April 23 – May 12, 2019
Moab, Utah

Our time was up in Lone Rock, where, oh, where were we going to head? Looking at the map, which is our best friend, and checking on mileage and times of arrival, it was either Marysvale or Moab, Utah. Both places have lots of off road riding. Marysvale was only a 3 hr drive, awesome, so that was our pick. I had researched the internet for a boon docking spot and found an awesome place on Lake Piute about 13 miles south of Marysvale. There are 8 sites to choose from but once again, as we walked it Guy decided the soft sand was more than he wanted to deal with and take the chance of getting stuck. We took off and headed into the town of Marysvale.

Once arriving in the extremely small town of less than 400 people, trying to find somewhere to pick up a trail map and gather information was almost impossible, as all the stores were closed. We finally stopped at Liz & Charlie’s RV Park. The explanation we got was we were to early in the season and with the snow they had this year all the trails were closed and not much was open. Well, needless to say that was disappointing as we went 3 hrs out of our way.

We next headed to Moab, but knew we would need to find an over night stop, we found a great boon docking spot in the Fishhead National Forest. There were 8 sites to choose from, and luckily there was a nice pull-thru for us.  One other camper was there with two guys, Jeff, from Cal and Scott, from Las Vegas, who were heading to Moab to meet up with their long time friends from college. They rent a house every year spending a week together biking thru the mountains on 100 mile trips. Most of you know my husband does not stay up late but Jeff and Scott came over to our place and we all talked until after midnight. I wish I had taken a picture of them and our sweet spot.

While there, we had to many electrical appliances running at once, then all of a sudden everything turned off, oh no! Thankfully, Guy got it back on. But a few minutes later off it went again, no getting it back on. If we ran the generator we were fine, the solar was working fine. We had no cell reception where we were so could not get help, but the next day on calling Greg, from RV Solar Solutions, who installed our system, he and Guy figured it was a fuse. Guy hot wired the electrical so our refrigerator would keep running and we could use the micro.  Guy got on Amazon to order one,  and found out it would take 2 weeks for it to arrive.

Not having reservations is a tricky business and trying to find boon docking spots can also be tricky. We tried a few areas that are run by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) on the road leading to Canyonlands National Park but all the camping areas were full.  We decided to head to Ken’s Lake Campground which is about 10 miles south of Moab.  Along the way we saw about 75-100 rigs camping on a road area and decided to head over, it was an old airport runway.  We found out later that it was an Xscapers Convergence. The group was created by the Escapees RV Club to bring a new generation of working age Rvers together. They hold convergences that last 5-10 days, with a lightly structured events. They reserved the airport road for 2 weeks, we found a spot along the road and spent the one night.

The next day we decided to see if Ken’s Lake had a spot available. Luckily,  a 5th wheel had just vacated a large open site. This is a first come first serve campground, so you don’t wait, you grab it fast.  The site at Ken’s Lake is perfect for us and we can stay here until our fuse arrives. We feel totally blessed as we are in love with this site. Our rig fits perfectly and our back deck can stay open, where I can sit outside in the mornings and enjoy my coffee in my jammies or have our dinner and watch the sun go down.

There is a very fast moving creek next to us that starts at the top of the mountain and ends in Ken’s Lake, there is no one behind us or in front, the other side if fenced off so no one there either. It’s $20.00 a night, but with our National Pass it’s $10.00 for seniors. Our view is outstanding, the front is of the red sandstone mountains……..behind are mountains that are still snow covered and in front we have the sandstone mountains.

Unpacking and setting up the site was fast, as we could see a couple of buggy roads and they were calling our name. They were short runs as we came upon a locked gate on one trail and then crossed the fast moving river in one spot but the next spot was way to deep and not wanting to get stuck in the mud we turned around. There was also a very large boulder and slick rocks that we knew we could go down but not back up so we turned around again. Without another vehicle with us we knew we didn’t want to take a chance.

Some of the rock formations had Indian writings on them which was so cool. What was frustrating was looking at the graffiti that was also on the rocks. I just can’t figure out why people can’t appreciate the history of our nation without trying to destroy it.

We spent the next day in Moab just driving around. I don’t really know how to describe this town, it is a super busy place, the traffic is bumper to bumper, there are jeeps and buggy’s everywhere. If your buggy is street legal and has a license you may drive it on the roads. The town really caters to the off roaders, as they bring in the big bucks. There are numerous rental companies, tour companies and repair shops for buggies and jeeps. There are the tee shirt stores, gift shops, restaurants, and anything else you would possibly want.

You must use caution as all the trails are numbered, starting with a 31/2 and go up to a 9. Most of the trails are really best for jeeps with a high clearance, large 33-38″ tires and locking suspension. Guy and I are up for any type of trail, but going alone we are more cautious. We could get stuck miles from camp or even town and we sure don’t want to walk back.

Well, we have just arrived in town and have lots of planned activities, so come on back and find out all that we found to do here in Moab. Do we attend the Jeep Safari or the Bronco Safari, a Classic Car show with 500 antique cars coming into town, a cruise down main street or just eating at the taco van, riding bikes into town for ice cream!! Yummy!

