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!