National Parks

A large part of the reason I'm in this area is to see the several National Parks and Monuments here.  Unfortunately, with all the snow, most of the trails are closed. 

Tuzigoot National Monument was the first stop.  Tuzigoot is an ancient village built by the Sinagua culture between 1000 and 1400.  It crowns the summit of a long ridge rising 120 feet above the Verde Valley.  The original pueblo was two stories high in places, with 87 ground-floor rooms.  Tuzigoot is Apache for "crooked water".  The visitor's center was open, but the trail to the monument was closed and covered with ice.


The next stop was the Verde Canyon Railroad.  There is a railroad museum but the main attraction is a 4-hour train ride through the Verde Canyon, traveling from Clarksdale to the Perkinsville ghost ranch and back.

 
Cottonwood is surprisingly good sized; a city actually.  I was expecting both Cottonwood and Camp Verde to be just mountain towns.


Despite the temperatures never getting above the high 20s and low 30s, it was a beautiful drive. The sun was shining and no wind.

Montezuma Castle National Monument - Southern Sinagua farmers built this five-story, 20-room dwelling sometime between 1100 and 1300.  It occupies a cliff recess 100 feet above the valley.

The river is Beaver River, which was used for the water source.













Montezuma Well - It is a lake in the middle of the desert; a limestone sink still fed by continuously flowing springs.  Every day the Well is replenished with 1.5 million gallons of new water.  There is a tiny amphipod, looks like a shrimp but is no bigger than your smallest fingernail, that lives in the Well and is not found anywhere else on earth.  Also unique to the Well is a spring snail and a single-celled diatom.

A pleasant winter walk along the Rim Trail

The next stop was Walnut Canyon National Monument - Dwellings sheltered by overhanging cliffs were home to Walnut Canyon's only permanent inhabitants more than 800 years ago.  The cliff dwellings were occupied for little more than 100 years.






Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument (with snow .... and without)

Sunset Crater Volcano was born in a series of eruptions sometime between 1040 and 1100. Powerful explosions profoundly affected the lives of local people and forever changed the landscape and ecology of the area. Lava flows and cinders still look as fresh and rugged as the day they formed.

Wupatki National Monument

   

And then I stopped to eat at the Galaxy Diner in Flagstaff and stepped back into the 1950s



I ended with a drive through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona (elevation is like 7,000 ft) but they were pretty snowed in.  The speed limit on AZ 87A was 15-20 mph and between watching for ice on the road and all the potholes, I didn't get many pictures ... but even in winter, it is a beautiful area!

 Of course, Slide Rock and Red Rock State Parks were closed.


Very frustratingly my phone kept shutting off all day (bad battery?) so I'm not getting a lot of pictures, hence the "professional" brochure reprints on a couple of these.

Moving from sunny Lake Havasu to freezing Cottonwood

Apparently, all roads in Arizona lead to Phoenix, because I found myself heading that way again, only this time I went out of my way a little and drove AZ60 instead of going back down I-10 for the 4th time.

I could have altered my itinerary and driven through Congress, or done the smart move and taken I-17 north to Cottonwood.  It would have put me within 4 miles of my campground .... but, no.  Even with a post-it on my calendar saying to check for the weather in the mountains, I decided to take the scenic route up AZ87 and AZ260, through Payson, to Cottonwood, with a major winter storm on its way. Unfortunately, because of the weather, meaning snow and freezing cold, I was not able to stop at the scenic points I intended along the way so the worry over the weather could have been avoided with the interstate.

It was nice to have the highway pretty much to myself, but it is also disconcerting to be the only vehicle heading north and climbing altitude the whole time.   I kept my speed under 45mph the whole way because I have a healthy fear of ice on the road.  Consequently, the trip took much longer than it should have, but as my son is fond of saying, "I'm retired and I have no place I have to be."


So now I'm sitting in Cottonwood, in thirty degree weather, watching the snow fall and wondering WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Lake Havasu City / Parker, AZ

It took me 45 miles and about 3 hours to get out of Phoenix, but I finally got on the road and arrived about 2pm.  I managed a couple of quick pictures from the road.


I'm here for the 30th Annual Western Winter Blast Pyrotechnic Show.  This is where the firework manufacturers show off their new wares for protentional buyers/orders for the year.  It's supposed to be quite a show!

Unfortunately, I didn't do enough research and I'm parked in the wrong place for the event.  I have to drive about 10 miles up the road to see the show.  Oh well ..... The show lasts several nights, the big one, of course, being on Saturday.  The "party" starts about 4pm each day with a live band and food booths and dancing, etc.  The fireworks show is about an hour from 7:30 - 8:30pm, with an on-ground display as well as a sky display.  It is like Disneyland without the class, but a fun time.


I did do some sightseeing (and since my mail didn't arrive, I'm actually here until Tuesday instead of leaving for Tonto National Forest on Sunday as planned) -

Arizona Death Star (Area 66):  Since the 1970s, the Arizona Death Star, otherwise known as area 66, was originally a shady real estate deal that some developers tried to dupe people into buying. Without utilities, building permits--let alone the promised incentives that the desert couldn't deliver--the developers went bankrupt. The only thing that was ever built was the 40-foot wide globe that was supposed to be a restaurant and nightclub.









Known as the Main Street of America, Route 66 has gotten more kicks than a tire. Arizona has the privilege of hosting 42 miles of the road starting from 5 miles south of Kingman. With many recreation sites and rest stops along the way, Arizona is a great host to the famed route.


