Cox Family Reunion

The Cox side of the family held a reunion yesterday. It is what I have been racing time with to be able to get here and attend. Our family, especially on my Dad's side, has not had a reunion in years. So, it is an extra special occasion and one that can't be missed.

Food!

I think Cathy, my cousin, brought the patriotic cake.

My Uncle Jim and Aunt Ellie organized and planned the reunion. It is a big job and I'm sure a lot of worrying goes with it too! When I woke up this morning, I was greeted with a huge thunder storm. Lightning and thunder, large winds and sideways rain pelted everything. My trailer was rocking and rolling. I was wondering if the reunion would be called off. It cleared up by 10:00. It was cloudy most of the rest of the day. But no rain!

Aunt Lois and her daughter-in-law, Neva.

The place we would meet is in St. Charles, Minnesota. It's the largest near by town to the old farm that has a park and pavilion large enough for a reunion.

These are my cousins' sons; Joey, Tim and Jackson

Aunt Ellie and Uncle Jim looking through a photo album. Sitting is Jim and Dad's cousin Gaylan Gerry.

Actually it was a blessing to have a 70 degree day, rather than the upper 80's like it has been all week. Dad, Uncle Jim and Aunt Lois are the remaining Coxes from that generation. Dad and Jim are the youngest of their brood and grew up together. They have been close brothers and friends all of their lives. It was good to come back to my roots and see the gang!

My little sister Kristi, Aunt Lois, Mom and Dad.

I remet Cousins I haven't seen in years. I would say in the last 30 years I may have met only a couple of them once, or twice, before. I saw nephews and nieces that are now mature adults. Some of them are working on families of their own.

The quilt wrapped in linen.

Coralyn Gerry (Jim and Dad's cousin) brought the quilt.

Time flies! That's what struck me the most. Time flies!

Food was pot luck style. Some brought hot dishes. Some brought deserts. Some, like me, brought salads. Some brought a little of each. There was enough food to feed a battle weary army! The families mingled and chatted and got caught up with the seldom seen souls. Later, each seemed to settle in with the folks they hung out with in their youth.

My cousin Chet ( Aunt Lois' son).

A couple of old photo albums graced the center picnic tables. Aunt Lois was fascinated by the returning memories and shared some information and stories about some of the pictures. It wasn't to much later that a quilt was unfurled that a distant relative made. The initials on the border were E A C and dated 1884. Jim and Lois think it was Ellen Ann Cox. She was one of their aunts. That would make her my Great Aunt.

That's my Mom - Ruby, and Dad - Tom. In the back row is me, then Tommy (my nephew), Joe (my brother-in-law), my nephew Adam, my sister Krid, Adam's wife, Marissa, and my niece, Erin. My older sister, Susan and her kids left before we could get a pic.

The party began to break up at about 4:00. There was a brief down pour at 3:00. We were dry and comfortable in the pavilion. I didn't even notice it was raining until somebody pointed it out to me.

I was stuffed with food, fond memories, and great relatives. Uncle Jim took a poll and it was agreed that this should be held again next year!

I Made It to Minnesota

Tilly's in Rochester.

I have arrived! After 1,800 plus miles of hard driving from Tucson, I've made it to Rochester, Minnesota. I had only one mishap with the blown tire. I've paid as little as $2.34 per gallon to as much as $2. 62 per gallon in fuel costs. I haven't fueled up in Minnesota yet, so I don't know what the going rate is here.

I called an RV repair place, Lesmeister's as soon as I got in to book a date to fix the broken gas lines and the crumpled skirt fairing. Lesmeister's handles all rigs from 18 wheelers to small camping trailers. I dealt with them on a cold winter day when they came out where I was staying in the fall of 2007 to fix my generator. It turned out to be a short in the wiring harness that occur when the access door slammed on it in a certain way. They relocated it so that wouldn't happen and charged me nothing! That's why I contacted them. There is something to be said about integrity.

