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~

         

Back and Forth

N: 35.18761 W: 111.68940 Elevation: 7079

Woody Mountain RV and Campground, Flagstaff, AZ
          
         I awoke at 0400 and took a shower while Rancho Sedona slept; giving me the much needed cleansing I wanted.  Feeling refreshed I quickly packed up my things and headed up Highway 89A past Manzanita campground, beyond Slide Rock State Park and up the road another seven miles until I arrived at the Cave Springs campground, complete with showers, before any of the weekenders could beat me to the better spots. 
         I checked into the main store/office of the campground and was shocked to learn that showers there were $4.00 for eight minutes of hot water.  I laughed before I said I would think about it as I paid 63.00 for my three nights and one bundle of $7.00 wood I purchased.
         Driving around the 83 campsite grounds I found one that looked promising and pulled into the flat parking stall and claimed F-5 as mine.  Taking my bike off of the rack of my van I road uphill (the incline was barely noticeable to the naked eye but was physically acute as I peddled my single speed bike) to the office where I claimed my site and carefully bungee tied the bundle of wood onto the back of my bike, pleased that going back to my site I would never have to peddled once.
          Unfortunately, I did drop the wood once on the way back but, the plastic wrap held tight and I was able to secure it again to my bike, then I continued back towards my camp site.
         After I had set up my camp I explored my area and found I had a river trail that went down to Oak Creek, although here it was very shallow and it was much cooler as I was now a thousand feet in elevation higher than when I had stayed at Manzanita campground and almost 1400 higher than when I was in Sedona proper.
        The days were much cooler, as well as the night time, making me notice how the Canyon was starting to feel the effects of fall as I took pictures of the changing color of the leaves on some of the trees in my camp and I discovered that right at my camp I had a true example of a living stump like the one I saw at the Rogue River in Oregon.  I decorated it with my prayer flags and took a cute pic.
         I made a nice fire and stared at the stars until I saw the almost half full moon settling down in the West and tucked myself into bed for all of about ten minutes when my F-4 neighbors returned back from the day long journey and decided to light up the place like Cheney Stadium. 
        Without a word from me, I got out of my van and put up my front window sun shade and covered the side windows with tapestries and went back to bed, grateful that I kept my tongue and just did what was necessary to give me darkness, not repeating the bad incident I had when I stayed at Fern Bluff campground and was yelling at the people to turn off their lights. 
        On Saturday I awoke to clouds and the threat of rain but still rode my bike to the little store and bought an individual serving of cold cereal and two packages of hot chocolate, coasting back to my campsite where I had a wonderful meal of my cereal and toast with peanut butter, pineapple juice left over from my previous night of teriyaki, and a steaming cup of hot chocolate to warm me up, getting my day off to a wonderful start.
       Let me backtrack slightly.  When I was staying at the Rancho Sedona they had internet service and I had been on my Facebook page when I saw that one of my favorite inspirational lecturers’, David Wilcock, was to be in Sedona on the following Saturday, September 29^th and I was sure I wanted to go. 
        Cave Creek campground had no cell service or internet service, so after such a wonderful breakfast I packed up Herbette in the cool of the cloudy morning and drove the twelve miles back to Sedona where I planned on calling various places to put my plans into working order.
       As I drove into Sedona I noticed they did not have the rain threatening clouds but instead had blue skies and hot temperatures ranging at least fifteen degrees warmer than when I left Cave Springs, causing the van cabin to heat up to ninety degrees in no time. 
        I pulled over and found that I could not get my phone to work, no matter what I did, including plugging it in and charging it, which it would not even charge.  Upset that my three month old phone had died and I had no way to contact my friends and family let alone the original business I had come into town for, plus it was also too hot to pull over into a shopping center to try to rectify getting another phone or fixing mine as now the van had heated up another ten degrees while I was sitting there trying to get the phone to start.
        I ran into the Circle K and purchased three bundles of cheaper wood and a cold drink before hitting the road back to the campground frustrated, yet adding it up to the possible vortex of the area playing tricks on me.  The worst part was I was stuck in Saturday tourist traffic as I crept my way up the highway, the heat in the cabin of the van rising to over a hundred as I drove the twelve miles to cooler temps.
         I watched for the moon on Saturday night, pleased to see it half full in an optimistic way of thinking.  Prepared for my late F-4 neighbors I battened down the window shades and curled up in bed with my book and drifted off into a gentle slumber.
         Sunday I decided to no nothing all day long and ended up doing everything I had procrastinated on since beginning my journey, the list too long to bore anyone with now, but let’s just say I felt very accomplished by the time five o’clock rolled around and I was ready to start the evening prep for sundown in an hour and a half.
         It takes a lot of work to camp on a daily basis, especially as the evening approaches, the darkness that is overwhelming, compared to the city lights, and then the wild animals that must be fended off by securing your camping area from the fiends like skunks, which are rampant in the area.  There are no raccoons, because they have skunks (?) and the coyote and bobcats stay away from the camping areas, although the campground did have posted a bear warning, it was generic for the publics’ awareness that could be in the area.  The squirrels are pretty daring also as one even came up and stole one of Herbette’s millet sprays from her play area.
