4 Jun,2010,Fri - Page, AZ - I woke up late this morning - because I didn't sleep well last night because it was too warm (it was 90 degrees still when I went to bed last night) - and it was already 90 degrees outside when I woke up this morning!! And the forecast in Phoenix is for a high of 112 on Sunday!!! :-( I talked to the guy who's doing the minor repairs on my RV and he said the part for the awning won't get here till Tuesday or Wednesday. :-( (I can't believe it's taking so long to get these little projects completed. :-( But that's another story.) So, I decided to get out of town for a few days. :-) I am so tired of just sitting here in my RV, baking, waiting for the repairs to get done. And I am so eager to get on the road - it feels like FOREVER - it has been six months!! - since I had Carri on the road. That's a long time for me. So - I got ready to go as quickly as I could, and I was on the road before noon. My mood improved immensely, as soon as I got on the highway.I thought of my friends Mike and Rhonda often, as I drove from Phoenix to Flagstaff. The last time I drove that road, in April, they were with me, and I was making my "travel guide" comments as we drove down the road. That road really should be designated as a scenic byway. I will never get tired of driving it. It's an incredible drive, with amazing views. Especially compared to some of the scenic byways I've traveled. (I'm thinking of one in South Dakota...) I especially appreciated the contrast with my recent New England driving, when I crested the last mountain, saw the Verde Valley spread out before me, the Mogollon Rim opposite, and the San Francisco peaks in the distance - a view maybe 60 miles long, or more! :-) [San Francisco Peaks top photo]
I stopped at the Sunset Crater National Monument north of Flagstaff. My friend Nancy told me, back when we first started traveling together, that she makes it a point to stop at all national parks, monuments, etc., because if a place is significant enough to be designated a national treasure, it's generally worth a visit. And I've found that to be good advice. I wasn't disappointed with Sunset Crater either. The first part of the park is a fairly recent volcanic crater, with a copper-colored top, and with lots of jagged black lava flows and cinder cones. Definitely worth the drive through. As you are leaving the cinder cone area, you see the incredibly beautiful Painted Desert in the distance. Way in the distance. With the valley spread out below you. Again. It's one of those things you just have to see, to appreciate.
The second part of the park is ancient Anasazi ruins. Also worth a visit. I stopped at the Wukoki, or "Great House" ruins. It was hot. It's desert, and summertime. The three-story building is still partially standing, though it was built 800 years ago, a testament to the builders. It was built in such a way that the breeze came through, and the one complete room left standing was amazingly cool. I could see there was still some snow on the San Francisco peaks near Flagstaff in the distance (though not as much as when I was there in April), and the juxtaposition of the snow-tipped mountain in the distance and the desert heat, was always with me. I tried to imagine what it must have been like to live in that place....and then to have a volcano blow your world away!! I love the red sandstone in this part of the country, and, appreciated the contrast with the sage all around. God has an excellent sense of color! :-)
I got to drive some new roads today, and that is always a treat for me. The last part of the road to Page runs beside, then into, and through, the Vermillion Cliffs, which are gorgeous. [Correction: though they looked like the Vermillion Cliffs, they were actually the Echo Cliffs.] This is another road that should be designated a scenic byway, for sure.
The sun was setting as I got to Page, but I did get to see the Glen Canyon Dam and a glimpse of Lake Powell before it got dark.
This evening I'm sitting with the breeze blowing through my RV, enjoying the wonderful warm - but not too hot! - weather. :-)
I'm looking forward to a fun day tomorrow!
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