Hot, Hot, Hot

Have I mentioned that it's been over 100 degrees every day since we arrived in Phoenix? And it's not a "dry heat" either. We didn't get out for our morning walk until 9:30 a.m., and it was already hot and sticky. This afternoon we took a break and went over to the pool to cool off for a bit. Lots of other people had the same idea.

We've been working away at updating our passwords to be more secure on the internet. It takes longer than you'd think, especially when the internet connection is nothing to write home about, but we are making progress.

We've been seeing plenty of wildlife on our walks, mostly bunnies, lizards, and birds. Today a Gambel's quail perched on our rear awning arm and was pecking at the fabric. Fortunately it decided that the spread was tastier elsewhere. Read more!

Saguaro Dreams

We've been camped near or under trees before, but never by such a huge saguaro cactus. It doesn't provide much shade, that's for sure.

Our morning was completely taken up with getting new tires for our truck at Discount Tire. The people there were very friendly and helpful--but also very busy. We spent part of the waiting time getting our walk in before the heat of the sun got too intense. The store is in a small retail mall, but surrounded by open desert. We walked around among the cactus, following what appeared to be a network of off-roading trails.

We now have brand new tires with lots of lovely tread--but a bit of sticker shock from buying six new Michelin truck tires with a 70,000 mile warranty. We're hoping for years of good service and safe driving. We were a bit surprised to learn that Discount Tire has an arrangement with Michelin so that Discount Tire actually offers the 70,000 mile warranty.

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Lunch with Jan (Way More Fun than a Visit to the Dentist....)

We had a very busy day today, starting with driving over 50 miles to visit a dentist in Scottsdale for our regular dental checkups and cleaning. It's always a bit stressful to visit a dentist, and our travels add to the stress. Every summer we have to find a dentist who takes our insurance and schedule cleanings. It's usually not too difficult to identify dentists on the Cigna site, but trying to figure out whether the dental practice is a good one and especially whether the hygienist is thorough--that's definitely difficult.

This time we lucked out. We found a dental practice (Southland Dental) that has outstanding reviews and actually had open appointments on short notice. The entire staff is extremely friendly and seems very competent. We got thorough exams and cleanings. Unfortunately Ken needs a new crown. Usually that would take weeks, but Dr. Nelson arranged to use a nearby dental lab, so Ken will have his crown prep this coming Tuesday and get the crown installed the following Tuesday, just before we leave for the Grand Canyon.

After our dental appointments we went over to Jan's house, which is practically around the corner from the dentist. It's been four years since we visited--too long. It was really great to see her again. Happy is still going strong at fifteen, although he is now completely deaf. Jan has recently acquired two cats also, Lucky and Rocky. Both of them are quite affectionate. All the animals are lavishly spoiled, of course. Happy expects a treat every time someone comes in the front door.

We went to Uncle Sal's for lunch. It was George's favorite place, and he and Jan took us out to eat there when we visited in 2009. It's the kind of place where "everybody knows your name," and even the friendly upbeat waitress reminded us of Carla on Cheers. We had a delicious lunch and a great visit. We'll be back in Scottsdale next Tuesday when Ken goes to the dentist again, so we'll have a chance to meet Jan's friend Larry, who was out of town at his daughter's wedding this week.

On the way home we did some shopping at 99 Cents Only, Fresh and Easy, and Costco. We stopped at CVS to pick up prescriptions and found out that CVS is indefinitely out of one of Ken's meds. We are actually pretty glad that we'll be moving to new prescription plans in August. Read more!

Enrollment Day

No, we're not enrolling in school. Today was the day appointed for us to talk to a representative of the company that Northrop Grumman chose to handle transitioning its retirees from the group plans the company offered to regular Medigap plus Part D Prescription Drugs or to Medicare Advantage programs. And yes, this process was about as much fun as a toothache. We hope we've jumped through all the right hoops.

We did some of our to-do's today: took my bike to Bicycle Vibe for repairs, got a haircut (Ken stayed in the truck with his smartphone), started the process of getting our prescription refills, did some grocery shopping, and did our laundry. We found out that Trek recently acquired Electra Bicycles, which is what we have.

