Day 128, Sunday, December 10, 2017 - Rancho Sedona RV Park, Sedona, AZ, Day 4

My New Owl

Sunday, December 10, 2017 - Rancho Sedona RV Park, Sedona, AZ, Day 4, 0 Miles, 3,490.2 Towing Miles For the Trip

A warmer night, and a very nice day. I walked around the campground saying good by to most of the Scamp Campers; there are 3 of us left for tonight. After talking with a couple of different Arizonians and hearing horror stories about driving through Jerome pulling a trailer, I decided to take the truck & leave the trailer in the campground. Since I want to go to Glendale to pick up a new iPhone, it made sense for that reason as well.

I have to say that while it would be possible to take the trailer through Jerome, you wouldn't be able to stop (no parking) and there were some hairy twists & turns as well as narrow streets. I did find a parking place for the truck and wandered around town. I bought a "T" shirt from Paul & Jerry's Saloon (the oldest family owned bar in Arizona), and made the mistake of wandering into the Firefly on Main St. Some beautiful rugs that were well beyond my budget, but I fell in love with a locally made owl.

After that it was back to Sedona and a drive up Schnebly Hill Road. About 3/4 of a mile past the campground turn off it becomes a 4 wheel drive, high clearance road with some nice views of more red rock. I waited until sunset, but it was quite cloudy, and color never developed. The photos of Jerome & red rocks are at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Just before dark I arrived back at the campground. I hooked up the trailer so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning cold (those weight distribution bars are solid cold steel!) I also dumped the trailer tanks, then headed for the showers. OK shower except the water ran into the dressing area.

Dinner was a salad & a Chicken Empanada.

Until Tomorrow -

Day 127, Saturday, December 9, 2017 - Rancho Sedona RV Park, Sedona, AZ, Day 3

Luminaries at the Festival of Light

Saturday, December 9, 2017 - Rancho Sedona RV Park, Sedona, AZ, Day 3

Another cool morning that warmed up quickly. We did trailer tours at 10:00AM. I have photos of the outside & inside of most at today's LakeshoreImages page.

I sat outside in the sun & read for a bit (Stephen King's Sleeping Beauties), then headed to the Festival of Lights at the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. Lots of stages with performers, Christmas lights & six thousand luminaries (paper bags with candles inside). I managed to get a photo of one of our Scamp Campers & dog with Santa, and a new musical instrument I've never seen before, a Chapman Stick. It is a cross between a guitar & a piano. Impressive sound.  More photos of the festival at today's LakeshoreImages page.

After the festival we headed to Picazzo's for excellent pizza & salads. I had a white pizza with mushrooms (For those that haven't heard the term, a white pizza is oil & garlic in place of red sauce)

Until Tomorrow - 

Day 126, Friday, December 8, 2017 - Rancho Sedona RV Park, Sedona, AZ, Day 2

Sedona Red Rocks

Friday, December 8, 2017 - Rancho Sedona RV Park, Sedona, AZ, Day 2, 0 Miles, 3,490.2 Towing Miles For the Trip

I woke up at 5:00, looked at the outside thermometer. It read 30°F, so I went back to sleep. By 9:00 is was still in the 30's, but I climbed out of bed anyway. Actually, it wasn't too bad out in the sun, although the campground has lots of shade, so you have to look for it.

After breakfast I headed out to some of the red rock views of Sedona. While the red isn't as red as the rocks in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, the views are impressive. I started at the airport, then drove around to many of the trailheads. I only did part of the trails; enough to get some interesting photos. The parking at the trailheads was close to full - I often got the last slot. Most are Forest Service areas, so hanging my Senior Card in the window took care of the fees. They have credit card machines at most of the trailheads where you pay $5.00 for a day pass if you don't have a card. Kind of handy - they also have them at some of the campgrounds at Death Valley & it is faster & easier than putting a check into an envelope & into the iron ranger. Of course they need an internet connection to process the card, so they won't work everywhere.

I didn't label the images by the names of the formations, but did have the GPS adding the locations to the EXIF data (only on the linked 1000 pixel versions) so if you are interested, you can find where I went. Lots more locations that I may try to visit on Sunday.

As promised, I included a campsite photo. That, and many more of Sedona including a panorama from the airport are at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Dinner was a microwaved Thai Pad Thai dinner.

Until Tomorrow -

Day 125, Thursday, December 7, 2017 - Rancho Sedona RV Park, Sedona, AZ,

Dinner at the Oak Creek Brewery & Grill

Thursday, December 7, 2017 - Rancho Sedona RV Park, Sedona, AZ, 236.4 Miles, 3,490.2 Towing Miles For the Trip

I finished packing up the trailer & headed out of Quartzsite around 9:00AM. I stopped at RV Lifestyles to make sure they ordered the awning end, and at the 76 gas station for a mug of coffee. I took the interstate route - I 10, the 303 bypass & I 17. I stopped at a Walmart along the way and actually found Chicken Empanadas! I bought two boxes since I haven't seen them anywhere else. They just managed to fit in the freezer.

I arrived at Rancho Sedona RV Parka little after 2:00. I'm in site 18, a full hookup site that is quoted at $45.00 per night, but, because I had a one night rain check, works out to $28.20 per night. The site is large enough that the truck can park in front of the trailer. I won't use the septic hook up until I leave, because they require a accordion type sewer hose support for permanent hookups & I don't carry one. I didn't take a site photo before we left for dinner & it was dark when I got back, so I'll have to add it to tomorrow's post.

There are two Escape 19's, my 21, two Olivers, one Casita, and one Scamp 16. The temperature dropped as I drove to Sedona (as did the truck's gas tank. I had a good headwind for most of the drive, as well as gained almost 4000'; around 7.5 MPG. While it was 56°F when I arrived at the campground, the wind made it feel much colder. I dug out my down vest & insulated gloves! As Scamp Campers arrived, we stood around & chatted.

Around 5:30 we went to the Oak Creek Brewery & Grill for dinner, fish & chips & a local amber beer. I have a couple of photos taken with my iPhone. A much better group photo was texted to me (the one above) - I definitely need to upgrade my phone if for no other reason than the poor camera quality. The other photos were taken walking around the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. There will be a Christmas celebration at the village on Saturday. The other photos are at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Until Tomorrow -

Day 124, Wednesday, December 6, 2017 - La Posa West, LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 21

Wednesday, December 6, 2017 - La Posa West, LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 21, 0 Miles, 3,253.8 Towing Miles For the Trip

Not quite as cool last night - only down to 37°F. It also warmed up more during the day and hit the mid 60's by afternoon. After my walk for coffee & breakfast, I read for a bit, then started packing up some of the outside stuff in preparation to heading to Sedona tomorrow.

The hummingbird feeder proved interesting. It has collected a large number of bees. They don't seem to bother the hummingbirds, but they do me! I took it off the stand & drained the water, but they came back. I don't want to bring it into the trailer because they follow it no matter how fast I swing it around. I think I'll wait until dark.

I sat outside & read for the rest of the afternoon, and finished Anne Hillerman's Rock With Wings. I decided it would be a good evening to head to the Mountain Quail Cafe for dinner, where I had the Chicken Fried Chicken Breast. I did manage to get the hummingbird feeder rinsed without tangling with the bees.

Until Tomorrow -