the day trip on the train to the Grand Canyon.  Those who went said it was entertaining.  There was historical information from the conductor and a staged train robbery - something for everyone.

We chose to drive the 60 miles, and got there much faster, so we could enjoy more time at the park.  It was a perfect day, and the crowds were very small - so much better than coming in the summer with sweltering heat and being packed in like sardines.  We had a picnic lunch and strolled along the Rim Trail at the Village.  It’s amazing!  You would think that it would get boring fast, but every view is a little different, especially as the light changes throughout the day. We met a couple who had taken the train up and stayed the night in the historic El Tovar hotel, so they could see the night sky.  That would be cool!  Fun fact - the El Tovar is the hotel that Chevy Chase robbed in the original “Vacation” movie.  We took a picture from the viewpoint just outside where he ran up to his wife, paused for two seconds to take in the view, and ran off.

 I love the architecture around the Village! Many buildings were designed by a female architect named Mary Colter in the early 1900s resulting from her relationship with Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe Railroad (a whole other story that would make a great middle-grade novel).  Her work helped define the Southwest style.  We got to go in and explore several of these organic-looking structures, like the Hopi House and Lookout Studio.  I also saw a gorgeous art exhibit at the Kolb studio.  I had a hard time framing photos to capture the essence of the place.  I don’t know how they were able to catch it in paintings.  They ranged from realistic to abstract, and the colors were beautiful!

Before we left, we drove to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and Mather Point to the east of the Village.  This entire area was just reopened after after a massive renovation, and was VERY nice.  The crowds were definitely bigger and people were making questionable choices about where to stand to take their selfies.  There’s actually a book for sale in the gift shop called, “Death in the Grand Canyon.”  We played it safe and still got some good shots 😁

We easily filled our days walking down Main Street in Williams, window shopping and trying out the restaurants.  I got the feeling that places like this are dying off and it made me want to slow down and pay closer attention.  This is definitely a place we could come back to again, if it hasn’t disappeared.  

Lost Vegas

10/15/19 - 10/21/19 Leeds, UT to Las Vegas, NV (130 miles) stayed 6 nights at Hitchin’ Post RV Park, $38/night

Vegas, baby!

Bill was so excited to gamble in Vegas that I encouraged him to book six nights to thoroughly get it out of his system.  I don’t get the same thrill, but I go for moral support.  We stayed in North Las Vegas, behind barbed-wire fence and near Nellis AFB.  They run sorties every morning about 10 am.  There are always four jet fighters in the squad, and they roar right over our heads.  When I’m outside walking, it’s very cool.  When Bill’s inside sleeping,  not so much.  They loop round and round before landing, maybe practicing “touch and goes”.  There’s a pool, nice laundry facilities, a workout room and a nice restaurant at the Hitchin’ Post, so inside the compound, we’re set.  However, to get to the Strip, we have to drive south on Las Vegas Blvd, past Fremont Street and the Neon Boneyard, through a not-so-desirable part of town.  If you’ve never stayed off the Strip, you’ve never see this part of Las Vegas - trashy with lots of homeless.

The last time we came to Vegas, we were lured by a player’s club with a free night’s stay and inexpensive dinner.  This time, we could barely find free parking.  There are a few hotels that still provide it, but you have to research and map out where it is before you go.  Then, be prepared to walk.  We parked at The Venetian, and enjoyed walking through the Canal Shops, watching the gondolas float past and listening to the gondoliers sing.  We found the casino and Bill gambled a little, then we walked out on the Strip for about five miles, going through Ceaser’s Palace, gambling there, and reaching Bellagio just in time to see the dancing water show.  It took us so long to wind through the crowds outside, that we actually got to see the show twice, set to different music. The Strip is great for people watching, and they get weirder as the night progresses.  We enjoyed driving down the Strip, to see the neon signs.  Even Denny’s, McDonalds, and CVS have blinged-out neon signs.

One of the places I really wanted to visit was the Neon Boneyard, where all old neon signs go to die.  They are working to expand the exhibit in a nearby museum, but for now, it’s outside, about a block away from Fremont.  Unfortunately, there was a brand new Tim Burton exhibit opening the night we arrived, called “Lost Vegas”.  In order to get tickets, I would have to purchase them online a month in advance, ugh!  I saw a little from the road!

We did visit Fremont Street twice, once during the day, and once at night.  The street is enclosed by a vaulted video screen ceiling.  Even during the day, it lights up and plays music,  but it’s really spectacular at night.  We had to pay $20 to park, of course, but the bands playing along the street were free.  We stopped and listened to an 80s cover band for a while.  There was also a very loud heavy metal band playing down the way that we stayed away from.  Shops, restaurants and casinos line both sides of the street and there are multiple zip lines that run the length of the ceiling.  There are also street performers stationed along the street.  They rent a spot in a red circle painted on the floor for a certain amount of time, and pose as a statue,  do card tricks, play music, dance, or entice people to take pictures with them in their costumes for a price.  Some were dressed like the band members from KISS, some as Vegas showgirls, some had on very little.  It was quite a sight.  Bill made his final donations in a casino, and we had breakfast for dinner at Denny’s.  I’m relearning that he does not like crowds, loud noises, or walking long distances, so by the end of the week, we’d had our fill.  We’re looking forward to space and quiet.

