Arizona City, Arizona

Arizona City AZ
32.77°N 111.67°W (Elev. 1499 ft.)

       When last I wrote I was heading out for Desert View campground which was twenty-five miles East of Mather campgrounds which is where I drove towards early on my third morning of being at Grand Canyon National Park. 

        I arrived at the campground around 0900 and found the perfect shaded site and went up to pay for the next two nights, only to find a machine as my pay agent.  I followed the instructions on the machine with the voice prompting me along until I wished to pay $25 for a $24 stay (I did not have any ones so I put in a five dollar bill) and the machine went on tilt.  Shoved my fiver back at me in the most rejected way and repeated doing so, over and over again, (as I continued to insist it take my damn money) “That amount is unacceptable.  Please pay the correct amount.”  After my third attempt the machine informed me I had run out of time leaving me staring at this huge box that refused my five dollars but kept my original $20.
        Not overly dismayed at some modern technology, I jumped on my bike and rode the half mile back UP the hill to the gas station to get some help.  What I really needed by the time I arrived there was oxygen, and lots of it, as going uphill at 7000 feet really zapped the hell out of my lungs and gave me one hell of a cardio workout. 
       The attendant gave me change for my five dollar bill as he called the Ranger who met me DOWN at the campground and to my embarrassment I had been trying to not only feed the machine extra money in which it does not give change but, I had been trying to occupy someone else’s campsite. 
       The Ranger was very nice as he helped me find an appropriate site that was vacant and left me there while shaking his head at my multiply mishaps.  I laughed at myself as I began setting up my campsite in Unit 47 and settling down into the cheapest campsite I had yet to find in Arizona at only $12 a night. The site was full of Jaspers that filled the camp with shade for most of the day, which is always a goal when I pick a site but, this time I was woefully wrong on needing all that shade as I would find out over the next two days of camping there, as the winds howled twenty-four hours a day with gust up to 25 miles per hour. 
       In the meantime, I would never let a little wind get me down so I headed off on my bike and rode over to the Watchtower lookout and repeated my steps up the tall tower built in 1933 and took pictures of the same artifacts I had taken pictures of in January when my family and I were hanging out, trying this time to get them in focus and clear, whereas last time a lot of them were out of focus or just had the shaky hand syndrome.
        I spent the next day and a half being blown around the campsite that even Herbette complained enough that at one point I had to put her inside of the van to keep her from being blown off of her perch.  By the time it came for me to add more money to the talking machine by the restrooms or to decide to move on to somewhere else, I chose to head out because the wind had finally gotten me down, making everything about Desert View seem like a battle, instead of a vacation.

