March 14-23, 2001

Wednesday, March 14, 2001                                                    Prescott, AZ

We woke up at the Grand Canyon and moved out of the campground into a day parking area.  We then took in a wonderful four-mile hike along the Rim Trail west of the village.  The skies were perfectly clear, and we managed with just an outer layer of fleece against the wind.  The morning views were a nice change from the sunset views we absorbed yesterday.  We were discouraged from taking any of the trails into the Grand Canyon by signs saying “Crampons Required.”  Crampons are spiked attachments that attach to hiking boots for use on icy terrain.  From our hike along the Rim Trail we could see several hikers that ignored the crampon sign, and were sliding dangerously down the icy trail.

The Rim Trail connects each of the developed viewpoints with a footpath right at the edge of the rim.  With the ice and snow, the trail was occasionally too unnerving for me … one slip lasts a lifetime!  We only hiked west, then took the park shuttle back to the village.  It really worked out well.  We were also able to get away from some of the crowds around the village.

After a brief walk through the village we hopped back in the RV and pointed the hood south toward Flagstaff.  We just passed through Flagstaff as we cruised down the Oak Creek Canyon toward Sedona.  The temperature climbed all the way up to seventy in Sedona, just lovely.  We had planned to stay in Sedona and explore the town and the Red Rock area, but the Snowbirds (Seasonal RVer’s) had not yet begun their migration back north.  We couldn’t find an available campsite in town.

So we opted for plan B and moved on west back up in elevation to the town of Prescott.  The narrow twisty drive up past Jerome was a real doozy.  We ended up in a neat little campground with level spots carved out amongst the mountain boulders and trees.  After dinner we drove on into town for a little exploring.  I had ridden through Prescott on my 1993 motorcycle tour of North America.  I didn’t stay in Prescott, but the town left a strong impression that I hoped I could some day undertake to fulfill.

Prescott is steeped in history.  It was the territorial capital prior to statehood, and thus the center of life in the area.  The courthouse sits alone on a landscaped block in the center of town.  Lining the block just west of the courthouse is famed “Whiskey Row.”  In the late 1800’s, this was home to 53 different saloons.  Many included gambling and restaurants integrated with the bar.  In 1901 a tragic fire destroyed all of Whiskey Row, but some sentimental items were spared when patrons removed them from the saloons during the fire.  One famous item is the old oak back bar from The Palace, the best known of the Whiskey Row establishments.

The Palace is one of only five remaining bars that were rebuilt after the fire.  The Palace is a historical landmark of old west revelry.  Entering into the Palace compares to sitting through a history lesson or visiting a museum – except for the fact that they serve beer.  The Earps and Doc Holliday were all regulars at the Palace.  Prescott’s appeal is deeply rooted in the preservation of its living history.

Christine’s Thoughts:  It was a beautiful drive today and while so many people told us how wonderful Sedona was, I wasn’t sad to move on.  There were a lot of people in Sedona.  I really enjoyed Prescott.  After a dinner of Reuban’s and the rare treat of talking on the phone to Luma, we drove into town for a beer and enjoyed checking out a couple of the bars including the Palace.  Everyone was very friendly and I was impressed by how clean the town was.

Thursday, March 15, 2001                                                                Tempe, AZ

 We took our time getting out of Prescott this morning, getting a few errands done on our way out of town.  We hopped on the interstate south toward Phoenix and quickly took to the change in climate.  As we approached Phoenix the temperatures rose above seventy degrees and the desert came into spring bloom.  We also began seeing spreads of saguaro cactus that covered the horizon.  The change was very dramatic.  We also encountered the forgotten effect of bugs splattering on the windshield.

 We pulled into a very clean RV park right in Tempe that had a phone hook-up at our site.  This is only the second time we’ve been treated to this convenience, and it was very welcome as we aimed to finally get our website published.  Christine worked on the laundry as I strove to get a bunch of paperwork done.  After some unsuccessful attempts at getting the right information from our web site host, I finally reached a knowledgeable support person.  Hurray!!  We finally published our first web site.  We celebrated this success with a tasty dinner of pub burgers and draft beer.

 Christine’s Thoughts:  This morning as we drove around Prescott, it impressed me even more.  The town was bustling in the downtown area and around the courthouse.  All of the shops are full and there are no For Rent signs in the historic downtown, yet, they are able to support a Target and Wal-Mart on the outskirts.  It’s a rare town that can pull this off.