April  23- May 12, 2019                                                                                                                                            Lone Rock,  Page, AZ/Utah

 

Our next stop was Johnson Canyon Road, a 16.2 mile trip that heads into the Escalante National Park. Driving down the road you find colorful cliffs of the Grand Staircase. There are farm houses and fields with horses grazing next to the sandstone walls. As you travel you see the cliffs changing from the red cliffs to white cliffs, these cliffs are steeper and rockier and look so majestic against the bright blue sky.

We had a brochure of the miles to each of the historic markers along the road.  Along the way you will see an old dilapidated town that was once used to film GunSmoke, the Lions Head up high on the mountain, cowboy road sign and many other historic markers.  It turned out to be a fun excursion as not all the historic markers were easy to find or easy to get pictures of, with both of us looking and trying to be the first to spot the marker.

 

While driving we found a great boondocking spot at Crocodile Hog Canyon, where we could take our buggy out from there and ride thru the mountain trails. Next year!!! We also stopped at Nephi Pasture Trailhead and had lunch, while we were just admiring the view, along came 5 buggies heading along the trails up into the mountains. There are numerous riding trails that go much further into the Escalante National Park which is the south entrance.

Along Hwy 89 heading into Kanab we saw a sign for a hike to theToadstool Trail, a short 3.2 mile round trip journey. WOW, it was truly a cool place to walk …we felt like we had traveled to another planet.

Below are some pictures of Lake Powell, they are taken just above the Glen Canyon Dam. You can see by the white rock the water line that Lake is down about 30′. This is due to droughts in the area and the high water withdrawals for human and agricultural consumption. Lake Powell is the second largest man made reservoir in the US.

Our time at Lone Rock was longer than we had planned but we truly enjoyed it. It was so peaceful. The wind became a challenge and got very tiresome, with the dirt blowing it was hard somedays to sit outside and just admire the view. The weather was the perfect temperature, warm days and cool nights which make for easy sleeping.

If you want to see where we head next come on back and check on us…we love having you along on our journey…we also love hearing from you…I do answer every comment, it might not be right away as we have been very spotty on internet, but I do get to it.

April 14 – 23, 2019
Lone Rock, Az/Utah

When our week with Barb and Jim was up we weren’t really sure where we were headed. We had put our name on the waiting list everyday for 2 weeks to take the tour of Antelope Slot Canyon in Page, Az. When finally after 2 months of waiting we got a message that there was an available spot. Wahoo, there was our decision, so off to Page we headed.

We already knew we wanted to camp at Lone Rock Campground, which is just over the border from Az and into Utah. With our National Senior Pass we only paid $7.00 a night. What was crazy was the time change, Utah is an hour ahead of Az, our phones were going crazy when we drove back and forth between the states.

Lone Rock is a super boondocking spot, there is camping on the beach with all the sand right next to Lake Powel or on the upper area still on sand but it is a little firmer. All the way at the top looking down at the beach area and before you head down to the beach, is  a nice little area that is gravel, this is where we decided to stay. With it being Easter week and many vacationers coming in the beach area was very crowded. There was no place close to the water, and back further all we would have looked at would have been camping rigs and cars. We opted for the area up top, which turned out to be an awesome place as we were overlooking the beach and the lake. There was no one blocking our view or even next to us. The view was so amazing that is is mesmerizing, the mountains are free of any trees or vegetation but the colors of the rock are amazing. The lighting at all times of the day make the mountains change colors and look so different. It was something to see how dry the desert is but at the same time have a view of the mountains that was still snow covered.

During the week we did get a couple of major wind storms, one was atleast 45-50 mph, we were rocking and rolling, our slide toppers were blowing so high, we thought they were going to take off any second. We ended up bringing in the slides, and trying to shut windows to keep out all the dust that was flying…we couldn’t even see the beach area or the rigs…they were getting so much sand blown around them it was amazing.

 

Our appointed time for our Antelope Canyon tour was 10:30, we needed to be there 1/2 hour early to check in. When checking in your get your ticket with your group # on it. There are 10 groups going at one time, 10 people per group. Our guide was awesome, he was very informative, told a lot of jokes, and took pictures of us in all the right places.

Antelope Canyon is one of the most photographed canyons, you will see it on magazine covers, posters or in books. The name Antelope Canyon in Navajo means, “Spiral rock arches”.

The canyon in on Navajo Nation land and a licensed Navajo guide must accompany you thru. The canyon has deep, twisted narrows, and is made of red sandstone. The canyon was formed by the erosion of the Navajo sandstone due to flooding, the water runs into the canyons and picks up speed, rushes the sand into narrow passageways. The passageways erode away making the canyon deeper and smoothing the hard edges to form the flowing shapes in the rock.

When the sunlight shines down on the sandstone it is truly beautiful. The day we were there it was cloudy with a little sun peaking thru, we did not get the desired bright colors that happen in full sun. There are two separate slot canyons, the Upper and the Lower. We got into the Lower, the Upper Canyon is one room. Walking thru the canyon, which is about 660’, along soft red sandstone we were mesmerized by the amazing contours and colors of the canyon.

There are 5 flights of stairs of varying widths going in, out and thru the canyon. Along the walk we experienced sand which consistently falls from the cracks above us. Our teeth were gritty and our glasses were getting dusty. It was hard getting pictures without people as it was crowded and everyone was trying to get pictures as well. There was a man and his son in front of us that were taking videos which made it slow going.

