Rocky Goes to Alaska: September 2015

Day 114, 16 September 2015

Fallbrook to Joshua Tree, CA 174 miles

Joshua Tree National Monument was proclaimed in 1936. It was renamed Joshua Tree National Park in 1994. The Joshua Tree grows wild primarily in the Mojave Desert. It was named by Mormons after a biblical story where Joshua reached up to the sky to pray. Almost every part of this tree has been used by desert dwellers, people as well as animals. The park is filled with thousands of these trees – not really trees, but rather a variety of yucca. We drove from the west entrance of the park to its north entrance to explore the trees and boulder fields that make this park famous. We also hiked some of the trails, to get an up close look at the desert scenery and plants, including Hidden Valley – a rock-enclosed valley used by cattle rustlers, Barker Dam – a watering hole built by early cattle ranchers, and Skull Rock – lots of boulders with interesting shapes.

One of the thousands of Joshua trees in the park

Creosote bush

Pinion Pine

Prickly pear cactus

Turbinella Oak

Petroglyphs

Manzanita tree

Skull Rock

Barker Dam

Original Dam

Old water trough

Campground lake

Day 115, 17 September 2015

Joshua Tree, CA to Lake Havasu City, AZ 171 miles

The drive through the desert was on an abandoned ribbon of asphalt snaking through the deserted sand between the uninhabited mountains. We were alone for hundreds of miles. Lake Havasu City is an oasis in that desert. First started as an Army Air Corps rest camp during WWII on the shores of Lake Havasu, in 1958 Robert McCulloch purchased 3400 acres along Pittsburg Point, the peninsula that would be transformed into “the island.” McCulloch bought another 13,000 acres of federal land in the surrounding area. The City was established in 1963. McCulloch and another developer bought the London bridge for $2.4M from the City of London in 1968. Originally built in the 1831, it was sinking into the Thames River (London Bridge was really falling down). The bridge was disassembled, pieces marked, then reassembled for another $7M, opening in 1971. It connects the city to the island in a 900 ft span over the redirected Colorado River. We were told that there were several trails for hikers, bikers, and off-road ATVs – and we saw many ATV tracks in the surrounding hills - but the 95 degrees in the shade sent us to the London Bridge and the Barley Brothers Brewery and Restaurant on the island. We sampled the brews, enjoyed some munchies, then returned to our campsite for a dip in the pool at sunset. Life is good.

Deserted desert road

River to Parker Dam

London Bridge

Enjoying a brew at London Bridge

Island across London Bridge

Enjoying the pool at sunset

Moonrise

Day 116, 18 September 2015

Lake Havasu City to Tusayan, AZ 180 miles

Grand Canyon – one of Earth’s most powerful, inspiring landscapes – is overwhelming - 277 river miles long, 18 miles wide, and a mile deep. Although we have been to the Grand Canyon before, the National Park being so close just cried for another visit. This time we biked the Greenway Trail east along the rim to the South Kaibab Trailhead, then west past the visitors center to the Trailhead View. The views were awesome, not only the canyon, but also the moose on the trail. Rather than a driveby, someday we should actually “do the canyon” as a destination and hike, raft, fly, burro, and dine in style. All the park campgrounds were full, so we stayed in Tusayan, just outside the park. We caught the “Grand Canyon - The Hidden Secrets” flick in IMAX at the National Geographic theater across the street from our camp.

Biking along the Grand Canyon rim

Grand Canyon Greenway

Moose along the bike path

Sunset over the canyon

Day 117, 19 September 2015

Tusayan to Camp Verde, AZ 133 miles

The drive south was ok at first, then really nice, then absolutely beautiful. AZ-89A is indeed a scenic byway, and it is worthy of the name. The Oak Creek Canyon, the Red Rocks area, the town of Sodona itself, all beautiful. Sodona was quite crowded with tourists, and there were no campsites available, so we went further south to Camp Verde, where we found a nice campground called Distant Drums RV Park. Met folks from Alaska, Ontario, and other spots north. We unhooked the Jeep and explored some National Monuments, including Montezuma Castle (early cliff dwelling 5-stories high of the Southern Sinagua Indians who lived in the valley hundreds of years ago), Montezuma Well (a water hole fed from underground dating back to 1050), and Tuzigoot (Apache for “crooked water” is a remnant of a village built between 1000 and 1400.) There was a HOG Rally going on in Cottonwood, so every place we went, we saw lots of motorcyclists as well. The ghost town of Jerome was interesting – an early mining camp (perhaps the largest in the country at the time), it is now a national historic site and an artist and restaurant mecca on a steep hillside outside of Clarkdale with very narrow streets and no where to park. After driving around for a while, a dip in the spa and pool was very refreshing.