 Friday, March 16, 2001                                                                      Tucson, AZ

 We lingered in our Tempe campground as we read e-mails from all the people that had already visited our web site and took the time to let us know what they thought.  We then washed the RV before meeting up with old friends of Christine in Tucson.  Don and Lynette had moved here from Wisconsin where Christine had known them both.  They have two girls, Margaret and MaryAnn.  Margaret is three and a half, while MaryAnn is just three months old. 

 We parked in their neighbor’s driveway and visited at their home before beginning to explore Tucson.  We drove up to Gates Pass on the west side of town in Tucson to Mountain Park to catch the sunset.  We were gifted with a truly lovely evening for this Tucson ritual.  The setting sun created a unique glow on the mountain desert.

 Dinner tonight was Mexican, and then rest for a full day tomorrow.

 Saturday, March 17, 2001                                                                Tucson, AZ

 Day two in Tucson was a busy one.  We started off with a trip to Camping World for a couple RV supplies, then onto the San Xavier del Bac Mission.  Much work is going on to restore this old mission complex, in spite of recent acts of vandalism defacing some of the historic property.  While there we got to watch an authentic Aztec family traveling from Mexico City perform some original dances in full ceremonial dress. 

After a quick lunch of native-American fry-bread, we were off to the Pima Air & Space Museum.  We saw several interesting exhibits.  We even got to walk through the Air Force One jet used by Kennedy & Johnson.  We all agreed that this early version of Air Force Once was cramped and unglamorous.  

Later we drove through The Saguaro National Park and captured some photos of this amazing cactus.  The Saguaro is a protected plant, and there is much concern about its ability to regenerate.  It is estimated that it takes a hundred years before a saguaro will ‘arm-out.’  After which it may live another hundred years or so.  Each plant has its own distinctive features and personality.  Some grow over a dozen arms, while others get very tall.  And the saguaro is only one of many fascinating desert plants.  We lucked into seeing at least a half dozen different desert plants in spring bloom.

We ended the evening with dinner at Tucson’s microbrewery, becoming a staple event for us in each city/town with a brewery.

Christine’s Thoughts:  It has been really nice to get to see Lynnette and Don again and to get to meet the girls.  Margaret is a lively redhead and I think she enjoyed riding around in the RV, while MaryAnn is simply a darling baby girl.  Lynnette and I figure we haven’t seen each other in over 4 years and we both agree that is too long.  I enjoyed Tucson, but I am really glad we got to come during their spring.  I fear I would not like the heat of summer.  Everyone says it is different without humidity, but I think 100 is 100 and that is hot anywhere.

1) The group in front of the mission, Christine, Lynnette holding MaryAnn, Don, and in front Maggie; 2) Inside of the mission; 3) Front of the mission; 4) Indian dancers

Sunday, March 18, 2001                                                                Datil, NM

Wow, what a day.  We said so long to our Tucson hosts and hit the road around 9:30 AM toward Albuquerque.  We certainly did not take the shortest route, or the quickest.  Our 390-mile day ended in a quiet little National Forest Service campground in the middle of nowhere.

Our first detour of the day was on our way out of Tucson; we drove by the airplane graveyard that is part of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.  Half of the base land is devoted to mothballing every conceivable type of military aircraft.  The dry air here is conducive to their preservation.  It is quite a site passing miles and miles of retired aircraft.

Our next detour was a doozy as we chose to head north on the 130 miles of the Coronado Trail.  Named for Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado who sought to find the mythical Seven Cities of Cibola in 1540, in this area.  From Clifton to Springerville, this is one twisty road.  According to the book ­The Most Scenic Drives in America published by Readers Digest, the locals refer to this route as the “white-knuckle road.”  We can certainly support that handle.

The southern terminus of the trail treated us to an overwhelming site of one of then world’s largest open-pit copper mines.  The highway has actually been re-routed as they destroy one mountain and replace it with mountains of tailings and leach fields.  An off-work mine engineer pulled next to us at the mine overlook to share with us more details and statistics.  If you’ve ever watched any of the TLC or Discovery Channel specials on construction machines, you may have seen an episode on the massive earthmovers used in surface mining.  These dump trucks are massive.  The mine runs ninety of them, constantly.  They also have several water trucks that spray the truck paths to keep the dust down.  Each truck carries 35,000 gallons of water (that’s more than your cistern, Dad).  All this to remove a copper content equal to 0.6% of the earth that is moved.  While not an environmentally pleasing sight, it was however very fascinating.

