Laundry

When we had a motorhome, we had a Splendide washer/dryer unit which I liked and used a lot.  After several years when that unit spun its last, we crunched numbers and decided that we could do laundry at a laundromat for a year for the price of a new unit.  We also decided that we could make better use of the space for storage.  

One day at a laundromat I overheard a conversation between a guy who was washing his clothes and a person who was stuffing a washer with some greasy/oily, particularly nasty work clothes.  This person said that they had a washer at home but didn’t want to gunk it up with the stuff on these clothes.  The guy replied that he had no washer at home, and that this was the only place he could get his laundry done.  When people brought their nasty clothes there, they were gunking up his washer.  I realized that that had happened to us too.  One time I ruined something with bleach residue in a washer.  Another time some white wash cloths came out permanently stained with something dark. 

We are still doing laundry in public places since we have no space for a unit in our “house”.  Fortunately, we haven’t had a problem for a while, but I still think about that poor guy.  I also think that if your washer at home can’t stand up to whatever you can throw at it, perhaps you need a new, more efficient washer!

Ok, I’m done ranting.

Louise and Duane 

Again And Again And Again

Three things that we enjoy when we visit this area of Arizona are the beautiful red rocks, a bike ride through Oak Creek Canyon, and lunch at a Cottonwood bbq joint called Hog Wild.  This morning we were disappointed to find that our summer nemesis—wildfire smoke—had caught up with us again.  The red rock wall along Cottonwood was totally obscured.

In Sedona we were unable to see the red rocks clearly,

most unfortunate because these rocks are what bring people to Sedona in droves.

Once we left Sedona, the smoke cleared and we were able to enjoy our ride through the Canyon.  Our road leads around the corner and up to the top of that plateau—part of the Mogollon (Muggyon or Moguhyon) Rim.

At the top the road runs on to Flagstaff, but we opted to stop at the rest area.  There is a large parking lot, a restroom, a small building with information provided by the U S Forest Service, and a row of canopies providing shelter for the Native American Market.  All items for sale are guaranteed to be made by Native Americans from quality materials. 

We were up there for the view of the Canyon.  To the right is the road snaking up the hill (three loops).  On the left is the road through the Canyon.

After a look around we went back down the way we came,

through the Canyon and Sedona, and back to Cottonwood.  The smoke was still there.

We enjoyed brisket and pulled pork, garlic fries and Cole slaw at Hog Wild,

and finally made it back home.  On our side of Cottonwood we could see the smoke plume coming over the ridge.

We enjoyed two of our repeat visits today, but not the smoke again. 

Two out of three are pretty good.

Louise and Duane

Beauties And Their Beasts

Swimmy Headed

With nothing planned today we decided to make a visit to the Cottonwood (AZ) Verizon store to see what options we have for replacing our ageing cell phones.  We inquired about Iphones and the new Samsung phones.  We also looked into tablets as an alternative to our aging computer.   We came away with the same concerns that we had two computers ago when we considered changing to a Mac—the compatibility of our computer files with the Mac software.  We have an (almost dead) Ipod that we have not been able to manage from our Microsoft software. 

Guess we’ll think about it some more.

Louise and Duane

Short Flight

The Eagle was ready to fly.  South east on AZ 260 from Cottonwood to Payson was a mere 75 miles, but a nicely balanced ride over twisty roads up and down between 3000’ and 7000’ in elevation

with constantly changing scenery.

After a short stop at a fast food place for an icy cola and a leg stretch, we were ready for the flight home, past the white ridge along the town of Camp Verde,

and on to the red rock wall bordering Cottonwood.

We arrived home with plenty of time for lunch, a short trip to the grocery, a rest through the heat of the day, and some cool evening pickleball practice.

The days are just packed!

Louise and Duane

Perfectly Perfect

A while back I quoted Lin Yutang who said, “If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.”   After this afternoon we can say with confidence that we have learned how to live. 

This morning we walked to the pickleball court to hit a few.  We used the paddles that make the loudest noise when they hit the ball in hopes of attracting any players within earshot.  There’s nothing like the thock of pickleball on paddle to bring people to the court.   It worked.  An employee of Thousand Trails heard it and came out to learn about the game.  He even hit a few balls.  A guy who spent the morning in the swimming pool came out to talk about getting together for a few games.  A woman who saw us walking by with our equipment said that she and her husband were waiting for someone to play with. 

