Tag Archives: RV Travel

On to Sedona, 25th Anniversary Party, 93rd Birthday Party, Phoenix and Home

On the road to Sedona

On the road to Sedona

We arrived in Sedona in plenty of time to set up camp.  The temperature was pleasantly warm.  We were so happy to be warm again.  We loved the rock formations of Sedona and our RV Park on Oak Creek in the dappled shade of very large trees.

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RV Park Sedona

RV Park Sedona

Kirk, Marcy, Kathryn, Mom and Chris visited us Saturday morning in our trailer and we heard “the rest of the story” about the hike into the Grand Canyon.  The weather in Sedona could not have been more beautiful with sunshine filtering through the trees and clear, blue skies.

That evening we all gathered in our finest party clothes and ate and drank and talked and drank and ate, got acquainted and reacquainted, and enjoyed a perfectly lovely Fall evening in Sedona celebrating Kirk and Marcy’s 25 years of marriage.

Mom arriving at Anniversary Party

Mom arriving at Anniversary Party

Marcy makes a toast

Marcy makes a toast

We feasted at the Cucina Rustica.  For those of you that like to hear about food, the evening began with Affinato and Bruschetta.  Our next course was Insalata Mista Della Casa.  For an entree, we had our choice of Salmon Arancione, Filetto Di Manzo or Pollo Picatta.  And we finished with Dolci, Tiramisu and Mini Cannoli.  All washed down with very good wine.  Need I say, the food and wine was delicioso.

La Cocina

Cocina Rustica private room

Grandma and Alice

Grandma and Alice

Marcy and Daria

Marcy and Daria

Charlie and Daria

Charlie and Daria

Guests traveled from many cities in California.  Marcy’s sister, Marcia, traveled the farthest flying from back east.  Charlie and Daria came from Berkeley, California; Rick and Kathy from Davis, Chris and Mom from Phoenix.  Everyone managed to book hotels in Sedona and cancel their reservations in the Grand Canyon.

Mom with daughter Chris and granddaughter Kathryn

Mom with daughter Chris and granddaughter Kathryn

Dylan came from Phoenix via Flagstaff

Dylan came from Phoenix via Flagstaff

Connie and Kathy get acquainted

Connie and Kathy get acquainted

Sunday morning we roused the revelers to set out a brunch at the Red Agave Resort and trumped the horns when Bobby “Mom” arrived to celebrate her 93rd birthday.  Looking as fresh as a newly-picked flower, Mom arrived with a huge smile.

Mom arrives to Birthday Brunch

Mom arrives to Birthday Brunch

We sat outside in morning sun at picnic tables with the canyons as a backdrop.  Fresh bagels, to-die-for muffins, fresh fruit and of course lots and lots of coffee kept us energized for another couple of hours.  The sun shone bright and the skies blazed blue as we again rekindled friendships, sang “Happy Birthday” and enjoyed another beautiful Fall day in Sedona.

Mom reading her birthday cards

Mom reading her birthday cards

93 Years Young

93 Years Young

But even this hardy group had its limits, and eventually began to run out of steam when the last cup of coffee was poured from the pot.  Of course, no party of the Veirs/Champion clan is complete without photos; and we managed to pull off getting everyone rounded up for shot after shot with this camera and that camera and were finally able to call an end to the festivities–satiated, well photographed and soundly content with not one, but two family milestones.

 

Mom and Chris, Connie and Kirk -- all grown up

Mom and Chris, Connie and Kirk — all grown up

 

David, Kathryn, Chris, Bill, Connie, Kirk, Alice, Marcy Dylan

David, Kathryn, Chris, Bill, Connie, Kirk, Alice, Marcy Dylan

 

Good Friends David and Robin, Charlie, Marcy and Kirk, and Daria

Good Friends David and Robin, Charlie, Marcy and Kirk, and Daria

Yes, it was on again, off again, on again and unpredictable but somehow it was also quite a lot of fun to not exactly know what the next move would be; perhaps like playing chess and the challenge of outsmarting your opponent, which felt perhaps a bit smug in the accomplishment.

