March 2000

Checked the 5th Wheel in to a dealers in Phoenix for some minor warranty repairs and flew off to Illinois for a few days Curling. We first visited last year with Archie and Alice who introduced us to a wonderfully warm & friendly group of people (unfortunately Archie & Alice could not make it this year). We had extremely fond memories of how welcome we had been made to feel last year by the Wilson family particularly Mom (Evie). It didn't take long in their company again to realise that those memories were less than the reality.

Not having curled for a year we worried about how we we would perform for our Skip Dale Wilson. He told Wullie not to worry, it was just like riding a bike, but Wullie didn't like to tell him he couldn't ride a bike! Obliging as always they fitted us into their Club games on the Wednesday & Thursday evenings to give us some practise before the competition which started on Friday. We started like a train in our first game but unfortunately we ran out of rails and crashed. We managed to stay in the competition until the last day but missed out on a minor event final. It didn't really matter as we met some lovely people and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
When we visited last year the local guys played a card game called Euchre in the Curling club which seemed like a lot of fun with loads of banter and bragging rights to the winners. This seemed to Wullie like the place to be, (not for the bragging rights of course?), so he persuaded Ronnie & Dale, (local guys) to teach him how to play. He played a game last year on a friendly basis (no money) and thoroughly enjoyed it, but how could he gain enough experience to play this year for $5 a game?. Well modern technology has some benefits - a software package called Hoyles Card Games included Euchre. Now he could practise, not to win but enough to prevent him from looking silly. Wullie being the modest, quiet chap that he is didn't solicit a game he just issued challenges. With Dale as his partner they showed a profit of $20 during the Curling weekend. Wullie thought it was skill (he would), but everyone else attributed it to the run of the cards, but you can imagine he made full use of the bragging rights!
The rest of our weeks stay was spent visiting with the Wilson family around the farm. We learned how POP CORN was grown, (Linda thought it was created not grown until Dale educated her). Linda had a ride in a BIG Semi Truck and a road grader. Last year she drove a tractor - what does next year hold.
Evie laid on a farewell brunch and about 14 people turned up to say fond farewells. The outstanding hospitality and the cementing of friendships was so wonderful that we left our Curling brushes& shoes with Evie for our return next year.

Our flight was 2 hours late leaving Chicago and the temperature in the airport must have been near 90 degrees. Last year we had snow & ice and this year people were sunning themselves outside the curling rink.

Location - Phoenix

Daytime Temperature: 67 - 91 degrees

Lowest Nighttime Temperature: 50 degrees

Rainfall: None

Picked up the RV with all the warranty repairs successfully completed. While in Illinois we missed the torrential rain in Phoenix - all there was to show on our return was lots of deep puddles from the day before's heavy rain. Sunshine returned at the same time as us.

Costco & Supermarket shopping to restock the fridge/freezer which we had emptied before the RV went in for repair. Linda decide that after 20+ years Paddington Bear & Aunt Lucy needed new outfits?. Wullie was not amused but once in the store joined in the search grudgingly among the baby clothes. He was heard to grumble "I never believed I would be looking through baby clothes for a Bear". Paddington got a T shirt and sleeveless jacket and Aunt Lucy a new shawl!

Paddington Bear & Aunt Lucy in new outfits.

Tried to get a cheap flight home to Scotland but all the bargains were snapped up and a price hike was taking effect from the end of March. So, if we can't get home we might as well move north?

Booked into LO LO Mai Springs RV Park. A beautiful secluded site with a natural pond, the ever flowing Oak Creek and noisy geese. Blossoms, new growth leaves on the trees, daffodils are all reminders that Spring is here. Ruins of dwellings of the Sinagua Indians remain atop the hills that shadow the resort in the afternoons. Our original intention was to stay for a week but we extended that to two weeks.

Sedona is a MUST visit town. The best entrance (scenically) is from the southwest on Hwy 89A. The view from the crest of the hill of Sedona nestled beneath the bright red Mogollon Rim is breathtaking. A multitude of hikes, Jeep rides around many of the rock formations, Helicopter and light aircraft flights, lots of local and interesting shops- something for everyone.

• Cathedral Rock - One of the best hikes we have done for months. A moderately strenuous upward mile hike to a viewpoint that gave us panoramic views of both sides of the valley. A Bright, clear, sunny sky and Linda's insistence we call into Oak Creek Brewing Company on the way home, where we shared a jug of Amber Ale, made this a perfect day.

• Fay Canyon Trail - Round trip 2.2 miles. Completed in clear blue skies, warm temperature. After reading the handout for this hike we knew that a detour to Fay Canyon Arch was on the agenda. We were told that the path to the Arch was not that clear, so to be alert. We were so alert that we took an obscure path that led up the side of a mountain that gave great panoramic views but NO Arch. We descended and continued on the original path until finally coming across the detour path. Steep but well worth the detour. We sat beneath the Arch looking out at the spectacular views below. We completed Fay Canyon, but the recommended 1 1/2 hours round trip took us a lot longer as there were so many red rock formations on route we were "gob smacked" by them all. Another wonderful day!

