Days 18 - 20: Santa Rosa

The air at the junction had a distinctive aroma -- reminding us of our days near Greeley, Colorado. Soon after heading out north on I-5 we confirmed our suspicions as we passed this huge feed lot that went on for acres and acres. Since the junction where we stopped did not have a name on the map, we dubbed it "Feed Lot Junction."

Soon we started seeing fruit/nut orchards with flowering trees and boxes of bee hives stacked along the last row. Definitely a food-producing valley. Soon we passed the California aqueduct again that snakes through the rolling hills and provides life to this agricultural area.

We took a route to Santa Rosa through Vallejo -- hoping to avoid most of the Bay-area traffic. I noticed a sign announcing that the Bay Bridge (connecting Oakland to SF) would be closed this weekend. That should be interesting. We ran into some traffic, but by the time we got to Vallejo we were back on pleasant country roads.

Teresa was using the GPS and it kept saying we were "off road." She kept taking it out, wiping it off, and putting it back in hoping to get it to recognize where we were. Finally when we got to highway 101, it woke up and we were "on road" again. But when we exited at Santa Rosa, it told us to get back on highway 101. We drove around for a while -- "off road" again. Finally, when Teresa took the CD out she noticed that it was the one for Arizona -- not California. Once we put the correct one in, we were back in business. Don't know why the Arizona CD recognizes highway 101 in California--but that is one of the mysteries of technology.

We made it to our anut's house and had a great visit with her. In the evening we all went over to our cousin's house. Next day we visited and caught up with everybody, drank some California wine and went out to eat at a great local restaurant. Stayed another night and headed out to Redding this morning.

We made a stop at the Olive Pit in Corning for lunch (olive burger) and treats to take home, then landed in Lake California again for a short visit with Conrad. Tomorrow we will head back home (for Teresa) to Bend. It has certainly been a great trip.

Day 17: Lake Havasu to I-5

Long Day. We had breakfast at the TravelLodge. This was a very pleasant place to stay. Teresa talked to the owner's wife who had her baby with her and was keeping the breakfast area stocked. Evidently, the hotel was run down when they bought it, but they fixed it up and got some very positive reviews on some travel sites and now are quite busy. We really liked Lake Havasu City -- a very nice place.

We changed time zones as we crossed the Colorado River into California. As we passed through the Sacramento Mountains (2,770 ft.), we said goodbye to the Sonoran Desert and the distinctive saguaro and hello to the Mojave Desert and the distinctive Joshua Trees that were replacing the saguaro in the landscape. Different name, still in a desert. Sandy, dry, brown ... We stopped for gas ( $4.59/gal !) and I noticed a number of Route 66 souvenirs for sale. We kept seeing signs for Historic Route 66 along the way weaving in and out across the interstate. As our map stated, "Historic Route 66 passed through this area along various alignments."

We returned to the Mojave National Preserve -- this time from the south. We saw the Kelso sand dunes, stopped for a train at the Kelso station, turned off onto a dirt road to cross over to the "Hole-in-the-Wall" camping area, were passed on the dirt road by 12 dirt bikes, ran into some cattle (not literally), passed by a ranch, got back onto a paved road at the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center, and took a trail to see some petroglyphs.

Teresa got to show off her forest-road driving skills and I learned what "washboarding" means (visualize driving over one). The guide at the visitor center told us about the trail. She said that the petroglyphs were small and easy to miss, but showed us on the trail map where to look. I said to Teresa, "I'm sure they are marked." She said, " What part of 'small and easy to miss' don't you understand?" She was right, but we found them. There was a hiker in front of us taking pictures and that helped. The trail continued on taking about an hour and ending in a literal rock climb -- using metal rings that were embedded into the rocks to climb on. We turned around at the petroglyphs.

At this point the sightseeing portion of our trip is over. Now it is about getting home and visiting relatives in Santa Rosa and Redding. So we drove... and drove. The desert went on and on and we were low on gas. We reached Kramer's Junction just in time. No palm trees, but this was a real oasis in the desert. Two roads intersect and there is a light -- with a left turn lane/light even -- and 4 gas stations, a truck service place, mini mart, local restaurant, a Burger King, and souvenir stands and shops. We gassed up and had our usual 3:00 "lunch/dinner."

