Day 9 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 9 Tuesday July 15 2008

Today we are leaving Flagstaff Arizona and heading for Sedona Arizona. One of our friends recommended that if we were in this part of Arizona, that we should go and see Sedona. I now know why he recommended it so highly.

We took the Oak Creek Canyon Road, South out of Flagstaff. It begins by passing through thick pine forests for about 10 miles before descending suddenly and spectacularly into Oak Creek Canyon. The road is a fun scenic drive, with lots of switchbacks and a new and breathtaking view around every bend. The Oak Creek Canyon is the second most visited area in Arizona, after the Grand Canyon. The town of Sedona is situated at the southern end of the canyon where the cliffs open out into other canyons and an extensive, scenic red-rock wilderness in all directions.



There is a wonderful overlook pull off area that has lots of parking and beautiful views looking down into the Canyon. There are native vendors set up to sell their wares, also there is a visitors center and washrooms. From the overlook, you can see the switchback road as it curves downward into the canyon. In the first photo you can see 3 different levels of the road The second photo is looking down on the road at the very bottom of the canyon. It is a good thing that I have a powerful zoom lens or that motorhome would have looked like an ant.





As you start to enter into Sedona, the canyon opens up and you start to see the red rock formations that Sedona is so well known for. Each rock formation has its own name, based on the shape of the formation. There is Cathedral Rock, Snoopy Rock, Steamboat Rock etc etc etc.

This picture is of Cathedral Rock



Every view and vista is breathtaking. My camera can't capture the beauty of this area, so if you have never been, you must go.

Our yellow car really shows off how red the landscape is.



Click on Sedona or Oak Creek Canyon if you want to learn more about this area of Arizona.

You can see all of our photos that we took today on my Flickr site

Tomorrow we are going to check out The Verde Canyon aboard the Verde Canyon Railroad.

Day 8 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 8 Monday July 14 2008.

Today is pretty much a day of doing laundry, re-packing our suitcases and relaxing. Tomorrow we are heading South to Sedona Arizona. No pictures today, but you can be sure that our drive to Sedona will be full of photo opportunities.

Day 7 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 7 Sunday July 13, 2008.

Today we have a full day of sightseeing planned. Starting with the Meteor Crater, then the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. All are within an hour drive East of Flagstaff. We started off with Meteor Crater.

There is a great deal of information about the Meteor Crater on Wikipedia but basically this is a crater that was formed by a meteor slamming into the Arizona Desert. Here are a couple of the photos that I took while we were there.



This is an actual piece of the meteor.



We then moved along to The Painted Desert and The Petrified Forest, they are combined together into one National Park, and have a very nice self directed driving tour road throughout, just follow the signs and get out at the lookouts. Each lookout is well marked and often there is signage containing historical significance or general information.

The painted desert sure lived up to its name. I have never seen topography or so much colour in the land and the rocks as I have seen here. The pictures do not do it justice, because the landscape is constantly changing colour before your eyes, as the sun and the clouds play over the land. Every time you look at something, it is a different shade, or hue, or intensity of colour. Look again and it has changed slightly or drastically. Check out Wikipedia for more in depth information about The Painted Desert.

Here are a few of my photos.









Here is a VIDEO that I took of the Painted Desert

Back in it's day, Route 66 used to pass straight through the Painted Desert. Although the road is nothing but a dirt trail now and not drivable, you can still see evidence of the old road by following the hydro poles as they lead off towards the horizon.



At this spot there is a small roadside monument erected to mark where the original Route 66 was as it passed through this area. You can see the transport trucks on I-40 in the distance.



A few more of the more spectacular photos of the Painted Desert.





From here following the road, we came into the Petrified Forest part of the park. We were not sure what to expect... What is a petrified forest? We were expecting to see standing trees, a forest, that had somehow turned to rock, so we were surprised by what we did see. No standing trees, but bits and pieces of trees and tree trunks scattered across the landscape. To learn more about The Petrified Forest, you can click on this Wikipedia link








An up close photo of a chunk of petrified wood

As we were leaving the park, a summer storm was setting up on the horizon.

To see all of my photos from today you can visit my Flickr Site.

Day 6 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 6 Saturday July 12 2008

This morning we are off to see one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. There is a great deal of iniformation about The Grand Canyon on Wikipedia if you want to learn more. We are touring with American Dream Tours. They picked us up right at the front door of the hotel.



The drive to the Grand Canyon took a little over an hour. I would recommend taking a tour rather than driving yourself. There is no doubt that we saw a lot more and learned a lot more having our driver/guide along with us. He brought a high powered telescope and showed us things that could not be seen with the naked eye. There was also a great picnic lunch provided halfway through the day.

