Early to Mid-May 2021

We came into Arizona from New Mexico on Route 40. This route bisects the Petrified Forest National Park, and it was our first big stop in the state.

This is one of those areas that’s hard to imagine as a prehistoric rainforest where dinosaurs and reptiles once roamed. The brochure calls it a “tapestry of time,” and that’s a perfect description. The colors are stunning. Layers of pink, blue, chocolate brown, and purple are stacked like a huge layer cake. The layers on top are most recent, like the cake’s icing.

We followed the drive through the Painted Desert, stopping at overlooks to take in the scenery and view petroglyphs.

The Petrified Forest is part of this park, and was our next stop. I was really impressed with the Giant Logs Trail.

From reading the interpretative facts, I now have a better understanding of how logs are petrified. Millions of years ago, these logs were standing trees. They died and fell into a river. Buried beneath layers of mud, sand, and volcanic ash, they were protected from decay. Over time, mineral-laden ground water percolated down, carrying silica and minerals that bonded with the logs. Eventually, silica replaced all the wood material. So, the petrified logs are not made of wood, but of stone.

The brilliant, gem-like colors are from trace minerals, like manganese, copper, and iron. On a sunny afternoon, a walk among the fallen logs is like walking through shining jewels.

We continued along Route 40 to Homolovi State Park, near Winslow, Arizona. We were running late and decided to have dinner in Winslow before checking into the campground. Winslow is the town mentioned in the Eagles song, “Take It Easy”. People take selfies with the statue “Standing on the Corner,” and the restaurants feature items named after Eagles’ band members. This connection seems to be the town’s main claim to fame; not much else is happening in Winslow, as far as we could see.

However, Homolovi State Park was a real winner. The park has two Anasazi ruins sites within its boundaries. We toured both of the sites. At Homolovi II, fragments of walls, wells, and sacred spaces help you imagine the scope of this community, which once numbered more than a thousand residents.

Homolovi I is on the opposite side of the park, and we were its only visitors when we were there. We walked through the site, which is strewn with hundreds of pieces of hand painted pottery shards. Today’s Hopi people are descendants of the Anasazi, and they consider this part of their homeland. They say that the broken pottery will help guide the Bahana, or Lost Brother, when he returns.

The campground is one of the nicest we’ve visited, with great amenities and well-spaced sites.

The brilliant orange sunset brought everyone out of their campers to take photos. Arizona is known for amazing sunsets. This was our first, but not our last as we moved on.

The Grand Canyon

Camping within the National Parks is a rare treat. By a stroke of luck, we happened to tap into the first day that the Desert View campground was accepting reservations. This campground was not open at all in 2020, because of Covid. We were among the first campers to stay in 2021. This campground is on the eastern side of the South Rim. The sites are small and without showers, electric or water, but we loved this campground.

The camp hosts, Roe and Alan, were friendly and very helpful. At their suggestion, we followed a path that led from the campground right to the rim of the canyon. We perched on a giant rock and sat to enjoy the sunset. All by ourselves. It was like having our own private Grand Canyon.

We drove along the entire South Rim, walked, and hiked a number of trails.

The vastness of the Canyon is hard to comprehend.

And it is still changing; that’s another thought that’s hard to process. The ground is still shifting and the Colorado River is still hard at work. With erosion and changes in course, artifacts are still coming to light and keeping archeologists intrigued.

In time and with water, everything changes.

Leonardo da Vinci

We left the Grand Canyon and headed south to Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood. Spent a couple days walking by the lagoon, gathering ourselves, and catching up. We drove up to Sedona to take in the upscale sights and have lunch. If you stay at this campground, don’t skip the little town of Cottonwood. We did, and realized our oversight when we drove through on our way out of town. Oops! It looks like a charming town with restaurants and shops and would have been easier to navigate than Sedona.

On our way to Prescott, our route took us over Mingus Mountain, through the town of Jerome. Both were a bit of a surprise. The mountain pass road twists and turns with spectacular views (and very few guardrails!) We managed the road just fine, but this one’s definitely not for bigger rigs.

Jerome is built into the side of Cleopatra Hill. Houses, hotels and other businesses cling to the hillside.

This former copper mining town is a popular destination for history, wine tasting, dining, art galleries, and the quirky ambience of a supposed ghost town.

In Prescott, we stayed with our friends Katie and Doug. Many moons ago, Doug worked with John in his cabinetmaking business. Doug eventually moved to Arizona, but we’ve stayed in touch. Doug continued in cabinetmaking and has his own business, “High End Woodworking.” It was great fun to reconnect with Doug, meet Katie, their daughters Olivia and Charlotte and hear what they, and all the rest of their family is up to. We had so much fun hanging out that we never made it into downtown Prescott! Something for next time!

Our final stop in Arizona was Lake Havasu, where we stayed at Cattail Cove State Park.

It was hot. High nineties well before lunch. Hot, dry winds all day. We were glad to have a site with electricity so we could run the van’s air conditioner for extended periods of time. Early evening swims in the Colorado River were a welcome way to cool-down.

We ventured into the town of Lake Havasu for shopping and some air-conditioned dining.

The town of Lake Havasu is one of four cities founded by entrepreneur Robert P. McCullough. McCullough was involved in various enterprises, but is probably best known for chainsaws and aircraft. In 1967, the historic, but failing, London Bridge was put up for sale and caught the attention of Robert McCullough. McCullough purchased the bridge in 1968 for $2,460,000. (No free shipping included! Shipping and rebuilding cost much more than the purchase price. ) The external granite cladding was removed, all pieces were carefully numbered, and it was shipped through the Panama Canal, to Long Beach, CA., and then trucked from there to Lake Havasu, where it was rebuilt.

The bridge connects the lakeshore to an island with a marina and upscale vacation businesses. The London Bridge was rededicated in 1971. It was a brilliant idea on McCullough’s part. The London Bridge quickly became Arizona’s second most visited tourist attraction, after the Grand Canyon.

Next up: California