This has been such a wonderful day.  We left early (for us) and drove north so we could start the scenic loop to Sedona.  The landscape changed as we got into higher elevations and if we didn’t know any better we would have thought we were in the Rockies in Alberta.  There was snow in the ditches, pine trees lining the road and of course we could see mountains in the distance with snow capped peaks.  As we started down highway 89A south to Sedona with our elevation at about 7000 ft,  it was hard to believe that the forest we drove through on the narrow winding highway was in Arizona.  Our first stop was at Oak Creek Vista to overlook the canyon we would be driving down in to.  The scenery was breathtaking and hard it’s hard to describe the beauty.  Our journey took us down into the canyon and into Sedona where we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the town.  It is a unique town with the buildings mostly in the pinkish red color to blend in with the surrounding rocks and the town doesn’t have any tall signs, the businesses aren’t allowed to erect any signs taller than their buildings and the buildings are mostly one story. 

Today we packed up, left Lake Havasu early in the morning and headed towards Camp Verde in Northern Arizona.  We decided not to take the interstate most of the way and were amazed at how many RV parks there are in the small towns along the way, a lot seemed to be placed in the middle of nowhere.  We got a laugh when we saw the sign ”You are Now Beyond Hope” when we left the small town of Hope, Az and were sorry we didn’t see it soon enough to take a picture.  We arrived in Camp Verde early afternoon, found Distant Drums RV Resort and after we got set up, we went into town hunting for a grocery store to stock up our larder.  We are planning on coming back to town and wander around a bit.  It has a lot of character and we think it will be interesting to spend a little more time there.

We were originally only going to spend three nights here at Havasu Springs, but high winds were forecast for today for this area and Northern Arizona, and we decided to weather them out parked and not try to battle them on the highway.  We have spent three leisurely days here, and even went golfing yesterday at the little 9 hole par 3 course, it was a lot of fun and actually quite challenging.  We have watched the maintenance people trim the trunks of the palm trees, which is quite interesting to see, we didn’t realize the trees were trimmed we thought the trunks were smooth naturally.  The weather has been warm and sunny and Bryan and Cody have gone swimming in the lake a couple of the days.  Other than that, not much to report.  Looking out the window at the lake we are really glad we stayed one more day, as the wind is really picking up and the lake has whitecaps on it.  Tomorrow we are heading out to Camp Verde, Arizona where we will set up for a week and check out the high desert and the Sedona area.  We will hopefully have faster internet service so we can download pictures of our days in the high desert.

Just as we predicted, Keith and Barb left before we got out of bed and we are glad we said our goodbyes the night before.  We didn’t leave until about 11:00 in the morning and arrived at Havasu Springs Resort about 12:15 in the afternoon, not a long day at all.  We got set up and went to the little restaurant/lounge for happy hour beer and Monday Madness burgers for $1.50 each.  While we were there a group of university students were also enjoying the Monday Madness.  We started talking to them, and they are from the University at Boulder Colorado down here for spring break, drove down got accommodations and rented a boat.  One of the girls was quite ill and didn’t think she could make the trip back on the boat, so Bryan and I drove her and her boyfriend back to town.  Poor thing, she was so sick, we ended up taking her to emergency and Carol stayed with her while Bryan took her boyfriend back to the marina to pick up his vehicle and the group that came back in the boat.  They arrived back at the hospital a couple of hours later, and we left them in good hands with the doctors and nurses.  Hope things went well for you Becca, get well. soon.  The rest of the day seemed anti-climatic somehow.

It’s hard to believe that a week has gone by, we have enjoyed beautiful, hot weather during our stay (it got as high as 110 one day) and now we have to pack up and start our journey back tomorrow.  We decided to go as far as Lake Havasu tomorrow, which is about an hour away, because the weather in the Grand Canyon area is supposed to be quite cool and it doesn’t look like it will start warming up there until later in the week.  Keith and Barb are also leaving tomorrow morning, but they are going quite a bit further than us and we are sure that they will head out before we are even out of bed.  We have had such great fun spending time with both of them, sitting along the river watching all the boats go by, Bryan and Keith golfing at the little par 3 course here at the park, pooling our meals, evening walks, Cody making herself at home in their trailer and of course we can’t forget about the Happy Hour that seemed to happen every day about 4:00 pm.   Today is cooler with a bit of a breeze, which is a relief from the hot weather during the week and we are spending it with our friends, we will miss them.   Have a safe trip Keith and Barb.

