North Arizona and New Mexico - May 7 - 31, 2011
May 7th found us on the road again. This was the first time in nearly seven years that we started our travels after a lengthy stay in a regular home, so our travels in the motorhome started out feeling a bit different. Also, we experienced several bruised elbows and stubbed toes while adjusting to our smaller living space.
As we left Florence, our 2011 travel season plans were somewhat nebulous, heck we barely knew what our first stop would be. All we really knew is that we would be traveling primarily in the Rocky Mountain States, and planned to return home via Sacramento.
Sedona, Arizona - May 7 - 9, 2011
Our first place to stay was at the Elks Club in Sedona with its fabulous views of the red rock country. During our three-day stay we explored the town and its art galleries, the old mining town of Jerome and its 'wishing toilets', Montezuma's Castle (which is related to the Aztec leader in name only) and took a very brief hike up Oak Creek Canyon. Brief because about an hour into our hike it started raining - but, like the tough hikers we are, we soldiered on. Then it started hailing, at which time we decided being wimpy is acceptable. Maybe we are more smart than tough.
Grand Canyon National Park - May 10 - 13, 2011
After Sedona, we moved on to the Grand Canyon arriving in a spring snow flurry. I must say, getting situated in a snow storm isn't the most enjoyable part of RVing, but it is better than a rain storm.
This was our first trip back to the Canyon since 1993, and it was even more spectacular than we remembered. You MUST look at our pictures of the canyon, they are really something. The free shuttle bus made getting around the South Rim so easy that we didn't use our car once in the four days we were there. During our stay we hiked the West Rim, South Rim and the Bright Angel Trails. To be more precise, we hiked two miles of the Bright Angel Trail, which took us 2,200 feet below the rim. It may not sound like much, but climbing down and then up 2,200 feet in two miles can take your breath away. Once we regained the rim, we headed for the Tovar Lodge for a well-deserved beer. Grand Canyon is truly one of nature's more dazzling wonders and we highly recommend that everyone visit this park at least once.
Gallup, NM - May 14 & 15, 2011
Susan decided to stay a couple of days in Gallup on our way to Santa Fe so we could visit the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site and Chaco Canyon National Historic Park. This wasn't the best or most thoroughly researched idea she ever had.
If one were to look on a map it would appear that Gallup would be a good stop for visiting Chaco Canyon. Maps can be very deceptive. As it turns out, the roads leading to Chaco from the southwest are not recommended for anything other than horses. Sadly, we didn't have a horse. Since we planned to spend the first week of June in Durango, we decided to travel to Chaco Canyon from there. Unfortunately, by June, the smoke from the Arizona fires prohibited our visit, so it is still on our bucket list.
So we were off to our secondary destination. John Hubbell developed the Hubbell Trading Post in the 1870s, shortly after the Navajo were allowed to return to their native lands on the Navajo Reservation. The trading post looks much as it did in the early 20th Century and still sells very high quality (e.g., expensive) Navajo rugs. While historically significant, for us the trading post didn't warrant a two-night stay in dusty, windy Gallup. Next time we will drive right by Gallup and head for Grants, NM, which looked like a much better stop.
Santa Fe, NM - May 16-31, 2011
In spring 2009 we spent a very delightful month in Santa Fe, two weeks of which were spent working with Habitat for Humanity. We had such good memories of the experience we decided to do it again. Unfortunately, Susan hurt her arm while we were in Florence, AZ and we had to cancel our Habitat commitment, but chose to spend a couple of weeks at Santa Fe Skies RV Resort anyway.
Like the rest of the nation, Santa Fe was experiencing less than ideal weather manifested in constant wind. If we didn't get out early to do things in the area before the winds picked up, we would end up staying in the motorhome. So, on occasion we got out early to explore beautiful Santa Fe, and trek down to Albuquerque, and Bill got a satisfying round of golf in at Black Mesa Golf Club in Espanola. On perfectly clear day we took a butt-kicking hike in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, finishing the hike about five minutes ahead of a thunderstorm.
In a vain effort to escape the winds we drove over the mountains to Las Vegas, NM, stopping at the Pecos National Historic Park along the way. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in 1540, the Pecos Indians provided a center for trade between the farmers of the Rio Grande Valley and the hunters of the Plains. Today, all that remains of this once vibrant trading center are the ruins of the pueblos, kivas and the Spanish mission. If you are in the area, the Pecos National Historic Park is worth a visit.
We lunched at Estelle's in Las Vegas, before meandering up the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristos. Estelle's is a funky little run down, family-owned café in the town's historic section. I mean it is really shabby. We talked to one of the family members that told us the place was originally a hardware store and in the 1920's his great-grandparents turned it into a restaurant. I don't think it has been renovated since. There were still dusty Christmas, New Years, Day of the Dead, St. Patrick's Day and Easter decorations hanging from semi-functioning light fixtures and, what appeared to be, cabinets from its hardware store days. The place had character - and moderately good food.
While we really like Santa Fe, this year, due to the incessant wind, when June 1 arrived we were happy to be heading north.
