The warmth of Arizona
After a fairly long day of desert driving, we crossed the Colorado River into Arizona. I love my people in California, and especially loved meeting the latest addition to out family, Indy, but I always feel better when I leave the state.
We made it all of two exits into Arizona when we pulled off onto some BLM land and set up camp for the night. We sat and watched the sunset over the Colorado River and patted ourselves on the back for stopping when we did. Right away there was a big backup on the Interstate. We sat in 3 ten mile long backups between Barstow and the river, so we were done with that!
In the morning Ruckus and I went for a little hike to see what we could see before a day of driving. We left here and headed towards Chino Valley, AZ where Martha’s brother, sister, and their families live. When we got off the Interstate we pulled over to stretch our legs and let the coffee out. I was surprised to see that MzDazy was also releaving herself on the ground! Coolant was draining from the water pump. We quickly topped off the reservoir and got going. We drove the remaining 30 miles to Martha’s brother Tim’s place very gently. MzDazy stayed pretty cool and got us there. The nice thing about MzDazy is that the engine is a Cummins 5.9 Turbo Diesel. That engine was put in millions of Dodge pick-ups so every auto parts store has the basics. By the end of the day I had gotten a new water pump and installed it.
Martha got to spend her birthday with her brother Tim and sister Betsey for the first time since she was a kid. We won’t say which birthday this was, but she gets all the discounts!
Niece Rebecca and her boyfriend Derrick came out toTims to celebrate the occasion as well.
Betsey’s son Lauren was on hand to share some love with his aunt Martha.
MzDazy had a comfy spot right in front of Tim and his wife Sheri’s place. It was great hospitality!
All of the roundabouts in the Prescott area have great Western art in the middle of them. Can you see the hunter with binoculars above the deer?
When we left Chino Valley after a great visit, we headed over to Sedona to see all the beautiful scenery. We had last driven through this town in 1997 and let me tell you it has changed! It was more like Beverly Hills than the sleepy town we saw back then. A quick stop for some groceries and out the other side!
A few miles down the road we found a nice bit of USFS land to pull off for the night. It was fairly popular, but quiet enough. We even ran into a young man from Virgina, Jimmy, that we had camped next to near Zion NP. Small world for “Rubber Tramps”!
One thing does not look like the others! We stopped at a truck stop to make some lunch and have some great internet service. I even did my last blog post from there.
We found a nice secluded spot and settled in for a couple of nights.
We had a nice morning hike to the Aqua Fria river.
When the trail got to the river there were Petrogryphs to show the early indigenous people where to turn to go hunt deer. There were definitely lots of deer near where we were camped.
I climbed on boulders and Ruckus played in what was left of the river.
Next up was a night with Martha’s long time friend and the Maid of Honor at our wedding Renee’s house in Mesa. It was great catching up.I love you Renee! Was awesome to catch up with Quianna too and quiz her about her date! Her neighbors were great and did not mind us camping out in MzDazy for the night.
Our last stop in Arizona was Tuscon. The Pima Air and Space Museum is located right across the road from Davis Monthan Air Force base, home of the boneyard. Unfortunately they are not doing Boneyard tours at this time due to COVID, but the A-10’s, F-15’s, and other fun toys have been flying a lot! I have been away from airplanes for a while now and was in serious need of a fix. This is a huge museum and they had one of nearly everything! Ruckus was welcomed and the docents treated him like their own.
They even had the homely SH-2F Seasprite that I spent many hours riding around in when I was a young Sailer.
Their B-17 exibit was a hanger to itself. It was very well put together and really gave you a feeling for the aircraft and its role in WWII. Side note, you don’t want to be the guy in the belly turret.
I am not really sure why this was done to a few airplanes. I think I know an airline in SE Alaska where they might fit in.
Arizona definitely has some natural beauty and is home to some of the people we love. Now we are off to explore New Mexico tomorrow.