       I made sure I showed the Grand Canyon to Herbette, who was less than impressed with the huge hole in the ground with the magnificent colors, so I took her picture and we drove southeast towards Flagstaff.
       Once I was in Flag (as the locals call it) I fueled up and began heading south on Interstate 17 with a goal of going to a fancy RV place complete with pool and all the amenities in a little town called Camp Verde approximately sixty miles away. 
       As I drove south I watched the temperature rise in the cab of the van even though I had both windows down, the heat overwhelming me the further I went.  I was pleased to see the exit finally appear and pulled off the interstate turning right as the sign indicated the direction of the RV Park. 
        The park sat directly off of the freeway and had trees less than five feet in height, the spaces in the park filled with the huge diesel motorhomes that each had their own air conditioning units atop of their semi-truck sized rigs with their expanding awnings, given them cool air and shade.  I on the other hand have no awning nor air conditioning causing me to turn right back around and followed the signs for Montezuma’s Castle National Park that was on the opposite side of the freeway on the very same exit.
       To my amazement I found a parking space at the monument that was partially shaded.  I put Herbette into the back of the van which was already at 95 degrees and quickly walked up to the information center only to find out that it was a $5 entrance fee and you stared out of a window onto the ancient Native American ruins and that there was a line to get inside. 
       I turned right back around, going to my van, putting Herbette in the front seat and away we drove, the heat causing me great concern for my little bird.  I snapped a couple of pictures from the parking lot and pulled out of the canyon area, glad for the hot breeze that circulated as I accelerated up the road towards the main interstate.
       I continued south on I-17 for another two exits before heading west again on highway 89 taking me into a city called Cottonwood which is the hub of all the major shopping stores for the Sedona valley area.  Every major named store is there from hardware to groceries, from phones to plumbing, this place is packed with store after restaurant, after store and through all of it I remembered I had looked up a few of the RV parks that advertised monthly rates.
      I found three out of the five parks and was quickly educated as to why they had such cheap monthly rates; they were ‘dives’ in the RV world.  There was an abundant amount of shady trees in all of the parks as well as people.  There was not one of those places I felt I could trust that my things would not only be stolen but, that I myself could be in danger there as well.
       Unsure of what I really wanted to do I drove north on 89A and found myself in the heart of Sedona twenty-five miles away, the vortex sucking me back there once more.  I added up the miles I had spent getting from Flag to Cottonwood and back again to Sedona and realized that the Interstate was a much longer route around the valley than was the side highway of 89A that took me up Oak Creek Canyon and back to Flagstaff, which is what I did.
        I arrived back at Flagstaff five hours later and over a hundred and thirty miles later, where I finally checking into a chain hotel on the east side of town.  Another mindless move that did not go as well as I had hoped.
        I used a coupon from a local magazine and got the room for fairly cheap, happy that although they don’t take pets, they did accept Herbette.  I went into the room with anticipation of escaping the heat only to find that the air conditioning unit was not even on and the room was about fifteen degrees hotter than outside.  I turned the wall gauge onto high fan and the coolest temps I could find and stared at the grate along the ceiling praying for a blast of cold air.  There was none.
        I called the front desk and they sent the maintenance man into the room where he reached up putting his hand next to the vent and said that it was running just fine as a trickle of air came out.  He mentioned it was a water cooled system and the water was turned onto fifty degrees but that he could turn it down to forty.  After he left the room took another two and half hours to cool down.
        Once the room felt cool enough I was not fanning myself and grumbling loudly I decided I could handle a shower and proceeded to unload my shower supplies into the tub area and to take my shower.  When stepping in I noted there were no skid guards on the floor of the tub and reminded myself to be careful, only to slip once the shampoo was in my hair, causing me to strain my right leg and hip as I corrected my slipping foot, trying not to fall while realizing I did not have a hand rail to catch me even if I were to fall.
        Carefully finishing my shower I knew right away I had hurt myself when I slipping as my right leg and hip were burning and aching as I exited the tub.  I carefully dried and dressed myself before going out to the front desk where I asked for an accident form to fill out after explaining what had just occurred.
        The Clerk offered to call me an ambulance and I explained I was not injured that badly but that I was sore and hurt and wanted the incident recorded.  He handed me a blank piece of paper and I proceeded to fill it out with what had occurred before handing it back to the Clerk and asking for a copy of the paper, which he photocopied and handed me the copied version.  The maintenance man was standing at the counter as I made my complaint so he told me he had a box of skid guards for the tubs and he would bring some down and apply them to the tub.  I said the tub was still wet and maybe he could do it in the morning upon which he agreed would be better as he was getting off of work right then and the tub needed to be dry to apply them.  The hotel clerk apologized again and I hobbled off to the local restaurant where I had a burger and onion rings.
         The evening air outside was dropping quickly as I returned to my room so I turned the air conditioning off and settled in for an evening of television.  Around 10PM I decided the room was now too cool as the outside temps were dropping down into the forties so I turned on the ‘heat’ part of the control panel and waited for the warm air to flow.