As you cross the Glen Canyon bridge on hwy 89, heading to Lone Rock you see The Glen Canyon dam. The dam is at 710 feet high and is one of the largest man made reservoirs in the US. The dam was built to guarantee water to the Lower basin states and is also a major source of hydroelectricity averaging over 4 billion kilowatt hours per year. When the dam was built Lake Powell was formed. The lake has many recreational opportunities for tourists, houseboating, water skiing, fishing, camping.

The two lane steel arch bridge has an overall length of 1,271 ‘ with a deck 700’ above the river. The bridge is one of the highest arch bridges in the US. The bridge was originally built to transport materials for the dams which is adjacent to the bridge.

While looking at the map we decided to head towards Kanab about 65 miles west. We never made it that far as our friends Ruth and Dale suggested two areas we needed to explore.

The first was into Paria Canyon (pah-ree-ah) and was just a short 6 mile drive but with all the stops we made it made it seem much longer.  The canyon is 112,500 acreas of wilderness. The canyon walls are streaked with desert varnish, huge towering red rocks, sandstone arches, Steep boulder strewn slopes of rugged terrain.  There was a kiosk at the beginning of the dirt road explaining about the area and how it started as a town.  When we came to the end of the road there was a river with a wonderful shade tree, it would have been nice to sit, eat our lunch and just enjoy the view but the river was a mucky milky color and not very appealing at all. On our way out there was an old cematery, over the years all the rock markers had been worn away with the names of those buried there.

While we were walking around the cemetery a wonderful couple stopped, of course, a conversation started that lasted over an hour. They were from Priest Lake, Idaho and had rented a home in Kanab for the month. They were leaving in a couple of days so meeting up again was not meant to be. They gave us lots of info about the area and what else to see while we were there.

Thank you for following along on our journey around this wonderful country of ours.

Come on back to check out what our next exploration was along our path to Kanab Utah.

 

 

 

 

 

April 7-14-2019
Kirkland, AZ

This story starts way back in 1960 when my parents decided to move from Massachusetts to California. They sold everything they owned and packed up the station wagon and a small trailer and headed west with 4 small kids in tow. Remember the times of no seat belts and laying down the seats? The small trailer was set up with our clothes, tent, camping stove and food supplies. We camped our way across the country, I don’t remember what time of year it was but remember that it was hot and on the front of the car hung a water bag for the radiator.

We landed at my grandparents home in Tujunga, Ca, where we stayed until we found a home our for family. My first day going to school I dressed in my best dress, red collar, with white top with buttons down the front and black plaid skirt. I loved that dress! Well, when I got to school I saw another girl wearing the same dress. Did we like each other at that moment? Not really, who wants to wear your best dress and someone else is wearing it as well. It didn’t take the two of us long to get over it and from that moment on we have been the best of friends. Our parents also became best friends, playing cards together, family camping trips, family dinners and just chilling together. With them being friends that really helped Barb and I get to see each other more.

We sadly moved an hour away to Upland, which was devastating to both of us. But we wrote letters almost everyday to each other. There were no phone calls as it was long distance and that cost money. Over the years we spent as many weekends as we could at each others homes. We were in each others weddings, we were there for the birth of our first babies, we went on camping trips with each others families. As time went on life seemed to get in the way, both of us moving farther away, working and raising our families, that we lost touch with each other.

I tried to find Barb thru phone books, I wrote letters to all the Barb W’s in all the books, I called as well, to no avail. Guy and I have a friend who was a detective try to find Barb for me but he was also unable to. This was before internet and cell phones or Facebook. Barb had changed her last name twice and moved out of Ca. to Az, I had also moved out of Ca. to Georgia and then to Alabama. When Facebook came into the picture Barb saw something about our son and sent him a message asking if we were his parents.

If not for Facebook we might not have been able to reconnect again. It was a wonderful phone call when Barb called me that first time. I think we talked for hours, it felt like we had never been apart as we picked up where we left off. We have gotten together since that call and try to see each other when we are in the area. We both have carried on the tradition of our families by continuing to camp, only now its not in tents but nice rigs with bathrooms.

We met Barb for lunch in Prescott as that’s the closest town for her to shop,  we talked about mine and Guy’s plans for the next few weeks and not having anything solid planned, she asked us to come to the Cowboy Ranch. We, of course, looked at each other and said, yes. What a wonderful time it was being together for a week and the best part is that our guys like each other and also enjoyed a great week together.

The Cowboy Ranch is outside Kirkland, AZ on a dirt road about 10 miles from the main road. It was pretty dusty following Jim and Barb to the ranch. There was one area that we were pretty nervous about, which was the bridge. It says 14’ 3” high, 13’ 3” wide, 15 max tons. Barb had told us about a cut off around the bridge which would go thru a stream. She was not sure about either option.

The turn off was down a slight hill on a dirt road, we did not realize that was where Barb said to turn. So there was only one option left, the bridge. It was a tight left turn that we barely made. But we got over it. Before we left the ranch Guy went down to the turn off and chopped down a lot of the bushes that would scratch our rig as we had decided to take the turn off. Well the stream we would go thru had a dip that might have hung up the back of the trailer…so the bridge was it again.

 

 

This time we had another left turn and of course there were trees that Guy had not trimmed…yup, we got the new Arizona racing stripes. But we made it thru.