Somewhat refreshed we drove on. Encountered dark clouds as a front moved through, but missed the rain. We finally came out of the desert into the valley and headed north. We cut across from highway 99 to I-5 and enjoyed the sunset view at Wasco (they have a rose festival there in September). Then we drove up I-5 and stopped at Kettleman City.

But the motel had a sign in front that said, "Internet service is temporarily unavailable." Well we couldn't have that and as we debated whether to go to the Motel across the street, the clerk told us there was another exit with motels 20 minutes up the road. He said the one across the street was overpriced. So off we went and here we are at the junction of I-5 an highway 198. It will make our drive to Santa Rosa that much shorter tomorrow, but it was a long, long day.

Day16: Tucson to Lake Havasu City

We packed up and left about 9 am. Traveling north on I-10 we noticed that we were no longer in the metric zone. Mile posts were "mile" posts again. Soon we passed the distinctive Picaho Peak again. The Police were out in force today. We saw at least three patrol cars. When we got just south of Casa Grande we turned west onto I-8 to bypass Phoenix. The landscape was flat and sandy with occasional scrub bushes. No suguaro -- it must be too dry or the altitude to low for them. We passed a number of signs warning of blowing dust. This is the Sonoran Desert at it's best.

As we got nearer to Table-Top Mountain, the saguaro appeared again foresting the hills. At Gila Bend we headed north to connect with I-10 well west of Phoenix. Gila Bend ( population: 1980; elevation: 735) was founded by our old friend Father Kino in 1851. The green fields which looked strangely out of place in the desert and the whiff of stockyard smell confirmed that the area is a farming and stock raising community today.

We reached Io-10 and turned west again playing leap frog with the numerous trucks on the freeway until we reached Quartzsite. Quartzsite (elevation: 876) has a summer population of 3,354, but in the winter that swells to nearly a million. And from the looks of it they all come in their RV's. In January and February the area hosts 8 major gem and mineral shows. We looked around, but all we saw were RV's everywhere it was literally an RV city.

We headed north toward Parker, but about 3 miles out of town we encountered a road block directing us onto an unnamed road to the right. This turned out to be a very scenic detour to Bouse which is a smaller RV city. This area is a playground for off-road vehicles (saw lots of dune buggies and such), motorcycles, and RV'ers. At Bouse we turned left and headed back towards Parker. We found some places to eat at Parker, and had lunch. We passed an RV casino on the way out of town.

Lake Havasu is 45 miles long, 3 miles at its widest point, along the Colorado River. Parker Dam holds back the water to create the lake. It produces electricity, but like Lake Powell, it's major goal is water storage. The lake supplies water to Arizona and Los Angeles. We stopped at the Parker Dam. It's not as dramatic as the dam at Lake Powell, hut it does the job.

We drove along the lake up to Lake Havasu City, half-way up the lake. This city is famous for the London Bridge. The city bought the bridge in 1968. The original bridge was built in 1831, a multi-arch bridge over the Thames River. In 1968 the bridge began to sink into the river and the British put it up for sale. The bridge was carefully dismantled, stone by stone, and brought over from London. where it was reconstructed over a man-made inlet of the Colorado River.

The London Bridge is the second most popular tourist destination (after the Grand Canyon) in Arizona. The town (elevation: 482) has a population of 41,,935 and is a great place for all types of water recreation. The bridge area is bustling with activity. Lots of tour boats and a marina, restaurants, hotels, etc. Unlike our visits to Zion and Grand Canyon, it is high tourist season here now. We were lucky that the TravelLodge had a last minute cancellation right before we came in. We even have a lake view -- over the road and some buildings-- but we can see the water.

We checked in and rested for a while before going back to the bridge area to take pictures, enjoy the sunset, and find a place to eat. We walked across the bridge and discovered the Havelina Cantina. We were seated on the patio with a great view of the bridge and enjoyed Margaritas and munchies as we watched the sun set. It was a great end for the day.

Tomorrow we head into California.

