Needles, then Home.....

When we left the cool weather in Williams we began our decent home. We arrived in Needles, Ca around noon and headed for the pool where we spent the rest of the day talking about our trip. What we liked, what we didn't, what we could have done differently. We talked about how we had no trouble with our motorhome last time and a good deal of trouble this time.  Even heading from Williams to Needles the motorhome was "missing".
We left the very very warm Needles, Ca the following morning and headed down the long long hill back home.  Here we are. Back to the real world! You know how hot Needles was when we were grateful to be back in Sun City in the cooler weather!  It was only 100 degrees here!

On any long trip you are likely to come home with more than you left with.  This was no exception.  Here is a crazy list of things we "found" or were given along the way......

1 pack of 11 unopened bottles of Pelligrino. ( just left under a tree)
1 red pasta pot with slotted colander lid (given to us by the Bavarians who were heading back to Bavaria)
1 non-stick fry pan (the Bavarians again)
2 water pressure regulators. (we passed one on to another RV-er who didn't have one)
2 brand new sewer hose elbows and attachments
1 unopened bag Starbucks Sumatra ground coffee (Ya gotta love the Bavarians for this one as I was down to my last bag)
1 set salt and pepper shakers
1 large cannister of sea salt (from those Bavarians again!)
1 set of large aluminum camper steps. (how did they get in without them?)
1 bottle of Palmolive dish soap
1 black spatula ( oddly enough I had broken my new one just 3 days before I was blessed with this replacement from, who else? The Bavarians!)
1 red Tommy Bahama folding chair that wouldn't fold up. We get a lot of these since Bill has the secret to how to fold them up!)
1 black folding step stool
1 sleeve of Solo plastic cups
1 box of pasta shells. (There were about 8 of them with a sign that said please take it you can use on a picnic table. So we helped ourselves to a box)

Quite a haul, eh?

Well, that's it from us for now.  Thank you for being interested enough to actually READ my ramblings. And thanks to those who left comments or sent email responses to some of the posts. They are always fun to read. We head out again in a few days for a 10 day trip to the beach area but I promise not to write about it.

Bill and Jo Ann
6/20/2013

Williams, AZ...HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

From Sedona we headed north with our new brakes to cooler weather.  We landed in Williams, Az about 7000 ft elevation and about 15 degrees cooler.  This is the gateway city to The Grand Canyon South Rim.  We have been here before and walked Route 66, driven up to the Grand Canyon so we really didn't know what to do with ourselves for 4 days. We hiked one day and decided to take the Grand Canyon Railway up to the canyon, then lunch and a tour. The train ride was fine but paled in comparison to the beauty of the Durango-Silverton ride we had done a month ago. We chose to take an antique Pullman car which was much more authentic and beautiful than the regular train cars. This car had the original mahogany and the original lighting (complete with the glass) .
We hiked one of the days and today we will do nothing. Read, nap, just good old nothing. Tomorrow we will head to a park near Needles, Ca for an overnight and then on home. It's hard to believe its been 9 weeks.
Happy Father's Day to my son Bill and to his Dad's Stan and Bill. I love all 3 of you and all 3 of you have been great Dad's.  Here are the Dad's:

Photo from the Grand Canyon Tour

Sedona and the Pink Jeep Tour

I felt like Barbie only without the boobs. Yes, we really rode around in a pink jeep.  We did a bit of rock crawling and a lot of great back country scenic stuff.  It was a great evening....

The jeep crawled up on to this gigantic rock and we walked around for a bit.

What goes UP must come DOWN

Here's the Rancho Sedona RV Park. They didn't seem to have a "no photos" rule....at least I hope not.

This is a portion of Oak Creek that runs through the campground.  Swimming (even dogs) is allowed!

 cool and shady

The previous post originally had tmore photos from the Oak Creek hike.  I guess all of my Sedona Vortex bashing came back and "got "me because they disappeared from the final draft.  However they are worth trying to post again.  More oak Creek Hike Photos:

Sedona....my take on it.

We loved our time in Sedona.  It is gorgeous and there is so much to do there. It is a bit "mystic, let me read your crystals,omg look at your lifeline, let me check your Aura, Vortice manic" much for my taste but that aside it is lovely. Yes, the folks in Sedona believe that they have the ONLY rocks that emit spiritual energy and you can actually take tours to those specific rocks. The areas are called Vortices (vortex in the plural form?). Anyway, I can get all of the spiritual energy I need by staring at the stars, the moon, a butterfly or a beautiful rock in Missoula Montana.  I believe spirituality is wherever you look for it.  But the "Sedonians" believe it's here. And they have names like "Feather" and "Storm" and "Whisper". Really? Did their parents really name them that?
We hiked the West Fork of Oak Creek and took a 4x4 jeep excursion with Pink Jeep Tours and saw an awful lot of beauty. So did Rufus.  Here are few photos from the hike:

We did a lot of creek crossing and puddle jumping. It was shady and cool and beautiful.

They are emotional in Sedona. I was standing in Safeway with my 15 items in the 15 item or less aisle and a woman in front of me had maybe 20 items. The woman behind me said " Oh, honestly! She has over 15 items! Did you see that? Life is difficult as it is without this kind of thing happening".......Check your Chakra, lady. Your aura must be out of whack. Grab a bowl of crystals and have Feather do a tarot reading. You'll feel better.

More on Sedona later when I get the jeep tour photos uploaded. 

We went to two churches and lit some candles and prayed for a safe journey to Williams with our new brakes. We did arrive in Williams safely.  Bill says the brakes need to be "bled" again because they aren't quite right but assures me we are safe. 

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Little old church in Jerome

About 26 miles from Sedona is the old mining town of Jerome. It is built on a hillside (Mediterranean style) and very old.  There are over 80 tunnels that run below the town from the mining days.  These tunnel openings are seen all over town. I would be terrified to raise my children there as these tunnels are just wide open! Here are acouple of photos of two that have doors...but most in the town do not!

It was an interesting place with a lot of history.