Why Am I Stuck Here At Home

As coronavirus takes over our states and country, I am here at home not because of the virus but for another reason.

Over the past few years, Laurel has been suffering from knee pain issues. She finally got to the point where the knee pain had gotten so bad that it was time to face the reality of knee replacement. She had been talking to one doctor for the last several years, but the resolve was a single choice knee replacement and she wanted to talk about other options. Since this doctor had no other options, Laurel sought a second opinion and was left with a better feeling that she was getting the best knee replacement option for her situation.

In February she made her decision and she set a date to have her surgery done. She picked March 20 as her date to have a double knee replacement. Who knew at the same time coronavirus was beginning to build around the world. As her date came closer the disease also made its way to the United States and slowly marched across the states. The virus found its way into the Minneapolis-St. Paul area where Laurel works. She stayed vigilant and self-limited herself with clients at the place where she works. We live about an hour’s drive away in Wisconsin and her surgery center is another hour to the east of where we live. Being Laurel was having this done at a surgery center and not at a hospital she felt confident that the virus had not infected the surgery center. A few days before her surgery, the virus had shown up in our County, Eau Claire County in Chippewa County which makes up the Chippewa Valley region. She kept in contact with the surgery center keeping abreast of whether her surgery was on or not. Her surgery stayed scheduled right up until her surgery time.

Friday morning Laurel and I along with our daughter Beth drove Laurel over to the surgery center to have her surgery done. As we were checking in, the receptionist asked Beth to leave the facility because they did not want extra people in their surgery center. I was allowed to stay being I was the driver for Laurel. So Beth grabs my keys and took off while I was staying at the surgery center for Laurel‘s operation. A few minutes later the pre-op surgery nurse came to get Laurel and she looked at me and she told me this is the last you will see of your wife. You are not welcome to come beyond this point for her procedure. So I questioned if whether or not I had to stay at the surgery center for the surgery. They told me it was not necessary and that I could leave the facility. In hindsight, this was probably a good decision. It limited my contact in the surgery center and thus limiting the center’s exposure to the virus. I called Beth and had her come back to the surgery center and pick me up and we drove home and I knew I had some projects that I could do at home while Laurel was having her surgery. They said that her surgery would be done at about 3 o’clock and the doctor would contact me with the news after her surgery. We stopped and got a few groceries and then we made our way home and on the way home I stopped to pick up a drywall lift so that we could put drywall on the walls of our new shop. The new shop is a different story for another day.

A few minutes before 3 o’clock, the surgeon gave me a call and said the surgery was complete and successful. He said Laurel would be in recovery until 4 and then in her room about 4:30. I said I would arrive back at the surgery center about 5 and rejoin Laurel. The surgeon also said she would be walking on her new knees that evening.

I cleaned up and headed back to the surgery center and Beth stayed home because if she road along, she would just have to stay in the car while I visited with Laurel. I arrived at the surgery center and there was two receptionist working at the front desk in the afternoon. They were helping another woman get into her appointment with the doctor and seemed a little distracted to help me. The one receptionist made a call upstairs to the recovery area to check on Laurel and then she hung up the phone and came over to talk to me. She said with the way things are going with this coronavirus, things have changed since this morning. She told me that I would not be able to visit Laurel in her room because of the coronavirus in our area. So I had just driven for an hour to visit with her just to find out that I would have to drive back an hour to get home. You could tell the receptionist was nervous in telling me but I was understanding because even in my job I have been receiving emails on a regular basis talking about how our procedures were changing at our business. I was understanding what was going on in the medical field.

I made a call to Laurel from the parking lot on my phone and talk to her about how I was unable to visit her and asked how she was feeling. I told her that the nursing staff told me I wouldn’t be able to visit her and I would be headed home. We kept in contact over the next couple of days with phone calls and text messages. She did say to another of our daughters, she was the last surgery until the coronavirus is over. As I say this is a new day and a new time and we have to improvise to keep everybody healthy.

Laurel stayed in the surgical center for two nights and on Sunday I was able to pick her up and bring her home. We headed over about 10 o’clock so that we could arrive at 11 o’clock and the nursing staff would bring her down to the vehicle. We were not allowed to enter the building. I got a message saying get the car as close to the door as possible. So I jimmied the car in such a way that I backed it up to the building and Laurel was able to basically take one step out of the door of the surgical center and one into the vehicle. The nurses arrived with Laurel and lots of laughter. They said I should get closest to the door award for how close I got the vehicle to the front door.