This morning we went for an early walk, before the desert heated up too much. We walked along a nature trail with some interesting labeled plants. Most of them were actually alive and where they were supposed to be. We're told that the palo verde trees around here grow like weeds, and we know that they have thorns (ouch!). We saw some in bloom today, with yellow blossoms carpeting the ground beneath them, really lovely. Turns out it's the Arizona state tree.

Bunny rabbits must propagate like, um, rabbits around here. We've seen lots and lots of them! We've also seen some ground feeding birds that looked like quail. Fortunately we haven't seen any of the rattlesnakes and scorpions that signs warn about, encouraging hikers to stay on the trail!




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Moving On

We got up early this morning to prepare to move on south. Our last walk around the campground showed that most of our fellow campers had already left. Only a few sites were still occupied, and we saw one rig heading out while we were walking.

We had to stop at the dump station on our way out, since we didn’t have a sewer connection at our site. The dump station entry was quite narrow and lined with tall trees, so it was kind of like threading the needle to get in.

As we drove south on I-17, we realized that although there were ups and downs, there were definitely more downs. As the altitude dropped, the temperature rose. The high today in Phoenix was 107. Wow! I will have to stay in the air conditioning except for early morning and late evening. Even with a hat on and drinking lots of ice water, I ended up with a headache.

Speaking of air conditioning, we have two a/c units, and it takes both of them running full blast to keep our indoor temperature around 90 when it’s over 100 outside. That’s quite a draw on 50 amp service, and when I turned on the microwave, we blew a fuse.  Never a dull moment. Now the microwave has warning post-its to turn off the a/c before turning on the microwave....

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Memorial Day: Tuzigoot and Copper

We had Tuzigoot National Monument on our agenda, since we missed visiting it the last time we were in the area. It’s another of the ruins of pueblos of southwestern native Americans, built on a rise overlooking the Verde River valley. This gave the inhabitants a high vantage point to stay in touch with what was happening around them. It also gave them access to the (relatively) fertile farmland and reliable water source provided by the river and some springs.

This site was most interesting for its museum. Eye catching displays of puebloan artifacts, especially large pottery jars, dominate the room. The interpretation of these ruins and their study incorporates both traditional knowledge offered by Native American consultants and the findings of archeologists who have studied the area. One point made is that there was never a people called the “Sinagua;” this is a designation applied by modern archeologists and anthropologists.

The pueblo itself is pretty much completely reconstructed. One difference from other pueblos we have seen is that the walls were made of whatever shaped stones were found here rather than being constructed of flat brick-like stones. We walked the short interpretive rim trail also. It provides views of the marshland below, which is where the pueblo peoples farmed and hunted.

We went on to the nearby town of Clarkvdale, where we found a very nice city park for our picnic lunch. It was really hot in the sun, but the picnic table in the shade of some large trees was quite comfortable. We walked around some of the historic district, reading the many historical kiosks and learning a lot about the origins of the town. It was once a company town, but one that aspired to being a planned and beautiful community. Many of the homes are in the bungalow or Craftsman style.

The town got its name from its founder, William Clark, who opened the huge copper mines in the area. We also visited the Copper Art Museum, located in the old Clarkdale high school building. It houses room after room of copper artifacts, ranging from the utilitarian to the artistic and sometimes incorporating elements of both. The tour is self-guided, as you are encouraged to follow the copper footprints on the floor. The person who collected fees also circulated around the rooms answering questions.

Hammered copper doors embellish the school turned museum.

One room that really impressed us was lined floor to ceiling with military art, mainly artistic re-purposing of copper shell casings. Another room featured hammered copper ceiling panels. We learned that copper is antimicrobial. It has been suggested that making hospital door handles and other fixtures of copper alloys would substantially cut down on hospital acquired infections. For example, 90% of MRSA viruses are killed within a short time on copper, but remain active on stainless steel.

