Not So Short Travel Day and Meeting Fellow Ontarians.

Our Location today is Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Arizona, U.S.A.

Even though we mentioned in last night’s Blog that today was Veterans Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in Canada it is also Acknowledged in many other Allied Nations that had joined together as one to be certain we can all live our lives in Freedom. Kathy and I would again like to Thank all Veterans for the Sacrifices they made at keeping us Safe. 

Since today was supposed to be a Short Travel Day so we didn’t get very much packed away before we went to bed last night. It paid off because we felt refreshed when we woke up at nearly 8:30 this morning. We had a lite pastry for a change along with our Coffees that we had made in our Travel Mugs. We then checked the Weather Reports before starting to close things up. We were surprised to find the outside temperature was rapidly climbing. 

Kathy washed dishes and secured everything in the Kitchen while I packed away our CPAP Machines and Made the Bed for traveling. By the time I was dressed and packing the Computers away, Kathy was upstairs getting everything in the Bathroom ready to travel. 

Wearing a Sweater when I went outside with the first load of things we carry in the Truck when traveling I was surprised that as long as I was directly in the Sunshine it was Hot. Kathy had already started closing up the Slides by the time I had our Utilities disconnected and stowed. It was a treat to be able to roll up our Heavy 50 Amp Power Cord without struggling to do so. Kathy received a return phone call from the Rio Verde RV Park in Cottonwood confirming our site we had tried reserving last night. 

It only took minutes after prepping the Truck for towing to be hooked up and everything secured. Even though checkout at the Meteor Crater RV Park is 1:00 in the afternoon we planned to stick to our usual 11:00 departures and we succeeded. 

We were on I-40 West headed to Flagstaff before 11:00 and the road surface seemed to be smooth until we hit the Flagstaff City Limits. It wasn’t as bad as the section we drove this past January but the Bumps still jarred your neck. 

Once we had connected to I-17 South we knew we were getting close to our destination. What we didn’t remember and MapQuest didn’t indicate was the Twenty Plus Miles of 6% Downhill Grades that took us through the mountains. The truck handled them we only needing a few taps on the brakes to keep its speed reasonable. We both were happy when we saw our Off-Ramp just ahead. 

We have learned to never try to set up camp anytime we are Hungry or Thirsty because you just seem to be working in circles. As soon as we reached the 89A Cut-off we saw a Wendy’s and stopped for Lunch. It was already 12:30 so our breakfast had settled and we were starting to feel hungry. We both enjoy People Watching but today we got to listen in on memories of Highschool Days being shared between some men who attended classes back in 1949. It was funny how they couldn’t grasp how these young folks today are making a living working on Computers instead of learning a Trade. (It’s a changing World we now live in.) 

Leaving the Wendy’s parking lot, the only direction you could drive was East back across I-17. We were looking for a parking lot to turn around in so we could head back West. To our surprise we were both happy to see a Round-About. We both despise those things but today we actually appreciated it. It was like making a Legal U-Turn and we were soon headed back in the direction of Cottonwood. 

Up to this point all our driving directions had been notes that Kathy had made but she had also been running our GPS on silent mode and for a change it was agreeing with her notes. She then started following the instructions printed at the top of the screen that indicated our destination was Fifteen Miles ahead. By the time we had driven Fifteen Miles we had seen lots of beautiful red rock formations and were in Sedona. Not the place you want to be pulling a large Trailer. At this point the GPS went into a recalculating mode and told us we had arrived at our destination. We were parked on a Side-Street in a residential district. 

A quick call to Rio Verde RV Park in Cottonwood verified that they were not in Sedona and we had driven right past them. The trip from Sedona to Cottonwood was not as scenic as the Sun was now causing lots of shadow on the Mountainsides. 

Following only the Verbal Directions we had been given over the phone, we nearly missed the entrance to the RV Park but arrived by 3:00. We went in and the woman at the desk suggested we get setup then come back to register. The laneways through the Park were narrow tree lined tracks that were filled with potholes. It took some wiggling to get in the site that resembled their roads. Problem was it was far from level and we couldn’t open any of our slides because of all the tree branches. 

Not having any other sites available she gave us the names of a few other RV Parks in the area. One was back out on I-17 far away from everything we wanted to see. Another’s Voice Mail was full but we Lucked Out. After another call, we were driving through Cottonwood to the Dead Horse State Park. Being this is a Saturday and they are very full we ended up in Overflow for tonight. We’ll move to a Water Electric Site tomorrow that we can stay until we leave next weekend. Tonight’s site is a Back-in that has a Paved Pad, Picnic Table, Fire Ring and Charcoal Grill.

Counting the extra miles to Sedona and back we towed 141.6 Miles today and are very happy with our site. We even met fellow Ontarians Ken and Shirley from Collingwood. It’s their first trip to the southwest. We also met Gerry and Pat from B.C. who have been coming this way for years.

After we get relocated we’ll be starting New Adventures that Kathy found while researching On-Line. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.
Today's Pictures 
Taken By Kathy.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You've been involved in a fistfight at your child's field day.