Old Trails Arch Bridge:  Historical steel arch bridge that crosses the Colorado River that is used to carry natural gas pipeline. (I didn't get a good picture).


This is where I'm dry camping and some views from the road ...


Where I am parked is actually Azizona Trust land and I had to get a permit a few weeks ago in order to camp here. 

And there is always Parker Dam and the London Bridge ... and beautiful sunsets.

Only vehicles can cross the dam; 15 mph and it is very narrow

The housing is crazy ...

The traffic in town is really bad ... between the event, and it is a tourist town already, and the holiday weekend, and some construction ....wow.  I wasn't able to stop and take a picture of the bridge or the mural showing the process of acquiring it.  I stopped at the Safeway after checking for my mail and the produce section was all but empty.

I did have one full day of rain since I've been here, and one more day is forecast.  All the rain California and Arizona have had this winter will be putting on quite the flower show in the desert soon.  These purple flowers are everywhere ...

Since I will be here an extra two days ... perfect time to get some chores done on the coach!  But then, I do have LOTS of unread books .... ha.  I'll let you know which one wins.

Take care and thanks for checking in on my ramblings.

Phoenix, AZ

I was thinking about how Why got its name.  Do you think it was because AZ 85 and AZ 86 form a "Y" at this location?  Just a thought ....

Spent a quick couple of days in Phoenix taking care of business.  I had some successes and a couple misses ....

I drove to see some "quirky" sights and take pictures, such as a Giant Baby And Tractor in Goodyear and a Hobo Joe Statue in Buckeye, but they were either removed or I was not able to find them.  I did find these, however ....

Don Park's Yard Of Statues & Stuff 

Canyon Lake

Superstition Mountain

Tortilla Flat, AZ - Only six people live in Tortilla Flat, but that doesn't keep it from having big flavors, big fun and big history, dating back to the '40s. You can fill up your stomach at the Tortilla Flat restaurant, get an ice-cold drink at the saloon or see what the museum and gift shop has to offer.

I spent a nice time here ... sitting in the sun, eating Prickly Pear Gelato and listening to live music.  The band was pretty good.

On the road again ....

Ajo, AZ

We had rain, and then freezing temps so when I pulled in my slide to leave the campground, I had ice fall to the ground and shatter.  I'm glad it didn't tear my slide covers; I should have realized ...

After my chiropractor appointment, I left Tucson and headed to Ajo to meet up with friends and do some boondocking.  Since I couldn't fill my water tank at the contaminated campground in Tucson, I stopped in Why, AZ for water.  It is a wide spot in the road at the AZ 86 and AZ 85.

View from my coach

 While boondocking in Ajo, I drove down to the Organ Pipe National Monument for the day.  I stopped in Why for gas and lunch at the only restaurant (it was recommended to me), but as luck would have it, the only day it's closed is on Saturday and .... you guessed it ....I went on Saturday.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument celebrates the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert. In this desert wilderness, you may drive a lonely road, hike a backcountry trail, camp beneath a clear desert sky, marvel at the magnificent cactus, or soak in the warmth and beauty of the Southwest.

I'm headed back to Phoenix for some doctor appointments and then off the Lake Havasu.

Tucson, AZ

My son was nice enough to provide a picture of my location ..

Arrived in Tucson, planning to stay at the Moose Lodge, but it didn't work out. Because my sister is with me, I need to have full hook-ups and this is peak season, so the only site I could find was at the A Bar A campground.  Not only is the "campground" right next to the I-10, with a train track separating us from the highway, their water is contaminated and not drinkable. The entire lot is dirt, not gravel, so with all the rain we've had I'm sitting in a mud pit.   Prime location!

After driving my sister back to Phoenix to Sky Harbor, I'm hanging around Tucson a couple of extra days before heading to Ajo.  I've been in dire need of a chiropractor and I found a good one here, so I'm getting in as many treatments as possible.

Looking for sunshine going forward ....

Starting my Arizona tour ...

I left Quartzsite last Saturday, saying good-bye to the group, and picked up my sister, Sandee, from Sky Harbor (Phoenix) airport.  She'll be staying with me for 10 days, exploring the Phoenix area, Casa Grande and Tucson areas.





While driving her around, I was able to see a couple of sights on my list ...

The Worlds Tallest Fountain - unfortunately, the fountain was turned off so we didn't get to see the "action" but the park was truly lovely and the day perfect, so it was a nice side-trip.

The next stop was "Unique Donkey Mailbox" in Scottsdale.  This was a little disappointing, but the unusual is always worth a stop.  This is the description I was given: Stay away from the back-end of a horse. If you've never heard that tidbit of advice, then you definitely live under a rock. A horse mailbox is absolutely adorable, but one can't help but wonder which "end" of the horse that the mail goes into. Certainly not the a....rear.


Next stop, the Giant Octopus Vase.  To decorate the newly-expanded freeway, the city of Phoenix placed giant pottery along the side walls of 51. A 13-foot tall vase with an octopus on the side can be seen zooming by on the highway.

In Carefree, AZ you can find the Worlds Largest Sundial.  At 62 feet, the K.T. Palmer sundial is the largest sundial in America and has been standing since 1959. This giant sundial was built to honor Palmer who created Carefree, AZ from scratch.

 That's all we had time for, but I hope to see more next week.  Tomorrow we head for Tucson, and then back to Sky Harbor on Tuesday.