       After a half an hour of cool air coming through the unit I called the front desk and was told by a woman that only air conditioning was available through the hotels’ system but, they issued heaters for those who were cold and that one would be brought to my room right away.  Within moments a knock came at the door as the desk clerk delivered a space heater to me.  Surprised by this, I plugged the unit in and tested the it in case I knocked it over, which it did turn off once the base was completely off of the floor.  Thankful for the warmth I used it while I was awake and turned it off during the night as it was noisy and I knew it would wake me every time it would turn on. 
         The following day (I paid for two nights) I decided to swim while I did my laundry so I put on my suit, grabbed my dirty clothes and headed down to the laundry room where I put in my two dollars’ worth of quarters and proceeded to go out to the swimming pool.  To my surprise the pool was drained half way down and the gate had a padlock on it.
         I walked to the front desk and asked if the pool was being cleaned and was told that as of that morning the pool was now closed.  I questioned why they would close the pool on a seventy five degree day, on a Saturday, and was again apologized to and given an eleven dollar and fifteen cent refund on my hotel room for the night.  Shaking my head I just walked away thinking how sorry I was I had checked into this hotel as the pool was one of my main reasons for even pulling into their parking lot. 
         Discouraged I went back down the long hallway to the laundry room to switch over my clothes only to find they were gone from the machine and now the machine was running with someone else’s clothes in it.  Dropping my head in disbelief and shaking it back and forth a young hotel employee came up and asked if he could help me so I told him someone took my laundry.
        Just then another employee came walking up carrying a large black garbage bag and handed it to me explaining that one of the washers was out of order so he (an employee) had taken my clothes out and bagged them for me so the other guest could use the washer.       
        I took the bag and verified it was my clothes before putting them into the dryer, paid the dollar in quarters and stepped back out into the hall wondering what more could possibly go wrong.
        I wandered down the hallway and found the Jacuzzi room with a large sized tub that looked inviting after all of the weirdness going on.  I adjusted the gauges on the wall so the jets were working and boy did they work; the whole pool became alive with the force of the water jets to the point the entire decking around the tub instantly became soaked as the water shot up and out of the pool.  Laughing I crawled into the bubbling tub only to find the force of the jets overwhelmingly rough and not therapeutic at all.  Relief came when the timer ran out on the jets and the water became calm and soothing.
        A gentleman came into the Jacuzzi room and questioned whether the jets worked and I laughed as I said only seeing would make him believe so, he turned on the jets and I moved to a ‘safe zone’ and laughed as he got into the Jacuzzi and found out for himself how ‘non-relaxing’ the jets really were.
       When the timer ran out on the jet system again, the gentleman did not go and start it up again, instead we talked about general things like the drought and apples.  He was from Indiana and he began telling me about the prices of apples he purchases along his ‘trips’ and that the drought ridden states are charging up to $21 a bushel whereas in other parts of the state he found them as low as $13 a bushel. 
       I was smiling when I asked him what he does with all of these ‘bushels’ of apples upon which he told me his Aunt was the apple cooker in the family and that she bakes and cooks all types of apples he brings from all over the country when he travels.  He also mentioned he himself kept a ‘peck or two’ for his own personal eating as he loved the taste of apples.
       After my soak and conversation with the pleasant gentleman I went and checked on my laundry only to find that although it was still in the machine, they were still too wet to take out and so I had to feed the machine another dollar, cleaned the lint screen and walked back to my room to get my van keys so I could go out and get some dry clothes to put on instead of my wet bathing suit.
       The next time I went to the laundry room my clothes were 95% dry (my jeans and two cotton shirts were still damp) and I was pleased I would not have to spend another dollar on the laundry service as four dollars seemed expensive for a single load of laundry. 
       Just goes to show you pay laundry machines must be a good business to be in because if you were to put three or four dollars towards your laundry at home, each time you did a load (take away a dollar for water and electricity), imagine the vacation you could take within a single year…good money I am telling you.
        During that day as I came and went I kept checking the tub to see if the maintenance man had been in yet or not.  When we had talked the evening before I had mentioned Herbette and how I was concerned he didn’t scare her coming and going and he told me his partner raised birds and that he was very comfortable around them. The rest of the night went undisturbed by incidents or people.
         The following morning I thought I might stay another day as the weather outside was still blowing (three days later) and I had not made a decision as to where I would head out to next.  I thought about taking another shower before I left, changed my mind because the maintenance man never did show up to put down the skid guards, so instead I began packing up my things as I still was undecided as to what to do.  I disconnected the heater from the only available plug near the bed, as I needed to plug the light back in so I could see better, when suddenly I was shocked by the lamp cord when I plugged it in.
