End of week 21, April 25, 2009

Week 21 begin April 19, 2009

Wow! What a week. Another adventure. Took a “Hot Air Balloon” ride out of Sedona. A perfect day, rising at 5:00am for a 5:40 pick up to the site for a 6:00am lift off. Perfectly blue sky with a soft breeze. Generally do early morning rides due to much more stable air. Once there, assisted a bit with filling the balloon, first with a large fan, then the “fire jets”. Green light to jump in the basket, then off we were. Absolutely amazing! Climbed to 6,900 ft (starting at 4,000) then dropped several times into canyons to tree height in hopes of viewing wild life. And we did! A herd of elk, mule deer, a coyote, and one group saw a pack of Javelina. It was awesome. Flew from Sedona towards Cottonwood, speed around 9 mph. Flew over one of John McCain’s Page Springs Corneville, AZ retreat home. This is where he and Palin planned their presidential run strategy we were told. Our concern of course was not lift off but rather “landing”. Well, it was a gentle lowering of altitude, (not any directional control except finding different wind troughs) communicating with the chasing vehicle, picking a good landing site, and then go for it. Well, these guys do this every day, so pretty routine, but winds can do funny things. When the basket hits the ground there is a forward thrust and tipping motion, sometimes actually tips over. But today, a couple of forward thrust bumps and then to a full stop, chaser catching up to help stabilize the basket. Once stable, green light to get out of basket. Crew drops balloon and begins the packing process. Bob helped a bit. Then we drove to a site meeting four other balloon teams for a “Champagne breakfast”. Fun! Got a certificate for the ride. Great Time!

Rest of the week, numerous hikes, golf, and a day in Jerome, a fun old mining town and now for tourists. Also took a nature hike in Red Rock State Park advertised as 1-1/2 hrs but our tour guide was a retired geology teacher and enjoyed our group so much that we were out 4 hrs, nobody really objected. Hiked us up to a state park mansion owned by former TWA executive Jack Fry, and through divorce passed to his ex-wife marrying a Vanderbilt. Interesting story of the 1947 era, at any rate, eventually donated to the state for the park, along with some 700 acres. Beautiful spot. Of Course Shari very much enjoyed all the desert flowers and narrative about all the other plant life.

Friday took a rode trip recommended by the visitors center. About a 20 mile round trip from dry creek through Boynton Pass. Gravel road but not too bad. Beautiful scenery. Stopped at a national ruins site, “Palatki”, observing 1,000AD dwellings and pictographs. Tour guides did a great job explaining. Evening went to Elks for Friday night fish, arriving learning tonight was steak night. Well, for ten bucks each, we got a very good NY strip steak, huge baked potato, sweet potato fries, salad, roll, desert, coffee. Not bad! Afterwards, we stopped at Sedona’s local micro brewery offering their famous “Oak Creek Beer”, discount coupon and free entertainment. Well, the entertainment was interesting. Outside patio had an open pit bonfire with all sorts of interesting characters. Live band playing inside. Understand, Sedona does have some “free spirited” locals, almost like “tree huggers”. Had a beer and enjoyed observing the locals rolling their own cigarettes, free massages, and interesting conversations. Toothless and Jesus looking characters.

There is so much to do and see in Sedona, after two weeks we only scratched the surface.

Overwhelming geology and scenery. We will have to return.

Saturday finalizing our plans to head for home. Looks like we will head through New Mexico towards Kansas City then up to Albert Lea, MN to home, current schedule back by April 30^th.

See ya soon!

End of week 21, April 25, 2009

Week 20- end April 18, 2009

Week 20 – Begin Sunday April 12, 2009

Pulled out of Page Springs RV park around 10:00am, arriving at Sedona Pines around 11:00am. Registration advised site not ready, so parked rig and walked the park, found our site was in fact open, so back to registration and got approval to pull in. Very nice spot, actually the best in the resort. Water pond with a babbling brook in front of us and a great view of Sedona Mnts behind us. So much to do here in Sedona.

Weather turned cold for the week, snow in the mountains. So numerous sightseeing road trips. Found a favorite breakfast place recommended by our RV friends Mike & Mary Jo, “The Coffee Pot”, a must stop if visiting Sedona. Checked out jeep trips and balloon rides. Friday hiked the lower Red Rock Loop Trail, stopping for a sandwich lunch half way. Got taxes filed with an extension, not due to our travel but waiting on a Sch K-1.

Saturday we took a Jeep trip into the Oak Creek Canyon. Safari Jeep Tours. Our guide, nickname “Diggy”, was very entertaining. Academic background in geology and renewable resources, was very knowledgeable about the area geology, plant life, and history. Spectacular views of the red rocks along the Mogollon Rim, climbing some 2,000 feet along a narrow rough jeep trail. Beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. Trip was about two hours and well worth it. We have more pictures than you can imagine of Sedona, obviously one of the most photographed areas of the country. Everybody has “naming rights” to all the rock formations, including the famous “Snoopy” and side kick “Lucy”. Fun Trip!

End of week 20 – April 18, 2009

Week nineteen 4/11/09

Week 19 – 4/5-4/11

Bob feeling better but still weak. Monday preparing to depart Casa Grande to Sedona, the last leg of our southwest winter trip. Left park early Tues AM heading towards Mesa, AZ, an appointment to install our tow bar and face plate on the Honda at Cliff’s Welding. Arrived at 8:30am, ready for us, but felt job may take 6 hrs to complete. Last thing to do was to tie the coach to the car with lights and the air brakes, so coach available to use, so after breakfast we went to “Superstition Mall”, huge! Two stories. Wasted a couple of hours. Back to Cliff’s and learned won’t be ready till 5PM, so they offered us to overnight there in the coach and check the systems out in the AM.

Checked out all systems early Wed 4/8, very happy with service and products. Great people to work with. Off about 9 AM, vehicle in tow, heading for the Sedona area, but first a 4 night stay at Page Springs RV Park in Cornville, AZ. A bit of a challenging driving, ie; new coach and tow, Phoenix traffic out of Mesa, then mountain country into Yavapai County. Our RV Park snakes to 3300 ft. with a bit of a challenging entrance. Detached car just outside park, drove in to check out and register. Got in under ROD, so no charge for four nights. Park situated right on “Oak Creek”, same creek out of Sedona’s Oak Creek Village. Very pretty setting right on the water, but the park is a little tight. Got a site with ample room, and neighbor moved car to ease my parking. Got in perfect first try, no dings. Yhea! Once settled, we headed into Cottonwood for a late lunch. Settled into the “Tavern Grille” in Old Town. Awesome burger and Italian Wedding soup. Last year we were there we were there with Shari’s cousin Tom and wife Charolette. Miss them this year. Walked Old Town after lunch. Back to RV to settle in for the evening in this beautiful setting.

Thurs & Friday 4/9 & 10 we spent time in Sedona. Checked out our RV park at the Sedona Pines Time Share. Very nice spot reserved for us. Then downtown Sedona walked the shopping area. Very busy considering the economy, but then it is Easter week break, so lots of families. Friday we decided to hike the Wilson Canyon, rated “easy”, 3 mile round trip. Parked near the Midgely Bridge ramada, day pass purchase required. The trail was great, following the canyon river bed to the top. At the top the view was great! A little more difficult hike, caution required for loose rock. Took us about 1 hour up. Spent 30min enjoying the view and a light snack. Hike back pretty easy, mostly down hill. Friday night and Saturday Rain, kind of a steady shower. Ok cause it is the first rain day of our entire trip. Badly needed here. Watched a movie in the coach while it rained, then into town for some light shopping.

End of week 19- April 11, 2009