Tenth Stop: Arizona
Guess who’s back on the road? The Shaws!
After storing the camper in Las Vegas to fly home for a month to work and get some space after five weeks living in a shoebox, we decided to do it all over again and bring Frannie home! Yes, we named our fifth wheel Frannie. Why Frannie? The hubby and I liked the name and felt it was more appropriately shared on the blog than the name our boys suggested. We’ll leave it at that.
So last week, we loaded up our backpacks and Baxter the cat to fly back out and rescue Frannie from the Vegas heat. Because Asheville flights to Vegas are late, we decided to stay at a hotel when we arrived. But how do you travel with a cat who has basic needs to be met like food, water, and a box to poo in? You carry it all with you.
I carried the litter in a paper sack afraid that packing it would set off scanners with strangers rifling through my belongings. And as expected, the litter was flagged as it went through security. The oldest son carried Baxter through the scanner then stood with the cat to watch a TSA agent carefully sort through the poo sand. The agent took samples of the tiny poo particles and applied whatever liquid is used to determine its consistency. Baxter looked on with a serious, sarcastic expression. I imagined Baxter was thinking, in his best “Stewie from Family Guy” voice…. “you like that Mr. Agent? Sorting through my poo sand? You like it? Yeah, you do.” Baxter can be an ass at times.
But the litter passed inspection and we were good to go. Fifth Wheel Frannie survived her month in Vegas with only an accumulation of dust to show for it.
And…we were off.
First stop…the Grand Canyon!
It was only supposed to be a four-hour drive. But we flew the day after Daylight Savings and traveled across three time zones so our bodies were slightly confused and the drive seemed never-ending. A conversation about skin walkers - the Navaho legend about a harmful witch who has the power to turn into or disguise itself as an animal - had us convinced we were stuck in some weird time warp. We finally arrived at the Grand Canyon Village four or forty hours later. It felt the same.
This was our first trip to the Grand Canyon. After hearing how a trip to the Grand Canyon can be accomplished in a five-minute stop to look at the “large, hole in the ground” and then move on, I knew I wanted something more meaningful. I scheduled a mule ride for the next morning through
Canyon Vista Mule Rides at the Bright Angel Lodge.
We were weighed the day before to be paired with a mule. I got Berta - an independent, adventurous girl known for going off on her own in the middle of a tour. My hubby was paired with Tici - a male who the guides called Chicken Nugget because of his lack of athletic prowess and unwillingness to break a sweat. He also had the largest rear-end of the mule group. (I am making zero comparisons with our mule pairings, at least not in writing.) The boys rode two handsome fellows - Ike and Hondo.
Our tour included a two-hour ride along the south rim with a real cowboy for our guide. We learned lots of fun facts about the canyon and our mules like…did you know mules are sterile? And that mules are created by mating a donkey and horse? And only the right combination of horse and donkey makes a good mule? Male donkey plus female horse = mule. Female donkey plus male horse = a hinny. According to our guide, you do not want a hinny.
Later that day, we visited the small but very interesting
Yavapai Museum of Geology which had amazing views of the canyon and topographical maps of the area. Then I dropped off the boys, who’d reached their canyon sight-seeing limit, and returned to the museum to hike along the south rim trail and photograph the sunset.
Tip #1 - When photographing the sunset at the Grand Canyon, don’t just focus on the sun. Turn around and capture how the sun lights up the canyon walls. I thought this was more beautiful than the actual sunset and was the only one photographing in the opposite direction.
The next day, we drove a short 1.5 hours to a KOA in Flagstaff.
This was a nice campground with an okay wifi connection. The campground borders Mt. Elden with access to hiking trails. I spent one afternoon on the Fatman’s Loop which I soon learned was NOT named to appeal to the larger dudes. Several rigorous miles later, after climbing over rocks and bleeding from a cactus prick, I had a newfound respect for the trail.
On our first full day in Flagstaff, we drove south to check out Sedona. It’s a gorgeous area with amazing views. The drive there and back was incredible. We had a great lunch at
89Agave and walked through
Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village. It’s definitely worth a trip back for a longer stay.
Tip #2 - It’s not necessary to see absolutely everything when you visit a place, especially on an RV adventure. Take notes of places you’d like to return to for a longer stay outside the RV.
Our second full day in Flagstaff was spent at the Starbucks so my youngest could do virtual school. This has so far been the most difficult part of our trip - finding decent wifi for schoolwork. But he’s working, teachers! Promise!
The next day, we packed up the camper and headed north with a stop at
Wupatki National Monument for a ranger-guided tour. Wupatki is home to the remains of dozens of ancestral Puebloan villages. We lucked into their first tour in two years, since Covid shut it down, with extra rangers joining us as guests.
We hiked about two miles across quiet grasslands that were covered in remnants of Native American pottery and volcanic rocks from
Sunset Crater Volcano that erupted in 1064. Rangers led us around remains of Pueblo houses and pointed out petroglyphs - pictures etched or carved on rock. We could pick up pottery pieces but had to leave them behind. The entire family walked with our heads down for two hours searching for the beautiful, decorative shards while walking through what was once a Native American village. Seeing history firsthand? Check. Score one for mom.
After the tour, we made another short drive to Page, Arizona. We stayed at
Page Lake Powell Campground which ranks as one of my favorite campgrounds to date. Our site sat at the edge of the campground with giant red rocks bordering one side. (see crappy iphone photo below) There was an indoor heated pool and hot tub, and a nice playground. We spent the afternoon climbing the cliffs and tossing rocks.
Page is home to two of the most picturesque settings often seen online or as a screen saver. First, on our list to visit was Horseshoe Bend. I visited this spot solo. The boys knew my photography plans would easily stretch into more than an hour so they stayed at the camper. They were right and I loved it.
Horseshoe Bend is a meandering canyon formed by the Colorado River. It’s also known as the east rim of the Grand Canyon. It can be accessed with a short hike from the parking lot located right outside of Page. Admission is $10 a car which goes to the Navajo Nation. I stayed until dark photographing from steep cliffs with my heart racing from a fear of heights.
Tip #3 - Similar to the Grand Canyon, when photographing, don’t simply wait for the sun to set and then leave. Turn around and watch the light after the sun sets. The colors are beautiful and constantly changing. Wait until dark and look for silhouettes. These are my favorite.
The next day, we packed up the camper and toured Antelope Canyon on the way out of town.
Antelope Canyon was formed by rainwater erosion which created its unique passageways and continues to do so during rainy seasons. The canyon can only be visited through one of the guide services. We chose
Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours. Our friendly Navajo tour guide pointed out unique shapes in the rocks, helped us capture photos with our cell phones, described a flash flood through the canyon that killed tourists years back and mentioned tarantulas that fell from the ceiling during a tour. Seriously?!!!
Tip #4 - Many tourists to Antelope Canyon hope to view the sun beams coming through slots in the canyon. Most online photos feature these sunbeams. These are only visible certain times of the year and at certain times of the day. Those times book first. Check dates and times if this is on your bucket list.
Arizona was amazing with gorgeous drives between campgrounds. But after a full week, it was time to move on.
Next stop…
New Mexico and Texas!