We made our way home and got Laurel settled into her comfy chair for the next several weeks. That doesn’t mean she is going to be lax in doing her rehab. A potluck of pills throughout the day and ice therapy on her knees is helping with the pain and swelling. With Beth home, she has brought an arsenal of new food recipes and they are leaning on the vegan side. Help us, we are hobby farmers! It not all that bad, she can continue to work from home just like every other day and help with the care of Laurel. For me, I can continue to work on projects in the new shop and offset the vegan dishes with smoked brisket and my rendition of the Wisconsin Friday fish fry. Being at home waiting out the coronavirus isn’t all bad, my days have purposes in these troubled times.

Pillow Talk

A couple of years ago the company I work for was owned by a family and then they sold their company to an investment group from New York City. At first, there were small changes but then the changes started getting larger and more noticeable. The beginning of this year brought forth a change in personal restructuring in our stores. Just because you held a leadership position in the past didn’t mean you would retain your position, you would have to apply for a leadership position going forward. For me, I was a receiving clerk receiving merchandise into our store and preparing shipment leaving our store. My duties would continue if I did nothing, but there were two leadership positions being created that would impact me and my future.

First here was the Warehouse Lead and second the Inventory Control Lead. The Warehouse Lead would be managing the people in the Receiving department, the Lot, and the Gate Hut. The Inventory Control Lead would be a combining of multiple department past responsibilities into a newly created position. As I listened to the descriptions of the job duties I applied for both positions. I was perusing the Inventory Lead position over the Warehouse Lead position. I realized I was already doing 80% of the work that the newly created Inventory Control Lead would be doing in the future. So the first week of March I was named the Inventory Control Lead in our store.

As I settled into my new responsibilities I had a responsibility to teach my replacements how to take over my past responsibilities as a Receiving Clerk. At the very same time, our company was in the process of converting our inventory counts from two very small counts a week lasting most of the year to a whole store count in one day and that is the heart of my new position. But the first order of business to get ready for this count was a massive purge of the merchandise in our store. Thirty years of “we can’t throw that” was ended as though you were moving from a castle to a very small tenement apartment. If it was broken, bent, missing parts, old displays it hit the trash. If the merchandise had no value to our company or to our customers it went into the trash. Waste Management would have to up their game at our store to keep our dumpsters empty. I started adopting the new philosophy, if it had zero value it goes away. Yes, it was hard to do and wasteful, but it had to be done. Co-workers would approach me with discontinue items and ask what should be done with the product. “To the dumpster” I would reply.

Now let me take a moment to speak to something that is a growing interest in my personal life. Minimalism. I have been listening to Podcasts by Matt D’Avella and others and watching programs on this subject. This is not a how to go from hoarding everything under the sun into storage sheds (He who dies with the most stuff, wins) to exist in this life with only what is on your back. It is finding value in the items you possess and remove those items that don’t add value to your life. I know I have a long way to go in my own personal life, but there is still time. I may need that valueless item in the future, so lets just put it over here for now. Then the other day I saw the connection. Our store was becoming a minimalist! We were purging the merchandise that had zero value to us as a store and to our customers. It is the junk we kept holding onto and walk around every day saying we might need that someday. And then came last Saturday.

On Saturday my co-worker in Receiving stated to me they had found a pallet of 72-bed pillows. He continued to tell me when he scanned them the inventory showed zero and there was a clearance price of $6.00 and an original price of $29.99. I looked at him and said, “What would our GM do?” He responded, “Throw them away!” “Correct!” Well, he didn’t get to throw them away before he left work. Later in the evening I saw the pallet of pillows and took a quick look and had another co-worker take them outside to the dumpster. Then I started thinking… In my hoarding fashion, the next morning I retrieved them and returned them to the receiving area. It didn’t feel right to throw these pillows away. They were new and looked perfect. I had thrown many things away that had been damaged but these didn’t appear to have any damage. Yes, they have no value for our company, but do they have value? On Sunday I had another employee go through the pallet of pillows looking for any damage or staining. There was none and so these pillows have value.

On the shrink wrap was a blue sticker to direct the skid from our warehouse to our store. The date on the sticker stated it was shipped to our store on October 26, 2015. Three and a half years ago and the product never made it to the sales floor but was wrote off in one of our cycle counts. I wasn’t going to return clearance merchandise into our inventory, but I believed the garbage heaps of the earth didn’t need another 72 pillows. So I wanted to add value to someone else’s life.

