Day 64: Day trip to Sedona

Friday
From where we are staying in Camp Verde it is about a 30 minute drive back North to Sedona. Sedona has been on our visit list since we first drove through it in 2010, back then we didn't have time to stop and visit it, so now was the time.
We drove North up State Route 179, which is s scenic highway, pretty soon we could see why as we started to drive between the red rock cliffs, once again we were in awe of the splendour of the landscape around us. we stopped at a couple of view points before turning off the main road to visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross. This is a chapel that has been built into the cliff side. Designed by a scupltor, its vision is to be a building which demonstrates the presence of God through its architecture. From a distance it is obviously an iconic building, but on approaching it and entering it it is immediately an inspirational space, almost demanding an acknowledgment of the presence of God within it, although of course it is its place within its surrounding that gives it that characteristic. Without the dramatic scenery that it is built in to its statement would be considerably diminished.
 After spending some time at the chapel we then drove into and straight away drove out of the other side as we explored one of Sedona's View Points, which is just by one of its famous Vortexes (vorteci?). The vortexes are four small conical hills which have an energy field around/in them. Not quite sure what they are supposed to do, but a great many people ern their living by ensuring that others can live in a good energy regime. I saw a sign in one shop which offered 'energy balancing', similar to the body what 'wheel balancing' does to the car I suppose, but did not inquire further.
Near to the Vortex was a wonderful view of Sedona and its Red Rock Canyons, so we stopped there for our packed lunch before descending back to Sedona to stroll down its 'Uptown' area (tourist section), where we managed to by a lovely little Christmas tree ornament made from a gourd, it was made in Peru, very relevant. Following another cup of coffee on a beautifully placed veranda we turned for home, en route we stopped at the Castle Cliff Casino for a buffet dinner, $13, all you can eat, New York Strip steak was on offer tonight, that was very nice. Since we had joined the casino club we also had to get rid of $10 each into their slot machines, it took me about 2 minutes, while Sally took about 15 minutes to get rid of hers.
What a lovely day we have had, we feel so blessed that we can be in a lovely part of the country like Sedona.

Day 60 to 62: Moab to Page

The weather having improved, we hitched up the wagon and started South. We drove through the red desert to one of our favourite campgrounds - Goosenecks State Park, with its fabulous 1200ft overlook to the San Juan River. This park used to be free, Utah have now added picnic benches and a fire ring, but now charge $10 a  night to camp there. Next morning, with bright sunshine, we headed South again to pass through Monument Valley, where the light was just right to get some lovely pictures as we drove through. After a stop in Kayenta for gas and a cuppa we continued towards Page. At this point it is worth mentioning that more or less from Goosenecks to Page, which is some 150 miles, we were travelling on the Navajo reservation,  more aptly named Navajo Nation. So our stop in Kayenta was deep into the Navajo Nation. we stopped at the Blue Coffee Pot and noticed several things: First the name Blue Coffee Pot - On the menu it mentioned that the blue pot is a traditional sign of welcome and hospitality to the Indian, we had noticed a number of enamel coffeee pots for sale in various shops, now we knew why the are popular. Second the cafe was a large round open plan building, much like their Hogan, to maintain that theme the entrance was also traditionally facing East, to welcome the sun and for good fortune. Third, there were quite a few Indian groups in there eating, almost every group was multi-generational, not just children, but parents, grandparents and children. In our culture you often see groups of the same generation, but not so often across the generations, interesting.
Page was interesting, but not excessively so, many of the activities revolve around Lake Powell, for which you need a boat, or the wonderful rock formations, for which you need a 4X4,  so we were unable to access much of the scenery there, the most famous of which are Antelope Canyon and  dead Horse Bend.
We left Page on Thursday and headed South again, making it to Camp Verde, which is about 20 miles south of Sedona.

Day 59: We Don't Move On

Saturday
Update: Because of high winds here and to the South we decided against moving on and instead drove the scenic byway 128 loop road up the Colorado and over the LaSal Mounts. Wonderful views.

The Colorado River

           The Rectory

Looking Back: The Rectory and Castle rock

LaSal Mtd

Day 58: Busy doin' nothin'

Friday
Not quite nothing, but no organised trip.
Did some stuff that has been waiting for sometime. Resealed round the bath, hope it holds. Changed the seal on the sewer valve (yukkie), checked out the generator and solar panel for use later this week.
Re-organised the back of the truck a little bit.
Guess that was about it for the day.
Tomorrow we move South and revisit Gooseneck State Park, cos its on the way to Page.

