Catching up, part one Arizona and Nevada

 Whoa!   I just read my last post and realized that I'm really behind!   We're almost finished with the Spokane portion of our summer trip already.....   I'll try to tell you a little about where we've been since Flagstaff, but I promise to keep it short, maybe break things up into a couple posts.

After Flagstaff we took Historic route 66 (along with lots of other folks on this its anniversary year) from Seligman to our destination in little Peach Springs, Arizona.

Burma Shave signs!

We pulled over for a quick lunch at the historic Seligman sign and Beluga was immediately overtaken and completely enveloped by a "dust eddy or dust devil or dancing devil or sand pillar or willy nilly" or whatever your culture calls them.

After it passed over us and was moving away

Dave and Taos had just come back inside when it hit us.   We've all seen them whirling through a freshly plowed field or blowing up in the distant desert but being in one is a scary, albeit short, experience.    Beluga rocked from side to side and we found ourselves in complete darkness.   Thank goodness it only lasted a few minutes.... Phew!   Needless to say, we're still finding little drifts of dirt/sand in out of the way places.....

We continued on to our campground behind the Grand Canyon Caverns Inn on the edge of the Havasupai reservation.    A funky little spot in the middle of nowhere.  It was built in the 60s and still retains its mother road "charm" - think green cement dinosaurs, hand painted signs etc.     The campground behind the "inn" was sweet.  Very quiet and original.   It gave me the squeezies to think that we were parked directly atop a 250 ft. deep cave, but I tried not to think about it.  

 We had it almost all to ourselves during our stay but began to see evidence that things were going to ramp up dramatically on the day of our departure.   The entire campground was going to be fully booked by a motorcycle group complete with bands and ministries and food trucks and games galore.  They were building a stage directly across from our site.    Phew...again!

We weren't there for the cavern experience, however.   I saw that there was a graded road that traveled from Peach Springs directly down to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and that is where we headed one day.    The road is on the Havasupai Indian reservation, so we had to get a permit from the tribal fish and game department first.

The rock formations and scenery were stunning, summer flowers hidden in the nooks and crannies wherever there was a little water.

  

We didn't encounter another soul the whole way down to the river, well...except for these guys....

We ate lunch beside the river, inside the Jeep because it was over 100 degrees outside.    The views and solitude were wonderful and made the drive worthwhile.

We left the Grand Canyon Caverns Inn and RV park the next day, just as masses of motorcycles began to arrive.    Just in time.

We stopped for a quick visit with dear friends Pam and John, enjoyed a home cooked meal one night and the required China Bistro dinner another before continuing on our way.

We spent a couple days in Ely, and Wells, NV to relax and enjoy the scenery as we moved northward.    These two have been regular stops on our route to Spokane, and we always enjoy the quiet surroundings and mountain explorations we seem to find.  

 Nevada is not just Las Vegas; it has many natural charms.

A rare Taos gallop!

plenty of jiggy mountains roads

see the little window up there?

Angel Lake

Taos enjoys the views also

finding a path to the waters edge

Taos makes himself at home on the rocky beach

I think I'll stop for now.   Next time I'll show you the other stops we made on our northward trek - Y Knot Winery, Baker City, and Walla Walla!

Here's Annie!

  

Birthday and on the road again!

We're on the road again!    Dave's last Dr. appointment was Tuesday, and he was released from PT (weeks early) so we climbed in old Beluga and left Wickenburg on Friday.   

Before we left, however, we took some time to celebrate Dave's birthday.  We enjoyed a birthday/farewell dinner on the Lowes beautiful back patio.     MonaLiza made Lumpia!

One day we drove into Phoenix to take care of a few last-minute errands and celebrated with another dinner at the Sicilian Butcher.    Mmmm, pizza and meatballs and Venetians!

love these pizza shears!

These were yummy but JoAnn's were still the best

We toasted his happy day on our patio with a bottle of one of his favorite "table" wines.

Sweet Annie sent papa a very personal birthday card that made him smile.