In a conversation with my manager, I spoke of my mindset what I was going to do. I don’t want to donate junk because I don’t want it, but will it add value to the recipient of these items. I didn’t state to my manager I was donating pillows instead I phased it with “I want to add value to someone else’s life”. So I donated the pillows to our local United Way for distribution to those in need of a new pillow. The United Way was thrilled to receive such a donation because most items are used at some level and these were new. The pillows may not have had any value to us as a company but they could add value to someone else’s life. They could add value to their sleep, to their dreams, and to their future, but the most important message, I added value to someone’s life, by telling them They have value thru a new pillow.  Many of the people who will be receiving these pillows may not have hope because they have no dreams.  With no hope or dreams, they may feel as thou they have no value in this life.  I feel humbled to have add value to someone else’s life through such a simple gesture.  Minimalism isn’t about living a life without anything, it is living a life with items around you that add value to your life’s experience.

Christmas Wings

On Sunday my son-in-law, Jeremy, and I decided to grill chicken wings for Sunday’s lunch. Jeremy pulled up a recipe on his phone for the seasoning on the wings. After coating the wings, we let them rest in the refrigerator for a few hours before grilling them. Here in Wisconsin the temperature was hovering near 20 degrees with a wind making it feel colder. The snow flurries were falling adding to the coldness of the day. After we grilled two batches of wings we headed into the house and loaded our plates for a tastey treat of summertime. We went downstairs into the basement and watched an afternoon of football. A Viking win was adding to the playoff cheer to the season.

Our Arizona Adventure- Reflections

As I have been sitting here of the past few weeks writing about our trip to Arizona, I have a few reflections on this trip to Arizona. Every year Laurel has a veterinarian dental conference and it moves to a different city each year. We have taken the week before the conference to do a little touring of the region where the conference is being held. We know where the conferences are going to be held a couple of years in advance, so that gives us time to plan our trips in advance.

When I saw the conference was scheduled in Phoenix, I wasn’t to keen on going to Arizona. What did Arizona have to offer? A dessert and a big hole in the ground. But Laurel convinced me to take a closer look at visiting our forty-eighth state. So a year ago I started listing places to visit in Arizona. It was a do all list and then we could pare it down later to fit our time we had available.

Ok, the Grand Canyon was going to be on the list, but what else? Surfing Pinterest and other web searches brought Sedona to the forefront. Laurel threw out the Petrified Forest. What did downtown Phoenix have to offer? As time got closer for us to purchase our fight tickets, we needed to rough in our road trip.

We were planning to fly out on Saturday and I would fly home on Thursday.  I found it hard to make the Petrified Forest a part of our trip. We then decided to leave on Friday and were able to find a non-stop flight in the morning and that put the Petrified Forest back in our travel plans. The Petrified Forest added the Mogollon Rim, Holbrook, and Winslow. After visiting the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert and Blue Mesas were the highlights of this National Park. The colors were stunning and vibrant and worth every minute spent in the park. The petrified wood in the park was interesting but the rock shops had petrified wood that was polished and showed the beauty of the petrifying.

Route 66 can be explained with words, but to drive and interact with this historic route is a different thing.  This may be the most famous route in America, but there are many historic routes throughout America you can travel.  How about the Yellowstone Trail?  Never heard of it?  From Plymouth Rock to the Puget Sound.  This was a cross-country road established in 1912 and ended in 1930.  In Wisconsin, the Yellowstone Trail starts south of  Milwaukee and goes north to Oshkosh then turns westward crossing the state to Hudson.  You can still travel on the original roads that were the Yellowstone Trail but today they are covered with a modern coating of asphalt.  In today’s hurried world who has time to take these roads?  The same can be said of Route 66.  Most of Route 66 we drove was a 70 miles-per-hour Interstate 40.  That doesn’t give you much time to interact with this historic road.  Pull off in the towns along the way and you can step back in time to a simpler time.  Imagining no air conditioning, no fast food, and simple motels.