Day 15: Gem Show

Teresa heard an ad on the news for the Gem show at the Convention Center (CC) starting today. So we thought we would try again. This time there were people everywhere. We parked in our previous parking area and hiked the four blocks to the CC. Good thing because traffic was lined up around the block to get into the CC. We followed the folks inside and got in line. We soon noticed that everyone in line seemed to have tickets, so Teresa went to buy tickets and pick up a map while I saved our place. It wasn't 10 am yet and already the line was snaking around the hall. At 10 am a loud speaker announced that the 58th annual Tucson Gem Show was open to the public. I felt like clapping.

It took us a while to get to the actual entrance where they stamped our hand and then we were in. The scope of this event is hard to describe -- it is huge and almost overwhelming. Soon after we got in, the loud speaker announced the arrival of the Governor of Arizona and the Mayor of Tucson. We had noticed quite a police presence in the center of the main area -- I'm sure they are being very careful after what happened in Tucson last year. The Governor and Mayor gave short speeches and then were taken for a tour of the event. We stayed far away form that action and pleasantly strolled through the exhibits, casing the joint. The strategy we have developed is to go through all the booths first, marking the ones we want to come back to on the map. About 15 minutes after the Governor's speech, the loud speaker came on again and announced that the Arizona Sales Tax was 9 percent. Making sure we knew the state intended to take its share of the profits.

I had noticed at the previous Gem Show venues the presence of pedestrian speed bumps (by nearly tripping over one). They had them here as well. So like hiking on the rocks, I learned to watch my feet. They had raffles for free prizes each hour. You had go to the pink balloon station each hour to enter the next one. This kept us moving back and forth, but we didn't win anything. The show was fascinating and educational. Most vendors were glad to share information on their stones with us. They had stations where you select your stone and they would make it into a pendent, earrings, or ring for you right on the spot, a wide variety of jewelry designers, as well as those who dealt in the raw materials.

I found out my favorite vendor (from previous day) was here and they have a store in WA, close to home. I bought some larimar from another vendor. You con only find larimar on one island in the Dominican Republic. We looked at some Australian stones that were rare. The vendor said the American's did not recognize the stone as valuable for a number of years. Meanwhile, the Russians did and imported as much as they could to the extent that there is little left in Australia. The vendor said someone had seen his wares the other day and said he had seen it before. The Australian asked him where. He said that the steps to the Kremlin were lined with it.

The other day we visited the American Indian Jewelry Exhibit. It was in a motel some distance from the main exhibits, and it wasn't marked on all the maps which seemed strange. There were about 15 native artisans there. Indian culture attributes many qualities to certain stones and symbols that you find in their jewelry. While there we overheard one of the folks telling a customer that amethysts protect the wearer from drunkenness. Since amethyst is also my birthstone, I was pleased to find an amethyst pendant.

We decided that this was the best day to attend the event after another loudspeaker announcement let us know that tomorrow 400 high school students would be visiting the show. After that the only two days left would be on the weekend. And we got first pick of the litter, so to speak.

We left the show around 4pm and headed home to rest before going out to dinner with our host, Lee. Most of the streets of Tucson are in a nice grid except for this downtown area which we call the "traffic vortex." It is easy to get caught in it and not get out as we discovered the other day. But today we escaped the vortex. The other difficulties related to finding your way around Tucson are the fact that I-10 cuts a 45 degree angle through the city and the fact that there is a large air force base in the southeastern part of the city that cuts of many of the otherwise through streets. But we are getting to know our way around the city. Tucson is a very nice city.

We went to a restaurant called Pinnacle Peak that is part of a wild west village with shops, rides, a train and wild west shows every hour. We enjoyed the show and then went for dinner. I looked around and saw a multitude of ties posted on the walls and rafters. Lee informed us that if you wore a tie into the restaurant, they would cut it off. Sure enough each tie had a little card with it stating the former owner’s name and date of posting. The wait staff were all dressed as cowboys and the food was ranch style, steak and beans. We had a great time.

Home to pack up. We leave Tucson tomorrow for the journey back home.

Day 14: Tubac and Tumacaori

We headed out to the Arts and Crafts Fair in Tumac. Shortly after we turned south onto I-19, we saw the exit for Mission San Xavier. The mission is a National Historic Landmark and was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Father Kino was the priest who inspired DeGracia when he created his Mission in the Sun that we visited on Monday. Construction of the current church began in 1783.