        This upset me greatly as I got dressed and went to the front desk and reported the ‘shocking’ experience and the fact the tub was still not done.  The woman apologized profoundly for the electrical cord and said the reason the tub had not been done was due to my ‘do not disturb’ sign that hung on the handle of the door.  I shook my head as I had put the sign out once while I had been taking a nap so I obviously had missed my opportunity.  The clerk said she would send the maintenance man over immediately and have both issues taken care of. 
        I never did see the maintenance man during the rest of my stay which became a third night when the hotel offered it to me free of charge for all of my inconveniences.  I stayed mainly in my room on the third day hiding out and trying to figure out my next step along my journey. 
        I was on the internet and looking at my FB page when my sister-in-law wrote on a message; “you can stay at our place in Arizona City…it’s just sitting there.” I stared at the message and then thought about the message and then wondered if it was sent by ‘the flow’ as I had not considered hanging at my brothers’ home down south until next month when I am supposed to hook up with the whole clan of siblings and share Thanksgiving. 
        I called my brother and we talked; “yeah sure, the place is empty and it would be good to come down there and not have to do all this stuff.” He gave me a list of things I would need to know and what to do to get the place up and running for day to day living as the house is completely shut down during the six months they are in Alaska.  Writing as much as I could while he talked, setting it up for me to go to his place and three phone calls later, it was set up and a done deal; I was driving to Arizona City in the morning and staying at Casa Thibodeau.
         The following morning I cautiously took a shower as the tub was still ‘skid guard’ free with no hand rails, somehow or another I did slip again, although only slightly and of course it made my leg and hip hurt all over again.  Cursing at myself for being careless and at the hotel for not having safe standards, I carefully exited the ‘slip tub’ area and proceeded to pack up my things.  
         I was not shocked by the light cord as I had disconnected the clock when I needed the heater again, and when the room was finished being cleared of all of my things I sadly shook my head at the many mishaps I really had had in the room, wondering if I had been too long on the road with camping to be able to safely live indoors again.  With a chuckle I closed the door on the room and left the hotel without even mentioning slipping once again.
         I grabbed a quick breakfast and determined I had gas enough to aim towards Phoenix,  I drove onto I-17 southbound again, retracing my steps from four days earlier determined that this time I would not get stuck in the vortex of Sedona.
         I had a half a mind to stop and try to find an old RV park I lived in as a child, the first one we ever stayed at when we arrived in 1971 and the temperature on the flashing bank sign across the highway read it was 118 degrees.  My stepfather parked the trailer in our space at the RV Park and drove off in the truck only to return an hour later with a swamp cooler, which he put on the trailer before dusk that evening, cooling the trailer down enough to finally fall asleep in.
         As I continued south on the highway the road dropped in elevation from 7000 feet down to 2000 feet when I finally saw the exit I believed my childhoood place was on.  I needed gas and pulled into the station to put forty dollars into Matilda when the attendant began a conversation with me about Washington State and how he had a bunch of family up there and that he grew up on Mercer Island.  By the time I had pumped the gas, purchased two cold drinks and got back in the cab of the van the temp inside was 110 degrees. 
          I stared at Herbette who was sucking down water and shook my head deciding that now was not the time to be driving around looking for old haunts in a place that had overgrown with the memories I had, as I looked around at the shopping centers and streets filled with urban city life, not the desert flats that were yet undeveloped forty-one years ago.
          I pulled back onto the interstate and drove the additional seventy-five miles past Phoenix and Casa Grande to arrive at Arizona City, half way between Tucson and Phoenix, finding the stucco home of my brothers amid all the other homes in the development.
        Pulling up into his shaded driveway I turned Matilda off and stared at Herbette before finally opening my door and stepping out and looking around.  I had fallen in love with my brother’s place when I came down from Seattle in January to celebrate my 50^th birthday and enjoyed calling it Casa Thibodeau when I made my slideshow movie of my journey, but to be standing outside of it without him or my sister (in-law and my heart) the place seemed empty.
        I was struggling with my new phone trying to reach a friend of my brothers who was to come over and let me inside so instead I called my brother who talked me through a few of the major reconnections of the house, water and the security system until I was finally able to reach their friend who came over and let me in and past the security alarm. When she left, the place just echoed of emptiness.
       I spent the next couple of hours getting the place uncovered from its plastic capes and vacuumed, plugged in that which was unplugged, and swept up the huge amount of dead crickets in the garage and on the walkways. 
      I proceeded to spend the next couple of days putting out the patio furniture that had been stored inside of the garage (with the exception of a large glass table) and I have sprayed down weed killer on the unwanted plant life creeping along the manicured landscaping, hoping that when my family does finally get here, the only thing left for them to get set up and running for the season is; the hot tub.
      You have no idea how hard it is to not be able to use that hot tub as hot tubs are right up there with hot springs and Jacuzzi’s as a favorite, but after all the open hospitality my brother is showing me, I will have patience until they get here in eleven days (and counting) before indulging in a private soak.
        Well, I am caught up and ready to post again…I hope all is well with those who do read these ramblings.
        Until we meet again ‘Traveling Thru The Tonda Zone!’

