N: 34.5209 W: 111.4535 Elevation: 4212
Rancho Sedona RV Park: space 65
I arose
the next morning with regret I needed to move onward from my wonderful camping
spot at Lake Cataract in Williams but, I found myself shuffling my feet forward as I put
things away and was on the road before 0900, stopping in Williams for a last
minute drive-by shooting as I took pictures I missed while in town earlier.
I followed
Interstate 40 towards Flagstaff and cut off right before I reached the city
turning onto Interstate 17 southbound for all of one mile before I turned onto
Highway 89A which wound me around the canyon and did drop me down 1500 feet to
Oak Creek where I passed up three campgrounds waiting to get to Rock Slide
State Park where I was sure I would camp for the night.
As I
pulled in I became very disappointed when I realized that the park was a day
use only and the cost $10 a carload to come in.
To add injury to insult, the parking lot had not one stitch of shade or
trees with potential for shade so I quickly grabbed the map and found that I
had one more campground going south or I could go back north and check the
three I passed up for the disappointing Rock Slide, onr that I have
passed by six time in my lifetime, and was so looking forward to enjoying.
Continuing
south I drove the mile to Manzanita campground where I found that space 19 was available so I pulled up and made myself at home as I
stared at the map and wondered where I would wander to next as I really needed
a shower and some clothes washed.
Feeling too
hot to concentrate, I wandered down to the creek where I found a pool large
enough to dip down into it, so after I emptied my pockets I did a very cool dip in
the water, including getting my hair soaked.
It was cold enough to immediately take my breath away and then it felt
slightly warmer as I worked my way back up to the rocky embankment, then back to
my camp, where I changed clothes and brushed out my wet hair and felt rinsed but
not clean.
I decided
to go into the town of Sedona and get a Mexican meal as I was craving a
Margarita. I drove the five miles and
found the Mexican place where I had my celebratory birthday drink exactly 9
months previous on January 19th.
I went inside and ordered enchiladas along with a Margarita while
looking out over the beautiful red rocks that Sedona is known for. While my
waiter was very rude to me as I sat alone at a table for four during the
4PM-5PM non-rush hour, I still continued to enjoy the wonderful food and sights
as I ate and drank.
I was
staring at the Crystal Vortex Shop across the street when I remembered a dream
I had two nights previously whereas I was handling a pyramid shaped quartz
crystal. After I
finished my meal, I went across the street promising myself I would not be buying
anything as my budget could not afford an expensive crystal that a pyramid
shaped one would cost but, I broke that promise when I found one that was only $19
dollars. Now how
could I pass that up…the day was the 19th, I was in campsite #19 and
the crystal was $19 also, add to it that exactly 9 months ago to the day I was in Sedona,
and it is the 9th month currently so, I am now the proud owner of a
pyramid quartz crystal.
I drove
back to the campground and made a fire with the $7 bundle of wood I purchased
from the host and settled down for a quick evening where as soon I burned a few
pieces I felt I was tired and went to bed.
I did
knock out laundry and went down to the river and cooled off for a while, backed
up my computer and posted on my blog, got caught up on emails and spent over
two hours instant messaging my daughter and two of my friends.
I also
spent a lot of time thinking about my children who turned 31 on September 20th and how
different the twins have been since birth and how different they are to this
day. One is ever so close and the other
is ever so far away…and I am not talking distance in miles. If I thought it would help I would go to
them, but they don’t need me and only one of them wants me, so as I continue
on my southwestern journey I love them unconditionally as I always have.
I looked
up on the internet a cooler way to get to the Hopi Indian reservation without dragging Herbette
and myself through the heat of the high desert, hoping I could maybe stay at a hotel in Tuba City which is about half way there from Flagstaff but, it looks like there is not a lot in Tuba City other
than two expensive hotels, both that are booked for the weekend.
The Hopi
Reservation is too far from Flagstaff to drive there and back in one day and they too are mostly booked in their hotels
over the weekend but, Flagstaff does offer better choices of camping and cooler weather.
Now that I have showered, have my laundry clean and the internet caught up, I am thinking I will try and find camping locally here near Sedona and
set out towards the desert on Monday when things open up a little in ways of
getting past the 'weekenders' out sucking up places I could be staying.
I know I
won’t be staying here at the RV park, as this place is so hot…they have no real wind
blowing through the place, yet at Manzanita campground the wind blew most of the day
giving you the feeling you were not burning up in the 90 degree days.
I am
currently bathed in mosquitos spray because it’s still too hot to shut the door
of the van and I can’t see in the dark outside, so here I sit in my van,
wondering how long I can outlast the hot, hot days, as September winds down and
October is pushing towards me with cooler ones.
Well, I am
unsure when I will have internet again so you and I will have to wait and find
out what happens next as I am ‘Traveling Thru The Tonda Zone!”
~Peace~
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