We sort of rushed our way from Nogales to Quartzsite in order to attend the "blogger-fest" on January 24th, and since then we've been doing some relaxing and visiting, and attending to some of Sherman's repairs and upgrades.
But we're already thinking about moving along, so we made a loose plan.
So, here's our approximate route over the next few weeks...
You can click on any photo to make it full screen.
We're currently at (A) Imperial Dam, California. We want to visit (B) Organ Pipe National Monument. Then head to Tucson area (C), where we hope to meet with another long time reader Grace, and visit the Titan Missile Museum. Then head north up into (D) Tonto National Forest. I know, it will be a little cooler there, but we now have our Mr. Heater Buddy 
to keep us warm at night!
to keep us warm at night!
Then, up through (E) Flagstaff and to (F) the Grand Canyon. Maybe we'll hike to the bottom again. We were there in 2006 prior to our RV'ing days. And the towards (G) the Las Vegas area. About 1,000 miles (1,600 kms) in total. Any suggestions of things to see and do along our route?
Yesterday, we did a hike up the Chocolate Mountains.
Woke up to a beautiful desert sunrise.
We set out about 10:00am towards the mountain that we look at out our side window. These two watched us every step of the way!
Yep, we're headed up there!
Some desert flowers starting to bloom.
Looking back down. Starting to get a view.
There's no trail...just scrambling over the rocks.
It was a little steep in places, and with loose rocks. Had to take our time a bit.
We made it to the top in only an hour and a half. Not bad.
Can you see Sherman? He's right in the center of the picture!
Zoomed in. There he is on the upper left, with our nearest neighbors Ron and Cindy, on the lower right.
Coming back down.
We spotted a dead tarantula along the way.
Two wild burros, with the sea of RVs in the background.
On the way back down we stopped by to say hello to our neighbors Ron and Cindy. Turns out they're from Windsor, Ontario and they invited us by for happy hour and a campfire later in the afternoon So we accepted the invite and we had fun chatting with them for a couple of hours.
Today is my (Kevin's) birthday! 53 years young. To celebrate, I'm going to change Sherman's front sway bar bushings. In other words, we're not doing anything special. Just another day. Quite happy to spend it doing what we're doing!
Happy Birthday!!! Kevin. I have one coming on Monday I'll be 63 years young..We are headed toward Tucson area sometime next week.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the birthday wishes. Hopefully we'll bump into each other again in the coming week(s)!
DeleteHappy Birthday Kevin! What a pretty area.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Pretty area, and the weather is perfect too! :-)
DeleteArizona has so much to see. While near Tucson you should see Tombstone, Bisbee, the Copper Mine. Monument Valley is what people think of when you say Arizona. I wouldn't miss Slot Canyon in Page.
ReplyDeleteHi Jan. We've been to Tombstone...we were there during a one week vacation in 2006 when we flew to Phoenix and rented a car. And a few people have mentioned Bisbee, but it would add 200 miles to our route. Yes, we'll be making an effort to to see Slot Canyon. Thanks for the suggestions!
DeleteWishing you Happy Birthday, Kevin!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lynnie!
DeleteLooks like a good route, but you will sure get some cold weather at the higher elevations.
ReplyDeleteLots to see and do along the way too.
Happy Birthday young fellow.
Hi George. Yep, we know we'll see some cooler temps. But we've got the heater now, and we don't mind wearing a sweater when going for a hike. Thanks for the birthday wishes!
DeleteHappy Birthday Kevin! Wow! You were only 45 when you started this adventure? I love your blog and your photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ann! Yes, we were both 45 when we set out in October of 2007.
DeleteCanyon de Chelly is one of my very favorite places. It's in the northeast corner of the state. Happy Birthday Kevin. Doing nothing special together is how we like to spend our birthdays.
ReplyDeleteCanyon de Chelly is a little out of the way, but it looks like a worthwhile detour! Thanks for the birthday wishes!
DeleteDavid is ROTFL at your birthday celebration! Happy birthday! And congratutions on being so smart as to begin full timing in your 40's. Love those burros! They remind me of our Fred and Ginger who were from Death Valley in California. I wonder if they ever got used to our Virginia humidity.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sherry...glad I was able to give David a little chuckle!
DeleteHappy Birthday Kevin. You are just a youngster. Next month marks my 61 young. Looks like a great route, except for cooler mt temps but then you have heat now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gaelyn. It's all in your outlook on life...I'd say your attitude is much younger than your 61 years!
DeleteHappy birthday Kevin! Enjoy the day.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter...I had a great day!
DeleteHappy just another day....
ReplyDeleteThanks John and Sharon. I shall have just as happy a day tomorrow. :-)
DeleteWhen near Flagstaff, you both would enjoy Walnut Canyon NM. Soak it all up. I'm really looking forward to your Grand Canyon posts. I love that park. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip gumo...Walnut Canyon looks like it's worth a visit! We're also looking forward to our return to Grand Canyon. We were last there in 2006.