• Jerome/Prescott - Drove the Scenic Hwy 89A to Prescott. Stopped at historic Jerome. In 1886 Eugene Jerome agreed to finance a copper mining project. The population during the mining days swelled to 15,000 and decreased to a mere 150 when all the mines were closed in 1953. Jerome El. 5,435 feet giving wonderful views of Sedona Valley, San Francisco Mountain Range 50 miles away.

• Courthouse Butte Loop - Round trip just over 4 miles. This easy hike looped around Bell Rock & Courthouse Butte and provided good views of the Sedona area from the South. Courthouse Butte, particularly the Southeastern side, was one of the most interesting red rock formations we encountered.

• 
  Broken Arrow Trail - Round trip 3 miles. An easy hike to a nice viewpoint with a side visit to Submarine rock. Shares a trailhead with Margs Draw Trail (3.4 mile round trip) so they could be combined. One drawback to this trail is that the Jeep tours cross the trail in two places kicking up lots of dust?

• 
  Devils Bridge Trail - Round trip 2 miles. The access road is not the best we have encountered but is passable for cars as long as there has been no recent rain! Moderately easy walk although the last section up to the natural bridge is moderately strenuous. The view makes the last section worthwhile and once up there you can meander along on the level for another mile or more for views further up the canyon. The testament for this walk was the number of helicopters & light aircraft that passed overhead.

• West Fork Trail - An easy and very popular 7 mile hike up the west fork of Oak Creek (go early to avoid the crowds). This hike is rated number one on the list given out by the Ranger service and we enjoyed the hike very much, crossing over the creek several times before arriving at our destination. White, yellow and purple flowers lined many of the paths throughout the canyon hike, emphasizing that Spring was finally here. Other hikes in the area were much more scenic but in hot weather this would provide a cool and pretty haven.

• Grand Canyon - Stopped at Flagstaff and the Snow Bowl, bathed in sunshine, which is a popular area for skiers (9500 feet). Checked into our Motel before driving along the West side of the South Rim. When we got there we found it was only accessible to Park buses. Took the bus to Pima Point and decided to walk back to Hopi Point to catch the returning bus. The views were tremendous and the Sunset quite good considering it had been a cloudy day at the canyon. It took longer than we anticipated (as we were walking round the rim) and by the time we got to the bus stop it was dark. By the time the bus finally arrived it was rather cold and very dark. The following morning we rose at 5.30 a.m. (23 degrees) so we could watch the sun rising at Yaki Point. The viewpoint was only accessible by bus so we parked on the road and walked a mile to the viewpoint. We were disappointed with the sunrise and both decided that sunset is better, warmer, and you don't need to get up in the middle of the night. We returned to the Motel for a shower, a heat, and breakfast. Drove around the East side of the South Rim stopping at all the viewpoints. The Grand Canyon is magnificent but it is so enormous it is impossible to see it all at once, which makes it very difficult to fully appreciate.
  On the way back to Sedona we called into Wupatki National Monument (NM) where we visited Sinagua Indian ruins. This was very interesting as these Indians were building above ground, stone houses with roofs supported on beams 10,000 years ago (and they say America has no history?). The other item of interest was a "blowhole" which due to geological formation emits a warm wind constantly. A visit to Sunset Crater Volcano NM was somewhat disappointing as snow was on the ground which made hiking out of the question.
  
  

  ---

  Location - Page (Lake Powell)

  Lake Powell was formed in 1963 when the Glen Canyon Dam was completed. This created the second largest manmade lake in the Western Hemisphere, extending 186 miles, holding 27 million acre-feet of water, with a surface area of 255 square miles, and 1,960 miles of shoreline. The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was established in 1972.

  The journey from Sedona to Page was beautiful. Climbing from Sedona at 4,500 feet to Flagstaff at 7000 feet gave some spectacular views. The snow covered peaks of the San Francisco mountain range north of Flagstaff stood out on the skyline before we descended to the 4,000 feet desert. Fifty miles from Page we drove through a sight we will never forget - the Painted Desert in the Navajo Reservation. Highway 89 winds its way through some of the most colourful hills/mountains we have encountered so far. You think "it can't get better than this", when all of a sudden as you start to climb back up to 6000 feet the "Vermilion Cliffs" which the Colorado River weaves through on its way to the Grand Canyon, appear before your very eyes. However the best is yet to come as you start the descent into Page the view of different coloured mountains rising directly out of the blue Lake Powell is astounding. We looked at each other and remarked on how lucky we are to be able to enjoy these sights!
  The RV site we choose is on the Arizona/Utah border overlooking magnificent Lake Powell. More about that next month!

  
  

  Miles travelled this month: 1,440

  Accumulative miles: 21,363

  

  Interesting Hyperlinks:

  Waltham Curling Club History

  Sedona

  Grand Canyon

  Wupatki National Monument

  Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

  

  Home

  Next Month