I' staying at on of the same places I stayed at last year. Tilly's RV Park in Oronoco. Oronoco is the next farm town north of Rochester. With the weather so hot this time of year there is no way I can do without air conditioning. This place is the nicest place I've stayed at and has the most reasonable rates. The only down side is the proximity to highway 52. There is a lot of road noise here.

I just came back from visiting my folks. Dad was at he dining room table, sorting through the mail. Mom was out having her hair done and came home about 20 minutes later. I stayed long enough to catch up on some news. I left soon thereafter. I still had to restock on groceries. I ate myself out of house and home on the way up. Without gas to cook with, I have to be selective about what to buy.

I met the boss of the RV park and he was running some errands. I haven't yet settled my site fees. He said he would get to me in time. I like this kind of laid back style.

Weather in Des Moines

I did stay an extra day at the Crossroads RV Park in Lyndon, Kansas. I had forgotten I had stayed at this park during my first month on the road, almost two years ago. The name absolutely didn't ring any bells. But, as soon as came over a crown in the road and saw an old derelict overpass, I knew I had been here before.

This is a Passport America park. With my membership, my cost was only $13.00 per night. You can't beat that! I had no problem staying an extra day. I wanted to see the end of the US Open golf tournament, since it spilled over into Monday. It also gave me the chance to really look over the damage done from that blowout. Besides, I just wanted a day off!

I'm glad I,ve got my super support girl, Cathy. I talked to here and she gave me the pep talk I needed. She is safe with family in Pocatello, Idaho. Her rig is in the driveway of her daughter and son in law. They were having a large thunderstorm when I called.

My tight, but nice spot in Cutty's in Des Moines.

Today was a travel day to Des Moines, Iowa. The drive went by smoothly. It was another hot, hot day. The heat index was 106 degrees. I thought it was hot in the desert. Nothing is hotter than this. At least I could breathe in the desert! The humidity in the Midwest is stifling. I think somebody invented the word 'stifling' just for this heat.

An hour after arrival in sweltering heat. It rained!

I got into the RV Park located off the I-35 freeway. The site in this old park is barely long enough to get my truck and trailer onto. I decided not to unhitch. I'm only spending the night and there is no place to park the truck once I unhitch. This is another Passport America Park and it is only, once again, $13.00 for the night.

Then it stormed. The sun will set in another three hours!

Talk about a quick weather change. I set up in 100+ degree heat at 3:00. I watched as a weather system came in at 4:00. By 4:30 a huge thunderstorm erupted. The pounding on the roof made it impossible to think. If it continues through the night, I'll be worried about getting out of here in the morning. There are rivers of water all around my site! No kidding!

I have a short 200 mile leg left to go. Yeah!

Disabled Somewhere in Oklahoma

I've been on the road for three days now. It was a drive from Tucson to Holbrook, AZ, then to Midwest City, OK, which is located out side of Oklahoma City. I stayed at the Elks Lodge there. The information I had said there was full hookups. When I arrived I was shown to the site. They had a 30 amp pedestal hooked into the electrical post in the middle of a field. There were no other hookups. I didn't have any water on board so I postponed a shower until the next day. The Lodge was not open for business either. I didn't understand that, after all it's Friday.

Anyway, the manager pointed me to where to hook up and that was that. No fee, though I understood it was $10.00 a night. I hooked up and watched TV to a pastrami sandwich. It was to bed early for me. I wanted to get an early start in the morning and get to my next destination, Lyndon, Kansas. It is only a 250 mile drive to get there. I thought I could be there early enough to watch the tail end of the US Open golf tournament.

I did get up early and out of the Oklahoma City area by 8:00. Unfortunately, I had a little boo boo as soon as I got out of town. I felt a big vibration accompanied by noise. It was as though I drove across a railroad track - many of them. It lasted only a few seconds. I experienced this once before when my pickup bed cover came loose. I looked and couldn't see anything wrong with it. I happened to glance at my right side view mirror at the same time. I saw chunks of rubber, some of it glowing red, flying from my right side trailer wheels.

North bound I-35, one mile south of exit 211, forty miles north of Oklahoma City.