Kirk hikes with Ryan and Alice in Sedona

Kirk hikes with Ryan and Alice in Sedona

Chris, Kathryn and Mom left to drive home to Phoenix.  Charlie, Daria, David and Robin left for their next stop.  Alice and Ryan drove back to Flagstaff.  Kirk and Marcy probably collapsed in the Hot Tub and Bill and Connie whiled away the sunshiny afternoon wandering art galleries and shops at Tlaquepague and Hwy. 179.   But there was more.  The chef that cooked the amazing anniversary dinner had another restaurant, the Pisa Lisa, that Kirk, Marcy, Connie and Bill visited to experience another culinary delight.  Truly the most delicate, fresh, and tasty salads of our entire trip, washed down with wine and extraordinary pizza capped the trip and this time we really did say “Goodbye” and “until next time.”  By the light of the moon, we headed home to our cozy trailer.  We had been traveling for 38 days and need we say?  We were ready for “home.”

But wait!  There is more.  Down to Phoenix, parked at Chris and Dave’s, we had the pleasure of visiting Tim and Mayuko and Ashlyn AND Cindy, Joel, Joshua, Kaitlyn and new baby Nathan.  I was able to cuddle and rock Nathan for a good length of time–what a warm fuzzy.

Ashlyn playing coy

Ashlyn playing coy

Ashlyn showed me her garden and we cuddled and read stories. Chris and Dave kept us fed and entertained.  I took Mom to the Pioneer Museum of Tempe and Bill and I took Mom to the Mesa Contemporary Art Museum.  Either way, we tried our best to keep up with Mom but it was not easy.

Chrissy meets us for lunch after the Museum

Chrissy meets us for lunch after the Museum

Lunch in downtown Mesa

Lunch in downtown Mesa

Now I am typing this on the road between Phoenix and Palm Desert and we will be home in about thirty minutes.  I quite don’t know what to do with myself to have solid ground and a real floor under me, to have a shower big enough to hold myself and seven more people, a kitchen about six times the size of our trailer kitchen, ice on demand, 650 television stations, movies on demand, clean clothes hanging in a closet, Peets coffee — wow, it feels good to be home!  But we wouldn’t have  missed our Southwest trip for anything.

Serendipity, Goblin Valley State Park, Deadhorse State Park, Natural Bridges National Park and Blanding

PhilCarla

Phil and Karla. At the Bryce Cannonville KOA, a rig pulled in to the spot next to ours on a stormy, cloudy day. I said hello to the new RV neighbors as I ran to the laundry room to do wash. Before long Phil (as we later learned) called out to our trailer inviting Bill to join the men in solving a mechanical problem. Turns out his hitch was attached to the ball and was stuck so that Phil was unable to unhook. It took three men about two hours to solve the problem and by that time they bonded as fellow members of the military.
Bill ponders Phil's trailer problem Bill ponders Phil’s trailer problemThree heads are better than one Three heads are better than one

The men disassembled the hitch, cut the electrical, and reassembled. Later Phil invited us to join he and his wife for dinner in town. A great idea, I thought. Phil was gregarious and Karla was quieter and supportive. We chatted through dinner like old friends. Afterwards we got a tour of Phil and Karla’s trailer. We finally retired for the night, only to have Phil knocking on the door to loan us a DVD, Trimuph of the Nerds because we mentioned we were listening to the Steve Jobs story. It was hard to say goodbye the next day. I really enjoyed our time with Phil and Carla.

Turns out we didn’t have to say goodbye. Our next stop was Kodachrome Basin State Park and Phil and Carla drove over in the afternoon and we sat in our trailer and chatted most of the afternoon. There were from the Austin, Texas, area and had been married one year longer than us. We exchanged emails and promised if we were ever in Austin or if they were ever in Palm Desert, we would look each other up.

Goblin Valley is a unique, small State Park off the beaten path. Campsite, Goblin Valley State Park Campsite, Goblin Valley State Park

You drive 12 miles off the highway and you are in the middle of nowhere. There is so little out by Goblin Valley you will find wild, open space, goblins, a small visitors center and a 25-site campground.
Goblin Valley Goblin Valley

There are several trails and Goblin Valley with its stone gnomes and uniquely shaped goblins.
Goblin Valley Closeup Goblin Valley Closeup

You should be able to hear a pin drop in this isolated camp; however, because of the lack of background noise, sound carries so if there are people laughing and talking in one part of the camp, it sounds like there is an entire regiment of people merrymaking. You should also be able to do some serious stargazing, which you can do providing the campers keep their lights to a minimum.
Camp at Goblin Valley State Park Camp at Goblin Valley State Park

There are very few large trees or bushes which contributes to the traveling of sound and light between camps. The Valley of Goblins is so unique and visitors can wander for hours among the strange shapes or have a picnic overlooking the valley.
Goblins Goblins

Dead Horse Point State Park is another state park that became very popular in light of the Federal Government shutdown. We were fortunate to have a one-night reservation. Because the Grand Canyon was also closed, we were grateful to have a chance to see breathtaking canyons.