This mission is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona. The church's interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. The inside is breathtaking. There are arches, murals on the rounded ceiling and intricate wood carvings and paintings on the walls.

It is still an active church with the mission of ministering to the religious needs of its parishioners. It is located on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation. The O'odham tribe had sent sent a messenger to ask Father Kino to come and teach them modern agricultural techniques used by the Spanish. He obliged and also taught them Christianity and Spanish.

You can see on the church wall and in other places the "symbol of the People." This is sometimes called the "man in the maze." The man at the top symbolizes birth (of man, family, or tribe). As the figure goes through the maze, he encounters many turns representing changes. As he progresses deeper, he acquires strength, knowledge, and understanding. Near the end of the maze, he repents, cleanses, and reflects back on wisdom gained. The dark center at the end of the maze represents death and eternal life.

No one knows where the symbol came from but it was also found near Phoenix at the Casa Grande National Monument. We also saw a symbol that was very similar to this in the petroglyphs at the V-Bar=V Ranch last week. Strangely enough, Ancient coins discovered near the Isle of Crete in the Mediterranean stamped with the same symbol.

After touring the grounds and hiking around the hill adjoining the mission, we got back on the road to Tubac. Our directions said to get off at exit 34. We were at exit 80 and noticed that we were making very good time -- even for a speed limit of 75. Then we noticed that the signs were stating distances in kilometers. Fortunately the "mile posts" were actually "kilometer posts" or we would have really been confused.

As we got off at exit 34 we were greeted by police cars and a number of folks in neon vests directing us to parking and collecting $6.00. We parked and walked the short distance to Tubac Road and encountered "occupy Tubac." There were craft tents lining every street and alley. There were horse-pulled trollies, golf cart=pulled trollies and even a bicycle=pulled cart for two. And there were all the permanent craft stores that Tubac is known for. We had a great time looking at all the wonderful wares and artwork. We found some treasures for ourselves and gifts for folks back home. We went around the circuit once to scope it out, then went for a tour of the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park.

Persidio means fort and was used to protect the inhabitants from outsiders -- usually the Apaches. Tubac was occupied, then abandoned several times. In the 50's it was found by artists and became an arts and craft center. This festival is the 53rd annual one. Tubac has evolved over the years into a great destination for quality southwest arts and crafts.

About 3:00 we went to Shelby's Bistro for Lunch/Dinner. Then we headed south a few miles on the local road to Tumacacori National Historical Park. The site contains the physical remains of the mission church San Jose Tumacacori and associated cemetery, mortuary chapel, lime kiln, and a reconstructed native O’odham home. We went on the self-guided tour. The bell tower of the church was never finished. You can see how the building was constructed with brick and then covered in adobe mud. The white adobe of the main church was treated with lime.

We headed home on I-19 and soon encountered a border patrol stop. There was a "work dog" sniffing all the cars and everyone had to stop. The officer took one look at us and waved us on. We passed the exit for The Titan Missile Historical National Monument and decided to pass that one up. As we headed home and noticed it was sunset time so stopped at the Mission San Xavier again to take some pictures.

Tomorrow we are off to the Gem Show again at the Convention Center.

Day 13: Tucson

We took off this morning for the Gem Show at the Convention Center -- the biggest show around. We managed to get good parking at the Simpson Street Parking area and walked the 5 or so blocks to the Convention Center. We got suspicious when we noticed that there were no cars in the main parking area and no hoards of people milling around. We walked up and opened the door and found that nothing was going on -- despite a large sign for the show that was displayed out front. Feeling rejected again we thought that we had missed it -- the events around town have different start and end dates.

We figured while we were downtown, we would go see the Presidio. We followed a sign for the Visitor's Center to get more information. On the way we discovered a sign listing dates for the Convention Show -- Feb. 9 - 12. Looks like we were just two days early. The Visitor Center folks confirmed that the show would open on Thursday and gave us some useful information on the Presidio and Tubac.