I knew right away what it was. A blow out! I pulled over as soon as I could find a shoulder wide enough. When I got out to take a look, I saw an incredibly destroyed tire. Oh boy, now what! I had to tell myself to stay calm and not get too excited. Okay, get my flashers on. Get the caution sign out and think about a routine tire change.

How can a tire be this destroyed?

I got the jack out. I got enough blocks out to elevate the tire once I had the jack in place. I had the jack engaged to just lift the tire. Then I used my tire iron, and guess what? It won't fit the lug nuts on the trailer wheel! Okay, now what! It is in the upper 90's by this time in the morning and the humidity put the heat index well into the 100's! I was sweating like crazy by now.

I hope the rim is okay.

I remembered I opted for the road side service coverage with my vehicle insurance. I amazed myself when I put the contact information in the glove box only a month ago. I called, gave the info of my situation to the nice lady on the other end and she contacted a nearby towing service. I was in this predicament for over an hour now and it would be another hour before somebody could get out. I got inside the rig, found a bottle of water and just hung out, trying to stay cool, waiting for help.

Broken gas lines.

Help arrived inside of 20 minutes and it was routine from there. It didn't cost me anything. My spare is now on, and after a close look over at the damage, I felt I could continue as planned.

A broken support for the mangled side skirt.

There was some damage done to the underside when the tire exploded. The gas lines to my water heater and refrigerator were torn out. It looks like the gas line to my furnace is okay. The wheel well was strong enough to absorb the impact so there was no damage to the inside of the rig. The fairing is a little mangled and a support bracket is broken off. I'll have to deal with this when I get to Minnesota. I'll double check everything when I get settled for today.

Safe in Lyndon, Kansas.

I checked all of the tires for proper inflation last Thursday, before I left Tucson. I stopped only ten minutes for fuel and a break before this happened. I did a walk around and visually looked at everything before I drove on. That's routine for me. I didn't expect this. I've heard the tires that are put on RV's for the last few years come from China. I've also heard war stories about them. Mine are Chinese, I think. They aren't any brand name I'm familiar with.

Lyndon Kansas is where I'm at now. The RV park is very nice and I may stay an extra day and assess the damage. As well as take a break.

A Busy Week and A Great One Too!

his week was to be one where I would get my things done and then be off to Minnesota. It was a better week than what I had imagined last month. Cathy stored her rig in the Camp Verde V Park we were at and joined me in my rig. We both had obligations with the Elks Lodge in Tucson. That was the main reason we hung around in Arizona.

Cathy and her companion Rose were my guests for the six days we stayed at Sun Valley RV Park. We had a great time. I know I did and I'm sure Cathy did too. We both are now officially Elk members. I wish I could explain the protocol for initiation we enjoyed. But I think it may not be looked at favorably if I shared that. There are a lot of great people at Casas Adobes Elks Lodge #2663! They made us feel very welcome.

Cathy and I agreed we should give a little of our time this coming fall and help out with some of the many things they have going on there.

I got my truck fixed. The part they ordered for me was waiting and it was a simple install. Simple, that is, except for the nagging service light that wouldn't reset. That caused a little deviation in our plans for that day. We had a time constraint because we booked a tour of Karchner Caverns for the afternoon. I had to leave the truck at the dealer to allow them more time to diagnose and fix the problem. They assured me I wouldn't be charged additional labor - they didn't.

Karchner Caverns is a recently discovered cave system that is extremely popular with the locals. Virtually, the only way to visit it is to book in advance. We found that out earlier this year. It is restrictive in what you can bring too. You can't bring cameras, water, packs, purses, walking sticks, or anything loose. You are warned not to over dress either. It is 81 degrees year round inside.

Without getting too descriptive, visit this cave when you are in the area. We couldn't get into the big room because the bats in there were having babies. That's how they manage this cave. It is described as a live cave. That means all the formations inside are still forming. They have built an impressive system to keep the atmosphere as if there weren't any people pollution inside at all. They also clean all the people areas every night to eliminate bacteria and lint.