We had heard about an RV resort 14 miles further up the road and decided today was the day to check it out.  Our route took us along quite a narrow winding road.  We passed a reservoir and saw some huge pipes going up into the mountain.  We stopped at a security post and were told that water is piped up from Lake Havasu into the reservoir then piped up through a mountain into a canal system which goes to Los Angeles and provides their water.  Apparently, the Colorado river also provides water to Phoenix though a different canal system.  The terrain is rugged through this area but with the cactus blooming the bright spots of color added contrast.  As we drove, little lizards scooted off the road and hawks were soaring and circling above us.  We did get to Black Meadow RV park and drove through it to see if it was someplace we would like to set up for the winter.  It is quite isolated and not someplace we feel we would like to stay even though it is quite nice.  As we headed back, we stopped at a few spots to enjoy the view and once again we saw a herd of burros.  We stopped and got some more pictures of them.  They seem quite tame, and the little ones are adorable, people often feed them carrots and the burros even come up to the vehicles looking for food. 

With another hot day ahead of us, going into the 90’s, we decided to stay put and enjoy the weather.  Bryan and Cody went swimming in the river to cool off, while Carol, never liking to get into cold water, stood on the river bank and watched.  We threw sticks into the water for Cody to fetch and Bryan found out that the river current is quite strong when we started to swim and didn’t go anywhere.  We again ended our day with happy hour.

This morning the four of us jumped (well maybe climbed) into Keith’s truck to driver across Parker Dam and head to Lake Havasu, the nearest large town to pick up groceries.  While we were in Lake Havasu we stopped to see the London Bridge, it was purchased in 1968 and transported block by block to rest in it’s current location.  As each block was dismantled it was numbered and then set back up using the same numbered code, with some of the numbers still visible today.  It took three years to complete and the bridge was commissioned in October, 1971.  Traffic crosses the bridge daily and as we walked over the bridge it seemed strange to see the Union Jack flying beside the Stars and Stripes and the Arizona state flag.  We spend some time wandering in the area and going into small shops close by.  It was spring break,  Bryan and Keith seemed to have some trouble with their eyes as the university and college girls walked by them wearing bikinis.  On our way back we stopped not too far from our site to watch wild burros, which are quite a familiar site in the area.

It is with mixed emotion we leave Tucson and Far Horizons RV Resort.  We have spent 3 wonderful months here and have met many wonderful people.  We will definitely miss our Happy Hours and spontaneous pot luck dinners.  We will also miss all of the friends we made during our stay and hope to keep in touch with them all.  We got up early this morning, and as we had spent most of yesterday preparing for our departure, there was only a little to do.  We managed to pull out by 8:30 am for the 6 hour drive to Parker.  As we were travelling we noticed that the plants in the desert are starting to bloom and the desert was colored with bright spots of red, yellow, pink and purple flowers.  We can only imagine how the desert will look when it is in full bloom.  The drive was uneventful and with only 2 short stops along the way we arrived at our RV park by 2:45.  Keith and Barb had arrived here earlier and had supper ready for us once we had set up.  It is wonderful to see them again and we are looking forward to spending the next week with them.  After dinner we went for a walk to watch the sunset and to see some of the plants that were blooming in the RV park.

Today Jim approached us and asked if we would be interested in going up Reddington Pass to watch the full moon rise.  We left around 9:00 in the evening and drove up the pass, again the road isn’t one of the best we have ever been on, but going up in the black of night the edges don’t seem so steep.  We stopped at the top of the mountain and got out of the Jeep.  What a feeling, the stars are so bright and seem so close, it felt like we could reach up and touch them.  We drove over the mountain for a while then turned around to head to the spot to await the moonrise.  What a sight, you could see the moon glow getting brighter behind the mountain before the moon even appeared.  On the way down Jim turned off the headlights so we could see what it was like driving in the moonlight.  The moon wasn’t as bright as he liked, so he turned the lights back on to continue down the mountain side.  Phew!!!  Thank you Jim for another wonderful experience in the desert.