         So, dinner must be made and cleaned up before five-thirty or so, then comes the putting everything in its place, from food to clean dishes to bird items.  I cover most things in tapestries like the water jug and misc. baskets I use for utensils and pans. 
         I then have to put Herbette to bed, who acts like she is solar charged and instantly begins her non-stop peeping the minute the sun goes down and that will only conclude as she is placed inside of the van and covered up in my heavy towel, especially during the cooler nights.
          I turn on my campsite lights that glow at night and then ride off to the restroom one last time before it becomes dark, returning to my camp and locking the bike up to the picnic table. I then begin the fire in plenty of time to still see around me in the camp to verify I have all things put away, ready to see the first of the stars come awake for the evening.
           Monday comes early and I pack everything up into the van as I depart Cave Springs campground with the thought I might just be back if the weather gets too hot.
          I turned left out of the driveway and headed North up 89A towards Flagstaff, hoping to miss the morning traffic and beat the heat as I drove straight up fifteen hundred feet in elevation over a two mile twisty road that has a speed limit of 20 MPH. Half an hour later I was on the top of Oak Creek Canyon at the lookout when a young girl ran up to me and offered to take my picture and I offered the same back. 
           I left the viewpoint driving towards Flagstaff, stopping at the local Denny’s restaurant where they had free internet and an ‘alright’ breakfast while I looked up places I might stay near town and finding Woody Mountain RV was actually in the trees, I decided to drive the four miles out of town and stay there. 
           The internet was in the café/store only and the laundry was two dollars a load to wash and the showers were free but had small stalls and no changing area what-so-ever.  The grounds were well kept and the natural beauty was allowed to grow around the camping and RV spaces, giving the place a very non-city feel so, I paid for two nights and spent the first night inside of my van watching internet that somehow crept through the airwaves and let me see a biography on the group Queen, although I did have streaming problems the whole time.
        It was just as well I was able to hang out in my van and watch the internet, as outside the wind howled with ten to fifteen mile an hour gusts and shook my van the whole time, the temperature dropping down into the fifties before I went to bed. 
         I had put my thermostat outside early on in the evening and when I woke the next morning it was only forty degrees outside.  Snuggling back down in my comforter I dosed off and on until the sun rose up through the trees and began to warm my van.
          I surfed the internet and sat around being lazy for the first hour of getting up, finally rising out of the van to go and take a shower and ready the van for an early morning trip up to Walnut Canyon, a place of ancient Indian ruins.
          When I pulled out of the campground at 0920 I could see and feel that it would be a lot warmer than the previous day when it had rained and winded on me so badly I had considered returning down into Oak Creek Canyon and the warmth of Sedona. 
           I drove the ten miles to Walnut Canyon via downtown Flagstaff and paid the entrance fee of $5 which is good for the next seven days; parked my van facing away from the sun, put Herbette in the interior floor and opened up one of the windows on the lee side to let the wind blow in on her.
           I went into the visitor center and read that it was 256 steps down and then the same back up, to see the ruins, but that there was a rim trail that was somewhat flat and only ¾ of a mile long, each way. I opted for the rim trail as I did not bring my water bottle and the day was already warm and I worried about Herbette and how long it would take me to get down and back again. 
          The rim trail gave me plenty of photo shoots and the crows were having such a fun time diving and floating on the strong winds along the rim, it was nice to be there with them in such a beautiful place.
         I continued back along the trail, taking a side path that lead to some ruins that they (the park service?) had yet to excavate and that road took me back to my van where I checked the temperature inside on the dash, which said it was already 90 degrees.  I decide against doing the stair journey at that time and decided to delay that for I have other plans for the area so I think I will try the stairs early on in the morning when the park opens up at 0800 and the heat hasn’t risen for the day. 
        By the time I arrived back at Woody’s the temperature had risen to eighty degrees outside and the wind had died down some, causing me to change clothes once again and settled down for some serious typing and writing.  Not the blogging kind like I am doing now, but the type of writing I set out to do once I was on the road, the type that might sell in magazines and other publications.  I spent about three hours typing until I thought my shoulders would fall off of my body and give me the much needed relief I sought.
         Taking a break was doing the load of laundry I needed cleaned and eating left over food that steamed up pretty nicely. After my chores of folding clothes and putting away all the various dishes and garbage (which I need to remember nightly to bring into the van with me to keep the critters out of it) I crawled into my van and picked the keyboard back up and began writing all over again.
          I awoke at 0530 and decided I would get an early start on the days’ journey as I decided today was the day to go to the Hopi Indian Reservation and see what all the volunteering I had signed myself up for, would really be.
          I packed up my camp and fought about twenty girls on a school field trip, for a chance at the mirror in the women’s bathroom, before I headed east on Interstate 40, seeing odd sites along the way. I came to the small town of Winslow where I turned north onto a desolate byway called highway 87 that eventually took me by the Painted Desert where I took some drive-by shootings with my camera and continued on my way, trying to beat the heat.