The ranch is about 300 acres, with horse stalls for up to 200 horses, cowboy camp housing, a cowboy bar with card tables, a race track for horse racing, and a corral for roping, bath houses, shooting range, 4 horseshoe pits, they even have an area for golf. Barb and Jim live in the main house that is fenced so that they can keep their dogs in when the horses are there. Behind the house is a fenced area where Barb raises her prized chickens and also has a garden for vegetables. Jim and Barb also have two horses out in the corral. Up on the hill behind the house Jim has his man shed with all the man tools he needs to take care of the Ranch. The ranch runs totally off grid..with well water and solar.

There are about 300 members that belong to the CowBoy Ranch, they pay an initiation fee to join, they may use the ranch when ever its available and bring friends as well. There is a Men’s only week once a year, about 200 men all in boots, hats, horses and guns show up. They all bring their horse trailers or camping rigs. The week is filled with lots of activities that they pay to play with lots of betting that goes along with these activities. Some of these activities include trail riding, horse racing, golfing, horseshoes, cards, and shooting and whatever else game they come up with. There is also a couples week once a year. A catering company comes up and spends the week preparing and serving all the meals, on trail rides there is a catering wagon that follows along with supplies and of course, adult beverages.

While we were there we followed Jim and Barb with our buggy and them in their jeep around the ranch and in the surrounding mountains. They told us that there were lots of animals, like bob cats, coyotes, elk, deer and rattle snakes and to watch out for LaciLou. Well, the only animals we did see were two squirrels, chickens and horses. Which I am really grateful that’s all we did see.

We took a ride into Kirkland to find a notary and stop at the only store in town, The Dollar Store. During the week we had been talking about the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire that had taken the lives of 19 of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. The memorial was not to far from Kirkland so off we went. The site is called Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park which was funded by the families, friends, elected officials, fire professionals and Az Public Service Foundation.

The 2.85 mile trail through Weaver Mountain leads to an observation deck. Along the trail about 600’ apart in rank and tool order, there are 19 granite plaques with photo and a story of each fallen Hotshot.

Down a .75 mile trail where the 19 made their last stand against the fire you will find 19 gabions, one for each Hotshot, they are united by chains representing their eternal bond. Inside there are 19 steel markers showing where each Hotshot was found. The photos were taken buy our friend Troy, who was a fire fighter in Alberta, Canada.

 

At the trail head there is a bronze statue that honors the Hotshots.

When we got back to town we stopped at the Yarnell Emporium.

What a fantastic and interesting place. It had everything you could want in the way of gifts or nic nacs. From clothes, to candles, lights, outside yard art, books, household furniture. We found some cool items that if we still had the lake house would have looked awesome at. It was a fun stop, one thing Guy did get was the book on the Yarnell fire.

We were headed to the community center to look for a couple of pots to make wind chimes for Barb, which we did find 2 and for the great price of .50, Barb found a shirt, I found 1 shirt and 1 jean jacket all for only $9.00! The community center has a lunch everyday from 11:30 – 12:30, it was enchiladas, beans, rice, salad and a drink for $5.00. It turned out to be a great lunch and the enchiladas were very good.

Barb belongs to a camping group of all women called, “Sisters on the Fly”, her number is 90, but there are numerous groups across the country, the group is now has up to 10,000 members. She had already made plans to attend a camping trip for the weekend. There were 50-60 women attending, it was going to be a crafting weekend. She has a truck and pulls her trailer, as she got to the campsite she ended up with a flat tire, then as she got home to her dirt road her spare had a flat as well.

Guy and I took our buggy out for a ride around the area and up on the top of the mountains. It was a super beautiful day and a super ride.

 

We really had no idea where we were or where we were headed but we knew approximately where the ranch was. Barb had told us about an old abandoned mine, when we  found it we finally  knew where we were.

The abandoned mine was left with the tractor and some of the machinery. Guess who decided to climb on the tractor and start playing with the controls.

While we were at the ranch a few of the cowboys came up for the weekend to go riding. LaciLou was ready to save me from the horses and went wild every time they rode by, she would also try to get into the coral with Barb and Jim’s horses.

It was a wonderful week hanging out at the CowBoy Ranch but it was made extra special by spending time with Jim and Barb. We can’t wait to go back and spend more time with them.

Prescott, Arizona
April 1 – 7, 2019

I would like to say that our trip from Gold Canyon was uneventful but that would not be the case. Our 3 hour trip ended up 5 hours! The drive through Phoenix was easy as there was not really any traffic but once we got up on HWY 17 it was stopped due to some emergency. We got caught in between exits, even if we took one of the exits they did not go in the direction we were headed. So we sat with everyone else that were out of their cars, riding their bikes, walking dogs, going in and out of motorhomes. There were even people that were backing up on the shoulder trying to get back to the exits. It truly was comical. We finally made it to the where the accident was between a car and a truck, the truck caught on fire which in turn caught the grass on the side of the road and the surrounding hill on fire, traffic could not go until the fire was out.

We finally arrived at our campground…we were pretty disappointed. It really is where everyone lives permanently in their rvs. Our site is large but has a big slant, it was not easy leveling and consequently our steps are pretty high in the air and was hard getting into the rig. It is quiet as most everyone heads to work in the morning. If we hadn’t prepaid we would have left and found somewhere else.