Cathy and I bid each other farewell after Karchner. We left the Tucson area the day after we were initiated into the Elks. She headed North to Idaho and then on to Oregon. I left to head to Minnesota. We both have family reunions we are looking forward to. We have old friends to see. We have old stomping grounds to revisit and jog old memories.

One of these days, we will share them together. That would be the ultimate!

Tucumcari Elks

Right now, I'm in eastern New Mexico in the Elks Lodge of Tucumcari. They have a little four spot RV place behind their lodge that I'm taking advantage of. It is $7.50 for the night and the second night is free! There is electricity and water hookups at the sites and a dump station down the road. It doesn't get any better than that!

Back to Tucson

We made the 200 mile trip back to our old stomping grounds. This is where we will hang out until our business here is done. Let's see, I have to have a part installed in the truck. This will solve the problem I've had since the Baboquivari hike.

If you don't remember, the truck kicked up a large rock and it slammed up underneath the chassis someplace. My "service four wheel drive" light came on instantly. I've had the truck in to have it looked at. They ordered the part and now I have an appointment to have it installed.

The Elks Club will have and initiation and an orientation for us to attend. Monday night and Wednesday night, are our nights. We also booked a tour of Karchner Caverns for Tuesday. Other than that, Cathy and I have been hangin' low. We're enjoying the heat. It gets to the mid 90's, officially now. My thermometer reads at 100, or more. Yeah, it's dry heat, though!

Jerome

Before I get started with our adventure for today, I came across this article on CNN.com about people stealing American Indian Artifacts. I don't usually air my political side, nor do I bring up controversial subjects. I have to publish this one though. It is right on. The Feds arrested a bunch responsible for ripping off Native American Artifacts. You can read it here.

There are a couple of other things I want to mention too. Mac and Sam made it back safely to Alaska. The last I heard, Mac was cutting a bunch of Diamond Willow limbs to bring back to Tucson next year to use as walking sticks. I don't know if you know about these sticks, or not. They are premiere. Diamond Willow is a light weight blond wood that has a darker diamond shape at the normal knots in the wood. They are beautiful. I can't wait!

Also, our friends and hiking buddies, Lorne and Lisa, from Canada sent us an email. It was about hiking and a possible reunion in their neck of the woods for later this summer. I will try to make that happen from my position. But we'll see!

Cathy and I took a truck tour of Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Jerome. We stopped off at the State Park in Cottonwood, Deadhorse. It is a beautiful park along the Verde River. It's huge too! The State Park system in Arizona has to be commended. All the State Parks we've been to have been top notch. Unfortunately, some of them are being shut down this year because of the economy.

One of them is the State Park in Jerome. There was a big "CLOSED" sign across the gate when we got there. Oh well, we walked the town. I love this mountain town. There are only 400 people residing here. This old mining town is now completely dependant on tourism. Artists and craft shops dominate the old buildings.

Downtown Jerome and the surrounding view.

We stopped for lunch at the Haunted Hamburger. A ghost apparently, swiped the hammers of the guy fixing the place up. Then they would show up in a conspicuous place somewhere else in the building. The old owner stopped by and asked the new owner if he ever experienced any hammers suddenly disappearing! That's how the place got its name. It had to be a ghost.

The Haunted Hamburger.

I should mention we also stopped at the Tuzigoot National Monument. It is another pueblo that was abandoned around 1300. It never stops amazing me at how populated the old West was before the Europeans came.

Tuzigoot.

It is time to consider another move. This will be the final move before I and Cathy start to head to our home states and visit family. I will soon head to Minnesota and she will be going to Idaho and then to a reunion in Oregon.

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Petroglyphs, Petroglyphs, Petroglyphs

There is a site not far from here called the V Bar V ranch. It's called a heritage site managed by the US Forest Service. I was there last year and was impressed with the petroglyphs. I knew Cathy would like to see it too. We gathered our things and packed a picnic lunch and drove out to the site.

The only thing left of the old V Bar V ranch is the chimney.