          ~Peace~

PS: Found this inside of the house...how sad :(

 

         

         

 

 

I stubbed my toe and was courted by an Elk

N:36.04798 W:112.11990  Elevation: 7000

   I am sitting at the Mather Campground at the Grand Canyon National Park, surrounded by wild elk with this one male who is constantly calling on the other females and marking his territory (rubbing his antlers on the trees).  He has a seven points on his rack and he is huge.   I shot some video of him and he is very handsome.

          Speaking of attractive, I saw the most unattractive moment when a raven was carrying a dead chipmunk in its beak, looking for a place to hide it from his other raven buddies.   I thought raven were like the crow and only ate dead things they found, not hunted.  Now I do not know for sure that the raven hunted it but the limp body of the chipmunk let me know it was a fresh kill.

          I saw all of this after a wonderful mid-morning of taking the free bus system through the park that took me to places I had never been before on the Canyon Rim.  I saw viewpoints that cover the western and northern edge of the Canyon, whereas during my January trip to Grand Canyon, we mostly followed the mid to south rims.

          I decided to come to the Grand Canyon after I had a dream a few days ago, one that told me ‘he’ was lost at the Grand Canyon.  Then after I decided I needed to be on the ‘Blue’ line bus, I was going to meet ‘him’, whoever he was, but that was a dead end dream as I did get on the ‘Blue’ bus and although there was one man my age equipped with camera and hiking clothes who sat across from me, nothing happened the whole trip except the fact I took some awesome pictures and had a nice time being away from camp.
         See, I was in a conundrum as to what to do with Herbette.  The temps are around 75 today but to leave her locked in my van where I would need to protect my computer and my gun, she would have been dying of the heat.  To leave her on the picnic table would mean she would have been in bright sun for about two hours, again not an ideal situation for my little girl.  As it turns out I used a scrub oak Juniper and hung her from the lowest branch and locked her doors with clamps so others critters could not get in, nor could she get out.  Feeling she was cool enough in the shade of the scrub Juniper  brush and the ongoing breeze, I left on the free bus outside of the campground and did about a three hour tour of the west side of the Grand Canyon Rim.
        Returning back to the campground I proceeded to chow down on a turkey breast sandwich and left over soup from last night’s dinner and a wonderful beer that a friend from Ewok Village gave me made by his friend Ruth McGowan’s at her Brewpub in Cloverdale, CA.   Although, more of an IPA that I like, for a warm afternoon at the Grand Canyon, it was a wonderful tasting addition to the turkey sandwich and soup. 
       I have done a lot of walking today and bike riding…both of which took away my breath for short periods of time as this 7000 foot elevation takes its toll on these old lungs.  Although, when the breeze blows and the air is crisp, on this warm October day, it truly does feel good to have this scenario as my current living space.
       There are a few things I have noticed being here at the Canyon that set it aside from most places I have been camping at.  Other than the wild elk that have been close enough to pet, most of the people at the Canyon are RV or Van renters.  There are a couple of large van company’s through California that rent out the van with the logo “everything, including the sink”, while other people are renting from the major RV rental companies.  I have seen maybe two civilian cars other than my own while seeing many more rentals than personal owned RV’s or camper homes as well.  I am surrounded by the ‘corporate campers’ of America. 
         Next I have notice that not many ‘Americans’ are coming to the Canyon, as most of my conversations are with people from European or Asian cultures, filling not only the bus with an International spectrum, but the general conversations within the campground also.       
         Across from my space are a German couple with her sister, next door to me are a French couple who have been entertaining to me as the gentleman last night, strung a synching strap between two trees and proceeded to perform an acrobatic show of balance and precision that would rival any circus performer out there.  Behind my camp is an Asian group that laughs a lot, despite the fact I have no idea what it is they laugh about, and many people who ride by on their bikes talking in languages I have not a clue as to what they are saying or where they are from.