The campground is within walking distance to Willow Lake. The lake is surrounded by sweeping views of big boulders, it has a 5.7 mile walking and biking loop around the lake. Electric boats, canoes and kayaking are the only water craft allowed. Swimming is not allowed.

The reason for this trip to Prescott was to visit with our long time friends, Terry and Lee. Guy and Lee worked together at Seagate. When we moved to Los Gatos, we loved where Terry and Lee lived in Los Gatos which is in the mountains between San Jose and Santa Cruz. We found our 50 acres of awesome on the mountain and drew up plans to build our dream home. Our property butted up against Terry and Lee’s but we couldn’t get there unless we drove. The plans went to the planning department and then October,1989 the 7.4 Loma Prieta earthquake hit, it closed down the entire area from Santa Cruz, San Jose, and San Fransisco. The earthquake happened while the world series was getting ready to start in San Fransisco. Terry and Lee were at the game in San Fransisco and didn’t know that they had lost their home and most everything in it. They did rebuild in the same spot.

It took another year and many structural changes and additions to our plans before we finally got the plans back and could get started building. We lost most everything in that earthquake and what was left went into a storage container. The home we were in was pretty much destroyed and we needed to move out. We moved into 3 rv trailers, one for Guy and I (35″) and each of our kids had one (20″ each). We moved them to the bottom of our property and lived in them for the next 3 years while we were building the house. We only lived in that home for 1 1/2 yrs before we were transferred to Atlanta, Ga. where we built another home.

Terry is a planner and had our week planned out pretty well before we even arrived in town. She made us dinner for the first night, swedish pot roast, cauliflower rice, salad and cheese cake. The night was full of laughter and stories of old times. We had not seen each other we figured out for 6 yrs. There were 5 of us girls (Shelley, Debra, Terry, Sue and I) that were always together when I lived in Ca. After my move we took trips  together or just hung out at our house on the lake, once or twice a year for the 25 yrs after we moved from Ca.  When Guy and I went on the road the one of the hardest parts has been not spending that girlie time together.

 

Lee had to work on Tuesday, so Guy became mine and Terry’s chauffeur. We had driven through the little town of Jerome a few years before but had not stopped. I wanted to walk the streets and look in the shops. We left pretty early and got there before the stores opened, Terry spotted  a little coffee shop down in the basement of a building so we decided a coffee would be good.  Guy had eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes. While Terry and I had an Irish Cream, bourbon and coffee, yikes. It was so strong we had to add lots of creamer.

Jerome became a National Historic Landmark in 1967. Jerome in its heyday was made rich by the copper mines in the area. It was home to more than 10,000 people in the 1920”s. The population today is 444. The town is more than 5,000 feet above sea level. It is built on the side of the mountain, you will find art stores, clothes stores, restaurants, leather store, and many other different types.

After walking the town of Jerome we headed to Sedona, I just wanted to see “The Chapel of the Holy Cross”. In 1932 Marguerite Brunswig Staude was inspired to build a chapel after the newly constructed Empire State Building.  An attempt to build the Chapel in Budapest was aborted when WWII broke out, she then decided to build the chapel high atop the red rocks in Sedona.  It took 18 months at the cost of $300,000. The Chapel was finally completed in 1956.

The life size bronze “Christ of the Holy Cross” rises in the front of the church with floor to ceiling windows overlooking Sedona. The bronze Living Christ is upon the Tree of Life which depicts humanity’s journey from its fall in the Garden of Eden and perfection by the Holy Trinity. The tree of life has twelve leaves which represent the twelve apostles and their work.

There is no parking at the Chapel,  you must park along the street and walk up and down a pretty big hill. Guy drove to the top and let us out, he went back down the hill and finally found a place to park about 3/4 s of a mile down the hill. We were surprised at how many people there were visiting the church.

As you walk around the front of the chapel and look at the view of the surrounding red mountains this house is just below the chapel. There is a beautiful water fall and pond on left that doesn’t show up. The gardeners were working in the yards with two beautiful husky dogs.

Lee was free to hang with us on Wednesday so off we went to check out more of the area. We drove out to the most scenic and coolest areas, Watson Lake. The lake is surrounded by the Granite Dells. The granite dells consist of exposed bedrock and large boulders of granite that are lumpy and have a rippled appearance. Both Watson and Willow Lake are man made. There are miles of hiking over the boulders, along a miles of trails, and easy bike rides.

Our next pretty lake was Lynx Lake which is just outside of town. This lake is 55 acres and is surrounded by tall pines and is at the 5,500 ft elevation. There is boating with a 10 horsepower engine allowed, canoeing, kayaking, but no swimming allowed. We drove thru the campground, to see if we could fit in but the sites allow nothing bigger than about 25-30’. The roads are narrow with low hanging trees, the sites are nestled among the trees.  A marina with a small store is not far away. Terry had put together a great lunch of cheese and crackers, we sat at the tables and just admired the wonderful view of the lake.

While we were walking the 2.5 miles trail we found an eagle on the other side of the lake sitting up at the top of a pine tree. I took a picture but you can hardly tell its an eagle. When he took off and flew we tried to take him flying but that didn’t really work either.

After all this tourist stuff we needed some adult beverage, so off to the Prescott Brewing Company we went.