It was a short drive over a narrowly paved back road. We passed over a single lane bridge and a drove by a primitive camp ground. A turn onto a dirt road and we were at the parking spot. There were signs all over the place to sign in at the visitors center.

I was surprised to see a visitors center here. I didn't remember that part of this place from last year. It was manned by a volunteer. Their large class A rig was parked adjacent to the building. I had to study the road it came in on and parking space it occupied. It was a very tight fit and must have taken some time to get it into the space.

Only a few people were here including a volunteer docent.

We walked the short distance to the cliff face. The petroglyphs here are just awesome. They are spread out along a 60 foot wide area and cover the face from the ground to ten feet up.

Every inch of space had a glyph.

Before we walked out to the site, we chatted with the volunteer working in the visitors center. She and her husband have been doing this type of work for the Forest Service for a couple of years now. They worked a site not far North of here, the Palatki site. The site has ruins and petroglyphs as well. We were interested. She called the site and made a reservation for us to attend the 2:00 tour.

Reservations are required to visit the site. I think it's because they have a limited area to park in and it is a long way off of the beaten path. It would be too bad to drive all the way out to it and find there is no room to park, or they can't accommodate you.

A Century Plant in spectacular bloom.

On the way we passed all kinds of agave, or century plants in bloom. Cathy has always wanted to see these in bloom. Once they bloom, they die. It takes over twenty years for them to flower. It is a one time thing.

The ruins are at the base of these cliffs.

We could see the red cliffs in the distance as we turned on the dirt road. It is an eight mile drive on a primitive, wash boarded road. We've been on worse, so it wasn't too bad. I had a couple of white knuckled times. That's because I was on the passenger side and wasn't used to seeing the closeness of the right edge of the road.

They call this red rock country and it is easy to see why. There is red sandstone all over the place. The ground is red. It sticks to the bottom of your shoes. It gets on your clothes and sticks there too!

Our picnic stop.

We stopped after a couple of miles when we got to a pullout. Rose went out for a little exercise and potty too. We took a break and ate our picnic lunches we packed earlier. The tail gate of the truck served as a make shift picnic table. Somehow food tastes so much better when you can eat out doors with a great view.

We arrived at the parking lot and found a trace of shade under a tree. No dogs are allowed here. Rose would have to take a nap in the car. It was overcast most of the time and the temp was mild. We opened all the windows a few inches. We felt sure she would be comfortable and would settle into a dog nap soon.

Our Docent, Charlie.

We were led to one of the grottoes where a docent named Charlie would interpret the site for us. Charlie is a retired archaeologist and has been doing this at this site for the last eleven years. He was a very interesting guy. You can tell when somebody really loves what they are doing.

Can you find Kokopeli? He's playing his flute.

The difference between a petroglyph and pictograph is whether they have been pecked or painted.

He told us a history of the settlement that occurred here. A homesteader named Walter farmed this region in the late 1800's. He built his first cabin out of stone in one of the caves. He dismantled a couple of the ruins to get enough rock to build his cabin. Fortunately he left the petroglyphs and pictographs and some of the artifacts intact.

Walter's cabin. It was situated so tightly among the rocks that I couldn't get a pic of all of it.

This mound contains agave. It was roasting at the time the last of the Indians were arrested by the Army and sent to a reservation in 1857.

I won't bore you with the fascinating details of the rock art. Mainly because I can't correctly remember most of them. I commented to Cathy that the next time we have a guided tour, I should bring a note pad.

Only a small clan lived at this Palatki pueblo and farmed the valley floor.

The tour seemed to end so quickly. That's the way it usually goes when there are a lot of interesting things to see. We headed back to the park as the daylight was waning. On our way out, we spoke to the Forest Service manager and Volunteer Coordinator who was on site. We asked about volunteering and she gave us some excellent advice.

I slept like crazy this night.

Crawdads and Alligator Sticks in Arizona

Our current setup at Krazy K's RV Park.

It was a busy day, today. We started it at mid morning. It was about 9:00. We finished our morning routines and walked Rose. I knew the visitors center was somewhere near the old historic fort of Camp Verde, off of Main Street. Our intention was to see the immediate sites of the fort, Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well.