Steve and MonaLiza invited us to the Club Grille at Rancho De Los Caballeros right before we left for the summer.   It's been getting really hot, but we were able to sit outside and enjoy the lovely breezes and a good, cooling meal, complete with a cookie sandwich a la mode for the birthday boy.    A special visitor clicked his birthday wishes to Dave as we ate our meals.   

all gone

a very opinionated Roadrunner

The desert heat brought out some beautiful colors in our front yard.    Dave enjoyed their fragrance...Oh Dave!

oh Dave

Color in back also....we watched a couple of Scott's Orioles and a couple of Hooded Orioles enjoy our offering of oranges and grape jelly daily.

male Scotts Oriole

Taos gave Dave some of the most important things he has to offer....his belly and his big red Jolly Ball and his smile.

So, birthday celebrations finished, we packed up Beluga and pointed her nose north towards Flagstaff.    No particular reason for stopping in Flagstaff except that we needed a bit of cool, refreshing air and a few days to come down from atleast a week of busy packing, organizing, and taking care of a few minor but nerve-racking repairs (Beluga's entry step was acting up.....).

We're staying at Woody Mountain RV Park, deep in the tall pines. 

 It's quite windy but delightfully cool and quiet.    This park has a cute coffee shop, a wine lounge, and live music Saturday nights on their patio.   None of which we will go near, we're here to decompress.     Oh, and the stairs are still acting up so this gives Dave (and Taos) a little time to fiddle.

repairman and his supervisor

Taos offers suggestions

Today is resting, reading and watching NASCAR and NHRA on tv.   Oh, which to watch, which to watch.....

Stay tuned, we're moving on Tuesday - next stop Peach Springs!

Here's Annie!

 

Friends and refrigerators

 It's been three and a half weeks since Dave's knee replacement surgery and he's pretty much back to normal.   He's tossed aside the walker and regularly forgets to use the cane he's been given.    PT folks are very happy with his progress, and he continues to work hard on the at home exercises.  

Last week Pam and John came down for a few days to visit and help Dave with a project that required more manpower.    

Long story, sort of short.... Beluga's refrigerator died and we've been going round and round with Best Buy, Spencer's, Lowes, etc., trying to get a replacement.     One is promised, paid for and scheduled for delivery.    As that date approaches and arrangements are made on this end, the store emails that the delivery will be delayed - often by MONTHS.    We cancel the order, place another somewhere else and the same thing happens again.   

 We can't leave for the summer with no refrigerator, so we settle on a different brand, open box one that will fit well enough, and drive into Phoenix to pick it up (using Steve's truck.....).      This story has gone on long enough so suffice it to say Home Depot finally came up with the original exact match unit and delivered it immediately!     Now we have two new refrigerators sitting inside Beluga's garage, an out of order one inside Beluga and a man with a fresh knee replacement!   

This is where friends come in, dear friends.   John and Pam arrived on Wednesday with the traditional delicious Chinese dinner from Boulder City's China Bistro.   Steve and MonaLiza came over and we all enjoyed the nice weather and company outside on the patio.  We ate and talked until the moon rose.....

 Taos is as happy as he can be, all his favorite people were here and one of them had a pocket full of treats.....

The next morning Dave and John loaded the "just in case" refrigerator into the Jeep and drove it back into Phoenix for a return.     One down, three to go.   Pam and I prepped the evenings dinner while they were gone.   

Later in the day Steve and MonaLiza came back over, but before dinner was served, they helped take the dead refrigerator out of Beluga and put the nice new one in!    

In addition to her physical help, MonaLiza brought over a colorful veggie salad to eat with our Pork Tenderloin and cheesy potatoes.

Once again I say, these four are such good friends.

I didn't take any photos at dinner, we all just ate and laughed and enjoyed the company and a job well done.  

After Pam and John left our luxurious, campground on Friday, Dave and I loaded the "dead" refrigerator and took it to the salvage yard!     All done......

the site is tight but the owners are nice....

Now we're set to leave as soon as he gets the all clear from Dr. Campbell on June 2.  Dave says it will be his best birthday present!

Meanwhile, here's Annie!