I am not a beer drinker so had a pinot griego, while the rest had beer and nachos, Guy had a bacon lettuce sandwich, which he shared with me.

The week went by so fast, with dinners at Terry and Lees, appetizers at her sister Helen and her husband’s house, touring the town and campgrounds for future trips. It was a wonderful week of sharing and laughter.

When leaving Prescott we were headed to Kirkland, Az to visit one my longest friend, Barbara. We have been friends since we met at 10 years old. We were headed to her and Jim’s cowboy ranch. So come on back and check out this amazing cowboy ranch.

 

Feb 1 – April 1, 2019
Gold Canyon, Arizona

LaDonna and Dale were getting ready to head back to Nebraska after spending the winter in Az. They wanted to go on another ride before leaving so they could show us the Coke ovens that are a historical landmark in Pinal County. We left pretty early in the morning as the trip over to the ovens was a 4 hr ride.  We went over a mountain that was just plain rock and very steep.

It was slow going but Guy and I loved it.  We are always up for a challenge and this road proved to be. We stopped a few times just to take in the views and admire the canyons and a small lake.

The coke ovens overlook the Gila River about 15 miles east of Florence. There are 5 ovens that are wonderfully preserved. The ovens are in an area so remote that off road vehicles are the best and only way to see them.

The ovens were used to reduce mesquite wood to coke, a hotter burning fuel. The fuel was used in smelting gold and silver ore taken from the surrounding mines. The beehive shaped stone coke ovens are about 25 feet in diameter and 30 feet in height. Each has a ground level entry and a few upper level vents. The mesquite wood, burned slowly in the ovens for days, which then produced the coke.

The ovens are on private property and are fenced off, if you want to visit it is by permission only. We were on top of the mountain and could see them pretty well where we were. One of the ovens has caved in, which has happened in the last year. We decided that it was a perfect spot to stop and have lunch.

The night before LaDonna and Dale left we all went to dinner at Wahoo’s for wings and a salad. We laughed and talked and had such a wonderful time, I really wish they could have stayed longer. We had our phones sitting on the table so we could take pictures but we totally forgot. We were pretty sad that all our new Nebraska friends were leaving and heading home. Nebraska was going thru some serious rain and snow storms with major flooding. We are hoping that we will meet up with them sometime this summer when they think they might head to South Dakota.

While we were driving around the desert I noticed on the prickly pear cactus that some of them were in the shape of hearts. I send postcards to all the grandkids of our travels and decided that it would make a great postcard for them. Well, LaDonna and I then were on a mission to find just the right one…

Needless to say I now have a plethora of prickly pear heart pictures.

Tracy and Lee finally arrived on Friday afternoon and pulled into the a site 2 down from us. The first thing I saw was this little white head bobbing up and down in the front of the truck. It then popped up and over Lee so he could look out the window. I took him out of the truck and played with him while they got parked and hooked up.

We had dinner together that night so that Tracy and Lee needed to think about cooking. We talked for a little while but they were tired and left early. It has been a very hard month for them and they sure needed the time to recoup and relax. The next day Guy took Lee on a buggy ride and let him drive as well. Guy and I were leaving to have dinner with friends so Guy gave the buggy keys to Lee so he could take Tracy out in the buggy for a ride, as she wanted some pictures of the desert flowers.

Lee left on Sunday and spent the week in Phoenix working with a cosmetic company leaving Tracy with us to spend the week.  I have not seen such a happy dog, his tail can’t wiggle fast enough, he is a bundle of energy and is so excited just walking on his leash. I have changed his name to Happy Jack.

Tracy and Lee are expecting their first grand baby boy in about 3-4 months. Tracy has been buying little things for him and sending them to their daughter. She has been buying onesies of different sizes, she also bought some different things to put on them to dress them up. So for 2 days her and I worked on making these sweet little onesies.

It was so much fun putting them together and can just imagine him wearing them.

Saturday afternoon Tracy and I took a buggy ride to see if any of the cactus were in bloom yet. We were a little disappointed as we only found one type of cactus with flowers. It was sure beautiful with bright fuchsia flowers.

I was also disappointed at how the once beautiful green grass that was so tall it flowed with the wind was now turning brown. We also were looking for some boon docking spots which we did find about 4 really good places. They of course were taken but Tracy showed me how to mark them on the maps in my phone.

The week just flew by even tho we just hung around the park. We knew our time was getting close to start packing up pack and heading to our next destination, Prescott, AZ. We will be visiting our long time friends, Terry and Lee.

Thanks for reading about our journey, we are glad to have you tag along with us. Leave us a message in comments and we will always answer back.

Feb 1- April 1, 2019
Gold Canyon, Arizona
This post will be pictures of the beautiful areas we saw on some of our rides thru the desert. There are many places and some awesome views that you don’t see unless you venture out in an off road vehicle.

Family members bring the remains of their family members who have spent their lives traveling and exploring the mountain trails. Some of the marked areas have boxes with ashes in them, a note pad where who ever visited can write their names. There were even a couple of geocaches. We also found ashes in a couple of others.

 

Thanks for following along with us on our journey around this wonderful country, we love hearing from you. Leave us a message in the comments and I will always answer.

Feb 1 – April 1, 2019
Gold Canyon, Arizona

Guy and I are not big hikers and never have been, we have good intentions but we never follow through. Not far from our rv park is Silly Mountain Park, that has a small mountain trail and cactus garden.