If you go, consider taking in the Mob Museum or Zappos factory tour.  They were highly recommended.

Zion National Park

10/11/19 - 10/12/19 - Ogden,UT to Fillmore, UT (178 miles) stayed one night at Wagons West RV Park, $36.00

10/12/19 to 10/15/19 - Fillmore, UT to Leeds, UT (145 miles) stayed 3 nights at Leeds RV and Motel, $35/night.

Disneyland in the Desert

We were happy to find a tiny RV park about 30 minutes from Zion National Park to use as a base camp.  There are closer options, and camping in the park, but you have to book much earlier in the year. Zion is the fourth most visited National Park with over 4 million visitors each year.  As a matter of fact, we’re hitting number one, two and four on this trip - the Great Smoky Mountains with over 11million, the Grand Canyon with over 6 million, and this one.  As you can imagine, the lines to get in and park are quite long.  Zion doesn’t allow any cars past the museum, and highly suggests you park in the town just outside the park and ride the free shuttle in if you arrive after 10am.  What they don’t tell you is that you can pay up to $30 to park.

We parked inside near the Visitors Center after circling the parking lot for some time, and queued up for the shuttle that takes you on a 45 minute loop to nine stops around the park.  It was just like Disney, working our way through turnstiles and switchbacks and interesting people-watching.  There were many foreign languages spoken and after about 30 minutes, we got on a bus.

 The park is very accessible with many paved walking trails.  The buses had large picture windows and sky lights across the roof, so you can see quite a lot from the bus.  One stop, Weeping Rock, was completely closed, because they had a recent rock slide that made the trails and stop unusable.  But people were lined up to get their timed passes to climb Angels Landing, a very narrow ridge across the top of the left side of the canyon. And others rented waterproof boots, waders and walking sticks to walk The Narrows, where the canyon gets very narrow, of course.  It’s something like a slot canyon, and is prone to flash floods. The entire walk is in the river, which can be very cold, even in the summer.

We decided to ride the whole loop first, then get off at places that looked interesting. We had packed a lunch, so got off near the river and walked a while on a trail, until we found a quiet spot where we could hear the river.  Then, we got back on, and drove all the way to the last stop and walked the trail until it reached the water at the Narrows.  I’m not a fan of cold or wet, so we turned back.

The canyon is beautiful.  You can really see how the tectonic plates were thrust up at odd angles, and the layers of multi-colored sedimentary rock that have been exposed by wind and rain.  I was surprised at how small the park is, but was impressed by the organization and cleanliness.  Well done NPS.  We’re looking forward to the Grand Canyon.  

Pipe organs and Fall Foliage

10/5/19 - 10/7/19 - Boise, ID To Heyburn, ID (168 miles) 2 hours and 22 minutes, stayed 3 nights at Heyburn Riverside RV Park, $72.90

10/8/19 - 10/10/19 - Heyburn, ID. To Ogden, UT (145 miles) stayed 3 nights at Century Mobile Home and RV Park, $127.94

Salt Lake City, UT

We’re quickly headed South, yet are encountering cool/cold weather.  Seems winter is coming early this year.  The best part about these cold days is that the leaves are changing!  I’ve read that Utah is having an exceptional year for Fall foliage and I can’t wait to see it!  

Bill found in his research that the LDS Church offers free organ recitals every day in Temple Square. We can’t go in the temple because we’re not Mormon, but we can go in the Tabernacle. So for the one full day we’re here, we’re going downtown for a meal and concert.  Parking is great, because they hosted the Winter Olympics here a few years back.  And they have all the amenities completely surrounding Temple Square, sort of how the Alamo is smack in the middle of downtown San Antonio and seems so out-of-place.  The young people are very friendly and inviting and willing to share their witness and listen to other’s opinions on faith.  I don’t know much about LDS, but they do represent themselves well.  

The organ we heard had over 11,000 pipes, not all visible. Before the organist began playing, she demonstrated the acoustics in the building by dropping three pins and a nail. You could hear all of them clearly without the aid of microphones. She also told us about the pieces she’d selected, the last being from Symphony Gothique, which had many minor notes and sounded very Halloween-y.  The finale “pulled out all the stops” to really show us what the organ was capable of. It was great!  It made me think of how much Bill’s dad would have loved it.

At lunch, I munched on a burger and watched snow flurries out the window.  On our drive back north, the skies cleared and we decided to take the recommended tour through the canyon to look at leaves.  WOW!  What an awesome day!

Social Butterflies, part 3

9/30/19 - 10/2/19 - Portland, OR to Hermiston, OR (188 miles) two nights at Pioneer RV Park, $25/night.
10/2/19 to 10/4/19 - Hermiston, OR to Boise, ID (250 miles) four nights in Tim and Penny’s garage! Free!