          How did I end up in the Grand Canyon from Sedona a few days ago?  I did a complete ‘Tondazone’ moment when I believed I was going to see David Wilcock and have a meet and greet with the man.  Joke on me, the event is one month away, at the end of October, where I will need to repeat the same steps I took this past weekend; pay extra to stay in town, pay for a pet sitter, and then spend the twelve hours in the lecture hoping to show David the alien picture I have.  What picture, you may be asking, as I have never brought this up in this blog before.  Well, back in October of 2011 a friend came over to my home in Maple Leaf and took an odd exposure of my home.  The exposure is one that his new expensive camera does by taking three shots within a short time frame, combines all three light phases together to give an all-true color spectrum depicted at the time of the shot.  All was great until I saw that reflected back through the window of the picture, is an Alien woman with a small child looking over her shoulder, both caught in a three-dimensional time frame of a parallel moment, showing them in great detail, including a floral shirt, pointed ears, and green pigmentation of the skin.  I am pretty sure David Wilcock will be interested in the photo as it confirms his belief in the parallel world and three dimensional time configurations, I think he will want a copy of the picture and hopefully in kind, will introduce me to like-minded souls who will share ideas and concepts with me. 

        This is to be a year of collective conscience levels rising to an all-time peak that should begin the changing of the planets overall negative to a more positive and hopeful outlook that has not been seen on this planet since before around 2500 B.C. 
       It would be awesome for the planet to remember its past so it could rectify and build a better future for the Humans who live upon Mother Earth.  Just the internet alone has pushed millions into the realization that we are a united world with general needs to be met and that there are many still today who lack the essentials of food and clean water, and that as a ‘whole’ we do have the opportunity to change this situation and start caring for the planet as ‘one’. Instead of individual needs, the need of ‘All’ will be seen, heard, understood, and remedied so that the future generations will be able to concentrate their collective energy on educating the masses with a more ‘Macro’ point of view. 
        In the meantime, the world of tourist seems to be gathering here at the Rim of the Grand Canyon and I feel the desire to become as one with all who walk this planet, not only in one of the most prestigious parks in the world, but in everyday life, in everyday places.

        I will be heading out of this campground and heading to the Desert View campground on the southern Rim of the Canyon and have a night or two there before I start heading further southeast towards San Carlos.  After all, the southeast sections of the state are still heating up to the 90’s while I am so comfortable in the mid-seventies that I have a hard time picturing me leaving such a beautiful place as this.
      I had an incident after writing this and need to add all the excitement for anyone paying a bit of attention to this blog. 
       On the way up to the Canyon I had stopped at the store along the way and somehow, even with my sandals that only allow four out five toes to show, I managed to slam my little toe on my left foot and tore the whole toenail off of it.  Now, I thought it would be fun to take a picture of the bandaged toe when suddenly through the trees came the male Elk stomping through my camp stopping long enough to ‘bellow’ at me with his mating call.  Having camera in hand I snapped pictures until he continued to come towards me while I was still sitting in my chair so I lowered my eyes and looked away, he turned at the table and continued on past me, going away into the trees. He gave me quite the scare as I thought he was going to attack me as I sat there snapping pictures of him.  That is the closest to an animal that big since the Moose incident when I was eleven and if it was the last, it would make me feel better.
         Well, off to get ready for sunset and for the cool evening it will be. 

          Until I write again, hope you have enjoyed ‘Traveling Thru The Tonda Zone!”…

          ~Peace~