Tonight we hiked the Mesa Trail on the hill overlooking the Red-Tailed Hawk loop of the campground. At least we started from a trailhead that indicated the Mesa Trail. We encountered so many unmarked side trails that it was really impossible to be sure of staying on the main trail, which was mostly no wider than the side trails. While we were up on the mesa we watched a spectacular sunset lighting up the western sky and turning the smoke from the Slide wildfire a luminous red.

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We’re Hiking in a Postcard!

Overheard along the trail today and totally apropos. We drove up to Sedona today, braving the smoke and hoping for a good day to hike to Cathedral Rock. As we got nearer to Sedona, the smoke began to worry us. Ken’s eyes were burning, and my throat was scratchy. We had heard that the smoke was bad in the morning but cleared by 9:00 a.m.

It was well after 9:00 a.m. when we arrived at the Sedona Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center. We picked up some brochures and talked with the folks at the counter about what we would need to park at the trailhead. They gave us a nice plastic hangtag just made to hold an America the Beautiful pass (like our Senior Access passes).

We headed out to the trailhead, on the aptly named Back of Beyond Road. The trailhead parking lot was full, but we could see that people were parking farther along the road. We found a spot and walked back to the trail. Looking up at the magnificent Cathedral Rock, we could see that the smoke was in fact dissipating, and a steady stream of hikers was making their way up and down the trail to the summit.

We started hiking up the trail. After a bit, the hike turned into a rock scramble on slick rock. We kept going and found ourselves high enough to enjoy some marvelous vistas. At that point we decided to go back down and take the Templeton Trail along the side of the rock.

We saw mountain bikers speeding along and figured they must be technically advanced to ride safely on such a precarious trail. We did come across one couple who were walking their bikes and even carrying them a bit. At one point we took what we thought was part of a loop trail, but we didn’t have a map and realized after a bit that the trail was getting more and more iffy and finally dead ended, so we turned around.

We were impressed by the variety of folks who were out on the mountain, everyone from teens to families with smaller children. We encountered people who were clearly international travelers. Sedona draws people for all over the planet. Some come to experience the fantastic scenery and terrain. Others come in search of psychic energy and renewal (Sedona is said to have several “vortexes” that channel powerful energy).

After our hike we drove back towards home, but stopped at the Natural Grocers to check out their offerings. We did pick up some things we needed, and we scored some of our favorite and hard to find Annie’s salad dressing (Fat-free Raspberry Balsamic).

Back at the campground we walked around observing the Memorial Day crowd out having fun, with lots of kids and food and games. Some people have already left, and we expect a mass exodus tomorrow. We’ll be moving on ourselves on Tuesday.

While we were eating breakfast this morning, Ken looked out to find another critter eating breakfast outside our door.

I talked with Aunt Iris this evening. She sounded good. She and Beth are driving to North Carolina for a week in June. She will be celebrating her 80th birthday there. I talked with Carol too, and I tried to talk to Ed and family but caught him getting ready for a shower, so we’ll try again later.

We have never watched Mad Men, but we caught an interview with the writer/producer, Matthew Weiner, and decided to record some shows. Of course this is the final season, and we have no context, but we found it a bit confusing and even bizarre. The episode was set in 1969 and included video of the moon landing, which was quite interesting. Read more!

Birthday Dinner #1

We went over to the lagoons for our morning walk. The park has three lagoons, and they are a great place for bird watching. We saw a small bird along the shore that looked like a reddish heron and a few minutes later a great blue.

We didn't want to stray too far from home on our walks today, since the air was quite smoky here this morning and the weather forecast included possible storms. It acctually did storm this afternoon, but the rain was more like heavy dew.

This evening we went to the Cork and Catch fto celebrate Ken's recent birthday. It was a delightful experience. Here's the shrimp cocktail we started with. It tasted every bit as good as it looks.

The Cork and Catch was a great place to celebrate. We pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. The owner stopped by to talk with us a couple of times. Turns out she and her husband traveled for five years in their motorhoom before returning to Cottonwood to open this restaurant.

Chris called. He's been reading the blog and saw that we've been at the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. That reminded him of a trip he took with Kim years ago to this area, where they learned about the Anasazi. They went to the Grand Canyon too, which is where we're headed.

