BACK IN FLORENCE, ARIZONA

Our Goosenecks camp spot under storm clouds

The above all taken at Valley of the Gods National Monument

The above two are the Herringbone Hills near Goosenecks State Park

Goosenecks area from Mulie Point

Long shot to Monument Valley from Mulie Point above Gossenecks

Over view of Valley of the Gods

Neat rock abstract

We moved south from Monument Valley to Tusayan, Arizona which is at the southern entrance to the Grand Canyon and spent two nights in a private RV park. The park was okay but their internet was not up to standard. We wasted lots of time trying to get a signal. We had stopped at Desert View on the way in on Saturday but had to keep going sp we could find a parking spot before dark. We spent six hours wandering east from the village on Sunday. The weather was gorgeous, the crowds large and the scenery great. We woke to a very cool temperature on Monday morning and Aileen said it’s time we got down to warmer weather. So we did. We put in a long day for us, 9-5 on the road although we did have an hour for lunch as Aileen’s friend Bev called just as we finished eating and they chatted awhile. We also stopped at a Walmart for a few things and a couple times for gas and we also checked some outlet stores in Anthem for Aileen’s particular shoes but they only had the lower quality ones. At 4:55 PM we drove in the Caliente gate. We had quite a time getting the trailer backed into position under it’s covered garage. We are going to have to move one of the posts further back too give us a little more room to turn. After getting set up we joined some of the neighbours for a short happy hour and hugs. It was great getting back to our private swimming pool and hot tub! We had it to ourselves both nights, everyone else is glued to their boob tubes, I guess.

Most of Tuesday was spent moving from the travel trailer into the park model, which once again seems huge. Aileen also gave me a very good haircut with the new clippers we bought yesterday. The clippers seemed to work very well. We went to Coolidge for groceries mid afternoon. There was quite a dust storm blowing and visibility was a little limited in spots but not seriously. It blew constantly all afternoon and evening.

We won’t get internet at the trailer until November 6^th as they are rather booked up already. We will have to content ourselves with going to the clubhouse and using the free Wi-Fi until then. Aileen’s computer is misbehaving and won’t connect to anything. We don’t know if she pushed a wrong button or if something else has happened. I suspect we’ll have to find a computer geek somewhere to get it back on track. It seems to lock on to a signal strongly but won’t load any programs.

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It's the time of year for Juniper berries to drop

The hoodoo from Mulie Point

And from below the next day

Last light at Goosenecks Park

Sunset at Goosenecks

North Window

The above shots are from Monument Valley

Grand Canyon shots

MONUMENT VALLEY

Our campsite in Comb Wash. Nearest neighbour to the left about 1 mile, to the right 6 miles!

Old native granary in the rocks about 1/2 mile from camp

View from trailer at Comb Wash camp

Old ranchers cabin in lower Comb Wash

The view from the back

Twin rocks in Bluff, Utah

The canyon at Natural Bridges NM

Looking down on Kachina Natural Bridge

Looking back up from the bottom near Kachina Natural Bridge

I help hold the bridge in place, I had to whole area to myself for the first 20 minutes

The view from the other side

Owachomo Natural Bridge

Another view of Comb Wash, our campsite is almost out of the picture to the right

The Moki Dugway

Goosenecks State Park

The Herringbone Hills just east of Goosenecks

On the 16^th we found a great campsite in Comb Wash off of Utah 95. The only downside was the sand hole we drove through to get there! We kind of got suckered into it as once you started down the road there was no place to turn around. With 4x4 we got through but we weren’t too keen on trying it the other way. We spent four nights camped along there and was it ever quiet. Aileen had a couple of rest days as she wasn’t feeling well so I wandered off on my own. I drove the 26.9 kms down the dirt road we were camped on to ensure it was okay to leave via. Another day I went to Natural Bridges National Monument. I hiked down to the bottom of two of the bridges which was kind of neat. On the third day, Aileen was up to some travel so we went west on 95 then south on 261 which took us down the Moki Dugway. It’s a rather interesting road which is not for the faint of heart. It literally drops 1,700 feet down the side of a cliff. They basically used a series of ledges with a few rock cuts to achieve very modest grades. From there we visited Goosenecks State Park which is quite outstanding. The river travels over six miles but only achieves two miles as the crow flies and the cut is 1,000 feet deep. While there we met a couple from Victoria, BC who live three blocks from the university our son teaches at. Interestingly, the man started his working career at the Bank of Commerce in Parksville in 1960. This tiny bank is the one Aileen started her career in, in 1967!

We had noticed that free camping was permitted just along from the Goosenecks viewpoint so we moved down there on the 20^th. We had awoken to rain pounding on the roof and were a little concerned about some of the creeks flooding but they were all dry and dust was flying before long on our 26.9 km journey down the dirt road which took just over 1.5 hours. We got the spot I selected at Goosenecks and had the best possible alignment for the solar panels. They aren’t working to capacity though with the sun so low in the sky. I plan to make them adjustable this winter so I can stand them up when we’re parked for several days. We’re going to have to invest in a generator for cloudy days as well so I’m hoping they have a good price on them in Quartzsite during the RV show.

Today we moved down to Monument Valley and are ensconced in a very pricey RV park. $42 is almost criminal in my estimation for a place to spend the night. However that is the price to pay for internet and power in a place like this which only has the one. There was only one other place and that was inside the native park and it was merely a wide leveled dirt pile and you’d have to buy a day pass every day even if you weren’t using the rest of the park. One night only, must keep that in mind.

We’ve had some bad news regarding our rented house. The tenant has moved out and the property manager tells us good tenants are hard to find now with so many deciding to buy while the market was low. So we now have to get the utilities back in our name, make sure the house is ready for winter, let the insurance know the house is empty etc. On top of that, the strata AGM next week is to discuss a motion restricting the number of rentals permitted. We’re thinking we’ve about had it with stratas.

We plan to move on down the road tomorrow but have no idea where we’ll get to. So there you have it; a plan with no plan!