Friday, April 6, 2012
We have had a great couple of days with Lee in Mesa, and once again he was a great host. First power we have had on this trip, and really nice showers, and even got the laundry done! And Barney got some good time with his brother. Thank you Lee.
We didn’t do anything special while in Mesa, just warmed up and relaxed. Betty and Wilma hit the new and used book store, and got a few groceries for our continuing trip. Betty and Fred tried to watch the beginning rounds of the Masters, and were frustrated by the golf channel coverage, but did get to see some of it.
With Betty and Barney in the lead, we left Lee’s about noon our time. We got on the freeway headed out of town. About forty miles later we turned off. Fred and Wilma had to stop for a “no turn on red” light, and we temporarily lost sight of Barney and Betty, but soon saw they had turned into a gas station to fuel up before really getting on the road. The road at the turnoff had a familiar name – it must extend clear across town. But wait, the crossroad was familiar too. Oh no, we found ourselves at the gas station within a few blocks of Lee’s. We had made a 40 mile grand circle, and it was quite funny. (except maybe for the driver in the lead!) I’m not sure what really happened, but we now know how to get where we want to go from there. Let’s just hope our old brains can remember that scenario the next time we are in the same spot! We had a really good laugh about it around the campfire tonight!
We did finally make it out of the Phoenix metro area, and headed north on 17. Our first stop of the day was Montezuma’s Castle which is an ancient ruin high on a hillside. As we turned down into the monument grounds, there was a lot of traffic, and we found some not totally legitimate parking spots in a very full lot. The VC was packed, but we did get our stamps, and they had three bonus stamps, so that makes it fun. We then went down the path to the view point for the ruins. We didn’t stay long because there were so many people. It is spring break in this area. 
Back on the road, we stopped at a roadside vendor that had Indian fry bread and bought a couple of pieces. It was piping hot and very good. I had expected it to be premade and packaged, but she was frying it up as ordered. We had already decided on Taco Bell for lunch, which was just around the corner, but the Indian Tacos from this vendor would have been very tempting.
After our stop at Taco Bell, we continued on to our next stop, Tuzigoot National Monument. Tuzigoot (pronounced two-zee-goot, like “boot”) is an Indian word for crooked water. It is another ancient Indian ruin, and was discovered in a mounded hill and has been excavated. We got our stamp there, and they also had some bonus stamps. Barney and Fred went to the top of the ruins and looked around. The excavation produced a large number of artifacts, and the museum had a lot of very large pots. They were pieced back together, and I don’t think any of them were complete, but they were authentic, not reproduced. It was very interesting. I don’t think we have seen many pots that large in all the places we have visited. 
Just before leaving Tuzigoot, Betty and Barney overheard a young girl talking to her dad about our campers. She wanted to know how they got put on the truck, and why they couldn’t have something like that. Their family was in a minivan. Our two rigs look very similar, and it’s fun to watch reactions of those who see us. We see a lot of double takes.
Then when we were finally headed for Flagstaff, we took 89A through Sedona, Arizona. It is in a beautiful red rock canyon, but much too touristy for us. I suppose spring break and Easter weekend made it more busy, but there were people everywhere. Since is isn’t far from Phoenix, it is probably a nice getaway for people from that area. It is higher, so cooler. Just too many people for us to be comfortable. 
We had hoped for a Forest Service campground along the route, and the first few after leaving Sedona were full. But farther up the road we found one that had a couple spots open, so we stopped. We asked if they were going to open the last loop of spots so we could park near each other, but he wouldn’t do it until all the spots were full. Before we got fully situated, he relented and opened the other loop. We got nice spots, and enjoyed a great campfire. It was a little chilly, but so far on the trip it has been downright cold at night, and very windy. So this was very nice. Before too long, there were lots more spots taken in our loop, so he would have had to open them anyway. His wife was nice when she got us registered, but he was a grump!
We will turn in now and maybe get this posted tomorrow.
We are in Pine Flat campground between Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona, spots 39 and 41. This one was the most expensive of the trip so far, all of $9 each. I guess we are going to have to lower our tastes in campgrounds! Good night all!
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