It’s a good thing that Lin Yutang quantified the uselessness lesson by specifying the afternoon, because our morning was relatively profitable.  After lunch, however, we sat around watching tv. 

Tomorrow we ride (maybe).

Louise and Duane

Bryce Canyon Contortionists

bug face

Lazy day today.

Louise and Duane

Needed More

We decided that we didn’t get enough rolling over mountains and through changing terrain yesterday.  We took to the road again today, this time from our Thousand Trails campground we took AZ 260 to I17 to AZ 169,

up 6000’ and back down again along the Prescott Valley.  From there AZ 69 took us to Prescott for some shopping at Costco.  We’ve been out of our favorite sweet treat—Sanders Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Caramels for two weeks, and thought the 45 mile 50 minute drive a very small price to pay.

Alas, we were doomed to disappointment.  Apparently they’ve been “discovered” and the shelf was bare until the Christmas candy shipment comes in.  We settled for second favorites and hoped that Costco ordered enough Sanders in that Christmas shipment for everyone.  We found our other stuff in stock and headed home.

This time we were treated to a view of Cottonwood on our descent.

We arrived back home in time to get the truck unloaded before the afternoon showers.

Our site here is tight from side to side, but long enough to park the truck on site.  We park in back here

so that we have room to maneuver the bike into its parking spot in front.

We have no real plans for our visit here, but hope to fit in some pickleball playing and a bike ride or two in the next two weeks—weather permitting.  Since we stocked up on baby back ribs at Costco this morning we’ll probably eat at our favorite bbq place tomorrow.

Just kidding.  Maybe.

Louise and Duane

Back In Az

The 110 miles south on US 89 and I17 between Cameron and Cottonwood AZ is not particularly scenic or fun to drive.  What was interesting was watching the scenery and temperature change as we rolled along.  As we left Cameron, elevation 4200’ the temperature was 84d.  The terrain was red rock and semi-arid plain.

As we neared Gray Mountain the low growing plants were replaced by shrubs and low growing trees and grass.  The temp dropped to 80 and the elevation rose to 5000’.

At the summit—6000’ the vegetation included tall evergreen trees, grass, and wildflowers.  The temp dropped to 74d.  We drove through a rain storm that dropped the temp to 64,

then started down the mountain at a 4-6% grade for 18 miles.

When we reached Cottonwood at the bottom of Gray Mountain, we were back among the semi-arid steppe—altitude 3300’ and a temp of 85d. 

A nice way to end the day.

Chores today, chores tomorrow.

Louise and Duane

New Day New State

We left the Bryce Canyon area, Scenic Byway 12, and Utah.  We picked up US 89 for the rest of our trip west to our next stay in Cottonwood, AZ. 

Our first day’s drive was cloudy and threatening, but still interesting

as we rolled along through constantly changing scenery.

Just before we crossed into Arizona, we actually got wet

and the horizon was a ghostly background.

In AZ the weather cleared and left us dry for the rest of the day.

Our first view of Lake Powell

view from the dam

the Colorado River on the other side

We drove 220 miles of our trip today, stopping at Cameron overnight in a small rv park across the street from and part of the Cameron Trading Post and Lodge complex.  Next to the park we found this nice walkway.  We could walk down the ramp to a tunnel under 89 and shop at the Trading Post or eat at the hotel restaurant.

In 1916 the Richardson brothers established the Cameron Trading Post  here on the Little Colorado River gorge by a suspension bridge.  The bridge is no longer in use, but the Trading Post is still in operation, and a modern hotel has replaced the original old stone lodge and  guest Hogan (traditional Navajo house). 

We opted to walk across the bridge for a better view of the historic bridge,

the Little Colorado River,

and the rv park.  The park is small—35 short sites—but despite having no reservations we had no trouble finding a pull-thru spot.  For $34 we had 30 amp electric, water and sewer.

This complex offers a central base from which to explore the Grand Canyon, Hopi Lands, Navajo Lands (including the Painted Desert, Monument Valley, Canyon De Chelly, and the Petrified Forest), Flagstaff, Lake Powell, and Marble Canyon.

We are only passing through.

Louise and Duane