Rollin On Again 

Today was a travel day. We left Cottonwood and headed south east to the San Carlos area. A full day on the road with a pit stop at Costco (always fun)! We are staying at the  casino RV area at Apache Gold Casino on the Apache Reservation. This is a first, not that we haven’t seen lots of folks camped in Casino RV parking lots – just new to us. We have full hookups though and its a good starting point to explore other areas. No, it does not hurt my feelings that there is a casino across the way with a pool and buffet. 

Tonight we had dinner at the Casino. They were kind enough to give us $15.00 in free play plus let me spin the wheel for another $25.00 since it was my BD. Then because I accumulated 300 points they gave me yet another $20.00 in free play so I left with plenty o’ money to stop in again to play the slots without dipping into my own pocket!

Off To See The Ruins

We headed just up the road from our campsite to see the Tuzigoot Ruins. These ruins are partially restored but still give you a sense of what was built there by the Sinague Tribe. Who knew ruins could be so interesting!  

Montezuma’s Castle Cliff Dwelling and Cliff Castle Casino

Our day was part old world and part new world. We drove about 30 minutes to Montezuma Castle National Monument to see a well preserved cliff dwelling built between 1100 -1425 AD by the  Sinague people. It’s hard to believe it is still standing! You can only see it from below but that’s impressive enough.

Note: Until today we hadn’t really seen any bugs – which we thought strange. I was sure they were here somewhere and today we found one! He (or she) is really colorful and elegant looking, I mean come on, a feather boa around the neck? 

Evidently the call of the casino lured us (mostly me) in! The casino has been VOTED #1 in AZ for the past 17 years. With our $5.00 in free play a small investment of our own – we were able to pocket some extra money for the next casino that calls!

The GRAND Canyon

We left about 8:00 and headed back through Sedona and on to the Grand Canyon. We rode the shuttle buses which were awesome because each shuttle bus had a route with several stops. You can hop off and spend as much time at a destination as you want and then hop back on at 15 minute intervals.

It was SO cold! I was wishing I had brought gloves! Then at our first stop in the park I found a pair of purple gloves – but no one there to claim them.  No sense leaving them lying on a rock. If I met up with the owner I would have gladly returned them and explained I was keeping them warm for her, but alas no owner showed (happy me)!

The Grand Canyon was breathtaking! It certainly leaves an impression. No photos, no matter how amazing could give you the essence of being there. It seems endless and deep and ancient.  I’m not afraid of heights, but I was afraid of JP and his NOT being afraid of heights as you can see in the picture. 

We spent the whole day riding the shuttles, seeing the canyon, walking rhrough the visitor centers and shops and galleries. It ended up being an 11 hour day from start to finish. We were beat but it was definitely a day to remember! 

A Little R&R Day

We decided to lay low today. We did a little shopping and decided to hit the hay early because tomorrow is a BIG day. We will be leaving for Grand Canyon in the morning! So can’t wait!

JP isn’t actually a bird watcher but did find and follow a roadrunner until he had a photo op! Later in the evening we did some night fishing. We annoyed a good sized beaver who was entertaining himself by slamming his tail in the water and scaring me EVERY single time! No bites, no nibbles, no catching though we did see plenty of bass just hanging below the surface.We can add roadrunner, lizards, bats and beaver to our wildlife list.

Ahhhhh Sedona!

What a perfect day to visit Sedona! It’s only 17 miles from where we are staying in Cottonwood. We found an outdoor market and gave it a go then headed to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. That didn’t work out due to the volume of folks that arrived before us so we headed to the Tlaquepaque. Tlaquepaque is tough to say (I was told to think of it as “to lock you pocket”) which means the best of everything. So many great sculptures in the courtyard!  JP is sitting with Mark Twain in the picture. We spent time in the cool adobe complex looking at the art galleries and shops, had a quick snack and headed back to the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

The chapel is very modern. The woman who built the chapel was a sculptor who decided that the Catholic Church needed to be more contemporary. She first plotted with F. Lloyd Wright and later went on to work with local architects that made her vision a reality. The chapel is surrounded with redrock cliffs. If you look closely at the pictures there are rock formations:  The Eagle head,  Madonna and Child and 2 Nuns. 