Montezuma's Castle is an impressive site.

I'll spare you the details of the tourist sites. If you want more info on these places, click on the following to see my write ups on them from last year. Cathy, was as impressed with them as I was when I first saw them.

• Montezuma's Castle
• Montezuma's Well
• Camp Verde Fort

The community center is adjacent to the old fort. When we visited the fort, we couldn't help but notice the activity going on on the grounds of the community center. We talked with one of the workers and found out there is annual celebration planned for this evening; the Camp Verde Crawdad and Shrimp Festival.

A live band was playing. People were filtering in to listen.

We hung around the rigs and rested when we got back from seeing the sites. It was already a full day and we still wanted to go out and experience the Crawdad Festival! When the clock was going on 6:30 we got re motivated. It helped that we didn't eat anything, saving room to sample the crawdads.

Cars were parked all over the place and spilled out to the side streets when we got there. We were lucky and found a parking spot across the street from the entrance. It was a $5.00 admission and the volunteers hung beads around our necks. I was in the festival mood and bought a Crawdad Fest tee shirt and wore it over my regular tee shirt.

It was the typical community festival. There was a beer vendor. A stand was making ice cream using the motor from a John Deere tractor. There were kiddie rides and a home made looking miniature train that pulled the little ones around. Some vendors were selling jewelery. There was even a guy selling marshmallow blow guns, made from PVC pipe!

We shared this mess of food.

We walked the grounds and drank in the sites and smells. When we entered we filtered through the dining tent. After we saw the portions of food and the way it was served, we had to walk around and find the courage sample it.

The food was served in a large disposable aluminum baking pans. We ordered ours and retired to a picnic table. The pan was heaped with what must be over twenty crawdads, two boiled red potatoes and a piece of corn on the cob. We slathered some cocktail sauce into the pan, grabbed a bunch of plastic forks and spoons, squirted butter over it all and sat down. Cathy jumped up and headed for the beer counter. Somehow this deserves beer to round it off.

A good sized bug.

We were struggling with our first crawdad when a gentleman came over and offered to show us how to properly eat them. Basically, you just break off the tails, peel the meat out of them and throw the rest away. If the claws are big enough, you can do the same with them. Fingers are a must and the plastic silverware we picked up went unused.

I don't know where they got so many crawdads. There must have been thousands of them served. We heard from a couple of the volunteers they came from Louisiana. Then another said the came from Florida. Oh well, we know there not from here!

Alligator on a stick!

I was still a bit hungry. It was a lot of work for a little sliver of meat. They also were serving alligator sticks. We assumed they were chicken kabobs. The people working the serving line swore they were the real thing. Okay, I had to try one of them too! They were a little rubbery, but the flavor was good. Cathy took a bite and seemed to think they weren't cooked enough.

We decided to go home for desert. I made some brownies the day before. That would be a great finishing touch for dinner. After desert, I ordered a movie from DirecTV. We watched Meryl Streep in "Doubt". She always does such a great job of acting.

Camp Verde

We moved on to Camp Verde, AZ. We liked Winslow. On our last day there, we toured the La Posada Hotel.

The La Posada.

It's a signature hotel designed by the architect who designed the buildings at the Grand Canyon, Mary Jane Colter. Recently a group of investors purchased it and are making a great effort to restore it.

One of the investors is an artist out of California. She has a gallery in the hotel showcasing her work. Some of her things are outstanding. The furnishings in the lobby, corridors and side rooms would make for a great museum display by themselves. The hotel and train depot are a part of the same complex.

Breakfast.

Cathy and I made a special trip to the old hotel for breakfast in the Turquoise Room. What a fabulous meal we had. We walked the gardens and grounds and happened on some vintage railroad cars. We were told by a lady at the front desk that the red one is the home of a doctor and is filled with antiques. We would have loved to have seen the inside of it.

This train car is used as a home.