We came back to the campground to walk this evening. The place is full, but still not too noisy. It's nice to hear kids having fun.
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The Jail Trail and Old Town Cottonwood

We got our bikes down for the first time in a while and rode into Cottonwood today. We went looking for the Jail Trail, which starts behind the old jail (now a shop, of course)  and winds along the Verde River.

We started off riding our bikes, but soon decided that the trail, in parts rocky and in others very soft sand, would be better for hiking, so we left the bikes in town.

Back on the trail, we walked through stands of huge cottonwood trees. We encountered other hikers and even a couple of equestrians. We wondered how the horses navigated the many large fallen trees across the trail.

We had to take a side trail to get a sight of the Verde River, which is quite low right now because of the drought.

We spent some time walking around Old Town and checking out the shops, including this huge antique and memorabilia emporium.

We stopped at Bing's Diner for a chocolate shake, just like old times.

On the way home I tried to shift gears on the uphill and jammed my gears somehow. Ken had to ride on to get the truck and come back for me. Three people stopped to see if I was okay while I was waiting for Ken. Nice to know that there are so many helpful people in the world. The bikes are back up on the rack, and we'll take mine in for repair while we're in the Phoenix area.

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Cottonwood Exploration

The last time we visited Cottonwood, we stayed at the Prescott National Forest dispersed camping area off Thousand Trails Rd.  We decided to go back and how the area looked now and how it might work for us with the Majestic.

One thing we noticed right away is a lot more RVs and tents than we here our last visit.  A motorhome was parked in our favorite space on the edge of the canyon. Nonetheless, there were still plenty of nice sites that we could use.

We decided to hike down to the Verde River access point called Bignotti we went to on our last visit. It's down a very steep but well maintained unpaved road, with signs warning of steep grades and no RVs or oversize vehicles allowed. It turned out to be a much longer hike than we remembered, until Ken recalled that we had actually driven our truck down to the river. 

It's a muddy river and not too much to see. Two vehicles were parked in the small parking lot, presumably belonging to anglers. The hike back up was not as difficult as we thought it might be. Ken remembered being totally out of breath on our last visit and having to stop to rest, neither of which happened this time. Yay!

On the way home we stopped for groceries and then headed back to the state park. Read more!

South to Cottonwood

It's been four years since we were in Cottonwood. We are looking forward to revisiting some of the spots we enjoyed on our last visit and to exploring new adventures.

As we drove south from Flagstaff on I-17, we could see the billowing smoke from the Slide Rock wildfire along Oak Creek Canyon, on 89A to the west of us. The wind is from the south, so this area is in no danger, but 4,500 acres are burning, and many people have been evacuated.

We're at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, with great views and not too many neighbors. We're expecting the campground to be full over the weekend.

This should be a great place to watch the new meteor shower expected Friday night. We're definitely in a dark sky area and with a wide view of the sky.

When we opened our door this morning, we found a cute note taped to our assist handle. It featured a photo of a prairie dog apparently waving and a note inside from the owners of the park thanking us for staying and inviting "come see us critters again." J & H RV Park shows careful attention to detail in every aspect. It's the cleanest, best maintained, most compact, most carefully designed little RV park we've ever visited. Read more!

Old Caves Crater Trail

Today we hiked the Old Caves Crater Trail. It is listed in "The Best Short Day Hikes in Flagstaff, Arizona," and the trailhead is just up the road a piece (1.8 miles from home). The altitude gain to the summit is only 500', and the long switchbacks make it reasonably easy.

The trail starts out through widely spaced Ponderosa Pines, which we were glad of because they make a great wind break, and today was another "breezy" day in Flagstaff (winds 25 mph with gusts to 44 mph). As we ascended, we noticed a rather abrupt change in the vegetation, with more Junipers and pinon pines and smaller bushes replacing the Ponderosas. We also started to notice views of the city and the nearby mountains.

At the top of the trail, we turned right as directed to explore the "Old Caves," small volcanic caves once used by the Sinagua peoples.

