Sedona and the Grand Canyon

We have been looking forward to this day for a very long time. Some of you will no doubt have heard us go on and on about the Grand Canyon National Park and how amazing it looks in pictures and on TV. Well, today we got to see it close up and personal, in 2 Seasons.

First of all our day began early. We saw Mike and Darlene off at 7:00 a.m. as they headed off for their Thursday morning golf game. After a quick breakfast we packed the 4Runner and headed north. Our route took us north on Hwy 87 through Payson and Camp Verde and then on I-17 and SR179 to Sedona. Wow! Red rock canyon. Amazing contrast between the green trees and the deep red rock. Unfortunately the road from Sedona to Flagstaff was closed so we doubled back and continued up I-17 to Flagstaff. From there we ventured out on SR 180 to the town of Tusayan at the Grand Canyon.

Barry's knack for "weather events" when travelling continued today. The forecast for the Grand Canyon today was mainly sunny. No sooner had we arrived in Tusayan it started to snow, and blow. It was a bloody white-out. Plus, it was cold. We checked into our motel and headed for the Canyon. We got out to the Canyon just in time to see it being devoured by the snow storm. We were in shock. Maybe it was the bitter wind chill conditions. We decided that we would get up early tomorrow and head for the canyon in hopes of seeing what we came to see.

We decided to grab and early dinner at the Park. The clouds to the south were lifting a bit and it looked like we might get lucky and have some evening sun. Sunset at the Grand Canyon would be fabulous.

Guess what happened. We got lucky. Barry's travel luck seemed to be changing. The clouds completely lifted and we were in bright sunshine from 5:00 p.m. through to sunset. We hiked about 1 1/2 miles down the rim to the Hopi Outlook. We got there just in time to see the sun set in the canyon. What a treat. It was worth the many miles we travelled to get here, and worth the wait.

Dana tells me that tomorrow we will get up at the crack of dawn and get there for sunrise. Sound good.




What we saw when we first arrived at the Grand Canyon, just before the snow storm completely devoured the view.



When the sky cleared you could see forever..... What a magical place





Barry and Dana at sunset at the Hopi Outlook, Grand Canyon






Red rocks of Sedona


....more Sedona scenery.....

Mesa Madness

We're back Blogging.....

Yes, after a short hiatus we're back writing about our great adventures. To be honest, I've been so busy that I have not had any time in the past 5 days to Blog. The pictures are going to tell the story, but let me give you a quick run down of what we have been up to since our last blog entry.

February 28th we said farewell to Tucson. 6 weeks of southern Arizona adventure seemed to skip by. We had a great time but it was time to load up the 4Runner and head north to Mesa where we spent a fun filled 4 days with Mike and Darlene at their hacienda at Mesa Regal RV Resort.

We arrived at Mesa Regal in time to catch the 3rd period (and overtime) of the Canada vs USA gold medal game. When Sid the Kid scored the OT winner the RV resort erupted in cheering. I ran out of the house and into the lane. It was like New Year's Eve. You could hear hooting and hollering coming form all over the park. Of course not everyone was cheering, but the Canadian sure were. Btw: there are about 2,600 sites and approximately 5,000 people at Mesa Regal at any given time. Gives you the scale of what I am referring too.

Monday, March 1st - 0830 Coffee with the boys at McDonalds. A regular thing on any weekday. Lots of good natured banter about the Gold Medal game and other stuff. Visited an orange grove. Picked up a bag of "fresh" oranges. Orange juice from fresh oranges can't be beat! Some pool time in afternoon at the small pool. Barry and Mike played tennis for an hour before dinner. There are 5 tennis courts at the resort. We got to use a ball machine so we could practice our returns. Great fun! Barry and Mike capped the day with a game of pool at the "pool hall in the RV Resort". This pool hall has about 24 tables.

