November 26, 2023 Travel to Huachuca City

After saying our “see you laters” to Ann and Mick, we were on our way south.

I love this part of the southwest – it truly is beautiful.

 

 

The pictures do not convey the vastness and the beauty.  The same landscape changes depending on the clouds or the position of the sun.  It is truly breathtaking.

Once we set up, we did some shopping in Sierra Vista and then decided to take a little ride out towards Sonoita.  Oh my – Beautiful! 

What a treat! 

Aren’t they beautiful!

 

About 50 yards behind the horses was a 4x4.  Looks like the rancher was rounding up his horses.

I love the colors of the grasses:

 

When the wind blows, the grasses make designs. WOW!

 

What a beautiful ride!

This is Gray’s favorite place to watch the world go by – :

We are staying at Quail Ridge RV Park in Huachuca City.  I made the reservations in September thru RPI.  When I picked up my packet, they are not giving me the discount so tomorrow I will be finding out why!

We will be staying here until Sunday so stay tuned and enjoy today.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled:  25 Miles (Very short day!)

Arizona: I-10; Ocotillo Avenue;  Saguaro Drive; AZ-80; I-10; AZ-90; AZ-82

September 21–23, 2014 Our time in Mossyrock Washington

September 21st

We hung out a little this morning because our space at Lake Mayfield was rented until this morning and check out time was 11 AM.   So round about that time, we hooked up and headed south then east to Lake Mayfield Resort in Mossyrock.

Scenes along the way:

The resort is nestled in that cove:

Another view of the lake:

We checked in to our site next to Bruce and Sue, set up, and hung out the rest of the day.  We ended the evening with a great campfire – .

Miles Traveled: 33 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington:  Floral Street; Gold Street; National Avenue; Commerce Way; I-15; US-12; Winston Creek Road; Hadaller Road

Monday, September 22nd

We took off this morning to check out more campgrounds in the area.  I have friends coming to visit this weekend and we wanted to make sure the Alder Lake Campground was really where we wanted to be.  So off we went.

We checked out Lake Mayfield Campground – nice place – and then continued to Alder Lake.  It is a nice campground so we will be moving there on Wednesday.

On our way back, we decided to have lunch at the Mount Rainier Railroad Dining Company:

The company has a number of old trains and cabooses converted into hotel rooms, lounge, and dining area.  Here is the car where we had lunch:

Lunch with Sue and Bruce:

More information can be found here: http://rrdiner.com/about-us

We slowly made our way back with a stop at Ike Kinswa State Park – they also have a nice campground.    We ended the day with another great campfire.

Tuesday, September 23rd

We woke to rain, rain, and more rain.  So I cleaned and did laundry in town and Andy went with Bruce to get wood.  The rest of the day was spent hanging out.

Tomorrow we head to Alder Lake so stay tuned and enjoy today.

May 16, 2013 Travel to Grand Canyon North Rim

I woke this morning feeling much better and we headed on down the road – first east to Arizona:

Where the road goes on forever:

We turned south at Fredonia and headed up and up into the mountains and the Kaibab National Forest:

Large fire here in 2006:

Beautiful Alpine Meadows at 8000’ feet in elevation:

Snow, oh my:

And herds of mule deer:

This area was just opened yesterday, 15th, and that includes the road, lodges, campgrounds and national park.  We settled into the DeMotte Campground – Kaibab National Forest and then headed to the Grand Canyon North Rim:

We first went to the lodge.

  When you walk in past registration, you come to the overlook of the lounge.  Notice the view thru the windows:

AWESOME!  There is a porch / balcony on each side of this lounge with incredible views.

The auditorium:

Outside view of the lodge:

In the center, the area jutting out is called Bright Angel Point so we headed out that way:

The views from the point:

One of the cabins:

We saw this guy flying:

This is a California Condor.

“Fossil evidence shows that condors have nested in the Grand Canyon area for approximately 50,000 years.  During the Pleistocene, when the canyon had a cooler and wetter climate, the California condor scavenged carcasses of sloth, mammoth, and horse.  A once flourishing bird, the California condor was almost gone by the 1980’s when there were fewer than two dozen left in the world.  Scientists have been working to re-establish their presence in central California and northern Arizona.  One confirmation of a successful reintroduction program is reproduction in the wild.”

This condor is being tracked – notice the number on his wings.

And for another good story:

Here is Brighty and, of course, we rubbed his nose – :

We came back and sat out by the fireplace but it got too windy (there is a front coming thru – ).  So back inside, I took a nap (still not up to par), while Andy read.   This evening we both read!

Tomorrow we are doing the Rim Tour so stay tuned!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 120 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Utah: Old Highway 91; 5300 W Street; SR-9; SR-59

Arizona: SR-389; US-89A; SR-67