At the summit we really had to hold onto our hats! The wind was very gusty out in the open. We started down the far side of the cinder cone and found a sheltered spot to sit down and eat our apple slices before continuing down to the Crater Loop Trail and back to the truck, for a round trip of 3.74 miles. We were on the lookout for mule deer or other fauna, but the only animal we saw was a jackrabbit bounding away from us.

When we got home we decided to wash our hats and day packs. They've been accumulating sweat and dust from our hiking in the southwest.


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Another Flagstaff National Monument

Today we visited the third Flagstaff area National Monument: Walnut Canyon. It differs from Wupatki in that the pueblos here are mainly cliff houses, built into the walls of the canyon and an "island" in the canyon. We hiked the open part of the Island Trail. About half of it is closed for maintenance. The section we hiked led to the best preserved cliff houses.

The trail descends about 185' with about 200 steps and hikers are warned that it is "strenuous," especially for people not acclimated to the 7,000' altitude.

Along the way we passed school groups of fourth and first graders, with the fourth graders serving as buddies for the first graders. We were surprised that so many small children were hiking on a trail that is sometimes quite narrow, without railings, and with extremely steep dropoffs. We asked one of the adults about this, and she said, "These are Flagstaff kids." Apparently they learn early about safe hiking in the mountains.

After we returned from the Island Trail, we stopped at the truck to get our lunch cooler and walked to the picnic area. It was breezy, but we didn't realize how difficult it would be to eat lunch in gusty wind. We packed everything back up and returned to the truck to eat.

After lunch we walked the Rim Trail. It's described as an "easy, fairly level" .7 mile trail with a couple of overlooks. It passes next to a pithouse and a pueblo.

This evening we returned to the nearby Sandy Seep trailhead for a walk before dinner. There's no place to walk at or near the RV park, and the trail is well protected from the wind.

We watched the final Cosmos episode, "The Immortals," tonight. We love Neil deGrasse Tyson, and the production values are fantastic, but tonight I appreciated most of all some of the questions and speculative answers about where life came from and whether there are other beings like us out there somewhere. Read more!

Laundry Day

We woke up today to lots of wind. It's the sort of thing you notice a lot more when you live in an RV than when you live in a house. Fortunately it wasn't cold, and we went for our walk at Elden Pueblo. The trees there are definitely not thick, but they still provide a lot of protection from the wind. We walked about pretty randomly and followed our crumb trail back. We were startled at one point by an animal bounding away. My first thought was deer, but clearly too small. Ken said jackrabbit. We're used to seeing cute little bunnies, not these long-eared vigorous leapers!

Then we drove to the nearby Supermat to do our laundry. The machines worked fine, and our clothes are clean, but we were very happy to leave. The incessantly repeating rock music wasn't our favorite. When there's a TV in a laundromat turned to boring or annoying daytime TV shows, we can usually choose machines farther from the speakers. The Supermat helpfully puts speakers everywhere.

We made a quick stop for groceries and headed home. After we put away the clothes and the groceries, it was time to go out walking again. We drove to a nearby trailhead we had noticed. It is signed only by a hiker icon, so we weren't sure what kind of hike we would find. It turned out to be the Sandy Seep Trail, part of the same trail system as Fatman's Loop.

We didn't walk far, just half a mile out and then back. It's a popular trail for hikers and mountain bikers. According to the signboard, it's also an equestrian trail, but we saw no evidence. We'll have to go back another time to explore more thoroughly. Read more!

Fatman's Loop Hike

The Fatman's Loop hike was recommended to us by our friend Judy Self. The trailhead is just a couple of miles from our RV Park, and we were lucky to find a parking place at the trail head when a car pulled out. Actually the parking lot serves several hikes in the Mt. Elden area which are quite popular, so parking can be a problem especially on weekends.

This is one of several alligator bark junipers

Here's the narrow opening between boulders that gives the hike its odd name.

At the top, wonderful vistas

Lovely wildflowers along the trail





This evening we went for a walk around the nearby Elden Pueblo. We're planning to walk more of it while we're here. J & H RV has no trails, and there's nowhere nearby to walk. Read more!