We followed the Presidio Trail. This trail is marked by a turquoise line running along the sidewalk -- like the red line marking the "Freedom Trail" in Boston. However, Tucson is a little more casual about their line. We found it went under planters, trash bins, closed off outside seating areas, etc. To further confuse us, the Presidio Trail map was oriented so west was at top, but we managed.

We saw the Pima County Courthouse which has a beautiful tile dome. We passed the restored northeast corner of the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson. Similar in function, but not appearance to Ft. Vancouver, the Presidio has shorter adobe walls. We strolled through the Old Town Artisans which is an old building filled with small art and craft shops with a courtyard of outside coffee and food restaurants.

After passing by the bus plaza, we got to the old restored railroad station that still serves Amtrak and also houses a nice restaurant and art gallery. It was at this railroad station that Wyatt Earp shot Frank Stillwell in the old west. They had an old steam engine out back that a volunteer guide took us through I now understand why there are all hose water towers at railroad stations.

We passed the St. Augustine Cathedral, Spanish Colonial Style church with a magnificent sandstone facade. And ended up back at the colorful Visitor's Center area with lots of gift shops and coffee shops. We had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant recommended by Teresa's friend. It was colorful and great cuisine. We decided to try lunch instead of dinner and had no trouble getting in. As we left Teresa noticed that there were heaters and benches all along the front of the restaurant. We figured they must have quite a line at dinner.

We decided to go to Saguaro National Part (East) to see the cacti and perhaps catch a good view of the sunset. We drove the circle route, took a number of short hikes and pictures and ended up back at the Visitor's center about 5:30. However, the Visitor's center closed at 5. I think I might be getting a complex about this...

We waited in the picnic area out front and staked out a good view site for the upcoming sunset. Just as sunset started, I noticed a Park Service truck idling on the road. Then I heard him close a gate over the road. I dashed back to the car and found Teresa to tell her they were closing. I took one quick photo and off we went. The ranger waved at us as we left. Now I am getting a complex.

Tomorrow we are off to Tubac.

Day 12: Tucson

We ended up staying in Tucson today. We discovered that the Tubac Arts and Craft Festival starts on Feb. 8th. So we will probably go there on Wednesday.

Today we hit the outskirts of Tucson: DeGrazia's historic area, Cabino Canyon Recreational Area, Mt. Lemmon and Summerhaven, and finally Agua Callente Park.

The DeGrazia compound included the artist's home, the Mission on the Sun, and the Gallery in the Sun. The 10-acre historic district in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains was designed and built from the ground up by Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia, who achieved world-wide acclaim for his paintings of native children in the Sonoran Desert.

DeGrazia built the gallery from natural materials including cactus, using traditional adobe bricks crafted on-site. The gallery opened in 1965 and houses more than 15,000 DeGrazia originals.

Adjoining the gallery is Mission in the Sun built in 1952 in honor of Father Kino and dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico. It is an adobe structure with rustic rock floors, open-air ceiling, and decorated with DeGrazio's murals and art. DeGrazio's grave is behind the mission.

Next to the Mission is the artist's home which is very rustic and beautiful. Part of the home is now used as a gallery for visiting artists. DeGrazia helped many new artists get started during his lifetime and that continues to be an important function of his gallery.

We saw a film of several interviews with DeGrazia showing how he crafted some of the gallery. One of the floors has cactus slices (like tiles) in the floor. I didn't realize it but under that green spiked exterior, cacti has a skeleton that looks like wood with holes in it. It's hard to recognize a dead cactus--looks like a dead tree. Anyway, in the film he referenced the "jumping cactus." He said the cactus didn't jump, people did when they ran into it. We saw some of these in the garden. They have these little burrs that easily "jump" onto your clothes. Plant life here is downright dangerous. Cacti have developed all kind of different ways to impale you.

Cabino Canyon Recreation Area is run by the Forest Service. They have a visitor's center with all sorts of exhibits and pamphlets on the animal and plant life in the Sonoran Desert. They have a number of trails and a tram that acts as a shuttle between viewpoints. We didn't take the tram, but went on a short nature walk where we saw examples of many different types of plants and cacti. There were lots of saguaro -- we are in no danger of missing them! One of the most interesting sights was a crested saguaro. Evidently sometimes the cactus goes crazy and varies from the usual pattern. This is rare, this is the only one I've seen -- so far.