Guy and I walked all the trails which turned out to be about 3.5 miles. The views from the top was out standing. We could see 360 degrees around Phoenix. The wildflowers were in bloom all over the mountain, it was hard walking and taking pictures at the same time.

One of our rides with the some of our new friends was to head to Saguaro Lake which was about 20 miles away. The only way there with the buggies is to trailer them.

Guy and I don’t have a trailer so Lee and Kathy our neighbors have a trailer that they put their jeep and buggy on and tow with their Class A. They offered to put our buggy on their trailer with theirs if we could tow it. Of course, we said yes. We were excited to head out to new territory with our friends.

There were 4 buggies going with a new friend Jerry in the lead. We were going to leave Laci home as we don’t have a seat for her and I don’t think it is safe holding her. Jerry’s dog had a seat in their buggy that he had outgrown. Next thing we knew the seat was taken out and given to us for LaciLou so she could go with us when ever we went. I especially liked that the seat is secure to the roll bar and also has a safety hook so she can’t fall out. We were so excited and had it installed before we left for the day. Since then LaciLou goes with us all the time and is loving it. I am on a mission now to figure out how to make something to hold her up higher so she can see out the front window.

Along the way we spotted off in the distance 2 herds of wild horses. One of the closest groups were at a small pond while the other group were pretty far away. When the group furthest away came to the small pond they chased away the first group that was there.

We eventually could see the lake from the top of the mountain. When we finally made it there it was time for our lunch break.

It was a great ride with a great group of people that were so sweet to take us under their wings and show us the area. A huge Thank you to all of them and hope we meet up again one day.

Come on back and check out what the Rovers are up to next…we also love to hear from you…leave us a message in the comments and I will most defiantly answer you back.

Feb 1 – April 1, 2019
Gold Canyon, Az

There is more to life than in Gold Canyon than riding the buggy through the desert. So Guy and I decided to take a drive up to Roosevelt Lake, which is 30 miles away. After hearing that the road is the oldest highway in AZ, we decided some tourism was a good plan. This road is called “Apache Trail” route 88.

We packed a lunch and LaciLou and off we went. We knew that there would be lots to see with many stops along the way and that it would be an all day adventure. We did not even consider that it was a Saturday and spring break.  The Superstition Mountain Museum, The Goldfield Ghost Town, The Lost Dutchman State Park, and Canon Lake and the little old town of Tortilla Flat were some of the stops.  As we were driving by all these great stops every parking lot was full, people were everywhere. We looked at each other deciding to go back home or continue on? What a conundrum!! We decided that we would go up to the lake and come back the same way and  hopefully it would be less crowded.

We did stop at Canyon Lake, which is at the elevation of 1,600. The lake has 28 miles of shore line with lots of rock formations and is a man made lake. The lake is so picturesque with the towering rock formations and the deep blue water. By the time we got there we decided it was a beautiful spot for lunch. We walked along the lake close to the campground and found a few rocks to sit and eat lunch.

 

LaciLou loved chasing and barking at all the ducks in the lake while we ate.

There were a few boats going by, but the best one was the steamboat “Dolly”. The “Dolly” takes you on a 6 mile nature cruise, while on your cruise you may see desert bighorn sheep, bald eagles and a host of other animals. The steamboat has other options like a dinner cruise, or there is even have an astronomy dinner cruise. At the Canyon Lake marina you can rent power boats or kayaks. The campground has 28 RV sites with water and electric. There is a dump out service. There are 18 dirt tent sites, with a picnic table, grill, and fire ring at each site.

Due to the lack of parking and numerous people waiting in line, we went past the little town of Tortilla Flat. A few miles past the town of Tortilla Flat we lost pavement and the  dirt road started. We decided it couldn’t be that bad, wrong,  I don’t think we went more than a mile bouncing all the way. With our big dually it was just way to rough and neither of us wanted to go to Roosevelt Lake that bad. The gravel road is like a washboard, bumpy, bouncy and very dusty. Also there are no guard rails and steep drop offs. We had heard that the road narrows when you get higher up the mountain and that there would not be much room to move over to let other cars by. The road was very busy in both directions, so we did turn around and head back down the mountain.

We did stop in at Tortilla Flat, that in 1904 was a stagecoach stop. We walked thru the little stores and restaurant. There was a band playing on the patio but was so crowed we couldn’t find a place to sit and listen. Even tho LaciLou was in her little purse and no one would know she was with us, the sign said no dogs, we decided not to wait.

The 50 mile drive along the Apache Trail goes thru the Superstition Mountains and the Tonto National Forest. The circle route through Globe is 120 miles round trip. It was called the Apache Trail after the Native American Indians used this trail to migrate through the Superstition Mountains for over 1,000 years. The road is steep and winding but some of the most magnificent scenery with the forests of saguaro cactus, and many other types of cactus.

 

There are incredible view of canyons, rock formations, desert plants and trees. The mountains were full of color, yellows, purples and white from all the beautiful wildflowers.

Along the Apache Trail we spotted a stream at the bottom of the road and decided to hike down and walk along the stream. It was pretty with the water flowing over the rocks, the water was nice and cool. It was hard keeping LaciLou out, who wants to ride in a car with a wet dog.