           All seemed well as we continued mile after mile of nothingness until suddenly I came over a rise and a cross in the road as well as construction.  I was first in line of waiting for the woman with the ‘stop’ sign to let us pass.  For over 25 minutes we sat there waiting, waiting, and waiting, with not a car in sight, nor any construction crew, just a woman with a stop sign in the middle of a cross section in a highway in the middle of nowhere, I suddenly wondered if I was in some kind of ‘Candid Camera’ moment as l just sat there, engine off, watching the temperature in the cabin of the van rise ever so slightly every five minutes until finally when the gauge hit an even one hundred, from the far rise in the road over half a mile away, came the pilot car that finally found its way to me before proceeded to lead me up and over the rise on the road until we finally passed a state highway ‘line painting’ machine and two pilot cars, and that was the end of the construction.  They were painting the lines!
           At the end of the long highway I found Second Mesa and the only school in the area, K-12, where I parked in the bright sun and I put Herbette in front of the front bumper where was some shade and a slight breeze that drifted through the overly hot paved parking lot, before I went into the new building with its air-condition office and spoke to an older woman behind the counter.  She informed me that all ‘volunteers’ were placed out of San Carlos where the main office was, and that the actual school I was standing in did not take nor need ‘outside’ volunteers.
           I quickly left the curt woman and put Herbette back in the van and drove to First Mesa where I paid three dollars to go through their small but informative museum where again I encountered a very angry and rude woman who took my three dollars but became upset with me when I asked where the Hopi got the wood they used for their long ladders into the Kiva’s.  When she said they probably came from Flagstaff, I added that they were probably the traverse poles used when they migrated during the various season.  The woman sneered at me and said, “The Spaniards brought horses with them, we have been around far longer than that.”
          So, of course I then reposed the question and just made it a statement, “It must have taken a great amount of work to bring those huge long poles from Flagstaff.” which in turn caused the woman to turn away from me and go into the back room where she shut the door. 
          I left the Hopi Indian Reservation feeling as an intruder on people who obviously resent and hate the tourist and white people, or maybe just long haired ones from Seattle, I am unsure, but I did feel glad I was not going to spending any more time there than possible.
           I drove West until I arrived in Tuba City, AZ where I filled up with gas and grabbed a quick sandwich to go, turned south on highway 89 going towards Flagstaff, trepidation in my chest as I now really had no idea where I was headed. 

           Knowing that the nights were getting colder in Flagstaff I decided to go further south back to Cave Springs campground where I paid for two nights stay and which I had the two worse fires I have had since the beginning of the trip (and that is not an easy sentence to make true), so bad in fact I ended up complaining to the campground host whereupon they refunded my $14 for the two moldy, wet bundles they dropped off at my camp site. (F-8 this time)  It burned so badly that I took a picture of the partial burnt wood and that which I did not even bother with.

          On the first evening, after the light of the day settled over the mountains I had the first of my crappy fires struggling to burn when I thought I saw movement by the opposite side of the fire where I shined my headlamp right into the face of a white and black skunk, whereas I yelped “Ewww!” loudly and it scampered off towards the river.  I then announced to my camping neighbors I had just seen a skunk and to everyone’s relief, but especially mine, it did not go in their direction nor did it spray!
            On the second night of a crappy fire I placed tea candles out in a semi-circle around my camp to ward off any critters who might want a bad fire to keep warm near.
           It might have helped but I was so disgusted with my smoldering fire I went into my van at 1915 and didn’t come out until this morning where I packed up my few belongings and drove down Oak Creek Canyon until I came to the Rancho Sedona RV Park where my I have reservations for the weekend.
           The RV Park is less than a mile from where I will be at the all day long lecture of David Wilcock tomorrow.  I found a pet sitter on line and will be taking Herbette there in the morning to drop her off until Sunday, so I don’t have to worry about her being alone at my RV site or too hot in my van.
           In the meantime, I have a shower and laundry, internet and phone service and I am in a different space this time, better option for cooler breezes and shadier trees.  All in all I am so looking forward to tomorrow, hoping it will give me a better direction than the Hopi Reservation gave me. 

           Until we meet again ‘Traveling Thru The Tonda Zone!’

                                              ~Peace~

         

                      

         

 

My First RV Park Since I Was A Kid...

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 19^th.  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 19^th, 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 9^th 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 packed early and drove back into Sedona where I had seen an RV park sign and followed it until I came to Rancho Sedona RV Park where I am now.  It includes free showers, pay laundry, river access, and Wi-Fi.  The people did not tell me when I paid for the space that it was breezeless and only partially shaded and that I would spend most of the 90 degree day in a sweat.

          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~