The nature trail we took was called the Bajada trail. Bajada (pronounced buh-HA=duh) is the Spanish word for "gently sloping skirt of sediments surrounding a desert mountain range." Glad they have a single word for that.

Next we drove up Mt. Lemmon which towers 8,000 + feet over Tucson. The road was in good shape. It was constructed during the Depression by the Conservation Corps -- all by hand. It has lots of twists, turns and switchbacks -- but has a lot of places for cars to park along the road and numerous view points, vistas, and campgrounds. We stopped at a vista view and took a short rock climb to a fantastic view of Tucson below.

We went all the way to the top. The temperature and vegetation changed quickly along the way. Gone were the saguaro. Instead we had snow and tall evergreen trees. It looked a lot like the Grand Canyon area. We stopped at a small village called Summer Haven. This is where folks from Tucson go to get out of the heat of the summer. Most houses are log-cabin style. The town was nearly destroyed in a forest fire in 2003. Most of the cabins we saw were new and the destruction of the trees was obvious on the hillside.

We stopped at a recently rebuilt restaurant called the "Cookie Cabin." They served pizza-sized cookies and pizzas. We split a peanut butter cookie and a pepperoni pizza. Strange combination--but yummy. We skipped the ski resort on our way down -- although it is unusual to find one of those this far south.

Final stop was the Agua Allente Park. This is a true oasis. The park surrounds an artesian spring fed lake that has ducks and turtles and is surrounded by tall palm trees. We took a short hike through just a fraction of the site. It was very peaceful and refreshing, a relief from the desert.

We got home about 5:30, and after taking a Dr. Pepper break, we took a walk around the neighborhood in search of a good sunset view. The sunsets here are great. There are usually a few clouds around that swirl around in the crimson glow of the sunset. As and extra plus, you have the mountains in the background. We were busy taking pictures and happened to look behind us. There was a large cloud with a glow at the top. The glow was the moon and we watched as it rose out of the cloud. Quite a show. Once it rose, we realized the cloud looked a lot like a UFO. A beautiful Arizona night.

Day 11: Tucson Gem Show - Part 1

We slept in till about 8 am. No sunrise this morning, but when Teresa went outside she noticed the cloud formations and came and got me. Very dramatic. We also noticed that houses here do not have lawns, just rocks and desert plants. Being from the Pacific Northwest (wet side) it all looks very dusty and barren to me. Yesterday I noticed a lot of street names ended in "verde." Our host told us that means "green" in Spanish. I told Teresa this morning as we were driving to the Gem Show along one of the "green" roads, "They call this green??" Teresa said, "It's all relative."

We found the signs for the Gem Show and entered the parking lot. It was as if we were attending a concert or something. They had lots of people directing traffic. We got parked and followed folks into the door of a gigantic tent. A woman stopped us at the door and asked if we had registered. We looked puzzled and she said, "this show is wholesale only." We asked where we could go and she pointed to a stack of thick magazine-like show guides. "All the information you need is in there." So we went out to the car to try and figure out our next move.

After consulting the guide and a map, we decided to try the 22nd and I=10 location and headed out. After a few wrong turns due to human (me) error, we arrived at a large tent with a park-yourself parking lot. We scored a spot right in front and headed inside. WOW. Folks say you can't really describe the Gem Show--you have to experience it. And what an experience it is. We entered a huge tent filled with vendors selling jewelry of all kinds, rocks, gemstones, beads, marble carvings, and various related goods from all over the world.

It took us over an hour to get through the tent. Hungry for more, we went under the freeway to a frontage road with a number of motels each taken over by the Gem Show. Parking lots were occupied , lobbies were occupied, the restaurants were occupied, even the ground-floor rooms were occupied by tents and vendors. Sort of a new take off on Occupy Tucson.

We finally found an unoccupied restaurant at about 3pm and stopped to eat and rest our feet, and to get ready for the hike back to the car. I was so glad we have been hiking every day. This was a hike, just a different type of trail. After finding our car again (with a few wrong turns), we stopped at Fry's to pick up a pizza and headed home with our treasures and sore feet.