The parking lot at the Goldfield Ghost Town had emptied out enough by the time we made it back that we decided to stop. This town is a recreation of a 1890’s town. It showcased a saloon, a general store, a school house, church, and a brothel. At the historic Mammoth Gold Mine you can pan for gold, or take a ride on the narrow gauge train.

There is an old west gun fight that happens in the middle of the main street. While we were there they were in the middle of the gun fight, the gun shots were so loud that poor LaciLou was so scared she tried to get out of her little purse. It took a 1/2 hr to calm her down. We stopped into the ice cream store and got 2 scoops of ice cream, chocolate cherry and cookies and cream….yummy.

It was a wonderful day spending time in the mountains, we really enjoyed just doing the touristy stuff.

We are so glad to have y’all along with us on our Journey,  we love hearing from you so feel free to leave us a message.

 

 

Feb 1 – April 1, 2019                                                                                                                          Gold Canyon, AZ

Arizonia has been following the country with some pretty weird weather. The temps have been colder than normal, with rain totals higher than normal. We have had rain, snow,  ice and wind. One morning as we were taking LaciLou out, you can imagine how  surprised we were to see snow on the Superstition Mountains.

While we were in Gold Canyon a few of our RV friends were arriving and staying in the area at different locations. With Guy and I being stationary for long it had been a while since se had seen everyone that we were looking forward to meeting up with everyone.

One couple we were looking forward to seeing who are not Rvers, was Gary and Cindy. They live in Ahwatukee, a city outside of Phoenix. We have been friends with them about 25 years. Guy and Gary worked together at Seagate. We have traveled with them on many trips and they have come to our home in Alabama for some r and r on the lake. They have moved around from Ca to North Carolina and now to Az. Chandler is not far from here so we met them for lunch at the Hop Social Tap and talked for hours getting caught up on kids and grands.

They invited us over to their home one night for dinner. We tried to take pictures of all of us but we goofed around so much we only got one good one. Cindy and Gary made a wonderful dinner of steak, salad and potatoes, with brownies for dessert. We knew they had a spring training baseball game to attend the next day and were planning on leaving early…..if 10:30 is early!!

Dale and Ruth, were in Phoenix waiting for parts for their Rv, and had been since December last year. We went with them to their favorite breakfast place, Crackers and Company Cafe. The breakfast was very good, but the conversation was even better.

Their coach finally got fixed but then something went wrong with their truck and was now in the shop. The coach was finally done and needed to be moved from the repair shop. Their time was up at the campground they were in and were moving into our park a few days until their truck was done. Since they had no way to move it, Guy went and got the Rv for them. I had made dinner for them since it was late in the day and Ruth made dinner for us a few days later. But Guy had gotten sick during the day and we didn’t want them to catch anything we didn’t go. But Ruth brought us her Jambalaya and apple brownie cake…wow , excellent.

While they were here we took a great bike ride along the Salt River bike path, the path connects the Az State University, Tempe Beach Park and Marketplace, also the spring training home of baseball’s Chicago Cubs. We continued into Papago Park, which offers hiking trails that are smooth with minimal elevation which makes it a popular place for bikers and runners. The terrain is primarily sandstone. Our bike trip ended up being around 20 miles.

Debbie and Steve were staying out at the Lost Dutchman State Park, which is about 16 miles from us. They came over for a short visit one night after Steve got done working, we sat drinking a 40 yr old bottle of port and chatting away until midnight. I think we could have gone on longer until we finally checked the time.

Later in the week we met up with Debbie and Steve, Curt and Glenda, Ruth and Dale for pizza at Rosita’s. Once we got there it was packed, it must have been the rain that drew them in. We all made the decision that we would head to Guy’s favorite type of food “mexican”. Curt recommended Los Gringos Locos in Apache Junction which was about 12 miles. It was National Margarita Day, and low and behold, it was packed there as well. We waited at least an hour for a table, but with the margaritas flowing no one cared. We were having so much fun and were getting pretty loud that the table behind us asked us to quite down…LOL!!

It was my sister Penny and Rogers 40th wedding anniversary in March. They had decided to celebrate it in Bullhead City, Az where they have a vacation home named “River Shack”. They asked us to come celebrate with them for a few days. We enjoyed a nice quiet time together, the guys went in the hot tub, there were plenty of adult beverages consumed, we all went to our favorite Thai restaurant, took a day and drove over to Laughlin, NV and walked through the casinos (the only one to gamble was Roger), took a trip to Oatman to have ice cream and see the donkeys. Hit a few bars and the Elks club for drinks and just enjoyed being together.

 

Debbie and Steve were in Surprise, AZ visiting his mom before heading out to parts unkown. We got in touch with them on our way to Bullhead City to see if they could have lunch on our way back.  Debbie found a great place for us all to meet at the State 48 Brewery in Surprise. I know this might come as a shock to some of you but none of us ordered adult beverages.

It sure was fun catching up with all our friends but we were still waiting for one more couple to arrive in our park. Tracy and Lee were coming in from Texas, we hadn’t seen them for 3 years. They were bringing with them a new addition to their family, Jack. I was looking forward to meeting him.

Thanks to all you readers for keeping up with us and our travels. We also love hearing from you, if you leave a message in comments I will answer every one of them. Until next time have a very Blessed week.