Dead Horse Canyon Dead Horse Canyon

The campground has only 21 sites, but the Park has an extensive visitor center and plenty of hikes. We chose the Big Horn Overlook which we could hike from our camp. The views on this hike were spectacular. Later a ranger told us that the views from this trail are the same ones that Canyonlands visitors see. At the end of the trail, a crevice with dropoffs on each side blocked the last overlook. It was a pretty easy jump, except if you looked down because then your heart would get stuck in your throat envisioning how far you could fall. Because I am not a Big Horn sheep, I declined, but Bill jumped. On the rocks, Bill chatted a group from Lake Tahoe.
West Rim Trail, Dead Horse State Park West Rim Trail, Dead Horse State Park

Bill on rock that drops off down to canyon

Bill on rock that drops off down to canyon

Views of the canyon

Views of the canyon

Little chipmunk Little chipmunk

From our camp, we could bike to Dead Horse Point and this was another spectacular view of canyons. We were grateful and decided we didn’t have to feel deprived about not seeing the Grand Canyon. There are also nine miles of mountain biking trails, which we did not get to explore. Instead in the morning we rode our bikes back out to Dead Horse Point for another look at the canyons before hitching up.
Dead Horse Point overlook Dead Horse Point overlook
Bike rider on the trail Bike rider on the trail

DeadhorsePoint4

Blanding is another small town, population 3,600, along Hwy. 191. Many of the Mormon pioneer families that originally settled in Bluff ended up moving to Blanding, which was slightly more hospitable. The town sits at an elevation of 6000 feet. The Blanding Visitors Center and pioneer museum hold more fascinating history about the Hole-in-the-Rock settlers.

Edge of the Cedars State Park and Museum make for an interesting afternoon learning about the ancient Puebloan culture.

Edge of Cedars Museum, Blanding

Edge of Cedars Museum, Blanding

Connie descending 1000 year-old-kiva Connie descending 1000 year-old-kiva
Ladder to enter and exit kiva Ladder to enter and exit kiva

My favorite was getting to climb down a ladder into a Kiva, the dwelling structure built underground where the Indians lived. It was dark, with a dirt floor, no windows, and since it had recently rained, puddles to step around. The Kiva made me so grateful for my cozy trailer home. Emerging from the Kiva to blue sky was joyful, like breathing again after being in a stifling room. I couldn’t imagine living under the shelter of a Kiva.
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Blanding has a Dinosaur Museum but we didn’t have time for that.

The state government of Utah decided to pony up the money to open their parks the day we visited Blanding so we took the road from Blanding to Natural Bridges National Monument, a 30 to 40-minute drive through high desert. A sign on the Visitors Center said “Welcome back” but it was not open. The park, however, was open.
Entrance to Natural Bridges Entrance to Natural Bridges
Can you see the natural bridbe? Can you see the natural bridge?

There is a nine-mile drive with overlooks, so the Park makes it very convenient to see a lot from your automobile. But to really experience the Park, hiking the trails to the bridges, along the canyon bottom and on the Mesa tops is the ideal way to explore.

 

Overlooking a natural bridge

Overlooking a natural bridge

We did run into a friendly group of young people from Holland at Natural Bridges that were trying to help a hiker who had sprained her ankle at the bottom of the canyon. The Holland group did not know the sprained-ankle girl but were asking us if we had tape to bind her ankle and were going to hike down with the tape. Bill found an old, mangled box of tape in the bottom of his first aid kit and we sent it along. As we were leaving, the sprained-ankle girl emerged hopping on one foot, holding onto to several hikers and the Holland hiker returned our tape. I thought the Holland group was very thoughtful to stop their hike to help a stranger. The Hollanders were on a visit to see the National Parks but didn’t complain about not getting to see them. Instead, they told us about all the places they had been able to visit instead. It sure does make your day to run into positive, thoughtful friendly people.

View of valley prior to Natural Bridges View of valley prior to Natural Bridges

Pass in the rocks, highway to Natural Bridges

Pass in the rocks, highway to Natural Bridges