Grand Canyon

What can’t be explained with words is the Grand Canyon.  Photos cannot convey the true size and scale of the Grand Canyon.  It can only be experienced with your toes on the edge of the rim.  And still, its size will skew the distances in your mind.  What looks like a hundred yards away is really two miles.  What looks like a short walk is an all-day hike needing extra water and body conditioning.  What I can say is, the colors are breathtaking even at high noon.  The day was 35 degrees and windy.  I would love to revisit the Grand Canyon when it is a little warmer and spend more time experiencing this awe-inspiring site.

Sedona is the spiritual region. If you are not into the new age spiritual followings, the landscape will still stir your spirit regardless of your spiritual beliefs. This region offers plenty of space to sit and meditate with your inner spirit. I see the term Mindfulness everywhere today. As I reread reviews of the places we visited I am struck by how many people are so mindless to the experiences of a slower pace of train travel, an old two-lane road, and small no-frills motels. At one time, not so long ago, these were the fast-paced mindless activities of their day.

As I planned this trip the one thing that was a cornerstone to me was to meet one of Laurel’s second cousins. Instead, we met two cousins. As I work on my genealogy, I see so many people do the AncestryDNA test but not do anything beyond the test. If you do the test, add your own small family tree. You will need to add enough of your ancestors that have died because the living persons will be shown as private. This will allow people doing research to connect with you in helping them in doing research on their genealogy. Please answer their emails even if you’re not interested in meeting them. If you need to, pass them to a person you may know who is doing genealogy so they can follow up for you. The people I have met in person or thru email have been wonderful and are willing to help fill in the family connections. I have even helped a couple of adoptive people find their DNA family.

My travel partner is a wonderful person with a great curiosity for nature and ancient societies. The Petrified Forest was on her must-see list and for me, it was a lot of windshield time. By her holding her position it would have been easy to miss the Painted Desert and Blue Mesas. The week offered her a week of no driving and to be chauffeured on a tour of Arizona. Thank you for taking a ride with me.

The colors of this state are always changing throughout the day as the sun moves across the open sky. When I returned to work I commented to one of my suppliers we were in Arizona. He said he was originally from Arizona. I told him of our tour and he was impressed that we had seen some of Arizona’s greatest sights on such a short visit to Arizona.  I will definitely be returning to Arizona in the future to visit more beautiful sites of Arizona.

Our Arizona Adventure-Part VI

Our last full day in Arizona together. Sunrises and mountains seem to go hand in hand. I woke early as usual and made a cup of coffee in our room a sat quietly looking at Thunder Mountain out our window. I tried to sit on the balcony with my coffee but the cold of the morning chased me back into the room. Laurel woke up and we readied ourselves and packed our luggage for the day’s travels. We went down to the hotel breakfast room and had our first meal of the day. When we finished we checked out of our room and found a laundromat in town to wash a few items. Then we went to the Red Dirt store in Sedona and bought a couple of shirts washed and stained with the red dirt of Sedona.

We started our journey out of Sedona when a store caught our attention and I turned the car back and went for a visit. Endless choices of home decor filled the store thru an endless maze of rooms. After a while of eye shopping, we returned to the car and continued on our journey to Phoenix. Before we drove out of the red rocks of Sedona we stopped at the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

I parked the car at the base of the red rock foundation that supported the chapel above.  Laurel and I walked up the drive and continue up the ramp sidewalk to the door of the chapel.  There were many visitors to the chapel making a pilgrimage to the site.  We entered the chapel and were in awe of the chapel.  The chapel was small but the Christ that hung on the cross in the front of the chapel and appeared to be life size and was back lite by the windows behind the altar.  We sat for several minutes communing the reverence of the Chapel.  We exited the chapel and looked out over the valley before walking down the hill to our car.  Back on the road and the next stop would be Phoenix at our Airbnb.

The trip was a good easy drive on the interstate.  We did make a stop at a rest stop along the way for a leg stretch.  Sunset Point is a great stop along the highway.  After we parked the car we saw a sign at the rest area warning visitors of poisonous snake and insects.  We took a brief walk and took in the scene of the overlook of the valley.  We got back in the car and we started on a decent out of the high country.  It wasn’t very long and the Saguaros appeared on the landscape and escorted us on or drive all the way to Phoenix.  We set our Gramin and cell phone to our Airbnb where we would be spending the evening.