Tomorrow we are going to hike through the craft district at Tubac.

Day 10: Sedona to Tucson, AZ

We got up early again and just made it to Bell Rock for the sunrise. It is not nearly as dramatic as the Grand Canyon, but it is so interesting to see how the light and shadows change as the sun comes up. We had breakfast, packed up, and headed down highway 179. This road is an absolute treasure trove of interesting points of interest. We just got a few miles down the road and there was another view point turn off. This happened to be the Red Rock Ranger station and Information center. In addition to the great territorial view, we got useful information on other places of interest that we probably would not have found on our own.

First stop was the V Bar V Heritage Site. This used to be a private ranch and the original fireplace was left in place (without the house). The rancher kept trespassers off the property with a shootgun and preserved the petroglyph cliffs on the property. The site is now run by the Forest Service and has the largest known petroglyph rock site in the Verde Valley, as well as one of the best preserved. When we got there we were greeted by a volunteer host couple (she ran the small information center and he gave informational talks at the petroglyph site.

As we left to go up the trail he said, "Don't step in the pies." They meant cow pies. Evidently 4 cows wandered onto the property somehow and were scaring the tourists and depositing pies on the path. The couple has been trying to shoo them off and clean up. They told us that yesterday they saw one of the cows literally jump over the fence - reminiscent of that cow that jumped over the moon. We didn't see the cows and avoided the pies.

The petroglyphs were fantastic. The rocks were covered with a naturally occurring substance called desert varnish that preserves the carvings. These petroglyphs were made by the Sinagua people who lived here between A.D. 900-1300. They were farmers and this was a sacred area for them. Archeologists have discovered that these rocks act as a calendar with the sun shining on various glyphs at certain times of the year indicating the planting cycle. Using a sundial-like technique to act as a calendar is reminded me of what we saw in Mayan ruins in Mexico.

Two exits down on I-17 we stopped at the Montezuma Castle National Monument. At one time this dwelling house about 45 persons. It was built into a cliff similar to the Pueblo dwellings in Colorado. My first question was, "how did they get up there?" Answer: They used a series of ladders, caves, and ledges. The Spaniard explorers who discovered the abandoned "castle", thought it was Aztec -- hence the name. But the inhabitants were none other than our friends from the V Bar V, the Sinagua. There was another larger structure that housed about 100 folks. Although it had burned and collapsed, you could still see the outlines of the square rooms. In about 1300 A.D. the Sinagua left and abandoned their homes. No one knows why. There are marked similarities between the Sinagua and the modern Hopi tribe.

Back on the freeway, we started to look for those distinctive cactai, the saguaro. I remembered seeing a number of them between Sedona and Phoenix from my last trip through here with Jim. At that time, I wanted to take pictures of them, but missed my chance. So we were on the lookout. None. Then when we got down to about 3,000 feet at a town called Bumble Bee, we saw them. Teresa pulled off the freeway at Black Canyon City to see if we could find some to photograph. We didn't have any luck until we were about ready to get back on the freeway an ran into a sign for a municipal park and cemetery. So we ended up walking through the cemetery taking photos of the saguaro. Later we discovered that there is a National Park just north of Tucson named Saguaro National Park! So I'm guessing we will have more chances for photos.

We made it through Phoenix. I hadn't noticed drivers very much in California, Nevada, Utah -- but in Phoenix they are crazy. Teresa asked me to look behind to see if anyone was coming when she was about to change lanes and I see this car coming up fast and zipping between lanes. Then there was another, and another. The Trip-Tik that we have has a stamp over all the Arizona pages which says "traffic rules strictly enforced." So we expected drivers to be well-behaved. Not so. Our host here confirmed our observation. He told us that "strictly enforced" meant you could drive 10 mph over the speed limit -- but if you drove 11 mph over, you would get ticketed. And the speed limit is 75 in most places on the freeway!

We made it to Tucson around 4:30 and found Teresa's friend's house. Unfortunately, her friend is not here right now, but her father is hosting us. He took us out to guide us to the Gem Show headquarters and we went to Fry's (like Fred Myers) for some provisions. Now we are doing laundry and relaxing for a while. Tomorrow we will check out the Gem Show. We'll be in Tucson for about a week alternating between points of interest and the Gem Show.