The next day we found ourselves at Camp Verde, an historic town 50 miles south of Flagstaff. The drive wasn't easy though. It was one of the windiest days we have had. Our rigs were constantly buffeted by 30 mph cross winds most of the way. I've been in this area last year and there are a lot of things to see.

Tomorrow it will once again be time to explore.

Three National Parks

Yesterday Cathy and I visited our third national park over a two day period. We visited Sunset Crater, Wupatki and Walnut Canyon National Monuments. They are all quite closely located just east of Flagstaff. From Winslow, Walnut Canyon is the closest park at only 50 miles. Wupatki and Walnut Canyon feature ancient ruins. So be prepared for more pics of old stone pueblos!


Sunset Crater is a park in the volcanic area of the Colorado Plateau. The lava flows look as though they were put down yesterday. There are many, many cinder cones located here. Sunset Crater is the largest. We took a short walk through a moon scape like terrain.

Wukoki Pueblo.

A low doorway.

Sunset Crater and Wupatki are served by a single park road. They are less than five miles from each other. Wupatki has five old pueblos open to visitors. There are ruins on just about every hillside here. Some of them were obviously impressive. A ball court was excavated here and is the only court excavated that was made from stone.

Wupatki Pueblo.

Ball Court at Wupatki.

The weather was threatening the whole day but the rain somehow managed to hold off. It was a little windy at times. The gust had to be in the 40 mph range. The sand sometimes whipped up and stung as it hit your face. It subsided as the day went on.

Lomaki Pueblo.

We stopped at a roadside picnic table and ate our packed lunch. We finished our visit at Wapatki with stops at dwellings overlooking a small box canyon. It was going on 3:00 pm. We took a scenic route back to the camp ground and made it back in time to make a little dinner.

Walnut Canyon. Can you find the dwelling in the pic?

We returned to the area two days later to visit Walnut Canyon National Monument. It is a 400 foot deep canyon carved from sandstone. It features hundreds of stone ruins. Most of the ruins were destroyed by pot hunters and looters in the 1800's. The locals lobbied to have a the area protected and this park was formed.

A large two room dwelling on the canyon rim.

We walked the trails and descended into the canyon. The CCC built the trails in the 1930's. It is amazing to see the work they did for our parks still existing and in use. A portion of the trail was closed as there were workers repairing some places where erosion made the canyon wall unstable.

A view from inside.

Farming occurred on the rim of the canyon. It had to a hard life to farm the rim and live far below on the canyon wall. This area was lived in for 125 years then migrated to other areas including the Winslow area and built the pueblos in our camp ground.

It has been an interesting tour of these parks. If you're in this area, these parks are a must see. All three can be toured in one day. Or, if you have the time, spend a day in each.

Cathy's Door

Cathy's rig has a much more homey feel to it than mine. She certainly knows how to make a trailer a home. All the little touches. The pillows that match just right. The little light on the dining table. The magazine rack. The pepper lights that border the kitchen area. She keeps Rose's toy in a spot where it isn't seen and where Rose can get it whenever she wants to. She grows herbs and tomatoes. The housekeeping is immaculate. The bar is much higher than than my expectations. I definitely remove my shoes before I enter.

Oregano on the left and cherry tomatoes.

On the outside of her door, there is a map of the United States. You've seen them before. It has the states colored in when you visit that state. It was there when she bought her trailer. It is actually a cover for a blemish the original owners accidentally put in the door. It looked like something banged into it and made a hole. The hole was filled and this map was put over it to cover it up. Now the map is peeling and looking ugly.

A new door decoration

It's time to do something about that map. When we were in downtown Winslow this weekend, we visited one of those touristy Route 66 souvenir shops. Cathy found this neat large Route 66 medallion type wall decoration and thought it would be perfect to replace the map with. After a little elbow grease and some industrial Velcro, viola! She has a great looking door.

Now I promised to take the latch off of her door and get it to work a little smoother. You know how it is when you change something. Once you start then there is always something else you want to improve. We will keep our eye out for a stained glass window to replace the opaque window that is there now. Any suggestions?