Oak Creek Canyon

Along the scenic byway

Montezuma Castle

Montezuma Well

Mud pit

Town of Jerome

Tuzigoot

Inside the Pueblo at Tuzigoot

Arizona sunset

Day 118, 20 September 2015

Camp Verde to Tempe, AZ 105 miles

The highlight of our day was seeing Chris (our son) in his element at the Nick Jonas concert. Chris is Nick’s production manager, and we just happened to be in Tempe as his tour passed through from Las Vegas to Dallas. The Marquee Theatre is one of the smallest venues on the tour, so they had to revise their entire production approach to fit the size and shape of the stage area. Chris got us “all access” passes, so we could meet his crew back stage and park the Jeep next to the tour buses. And we got to sit right behind him as he controlled the sound at “front of house” during the concert. All went well, as proud parents watched a professional excel. Pretty cool.

Inside the tour bus with James - the guitar tech

So great to see our boy!

Chris mixing the show

The latest sound console

The show

Day 119-120, 21-22 September

Tempe to Tucson, AZ 139 miles

The rain surprised us, since we thought the southwest was quite dry. But the clouds certainly helped cool down the temperature. We found our way to Vaughn and Carol’s beautiful home on over 3 acres on the outskirts of Tucson. We parked Rocky in their driveway – the nicest campsite yet. We met these wonderful folks about 35 years ago in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Carol is an artist. In fact, more than half the artwork in our home is Carol’s Lewisburg handiwork, including the portrait of our kids. Vaughn is also artistic – a very skilled craftsman – having made much of the furniture and decorative woodwork for their home. Carol has a studio, and Vaughn has a workshop where they create the magic displayed in their home. They are also retired, empty nesters, and world travelers. Super hosts, great pizza makers – so glad we had a chance to visit. Very near their home are the Saguaro National Park and the Sabino Canyon Recreation Areas – we visited both. Beautifully preserved desert vegetation covers the foothills with steep rock cliffs. We took a short trail in the park to see the Saguaros and other fascinating cactus. The giant Saguaro is the largest cactus in the US, and it’s the universal symbol of the American West. The Saguaro blossom is the state flower of Arizona. Many other kinds of cactus are abundant in the park, including barrel, cholla, and prickly pear. Due to the day’s rain, large waterfalls along Sabino Creek were flowing over the small bridges built over them – only the park tram (or foot traffic) is allowed on the one lane road into the canyon. The tram ride is a very nice way to see the steep rock cliffs, the meandering creek, the varied vegetation, and some of the wildlife in the canyon.

Vaughn trimming the tree to make room for Rocky

Nicest campsite ever

Meeting up with Carol and Vaughn

Happy hour with Carol and Vaughn

Carol making awesome pizza

Kira

Creek in Sabino Canyon

Banded rocks

Top of the canyon road

Saguaro cacti

Winking man rock

High water due to recent rains

Cholla cactus

Rushing water over beautiful banded rocks

"Snoopy" rock

Vaughn and Charli

Enjoying a yummy dinner with Carol and Vaughn

Beautiful rainbow over the valley

Loved Arizona!

Day 121-127, 23-29 September 2015

Tucson, AZ to Anthony, TX (296 miles) to Odessa, TX (327 miles) to Aubrey, TX (368 miles) to Deer Park, TX (295 miles) to Bay St Louis, MS (378 miles) to Carrabelle Beach, FL (340 miles) to Madeira Beach, FL (295 miles)

After a great French toast breakfast, we drove through New Mexico and camped at the first RV park in TX – at Mile 1 – a relatively new KOA connected to a big Camping World center. But it was basically a parking lot with hook ups. The road to Odessa is flat, and the scenery is oil wells and windmills. We would have liked to visit some interesting places, like the Petroleum Museum, to learn about why this area is so rich in oil, but by the time we got there, it was closed, and it didn’t open until after we left. As we approached Dallas, it looked a little more familiar, since we’ve driven here before. We camped at the Shady Creek RV Park in Aubrey. Janet and JC, who live minutes from here, came over for a glass of wine and took us to dinner at the Prairie House – very casual with great food. We hadn’t seen Janet for several years, since leaving NCOIC and retiring. It was great to reconnect. Then onward to Houston, where we stayed with Carol and Charlie. We enjoyed a very nice evening on their patio. What nice people – always good to see them. We drove through Louisiana to Mississippi, camping at the Hollywood Casino RV Park in Bay St Louis. Charli won enough money playing slots to pay for the seafood buffet and the campsite. Met a couple from Bradenton in the campground that was on their way home from Alaska as well – small world. Next hop was to Carrabelle Beach, Florida. Long stretch in the pouring rain. Had to stop in Apalachicola for some oysters. And we were surprised to find Jim and Kathy at our campground, on their way home from their 4-wheeling trip to Colorado. What a nice surprise! Our drive home from Carrabelle Beach started in the pouring rain, then it cleared a bit near Perry, with bright sunshine by the time we got to Madeira Beach. Bob and Joan met us at the beach house with champagne and the makings of a crab feast. After 127 days, driving 17500 miles, through 26 states and 3 Canadian provinces, what a great welcome home!