Tuesday, March 2nd - Visit to Old Town Scottsdale in the morning and for lunch. Barry and Mike went to Jobing.com arena in Glendale to watch the Phoenix Coyotes vs St Louis Blues. This was an "experience". First of all, unlike going to a hockey game in Vancouver, or anywhere else for that matter, you get to the "theme park" early, like 4:00. 3 hours early. You don't pay for parking. The theme park or entertainment centre that surrounds the arena included many fine restaurants, stores, places to hang out, water fountains, a theatre complex, a couple of hotels.... We walked around and took in the sights. We shopped at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville store and then eat at the Margaritaville Restaurant. Then we went to the Jobing.com arena. Mike had obtained a couple of discounted tickets ($25 each) off the internet that got us into the arena and into the lower bowl section. We didn't like the seats we had so we moved and settled for a couple on the Blue line just high enough so we could see game without having the glass obstruct our view. There were so many empty seats we didn't know which ones to take. We thought that there were about 5,000 at the game. This for a team ahead of the Canucks in the standings. It was very sad. The game was good, but not great, and the home team lost. Too bad, I guess.

Wednesday, March 3rd: Darlene and Dana had the morning together to visit. Mike attended a jewellery making workshop at the resort. Barry went to the big lap pool and did a few laps.
Dana and Barry head for Peoria at about 10:30 to take in the Cactus League (spring training) home opener for the Seattle Mariners. The M's played the SF Giants. The park where the M's play is fabulous. It holds around 5,000. Most seats were filled. Beautiful sunshine, Temperature around 77F. Back at the resort for dinner with Mike and Darlene. Another terrific dinner served up (thanks Darlene! Mike too.....)

Thursday, March 4th (today) - Back on the road. Separate Blog entry for this day..... Sedona and the Grand Canyon...





Gold Medal for Team Canada! As close as we got to the actual game. We will all remember this day for a very, very long time!


Dana with Bronze Pig statue in Old Town Scottsdale.


Jobing.com arena in Glendale, Az.


Entertainment centre that surrounds Jobing.com arena. In picture is Margaritaville restaurant, fountains and billboards.


Stadium in Glendale where the Arizona Cardinals play football. The grass in the picture is the playing field. It is one piece of grass that is rolled into the stadium when they need it. Otherwise it stays outside in the sun and rain (when it does rain....)



Seattle Mariner's home opener at Mariner's facility in Peoria, Az

Road Trip Part 3 - Douglas, Az and the Chiricahua National Monument

This is the 3rd and final instalment from our road trip. Having been chased from Bisbee by a fierce hail storm we headed further south on I-80 towards the Mexican border and the town of Douglas, Az. To be honest, Douglas is small border town that appears to have had its' best days behind it. However, there is a brand new Best Western and it is a comfortable place to hold up for a night. As well, the Gadsden Hotel, built in 1907 is on the National Register of Historic Places and was worth visiting. The marble lobby is a classic. Vaulted stained-glass sky lights run the length of the ceiling and above the landing of the Italian marble stairway is a genuine Tiffany window. I have include a couple of pictures of the lobby. An unexpected gem in an otherwise tired border town.

And now for the real gem, the Chiricahua National Monument. This is found on the back roads of southern Arizona. From Douglas we headed north on highway 191, then east on 181. The highway ends at the National Monument. So, what is a National Monument? Well, actually, it could be just about anything. The Statue of Liberty is a National Monument. So is Mt St Helens. Its kind of "not quite a National Park", but can be administered by the Parks Service or the National Forest Service.

The Chiricahua National Monument has some of the most beautiful rock formations that we have ever seen. I have include a couple of pictures of the Organ Pipe rocks and surrounding hillsides. The Monument is also close to the location where the Apache Chief Cochise fought his last battle with the US Army. If you are ever in this part of Arizona, a visit to the Chiricahua Monument is a MUST!

Enjoy the pictures. Remember to click on the pictures to blow them up to near full screen.

Oh Canada!