Day 57: Arches NP Day 2

Thursday
Today we completed our visit to Arches National Park, we had a wonderful day wandering among the rocks of Arches NP. The weather was again clear and bright, though with a chilly wind, however it warmed up quite nicely in the afternoon. We started off by watching the video at teh Visitor Center, which had some excellent imagery, then we drove right to the other end of the park, so that we could work back to the start. Right at the other end is the area called Devils Garden, which has a series of walks which they say are not easily accessible by wheelchair, fortunately this time they were accessible, so sally and I set out with our lunch to see as many arches as we could. We both got to Landscape Arch (0.8 mile up the track), which I think is probably the most impressive of the arches as it is so slender and long. i then went further up the track to look at almost hidden Navajo Arch and the beautiful view through Partition Arch. Amazingly on the  somewhat steep path I ran into a couple that we had met while staying at Monument Valley on  May 5th, 2011. They are members of the RVforum.net, which I sort of keep up with. I think they were surprised when I not only recognised them but also remembered where I had met them!
After our lunch Sally and I were able to walk to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch was the first arch that Sally could actually walk up to! we then completed our walk, which, as the photos show, was among all sorts of fascinating sandstone outcrops and slot canyons.
We drove back from Devils garden stopping at Sand Dune Arch, which is tucked away amongst some rock fins, accessed through narrow slot canyons. It is a small but very pretty arch.
Finally we drove the short side road that took us to Delicate Arch, we could only access the lower viewpoint, as to get to the arch itself is a 3 mile hike which is not wheelchair friendly. This view was quite distant from the arch and somewhat disappointing, however we had another wonderful day among these amazing rocks. Since the trip had taken longer than planned we again ate at Denny's and will stay in Moab another extra day to do some laundry tomorrow.

Day 55: Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point

Tuesday
When Sally, Helen and I visited Moab in 2003 we went to Canyonlands, so this was a little bit of nostalgia for us, although we did not visit Dead Horse Point on that occasion.
So our day was split into two parts, Dead Horse Point State Park and Island In The Sky. Both of these areas are up on the top of the plateau that surrounds Moab. There uniqueness comes from the way that the two rivers, the Colorado and the Green River wind from the North through incredibly deep and steep canyons to meet in the south of the park, reacting some amazing scenery. You may recognize Dead Horse Point from the final scene in Thelma and Louise, their leaping off place.
Because the distances are so large this made for a long day, however the weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky all day, so we had some magnificent views.
Wonderful.

Day 54: Arches NP Day 1

Monday
Today was a big day - we have been to Arches National Park. We first visited Moab in 2003 and did not have the time to visit Arches. Helen visited Arches when she was in the States and loved it, so we were eager to make sure we visited it this time.
We started at the Visitor Center but were slightly disappointed that Sally would be unable to access many of the arches, still we pressed on. There is a sort of spinal road through the park, with side roads which lead to some of the arches. The main road is 21 miles long. We took it gently and stopped at some of the viewing points, enjoying Courthouse for its views. In the distance we could just make out a couple of arches (North and South Windows). We turned off the main road to visit these arches, stopping at Balancing Rock on the way. When we reached the Windows Arches it bacme obcious that Sally would only be able to access a bit of the pathway, so she waited at the bottom with the camera while I ran up to North Window, where she could take some pics of me!
Then I went back up with the camera to take pics from the Arch. From there I could see Turret Arch and also make out Double Arch, though not clearly from there. I then walked round a large outcrop to see South Arch, but didn't climb up to it. Turning my back on the Windows, I made for Turret Arch, where a kind person (from Denver) took a pic of me standing in the Arch. I then made my way back down to Sally, who was chatting happily to a couple from Maryland who were into genealogy, fascinating. Also lunch time! We moved the Chevy round the road to be opposite Double Arch. The path here was definitely not accessible, however it was quite flat, with rock steps and deep sand here and there, so I suggested we have a go using Sally's manual chair. This worked, with Sally walking those bits that I couldn't push. We managed to get right up to the Double Arch, which is quite magnificent,  oh dear here it comes again - AWESOME.
Eventually we made our way back to the van and decided that we had seen enough for today and would explore the rest of Arches on Wednesday, as tomorrow we plan to go to Canyonlands to see Dead Horse Bend. We stopped in Moab for an early dinner at a Microbrewery, it was very nice.