The road north of there was so hilly and curvy that it was a challenge to even average twenty-five miles per hour.  Driving conditions slowly improved after the first 70 miles, but we spent well over four hours covering the mere 130 miles.  It’s hard to complain when driving through such beauty.  We would have never credited Arizona with such diverse terrain had we not driven it ourselves.  The road is so unwelcoming to through traffic that we rarely saw any other vehicles on the road.  I was not passed a single time from behind.

These San Francisco Mountains are one of the areas that wolves are being re-introduced.  We even saw one crossing the road in front of us.  It was so much larger that a coyote that Christine’s first reaction was to call it a deer.  With long gray hair it lumbered across the snow-covered meadow adjoining the road.

Once off of the Coronado Trail, we were uncertain where we would end up for the night, so we filled up our water tank and prepared for a night without hookups.  We headed east on Route 60 into New Mexico with the setting sun at our back.  The drive along the high desert pastures was lovely with the late-day light bringing out a palate of sage.

The only disappointment this Sunday evening was driving through a small populace called Pie Town, and finding all the establishments closed.  I firmly feel that if a town is going to adopt the name “Pie Town,” then it should have welcome signs lit up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, inviting everyone in off of the road for a slice of fresh-baked pie.  My disappointment was genuine, but brief.

We finally ended our longest day yet with a perfect little campsite in the Cibola National Forest.  We were treated to one of the finest views of the night sky with no moon to wash it out with light.  The dark dry desert night allowed all the heavenly bodies to gleam down with our maker’s splendor.

Christine’s Thoughts:  The area that Joe describes as the Coronado Trail was beautiful.  I have hopes of getting back there to do some hiking some day.  It would definitely be a commitment though as it is not close to any cities with airports.

I would like to comment that Arizona is not what I expected.  We moved from the Northeast corner with Monument Valley and the Indian reservations; to the Northwest corner and the splendor of the Grand Canyon; to the Central part with Flagstaff, Sedona, and Prescott, as beautiful red rock as you’ve seen anywhere; the South in Tucson, in splendor with the blooming dessert and perfect (in my book) temperatures; and to the East with mountains and forests as beautiful as any.  The variety is amazing and something not found in many states.  Snow and fir trees to desert; I am very glad we spent this time here.

Monday, March 19, 2001                                                    Albuquerque, NM

We got an early start to the day so that we could visit the NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Organization) VLA (Very Large Array) Telescope west of Socorro.  This visit was one of the reasons that we came on the road less traveled yesterday.  The VLA Telescope has been seen in a few movies, most recently “Contact” with Jodie Foster.  It is an array of twenty-seven movable dishes spread out in the shape of the letter ‘Y.’  Each leg of the letter ‘Y’ is thirteen miles long.  So there are thirty-nine miles of railroad track in place on which the dishes can travel.  The spacing between the dishes can be varied to alter the resolution captured of the item being observed.  Each dish is 82 feet in diameter and is painted white to minimize expansion caused by the heat of the sun.

The information center was mostly a commercial pleading to spread awareness that the boom in wireless communications has so crowded the radio spectrum bandwidth reserved for the observatory, that the radio signals being observed from space get lost among the jumble of earth-originating signals.

The location of the VLA is ideal for its needs.  Being at 7000 thousand feet in the high dry desert, there is less earth atmosphere to filter out the radio waves.  The high desert is very flat, and is surrounded on all sides by ridges and mountains, which deflect any terrestrial radio interference.  The location is remote which also minimizes metropolitan-based radio interference.

Picture Note:  These are all pictures of the VLA.  You will often see pictures with the RV in them, as Joe feels it is important we include the RV in pictures. 

After a thorough visit of the VLA we headed back to Albuquerque for the much-anticipated removal of Christine’s cast.  The news was again mixed as the new X-Ray showed proper healing of her broken bone, but her wrist was still very sensitive to any twisting movement.  The doctor fears that the complex of ligaments and muscles connecting at the wrist (known as the TRCC, I think) are damaged.  He gave her a special removable arm brace that hinges at the elbow, and told her not to put any strain on her arm and wrist for another three weeks.  After that she can begin wrist exercises that may last another six weeks.  If her wrist is still very bothersome nine weeks from now, she is to see a hand specialist for a better diagnosis.  The orthopedist however, is very satisfied with the healing progress of her broken radius.

