2022 - West - May 27 - Kanab Utah - Peek-a-Boo Slot Canyon

We made it to Kanab Utah today, a five-hour drive from Camp Verde.  Despite the long drive we could not sit still. Love this place. This is our fourth time here and there are always new adventures.  

A few years back we attempted the drive back through deep sand to the Peek-a-Boo slot canyon. We nearly got stuck and turned around.   This afternoon, we aired down our tires and drove the 4 miles through a sea of sand and we were rewarded with views of a beautiful slot canyon.  The trip to the slot was mainly downhill, but even then there were times when we were slowed to a crawl.  We were concerned the the trip back to civilization would be thru the same deep sand only this time it would be uphill.  We aired the tires down a bit more and made the trip back successfully.

Click on this link and ride with us: Part of our journey back to the Highway.

2022 - West - May 26 - Grand Canyon

 It started out a beautiful day.  We thought it would be nice, seeing we are so close, to visit the Grand Canyon.  We had not been there since 2006. We were much younger then and the Canyon was a much "nicer" place. The scenery was the same - the stupendous vistas down into the canyon never changed. 

Unfortunately, mankind has since put his ugly mark on things now. You can no longer drive anywhere; you have to park in overcrowded parking lots and load onto buses which frequently stop at places you don't care about.  It took about 30 minutes on a bus to drive about a mile to where we wanted to be. 

Back then you had to really look for elk; today they lay around the park posing for pictures.

Also, I was much younger then and my fear of heights had not fully kicked in. I actually road a mule to the bottom of the canyon (Phantom Ranch) while Vaughan hiked down. 

That is me on the far left back in 2006 riding Rowdy (wearing a muzzle because he would chew on the saddle).

Today, however, Vaughan and I attempted to hike partially down Kaibab Trail. I had hiked it before down to Cedar Point and remembered it being tough walking back out but never felt the gut-wrenching fear I felt today. I knew how badly he wanted to go but after about the 3rd or 4th switchback nothing in the world was going to make me go any farther. My arms flew up like a tight-rope walker, it became hard to breathe, and tears started flowing.  

Here I am pinned to the side of the cliff so Vaughan could get a picture.

Here is my view of the "fall" down - 

And here I am hightailing it back to the top before someone had to carry me out. I felt bad holding Vaughan back from his dare-devil ways but not even the promise of prime rib or lobster could have made me take another step,

Other than that the views from the top were amazing.

The drive home took us back towards Sedona through Oak Canyon.

This fabulous metal dragon stayed in Sedona. I thought about strapping him to the top of the RV but the bridge clearings on the way back would have taken him out.  

Tomorrow we head for Kanab Utah for about a week.

2022 - West - May 17 - May 25 - Tucson to Camp Verde & Sedona

 As many of you know we bought a new motorcoach last year.  This was her maiden voyage and it has not been without issues.  The main problem is the steering wheel controls - we had none. There was no cruise control, no horn, no radio control, but most of all NO WIPERS!  Luckily it has not rained but we didn't want to get stuck somewhere in this big rig and not be able to see (also, Vaughan's leg was getting tired driving about 2000 miles without cruise).

We had a difficult time finding someone to diagnose the problem and then fix it. Meanwhile, there were a few recalls that really needed to be addressed. We found a shop in Tucson that said they could handle the job - Hurray!  We spent an entire week sitting in their lounge while they attempted to figure things out and get parts. This is not fun when you are travelling with a cat and it's in the 90s. There was no "let's go out and hike" with a cat. Long story short we got her fixed and finally got back on the road yesterday.

At least they brought the coach out of the garage each night and had hook-ups next to their facility - which was right behind a Pilot travel center with at least 50 truckers each night and wreckers hauling the unfortunate ones up beside you in the middle of the night.

On Tuesday we were able to get back on the road. Our 10 night stay in the Sedona area was now down to 3 but we will manage to fit as much in as we can.

Today, May 25, we first spent in Sedona hiking the Broken Arrow Trail.  Beautiful views and flowers all along the way. 

Great hike but only one other creature other than lizards and birds.

That is Sedona nestled down in the valley - 

Vaughan wanted me to take this detour called High on the Hog. It looked more like High on a Cliff so I refused.  He went out a little ways so I could take his picture (that's him on the left side in the middle of the pic).

The long white sand stone formation is known as The Submarine - 

Vaughan supervising Pink Jeep Tours - 

Vaughan standing on Chicken Point - 

From the Schnedly Trail - 

From Montezuma's Castle in Camp Verde - 

I love blooming cacti -