Oh Canada! What a game! What fun! There is nothing better than sitting among the enemy and coming out on top. As Bryan S always said, "The winners laugh and tell jokes, the losers just say, deal the cards". Tonight we spent Happy Hour and dinner time at the bar at El Charro mexican restaurant which is about a mile from our townhouse. There are two large flat screen TVs in the bar area. Tonight one had Kevin Martin's Team Canada vs the kids from Sweden and the other had the Gold Medal hockey game between Team Canada and Team USA.

The curling match was essentially over in the 6th end but it was fun to watch the Canadian men play it out and win the match. The hockey game was another matter. The bar was pretty much full with about a dozen people sitting at the bar chatting, drinking and watching the Olympics. Dana and I were clearly the only Canadians in the room. We were also the only ones who had any idea what was going on in the Curling match. I over heard words like "shuffleboard" in describing Curling. I think some of them understood the basics of hockey, but others were candid about their lack of knowledge of the game. Dana and I worked our way through chips and salsa, drinks, main course, drinks and then a couple of drinks until finally the buzzer went and the hockey game was over. I raised my arms in celebration. Dana suggested I cool it least we get thrown out. Actually, when the game was over I don't really think everyone knew what had just occurred. Actually, believe it or not, the guy next to me asked me who was playing, were they all pro hockey players and when I said the teams were women, he said "those were women"? It was hard not to laugh. I just nodded politely (very Canadian of me), and smiled.

We arrived home in time to see the medal presentations on TV. It was very moving. Those girls rock! Kudos also to Kevin Martin and the boys for beating the Swedes and to Cheryl Bernard and the girls for beating the Swiss . Good Luck to the curlers as they go for Gold!

Road Trip Part 2 - Bisbee, Arizona

Having spent a fun 2 hours in Tombstone we headed back out on the road. Our destination, the city of Bisbee, another of the many towns and cities in Arizona with a rich and colourful past. In addition, for all you JA Jance fans, Bisbee is the setting for the Sheriff Joanna Brady novels.

The drive into Bisbee, 94 miles SE of Tucson, is very scenic. The elevation of Bisbee is approximately 5,300 feet. The road from Tombstone to Bisbee takes you into the Mule Mountains, over Mule Pass and through Mule Pass Tunnel. Bisbee itself is carved into Tombstone Canyon. Some of the streets reminded me of Quebec City. Really. Original European architecture, narrow streets and walk in stores that are reminiscent of 19th century French architecture. Bisbee is a classic boom and bust story. Copper mining created the jobs and wealth and when the copper ran out, so did the jobs and wealth. The town however survived and now tourism is the economic engine. In addition, many artisans call Bisbee home bringing in tourists and art lovers.

We arrived in Bisbee in time for afternoon coffee and tea at the Bisbee Coffee Company. I could have sworn that Martina McBribe was behind the counter serving coffee. Don't know who she is? Google it! I can't be explaining everything. After coffee and tea we walked the colourful streets in search of bargains but found none. Oh well, at least the shop owners were friendly.

I have included several pictures of Bisbee, the drive into town and the huge open pit copper mine that you pass on the way out of town. Btw: The weather, normally dry and warm was neither the day we visited. We actually got chased out by a fierce hail storm.



Drive into Bisbee


Bisbee or Quebec City?




Open pit mine.

February 22nd and 23rd - Road Trip - Tombstone, Arizona

(First instalment - Tombstone)

Up early for a good feed of pancakes, strawberries and a leftover (shhhh.....) Johnsonville Cheddar Cheese Braut. We loaded up the 4Runner with overnight bags and lunch for on the road and headed south on Highways I-10, SR83 and SR82 across the San Pedro River Valley then southeast on SR80 to the truly historic western town of Tombstone, Arizona. If you are a guy, and over 50 you were likely raised on TV and Hollywood films depicting the old west. In this case you will love Tombstone for everything it represents. Regardless of your age or gender I think you will have fun walking around Tombstone. We sure did!