We said goodbye to the Orthopedics Center and took our X-Ray films with us for future use, then ran a couple errands.  We signed over the title of Christine’s totaled motorcycle to the towing company in order to waive all the towing charges.  After that we stopped by the insurance company to give them an update, then we checked into a campground and cleaned up for a celebratory night out.  We returned to the fine seafood restaurant that we had enjoyed here a couple weeks ago on Ash Wednesday to celebrate the removal of the cast.  It was another pleasant evening.

Christine’s thoughts:  Watch for the new RoboCop arm I am sporting in future pictures.  The brace is black and huge, but movable.  I was able to take a full shower tonight and I am happy with the range of motion my arm has.  It was a very pleasant evening.

Tuesday, March 20, 2001                                                    Albuquerque, NM

This morning I dropped Christine off at a library to work on her end of term paper while I took the RV in for previously scheduled service.  Coincidentally our furnace failed on us last night, so timing was good.  The RV service center looked at a punch list of nagging issues, all under warranty.  This is why we purchased a new RV.  Sometimes it’s worth the extra money to have something under a comprehensive warranty. 

It was a beautiful spring day here in Albuquerque that we spent on productive little tasks as we prepared to hit the road again tomorrow.  Last night we roughly mapped out a general direction of travel for the next six weeks, and are anxious to put New Mexico behind us for a while.

Christine’s thoughts:  You will probably read about me working on my paper for awhile.  It is hard for me to work as we drive, which was my intention, as the scenery is so beautiful in this area of the country.  I told Joe we need to drive across the middle of the country when I am working on a paper, so I can get it done.  I hope those in the middle of the country don’t take that personally.  Trust me when I say I am not sad to wish Albuquerque good-bye.

Wednesday, March 21, 2001                                        Meteor Crater, AZ

We left Albuquerque this morning and pointed west on I-40 into a steady headwind on yet another nice day.  The temperatures climbed into the mid seventies.  We made a stop at The Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert.  It was good to stretch the legs on a short hike in the park.  We even saw some prong-horned antelope as we were leaving the park, but they only showed us their backsides when I pursued the photo opportunity … such defiance.

We moved on west to the Meteor Crater site.  We’ll explore this private (expensive) park in the morning before heading north into Utah.

1) This was an Anasanzi Hut made out of the petrified wood in the Petrified Forest.  Note the RoboCop arm.  2) Joe being artistic on Petrified Wood; 3) The Painted Desert

Thursday, March 22, 2001                                                    Glen Canyon Dam, AZ

We had a great day today.  The Meteor Crater was interesting, but didn’t quite live up to the admission fee.  We were disappointed that there were no hiking opportunities in or around the crater.  Being a private park, they had to be much more concerned about the liability of personal injury.

The crater is over 500 feet deep, and one mile wide at the rim.  They estimate that a meteorite created the crater 150 feet wide traveling about 40,000 mph, roughly 50,000 years ago.  Most of the meteorite vaporized or melted upon impact.   The exhibits at the visitor center are very well done.  It seems that they try to give you your moneys worth, but just how much can you milk out of a hole in the ground?  One little tidbit was by way of definitions.  A ‘meteoroid’ is merely a small ‘asteroid.’  A ‘meteor’ is a ‘meteoroid’ that has entered the earth’s atmosphere.  A ‘meteorite’ is a ‘meteor’ that has made it through the earth’s atmosphere without totally burning up, and thus landed on earth.  I’ve always wondered what the distinctions were between those names.  Now you know too. 

The Meteor Crater was used as a preparatory site for all the NASA Apollo moon missions.  The Apollo astronauts used geological techniques learned and practiced at Meteor Crater.

  Meteor Crater

We continued west toward Flagstaff and visited the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument.  Sunset Crater is what remains of a volcanic cone that erupted almost a thousand years ago.  The immense lava flows look so fresh that one could think the eruption was just years ago.  We took in a nice climb to view one of the craters in the park.

  Sunset Volcanic Crater

The Wupatki park nearly adjoins Sunset Crater.  It is another area of preserved anasazi ruins.  We absorbed the welcome warmth of the sun with a picnic there before turning north toward Utah.

Just short of the Utah state line, we are camping in a park overlooking Lake Powell, just a couple miles from Glen Canyon Dam.  We toured the visitor center and signed up for a tour of the dam internals for tomorrow morning.  After traveling for the past several weeks through some of the driest parts of our country, the site of a massive lake in the middle of the desert makes a very strong impression.  There is great beauty here.