DeleteHappy Birthday Kevin. I do enjoy ready about your daily adventures.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nanapink....we enjoy telling you about our daily adventures!
DeleteYou might want to head a bit south of Tucson to check out the small but charming town of Patagonia for a couple of days. It's just a bit north of Nogales and has some nice hiking and bike riding. We spent a month there last year and loved it. We rented a house, but we saw some good boondocking areas along Harshaw Road. We'd often see a few RVs scattered at several different sites along there, and there were always RVers passing through town (there are good places to park along the main road through town, and a big central green area). There is good hiking along Harshaw Road as a portion of the Arizona Trail goes through there. Patagonia Lake State Park south of town is beautiful but can be crowded; good for a day trip if you don't want to camp.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, thanks for the tip. I doubt we'll make it that far south of Tucson though. We came up that way and although we didn't see anything along the way because we were trying to make it up to Quartzsite so quickly, we really don't want to retrace our steps, so to speak.
DeleteOh how I wished my legs were still 53. You guys are doing this whole RV thing right by starting at a younger age when body parts are still in good working condition. I'm betting you would like the artsy little mountain town of Bisbee Arizona alright. Kind of like Jerome but bigger & artsier. Canyon de Chelly is another great scenic experience. .
ReplyDeleteYes, starting out young was all part of the plan. If we don't have any money left when we're 75, that's when we'll just sit around and watch TV!
DeleteI doubt we'll make it to Bisbee because it's about a 200 mile detour. However, Canyon de Chelly looks like it's really worth a route change, so thanks for that tip Al.
Happy! Happy! We toasted you at our Happy Hour. Did you hear the clink?
ReplyDeleteB&C
I was having a nap, when I heard a "clink"! Thanks..it was time to get up anyhow... :-)
DeleteI've been following your adventures for about a year now I think. I wish I could talk my husband into doing this :) Today is my sister's 53rd birthday also! Hope you have a great day & safe & happy journeys to you both.
ReplyDeleteGet your husband to follow our adventures too! Maybe that will give him a kickstart. Happy birthday to your sister! Yes, we had a good day!
DeleteIn Flagstaff look up the Lava Ice Flow Cave. It's just a mile hike to the end. Really fun day outing in the area. Becki
ReplyDeleteThat's a great suggestion. Right up our alley. Thanks Becki!
DeleteKevin, you are still so young! Enjoy your day. Now, would you turn on that Mr. Heater so I know how you like it and how it works for you? We love, love, love ours. I'm anxious to see what Ruth fixed you for your birthday. Always good!
ReplyDeleteKevin, you are still so young! Yeah, it all depends on your perspective. To a 25 year old, isn't so young! Hey, only another 12 years and I can collect my old age pension!
DeleteYes, I'll do a "review" of our Mr. Heater Buddy as soon as we get cold enough weather to give it a workout.
Birthday dinner will be tomorrow night...I'll keep you posted!
When in the Tucson area, two good places to spend an afternoon would be Pima Air Force Base ( lots of old air planes) and the OldTucson Movie Studio. You can see where a lot of the old Western's were filmed. The guides there are very informative and you can even take a Stagecoach ride.
ReplyDeleteHi Diana. Thanks for the suggestions, but we have a difficult time justifying the prices they charge for admission to these types of attractions. For example, the movie studio wants $20 USD per person (that would be $50 CDN for the two of us!), and we just did the one in Durango, Mexico that charged us under $2 USD each and let us park overnight!
DeleteWow, Kevin, that is quite a price difference! I had not remembered what the price was since it was a few years ago that we were there, but we did enjoy it. We have gone to Arizona several times in the past.Hubby is a real Western movie buff. We just invested in our first motorhome this past fall, just in time to put it in storage for the winter here in Ontario. With the falling state of our Loonie and the rising cost of Out of Country coverage us Seniors will not likely be spending much time in the USA, sad to say. We finally got to retire, but we plan on enjoying our 1995 Minnie Winnie (29 ft. Class C) up here this summer.
DeleteIf fuel is still fairly low, you could c'mon out to Saskatchewan this summer!
DeleteLots of great travel ideas. Glad you had such a special day.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like we have too many ideas now and not enough time for them all but we sure will give it the old college try and make it to as many as we can.
DeleteHappy Birthday Kevin. Yes, we are still following you Guys. Your northern route looks great. Much better than the Interstate. As you as for north as the Canyon, you may consider a circle route through the Hopi mesas, Canyon de Chelley, Monument Valley, into Utah through Page and west through Zion, and south (if you must) to Vegas. Further around but much more interesting. Whichever way you go, have a wonderful trip.
ReplyDeleteBarry & Lorrie
Thanks Barry and Lorrie, we are hoping to make it to Canyon de Chelley as many people have mentioned it and it does look like it is worth the detour. We are planning on heading into Utah after we have been to Vegas and will hopefully hit some of those other places you have mentioned but if we don't have time this spring then there is always next fall. :-)
Delete