JP wanted to take a drive and see the territory around us. These are some of the redrock formations around Sedona.

At dusk we headed walked to the lagoon to fish a little. No fish to be had but it was a peaceful evening. We have spotted deer, coyote, bunnies, and a bald eagle. Funny, there aren’t really many bugs here, no mosquitos that we’ve seen or flies or even ants. Maybe that’s the trade off for rattle snakes and scorpions?

We Do Cottonwood

Today was our local day. We went to the RV supply store which is now my fav kinda store, then headed to Old Town Cottonwood. Antiques 0’plenty and some pretty quirky ones at that. Lots of interesting little pubs and places to eat. We decided on Mexican and ate at Adriana’s. It was packed – at least 50 diners all being served by Adriana herself with some help from her 14 year old son. Crazy! The food was good, the margaritas killer (ya know how I love those ‘ritas)!

After we got back we grabbed our LED searchlight, our portable heater, lawn chairs and our poles and headed to the lagoon for some night fishing. Not even a bite but it was a fun couple of hours on a clear night with a slice of moon and lots of stars over us. Who could ask for anything more?

Out and About

We headed to Clarkdale today to see the Arizona Copper Art Museum.Wow! Who knew? The copper collection is housed in what was at one time the high school. The collection is housed by category and its amazing!  The military art was so impressive! Shell casings that had been transformed by servicemen into beautiful art pieces. Not just a few either! Rows and rows of them sorted by motif (religious, luck, memorial, places). In the picture where JP is standing in a doorway, that is a copper door front. The collection covered everything you could think of! I was truly impressed and a little bit overwhelmed.

Next stop was Jerome at 5000 ft elevation it’s nestled in the mountain side. It has amazing views. The town has all kinds of shops and restaurants and pubs and enough tourists to fill them all. We went through the museum and that made the whole old town much more interesting. The shops are in original buildings (bank, hotel, bar). There is some of the old mining equipment in town and some quirky things as well. The picture of the courtyard with the ghost in an outhouse surrounded by all kinds of change on the pavement  for instance. No explanation given – just a little something to leave you curious!

Tonight we had a campfire under the stars. It was cold and clear and a perfect night to be kept warm by the fireside.

Rollin’ On

We pulled out of Roosevelt and headed toward Cottonwood AZ. We went through Payson and though the sun was out, the mountains had quite the blanket of snow. The road had been plowed but there was still snow on the ground. By the time we had reached Cottonwood we had been through 3 different landscapes, snow, brush, and trees.

We are staying at Deadhorse Ranch State Park. We are only 17 miles from Sedona and a short drive to lots of other places we want to explore. The park is pretty and clean. One of our neighbors here has a very festive site. I’m posting a picture since the folks went out of their way to decorate!

It Seems Like Yesterday!

We left Bandon on Feb 2nd, and here we are at the end of February! It really doesn’t feel like that long. Even with the less than perfect weather, there haven’t been any “bad” days. Our plan is to stay a week at each destination. Our next stop is Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood AZ (17 miles from Sedona). We are keeping our fingers crossed the weather clears and we have the sun back!

Today was our day to tie up loose ends so we hopped back to Globe and spent some time at the library doing some biz and then headed to an all you can eat Chinese Buffet at “Jumbo Chinese Restaurant.” Yeah, they need a better name for sure but the food was good and we were hungry so it worked. Then on to the laundromat where I am never less than amazed at what it costs to have clean clothes! 

We walked down to the marina at sunset and the lake was dreamlike. I think we will be back when the weather is warmer (and the fish are biting). It really is beautiful here.

No Place Like A Cave Dwelling

Still no weather that makes for pontoon boat fun so we headed to the Roosevelt Monument to see the Salado Indians cave dwellings. Its a bit of an uphill hike but on a nicely paved trail. There is a visitor center where they have artifacts and information on the Salado people who left their homes empty for us 600 years ago. Its hard to get a grasp on the time frame but looking at what is remaining of the dwellings is pretty amazing. You can still see the smoke stains on the ceilings, part of the original roof remains and the fingerprints of the builders are still clearly seen on the walls. It’s hard to believe that the Salado hiked 5 miles for food, materials and trade and then made their way up ladders with their supplies to reach the cave dwellings.  They did however have a beautiful view from their homes.