The dam is one of the country’s largest and latest big dams.  The Lake Powell Reservoir began filling in 1963, and didn’t attain its full level until 1980.  Seventeen years!!!  There are many other interesting stats on the dam, but I’ll save all of you from my fascination with such trivia.

    1) Glen Canyon Dam; 2) Lake Powell

The weather has changed this evening with a couple fronts colliding in this area.  We’ve been having some light rain since nightfall, but most of the low-pressure system is further north.  So we’re hoping for a couple more nice days of good weather as we head up to Zion National Park, one I’ve never been to.

Friday, March 23, 2001                                                          Zion National Park, UT

The day didn’t go exactly as planned thanks to one of my bright ideas last night.  I picked up a copy of Norton SystemWorks when we were in Albuquerque to help us out of any computer problems.  After loading it on my computer last night, I suggested that Christine go ahead and install it on her computer while we had it out.  How was I supposed to know that it would screw up her computer and keep it from rebooting?

As experienced as we are, we should have done a much better job of backing up our data.  She didn’t currently have a back-up of our website or of the considerable work she’s put into this term’s paper for her masters coursework.  It was not a pretty situation.  I am usually pretty successful with these kinds of computer problems, given enough time, and exercising enough patience.  Christine was very cooperative as I took a futile stab at resolving the hang-up, but I am still a neophyte when it comes to Windows 2000.  I gave up for the evening, promising to myself that I would take it to the next level in the morning.

With our names in the 8:30 time-slot reserving our space for the first Dam Tour of the day, I did not allow myself much time for the next round of troubleshooting.  Taking it to the next level delivered more of the same hapless results.  I let Christine know that I was concerned about my ability to fix this, and that we should drive straight to St. George (nearest city of any size) after the Dam Tour, and have a professional work on her computer.  With reality setting in, this is Friday, I feared that we would reach St. George too late to achieve any success today.  So I asked around at the Dam and was referred to a computer store in Page that should be able to help.

  Dam generators

The Dam tour was great as it took both of our minds off the computer concerns.  Afterward we drove back into Page and left her computer at the computer store.  Christine had been keeping her spirits high up until this moment.  I guess the act of entrusting her data in the hands of a stranger made the possible consequences hit home.  She struggled through the next couple hours with a sense of gloom and doom.

After killing some time walking through Page, there was no progress to report on her computer.  It was getting close to lunch, so we drove back to the WahWeap Lodge and Marina to explore and have lunch.  We took a pleasant walk through the marina observing the massive assortment of houseboats and other pleasure craft. I was unaware of how much sun I was getting.  We ended up on the patio of the lodge for a tasty lunch with some locally brewed beer dispensed from the tap.  As reliable as a magic little pill, the beer, food and sun proved to be the remedy for Christine’s soured spirits.  We returned to the RV and made an anxious call to check on the computer.  Relief.  That pretty much captured my single emotion.  The computer had been repaired and was ready for our retrieval.

It was 3:00 when we finally left Page and scrapped our revised plans for a second night there.  The itch of moving on could now be scratched, so we scratched.  We traveled through the southern section of the new Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument; one of President Clinton’s contributions to the Nation Parks System.  We pulled into Zion National Park just before 5:00, which turned out to be 30 minutes late to get through the tunnel past the east entrance.  RV’s and other rigs of size can only go through the tunnel if they can use the entire road.  So the park rangers have to close the tunnel down to two-way traffic whenever a large vehicle comes along.  This service is terminated at 4:30.

We were turned back to a campground just outside the park entrance, and we spent the evening planning tomorrow’s hikes over homemade pizza and beer.  And I smeared lotion on the over-exposed skin that took in too much sun today.

One last note on Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell Reservoir.  Come visit this area of awe-inspiring beauty and then contemplate the political forces at work to drain Lake Powell and remove the dam to restore Glen Canyon to its original beauty.  It’s easy to make the argument that the dam should not have been built, but after visiting here it is very difficult for us to dismiss the dam’s positive impact.  Some of these issues deserve much merit, but in the big picture everything fades to gray.  We are left to sort out the ethics in a personal way.

Christine’s thoughts:  I agree with Joe, the Lake Powell area is beautiful.  It was truly relaxing sitting at the Marina.  The daffodils were blooming, the water was bright green-blue with the background of the red mountains.  Although, I noticed that it gave people a reason to name their businesses things like Dam Bar and Restaurant.  I think that's funny.

As far as the computer scare goes.  We know better.  It is so easy to let things like backups go in everyday life, but not worth it.  It is time to back up everything on both our computers.

On to March 24...