We entered through the park entrance and rather than go to the most popular and most congested Mather Point Lookout, we went to the lesser known but equally impressive Yavapai Lookout. Here the crowds were few and we were able to wander around and get unblocked views of the canyon. Had we driven on our own, I am sure we would have gotten to Mather Point and that would have been the extent of our Grand Canyon Experience. With the tour, we went to at least 6 different lookout areas. Here is my first view and picture of the Grand Canyon.



It was a hot and humid day, and the haze shows up in the photos. I really think that September would probably be the best month, it would be cooler and no haze. One of our other tour group members took our picture for us.





Here is a VIDEO that I took while at the Yavapai Lookout.

Here is another VIDEO from the Yavapai Lookout

We then drove to Tusayan Ruins and the Watch Tower Lookout. Here is a picture of the Watch Tower. Our driver/guide is explaining the significance of this site to our group.



After the Watch Tower we went to the Grand View Lookout.



We had been dodging rain clouds most of the day, but here the rain caught up to us and it was time to head back to Flagstaff.

All I can say is that if you have never been to The Grand Canyon, you should go, and if you have been, well you should go again. I know that Karen and I will be back.

I took a couple of hundred photos today, so if you are interested in seeing more of The Grand Canyon, you can click on the link below and visit my Flickr Page.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21055823@N07/sets/72157606389469399/

Day 5 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 5 Friday July 11 2008


We are all unpacked and settled into our hotel room here in Flagstaff Arizona. The Days Inn is right on Route 66. They have a fabulous breakfast buffet. Not your typical bagels and cereal like at most hotels. This place has a real buffet, with Belgian Waffles as the main feature, but they also have bacon, eggs, different breads, bagels, a variety of cereal, fresh fruits and wonderful pasteries. They are stingy though, because more often than not, I had to track down the hostess and point out to her that various trays or items needed replenishing. For example if there was no Frosted Flakes Cereal, I would have to ask and she would go to the back room and bring out 2 packages. I tried to explain to her that what she should do is bring out a dozen and quit letting things run out, but she never caught on to that concept. I am sure she got tired of seeing me every day, because I was always pointing out something that needed refilling. Beyond that, the breakfasts were the best we have had so far on our journey.

After breakfast we drove around Flagstaff to get our bearings and stopped into the Visitors Centre. We picked up lots of brochures and asked some questions. While we were driving around we found a Baskin Robins very near to the hotel. They even had Karen's favourite flavour Double Chocolate Fudge. It is very rare that a Baskin Robins will have this flavour, so it was a special treat every night for the next 5 nights to go to Baskin Robins for dessert.

We had lunch at the Crown Railroad Cafe, it was a neat little restaurant that had several railroad tracks laid out with trains running on them. After lunch we headed out to what is possibly Flagstaffs most popular Route 66 attraction... The Museum Club. Flagstaff is a Route 66 town, and although we are not officially starting our Route 66 roadtrip, since we are here we might as well take in some of the Route 66 ambiance.

As you will see in the upcoming pictures in the days ahead, our car is featured in many of our photographs.. The car is very photogenic.



There is a huge wishbone like tree trunk in the entrance door of The Museum Club. Somewhere on the internet is a photo of when this tree was originally cut down. The trunk is inverted, originally there was the one trunk coming out of the ground and then the two branches above. When turned upside down like this it looks much like a wishbone.



The Museum Club got its start as a very odd tourist attraction. Built in 1931 by Dean Eldredge as a museum to house his extensive taxidermied animals and curiosities, it has become a Route 66 landmark. Early Route 66 tourists would stop at his museum and for a mere 25 cents would be shown some of the strangest oddities of nature. In 1936 after Dean passed away, his museum was turned into a night club ~ or a road house. A lot of the taxidermied animals are still inside. Looking at the photos closely, I can see a lot of the 1931 dust and cob webs.





We stayed for a couple of drinks, but needless to say, we did not stick around for dinner, as the sign in the next photo indicates what is on the menu.



When we got back to our hotel room, we started going through our brochures that we had picked up and found a tour company that offered tours to the Grand Canyon. We called and they had room for us on tomorrows tour van, so we booked our spaces. They will come to the hotel to pick us up at 9am.

We then went across the road to a popular Route 66 Restaurant. The Galaxy is a very typical 50's style diner. The burgers and shakes were delicious.





As it happened there is a show and shine every Friday night so after dinner we got to wander around and admire all of the old cars.








Check out my Flickr site if you wish to see all of my photos from today.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21055823@N07/sets/72157606389645435/