Here We Go! We’ll Be Back, A New Adventure

Tuesday, Mar. 21^st is moving day. We don’t feel the hitch itch too much because we are enjoying the good things here but once our wheels are moving, we will be raring to go. I was up before 7 and Bill and Clemson followed soon after. We will grab a quick bite to eat after catching up on emails and posts and then head on.

Good morning!

By 9 am we were saying Farewell to Oscar and Judy once more and pulling out the Ridgeview. It was a wonderful 2 weeks and we know that we will be back in the fall at some point. The day is perfect with a high of 77F as we jump on AZ-68 and head east.

all packed up, hooked up and ready to roll

Clemson was pretty good this morning, maybe we were better at making the process smoother and he didn’t notice or he is catching on to our procedure. Once I bring the bedroom slide in, Bill is ready to unplug hydro and hook up. This is when he collects Clemmy and puts him in the truck.

He doesn't look happy but we think he is half asleep

This is a divided highway and we are plugging along pretty good at our normal 60 mph when pulling. Not too much traffic at all this morning and we just passed the Finger Mountain, which I choose to think as a thumbs up instead. 

There are many jagged mountains all around us here, very picturesque. The clouds are interesting this morning too, low lying and misty looking.

We’ve reach 3774’ above sea level and the temperature has dropped 4 degrees. My ears keep popping! We turned off AZ-68 onto US-93S and then at Kingman we made the east turn onto I-40E towards Williams and Flagstaff. 

Bill noticed longhorn cattle in the field but I wasn’t quick enough to capture them as they grazed on the desert green. The landscape has changed numerous times on this drive and although we've seen a lot of pastures, only a few livestock are seen. 

We aren’t too crazy about certain parts of I-40, the road is terribly rough. Trying not to think of what is banging around inside the Suite. Door catches can’t stand up to some of the bumps and jiggles.

Getting close to 11:30 and we need to take a break at Williams. We want to top up the diesel, fix something to eat and nature calls for all 3 of us. We pulled off at exit 163 to a Love’s truck stop, always lots of room to get in and out. At noon we pulled back onto I-40 to exit 165.

Some things just begged to be photographed
We loved this one, you figure it out!

An idea occurred to us and with a little direction from our blogger friends from Lorne and Sue, we headed towards the north on AZ-64. It will be a short driving day as we’ve decided to look for a free campsite at Kaibab National Forest. This is a much better highway than I-40 and it is a two-lane paved road.

this was a pretty drive

We found the scenery beautiful on this road, noticing towering evergreens and red sandy patches in the fields and on the mountains. 

On https://freecampsites.net I picked an area called FR688 (Fire Road) and it was quite easy to find within 9 miles of one of the world’s seven wonders. You now know where I’m talking about and where we are headed.

 Planes of Fame air Museum

So many people we know have seen this amazing spectacle and now it is our turn. We were originally going to miss it this year and put it on the ‘must do’ list for our next, but when we read Lorne’s post the other day, it put the bug in our ear and the itch in our hitch. 

We arrived at a lovely private campsite around 1 and all we can see is blue sky and tall pines.

We wanted to get our satellite dish set up first because naturally it is Tuesday night when our shows are on. We need to start moving on a different day! We had no luck finding the coordinates but by 2:30 thought we should leave it alone and go for our adventure.

And room for 2 other rv friends

We locked up and headed towards the Grand Canyon. We were only 9 miles away and my excitement was building as we drove. Finding a parking spot on a Tuesday, you wouldn’t think would be too hard, was a challenge. Finally, in their additional A area we lucked out. It was crazy with people and shuttle buses and pink taxi jeeps.

Proof

Love how Clemson is looking out there too

Walking the path, we were following a lovely young lady whom we didn’t know at the time but soon met her as we took pictures of each other at the Rim Trail. Robin, as we soon learned her name, is the manager of an ecological program which teaches childcare staff how to better protect children from the harms of lead and arsenic in everyday articles. She was a delightful young lady who was in Phoenix for 4 days to educate others before flying home to Maryland. This was a pleasure detour for her before reporting to work tomorrow.

Robin, our borrowed photographer

 Back to the Grand Canyon. There is no point in telling you how great this view is, you’ve been here. If you haven’t, then understand that ‘great’ just doesn’t describe it. I thought the badlands in the Black Forests of South Dakota were awesome. This is 

C R A Z Y !!! We walked around the rim and got as close as we dared for photos before walking back down the trail to the truck, two hours later. We will come back another year and start early in the morning to explore other rims of this amazing canyon

My boys living on the edge

I still needed buns/bread for travel sandwiches and espied a grocery store in the G.C. National Park. Thank heavens they had exactly what I needed. The fact that I paid an arm and a leg for them doesn’t matter at this stage of the game, we have enough now to get us through a few days travel.

 We had no better luck with the satellite when we returned to the Suite and quickly decided that it wasn’t worth worrying about. It was already past 5 when the programs started. We have our books and blogs to keep us occupied.

Okay, had to share this. I caught this from a distance.
Look in the circle

Now look at the close-up, if you can
A guy is doing a handstand on the rim of the Grand Canyon. LOL

The fresh buns I picked up were a quick easy answer to supper tonight. Ham, cheese and lettuce cutters fit the bill and ice cream for dessert. Tillamook, of course!

It is only 6 pm as I write this but it has been an exhausting day. The temperature when we arrived was around 72F so definitely a change from Bullhead City. We are over 6,000’ above sea level so that would explain it. This a gorgeous spot to camp and we will remember this area for another year.

And the sun sets somewhere behind these majestic pines

I hope your day was just as good. Thank you for reading along. I appreciate your comments if you care to write.