Pictures really tell the story of this old town. I feel that as a photographer in Tombstone I really lucked out. One of the first pictures I took was of 2 cowboys (actors) and an old dude in a suit. As soon as I saw the 2 cowboys I knew there was trouble a brewin' somewhere. You just knew there was going to be a gunfight. Quite possibly it was the six shooters they were packin'.

We visited many stores in town including one with the biggest selection of hats and boots I have ever seen in one store. Wouldn't you know that it was Dana, not Barry who would emerge from the store sporting a brand new original Stetson cowboy hat. Ye ha! We walked down the street and came across another mean looking, pistol packin' hombre who went by the name of "Puff Daddy Pete". He looked like trouble but agreed to pose with Dana who was looking great in her new Stetson. Risky on my part as he seemed to take a shine to Dana, and he was carrying a gun, which I had to assume he knew how to use it. Lucky thing, he didn't put any kind of a fuss and we left him at the OK Corral as soon as we the picture was taken. I hope he was going to be okay at the OK Corral.....??!!

I did get a nice shot of a stagecoach that was being used to tour tourists around Tombstone. We passed on the tour but many did take it. I have also included a couple of shots of the streets of Tombstone. The town reminded me of a cross between Dawson City, Yukon and Skagway, Alaska. Kind of the best of both, in my opinion.

That's about it. We had a great time in Tombstone. I highly recommend that if you get a chance to visit you do so. Btw: We did not attend the re-enactment of the shoot out at the OK Corral but I am sure it would have been well done.



Outlaws Ike Clanton and either Frank or Tom McLaury (these boys didn't fair to well when they went up against Sheriff Wyatt Earp and his brothers.)


Dana, sporting new Stetson, with Puff Daddy Pete.

February 20th - 3 Seasons in 1 Day

Up early today. Dana's famous pancakes with fresh strawberries and we were ready for a hike in Sabino Canyon. Today we would hike 10 miles return up Bear Canyon trail to the scenic Seven Falls.

We started out from the townhouse in shorts. It was sunny but you could tell that the weather was changing. The forecast indicated that there was a 70% chance of shower late in the day. Seems the forecasters here are no different than the forecasters back home......

It was a terrific hike, although Dana called it a forced march/jog. 10 miles in 3 1/2 hours. 5 miles up, 5 miles down. The elevation change was gradual except for the last mile when the trail went up sharply. On the way up to the falls we had to cross the creek 8 times. We carried our hiking poles and used them to balance ourselves as we rock hopped on the crossings. We did manage to cross all 8 crossings with mostly dry feet. Similar story on the way down.

As we climbed the trail to the falls the wind picked up and the clouds thickened. We started to feel a few drops of rain. There was no question of turning back before we got to Seven Falls. Suddenly we were at the falls. By this time the rain had started. I took out the camera. Click, click, click. Okay, got the t-shirt, got the pictures. We're out of here. We turned around on the trail only to be met with a stiff head wind. Oh, boy, this should be fun. 5 miles into the rain and wind.

The rain picked up. The temperature seemed to drop a couple of degrees. As soon as we got into the valley of the canyon we were somewhat sheltered from the wind, which was a relief. Then the rain stopped. We were within 2 miles of the trail head when all hell broke loose. The wind whipped up and the rain came down in sheets. Plus, it was COLD! While Dana was smart enough to pack her water proof jacket for the hike, Barry had only his long sleeve hiking shirt. Dana had a space blanket in her pack and Barry took it and wrapped it around his upper torso to reduce heat loss in his core. We jogged most of the last 2 miles, just to stay warm.

Back at the townhouse we shed soaking wet clothing in exchange for dry warm clothes. Hot showers, hot tea, hot chocolate and lunch in that order. All in all, quite the morning.

After a quiet afternoon watching Olympic action on free TV, we found a terrific pizzeria not far from our townhouse. $2 Pabst long necks for Barry and a nice red wine for Dana. Very satisfying!

I have included a couple of pictures of the Seven Falls. It was really worth the hike. I also included a sign that was posted at the trailhead.