Well, this was unexpected. The one thing we have been avoiding we wake up to the next morning after settling in our campsite in Flagstaff. We had to admit it was pretty.  Along with the snow the temperatures have gone way down. In the mid twenties at night. We have to disconnect our water hoses at night so they don’t freeze. We make the best of it. The mountain behind our campsite is Mt. Eldon.

My. Eldon is behind the park. We were happy to find hiking trails all through the area. Jim and Diggity headed back to the trailer while Doogie and I hiked up to a view of Flagstaff. Fortunately for me Doogie helps pull me up some of the climb. He’s a great hiker.

Going into Flagstaff we realize that Route 66 goes right through the middle of town. It is amazing how popular this road is. Finished in 1926 it ran from Chicago, Il. To Santa Monica Ca. 2,448 miles. Full of history it really got popular with a song, Get your kicks on Route 66. Big Interstates  have replace it in many states. Some of States have embraced it and reestablished it as State Highway 66.

Today we drive down to Sedona to visit Steve Herrman. We met him on a trip to follow the Tour De France in 2004. We traveled with him and have kept in touch over the years. Steve now lives in his parents house. They built it back in the 70’s. It is a lovely home with a beautiful view over Sedona. Steve has a huge telescope on top of the house. It is really cool.

Steve’s mom was an artist. She did the bronze sculptures of a Jazz band.

We headed into town with Steve for lunch, but first a stop at his favorite bike shop, Fat Tire. We met the owner Dave Cichan, really nice fellow. Later they mentioned an old road that went down into the canyon behind the mountains you can see from Steve’s roof. They said with our truck we would have no trouble navigating it. So after good byes we head back home via Schnebley road through the Casner Canyon. Boy howdy what a trip that was. It has to be one of the coolest roads we have ever driven.

As we drove on the road climbed higher and higher. The views became more dramatic just like the road. We all bounced around inside the truck. We finally get to the summit and the road also becomes a smoother faster down hill road.

We ran into these kids while climbing and they caught up with us down in a beautiful meadow.

In the evening after dinner Jim set about getting us ready for another really cold evening. He would disconnect the hose so it wouldn’t  freeze. While he was busy doing that Doogie had gone outside. I went out because Diggity had followed him. I decided to get my coat and follow him around. In that short time he managed to really slip away. A very long hour and half later. I’m still walking around looking for him and Jim was driving around. I was busy crying. It was already 28 degrees out. Jim and I were meeting back at the trailer when he got a call. A fellow had Diggity. He had managed to cross the four lane road in front of the park and was at the Circle K convenience store. We drove down as quick as we could. We were so happy. Chris was the fellow who found him. He had to chase him around the store. He felt bad for Dig and gave him a hamburger. He thought he was hungy because he was shaking. (He always shakes).

Today we are off to the petrified forest and the painted desert. Driving there we passed through Winslow Arizona. Who out there doesn’t remember the words.” Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine sight to see. A girl my lord in a flat bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me.”  The corner is really busy. You will find a statue of Glenn Frey,a flat bed Ford and a huge Route 66 painted in the middle of the intersection.

The Petrified Forest is interesting to drive through and see huge fallen trees trunks scattered about that are truly now stone. The drive through it will take you directly into the painted desert. Many different hues of stone and sand make it unique from the rest of the landscape.

The Painted Desert Inn was built by Lyle Bennet in 1937. It is a beautiful building. The lodge was remodeled from a 1920’s inn known as the stone tree house because of all the petrified wood used in its construction. The are murals on the walls of the inn. It was busy in it’s day. The old car is just on the side of the road near the exit of the painted desert. It is a 1932 Studebaker. The boulder in the photo has petroglyphs on it. They have standing binoculars so you can see them. I still had a hard time figuring them out.

Another day of cold windy weather. We off now to see the Meteor Crater. It is the best preserved meteorite impact on Earth. It is said it traveled 26,000 miles an hour it hit the earth about 50,000 years ago. The hole it left is 570 feet deep and 4,100 feet across. A fellow named Daniel Barringer bought the crater in 1903 he was convinced it was made by a meteorite. He drilled for the meteorite but did not find it.

It’s Friday night and we find ourselves at Salsa Brava for a really great Mexican dinner. This place was great too bad it’s not in Dallas. We would be back again.

Steve Herrman is meeting us in Flagstaff and  we are going to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Jim had been wanting to go to the North Rim. Thank goodness I looked up info on the North Rim. It will not open till May, something about a lot of snow. Steve with his cool dog Cooper and Jim with Diggity and Doogie checking out the small canyon that the little Colorado River has carved out.

It is amazing how any people are visiting the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is an incredible sight. It is 27 miles long,1 mile deep and averages 10 miles across. It is 2,600 square miles. The national park preserves 1,904 square miles. What is impressive is at the bottom of the canyon is the Colorado River. It carved out the Grand Canyon!

What a great day on the way back we see the Mt.San Francisco. It is near Sedona. It can keeps its snow.  Back home we say our good byes to Steve and Cooper.

Tomorrow we head to Page Arizona and the Antelope Canyon.