Boise, Idaho

We backtracked through Oregon and Idaho to visit some new friends Who live in a beautiful home near Boise.  We met Tim and Penny at Red Bay, AL while waiting to get warranty work done at Tiffin. This is where the #rvlifestyle really becomes apparent.  In a normal life, you meet neighbors and co-workers and might be just acquaintances for years.  When you travel in an RV, you make friends fast, and if they’re full timers, you usually have a lot in common. At least among Tiffin owners, the men are VERY knowledgeable about their rigs and can spend HOURS talking about minute details of TPMSs or generators or tow packages.  The women can hold their own, too, don’t get me wrong, but many like me, have hobbies on the road to keep them busy while the men play with their RVs.  At Tiffin, everyone spends their days sitting and waiting their turn to get into a service bay - and hang out together talking about where they’ve been, their mishaps and sharing advice.  Bill EATS THIS UP.  I get bored quickly.

This is the case with Tim and Penny.  They have a bigger, nicer diesel rig, but tolerate their gasoline-guzzling baby brother well.  Each home in their neighborhood has a garage space big enough for a motorhome with slides extended and full hookups!  They invited us to come stay in their garage and we accepted.  So Bill and Tim talked and Penny and I shared our creative crafts.  She is a quilter and knitter and dabbles some in crochet.  I am just learning crochet and had my illustrations to show, so we talked a lot about materials and projects, families and adventures with our husbands.

Boise has a cute downtown.  Tim and Penny were gracious hosts and showed us the area on foot.  Immediately I found an outdoor venue called the Freak Alley Gallery,  created entirely by street artists.  I’m sure the art changes often, but what a great way to show of your street art talents in a more acceptable way.  There was a high school architecture class on a field trip.  It made me miss my students a little.

There’s also a thriving Basque community here.  These are a persecuted minority from Spain who are great shepherds, and found a home here in Idaho.  There are restaurants and cultural activities, a museum and school to teach students how to speak Basque. the docents were so enthusiastic to share their knowledge with us!

I loved this stop!  Again, great food, company and conversation.  But I know I’m an introvert, because three weeks of visiting and I’m ready to rest.  I found a bumper sticker I should have gotten for Bill that read, “I hate days when I have to get up and go places!”  While we’ve really enjoyed our time with friends and family, were looking forward to some down time.  So this is what retirement in like, huh.

Social Butterflies, part 2

9/24/19 - 9/25/19 - Post Falls, ID to Hermiston, OR (199 miles) one night at Pioneer RV Park, $25
9/25/19 - 9/30/19 - Hermiston, OR to Portland, OR (188 miles) 5 nights at Columbia River RV Park, $45/night

Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA

To get from one brother to the next, we cut diagonally through Southeast Washington, and followed the Columbia River to Portland on the Oregon side.  Even though my brother, Chris, and family live in Washington, it’s really a suburb of Portland, and we found an affordable RV Park in Oregon, just across the river.  Unfortunately, this park was in a light industrial part of town, near the airport, trucking depots and railroad.  We got the tri fecta - planes, trains and automobiles!  Not only that, but the Air National Guard is based at the airport, so every morning up to five fighter jets took off bright and early right over our heads (except on the weekend)!

The Washington side of the metroplex is very nice.  There are only two bridges that cross the Columbia River and there’s shopping on the islands in between.  They can get very busy.   But once you get there, it’s clean and well-planned.  There’s a big farm on the way to Chris’s house, with pick your own offerings, but we refrained (I have yet to get my pumpkin!).  We spent a great weekend with Chris and his family, watching a very short soccer game that was called because of the weather (I wanted to see Audrey score a goal!)  and a Cowboys football game on TV, and lots of good food!

I really wanted to like Portland.  I’ve watched a few episodes of “Portlandia”, and I remember from our last visit that the city is zoned weird and the road system is crazy, so I expected it to be quirky.  We decided to be tourists one day and tried to drive downtown to walk around and pick up a dozen Voodoo Doughnuts (as seen on TV).  The highway traffic was always congested, even in the middle of the day, but the multiple bike, light rail, and bus lanes downtown kept us guessing as to which lane we would be in.  We circled Voodoo Doughnuts three times and never found a place to park - which turned out to be okay.  The homeless population there made the area questionable at best.  It was lunch time, so the Full Gospel Mission had a line down and around the block.

Please understand, I know there will always be homeless people in every city we go to.  I am sensitive to their needs.  But Portland seems to have taken it to the extreme. They seem to have accepted it (ignored it?) and allowed it to such a level that there are tent camps along the rivers and broken-down cars and RVs parked on the side of the roads despite the signs that say, “No Overnight Parking.”  I don’t pretend to know the answer, but it looks like these folks need help, and are not getting it.  Some will argue that they don’t want it, but I can’t imagine wanting to raise your children this way.  What about Portland attracts so many to this area?  It’s very sad.