Day 9: Grand Canyon to Sedona

We woke up early, so decided to go out to the rim for the sunrise. It was very cold, but worth it. As we were walking back we encountered a group getting ready for a mule ride along the Bright Angel trail. The group was gathered for their safety talk. Several tour guides (in cowboy hats) and a group of mules hung around near by. The guide was telling the folks that their mule would walk close to the edge of the trail from time to time. When this happens they should NOT lean away from the edge. This is because not remaining upright in the saddle would loosen it. I'm thinking NO WAY are you getting me on that tour.

Teresa and I headed for our spot in he cafeteria for some coffee to warm up. We split one of the cafeteria's home-baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast. The lodge here is not as posh as the one at Zion. No free breakfast and cafeteria style. The closest thing to a prickly pear margarita was Gallo wine in a small bottle. They did have a small pizza place off to the side which we tried last night. The Bright Angel Lodge on the rim has a bar and restaurant. We frequented the Bright Angel Lodge fireplace in the lobby. That's where we tried to warm up as we were waiting for the sun to rise or set.

Once we could move our fingers and toes again, we headed back to the room to pack up. We checked out and headed south. We skirted Flagstaff, taking the I-17 exit south and then the 89A exit for Sedona. There was a "scenic" marking on the map for this route, so we decided to take it rather than doubling back on highway 179. Soon after we turned onto the road, we saw a speed limit 25 sign. It soon became apparent why. The road was filled with switchbacks and hairpin turns. It was only 25 miles to Sedona, but we went down over 1,000 feet. We started to see the red rock formations, and it was pretty. When we got about 10 miles out of Sedona the road straightened out (relatively) and we started seeing a number of signs for roadside and state parks. Then we saw the distinctive red rock formations and we were in Sedona.

It's hard to describe the red rocks that tower over the city. Very beautiful and right in your face. So Sedona joins Weed and Springdale in that respect. We drove through East Sedona which is filled with tourist places, eating establishments , galleries, shopping village, hotels, etc. Very trendy and packed with people. Sedona is a town of traffic circles. They are everywhere. We managed to circle to highway 179 south and continued on. This road (highway 179) is fantastic. There are so many rock formations and viewpoints, one after the other.

We went south until we got to Oak Creek Village, a small burg nestled under some fantastic rock formations with a number of motels that are cheaper than those in Sedona. Not nearly as congested with cars and people. More our kinda place, so we checked into a motel. Then we immediately set out to see the area. We stopped at Red Rock State Park and took a hike to several view points. The ranger at the gate said he had just spotted a javelina (The Javelina - Sedona, Arizona's Famous Pig-Like Desert Dweller) We didn't see it, but we did go on the Javelina Trail and got a good view of several of the rock formations.

Next stopped at Crescent Moon Ranch State Park. Neither my golden pass, or the State Park pass we had just purchased for the Red Rock park was accepted, so we paid $9.00 to get in. Once we started going along the trails, we discovered that they entered Forest Service land. That's where all the good views of Cathedral Rock were -- on Forest Service land. Strange.

At about 5 pm we headed out for the airport. The hotel person had told us this was THE place to view the sunset. The airport is up on a mesa and you can see for miles in all directions. We stopped at the overlook area crowded with tourists with cameras. We fit right in. We were about an hour before sunset and it was getting cold (not as cold as GC) . I think I'm always going to associate the sunrise or sunset with COLD. Maybe Tucson will cure me of that.

After the sunset view we headed back to Oak Creek Village and had dinner at a Thai restaurant that was next to the motel. Food was very good. Teresa ordered a soup which was served in a hot pot with an actual flame going through the middle. It was quite a flame. She tried to blow it out unsuccessfully. It keep the soup boiling hot, and we both ladled out several bowls before the flame eventually went out. I ordered a dish with "Mee" noodles (I couldn't resist). They were crispy and sweet -- reminded me of rice krispy treats.

Tomorrow we are headed for home base in Tucson where the Gem Show awaits.