We arrived at the Airbnb and the host wasn’t home from work and we arrived early.  He had given us instructions on letting ourselves into the property.  I had read the reviews on this place and was noted if you don’t like dogs, don’t stay here.  As soon as we opened the gate we were greeted by two dogs.  Small and friendly, please give us some of your attention was commanded by the dogs.  A little later the third dog joined in the greeting.  We set up our room for our stay and then went to a store to find some Arizona sports gifts for our grandsons.  We went back to our suite and readied ourselves for dinner.  As Laurel spent a few extra minutes getting ready, I sat outside watching the evening news on the TV in the backyard next to the pool and admired the yellowing sky with red streaks from the sun setting over the main house.  When Laurel finished we drove to a restaurant to meet two of Laurel’s second cousins.

We arrived at the restaurant and waited for Laurel’s cousins.  I took a quick run to the restroom and when I return they had arrived and had already met Laurel.  When I returned to our table I introduced myself and met Ann and Terry for the first time.  Now it is time to back this dinner meeting up for several months.

A few years ago I took an AncestryDNA test and so did Laurel and her mother.  Ann had also taken a DNA test.  Ancestry’s information had listed Ann as a close cousin to Laurel.  Seeing her last name, I knew how she was related to Laurel and my mother-in-law.  I clicked on Ann’s small family tree and looked over her information.  Yep, the connection was as I expected.  But then her tree gave me something I wasn’t expecting.  Ann’s maternal grandfather died in a small town about twenty miles from where I live now.  I did some research on Ann’s family and found a wealth of information.  I started asking people I knew if they knew Ann’s family members.  It was coming together quickly and I wrote to Ann to introduced myself to her and share the information I had found about her family.  She wrote me back and helped me fill in her family tree on my master family tree.  The other sidebar to this tale is, when Laurel was working at a vet clinic in Menomonie, Laurel was giving care to Ann’s brother’s dog’s.  Laurel was giving care to her second cousin’s dogs and didn’t know that he was her cousin.

I took a moment and sent a note to a cousin who was a stranger and asked if we could meet when we were in Phoenix, and Ann said yes.  I see so many people doing the DNA test and not filling in their family tree nor answering emails that they may have received.  It’s not going to discourage me from sending emails, because a few people have responded and it has been wonderful to meet these family members and share our family connections.  We exchanged several emails before we left for Phoenix and we had set up this dinner meeting.  We had a great time meeting these two cousins over dinner.  We talked about how we were related and shared our life and family stories.  We talked as though we have known each other our whole lives.

As we departed the restaurant we drove back to our Airbnb.  We grabbed a nightcap and sat out by the pool and watched a little TV in the cool Phoenix air.  We went in and retired for the evening.  The next morning I met the Airbnb host and had a nice conversation with her.  I thanked her for their nice place and their hospitality.  I drove Laurel to the Sheraton Downtown where her conference was being held.

I hung out for a while at the hotel before I return to the airport but first I had to return the rental car.  My time in Arizona had come to an end and Laurel would remain in Phoenix until Sunday. We had traveled just short of 800 miles on this tour of Arizona and saw a colorful and beautiful state.

Stay tuned for my reflections on our Arizona Adventure.

Our Arizona Adventure- Part V

I awoke after the daylight was breaking.  I made a cup of coffee in our hotel room and pulled back the curtains and watched the morning sunlight arrive on Thunder Mountain.  Laurel continued her slumber as the morning brightened and I visited the weather reports for Sedona on the computer.  The day was projected to have clear skies and 50 degrees.  After Laurel awoke, we got ready and went to the breakfast area in the hotel.  We had a filling breakfast and readied ourselves for the day.  We got in the car and drove to the town center and visited the Pink Jeep Tour office.  At home, I had done some research on jeep tours in the Sedona area and the Ancient Ruins Tour by The Pink Jeep Tours appealed to me and I knew the ruins would appeal to Laurel.  We stopped by the office and signed up for the 1 pm tour.

Being we now had several hours before our tour, we did our own driving tour of Sedona and the surrounding area.  We found the heritage museum in Sedona and it was closed for a few more hours, so we continued on our drive.  I followed the residential streets thru Sedona near the base of Thunder Mountain and found a road that would lead us out of town to the backside of the mountains.  We found a trailhead parking lot filled with cars and the parking space was at a premium.  We were able to find the one open spot and parked the car and the other cars had to continue circling the parking lot.  The mountains rose sharply on the one side of the lot and on the other side of the lot was an open valley with another mountain in the distance.  We walked the cactus covered red sand to get a better view of the mountains in the distance.  A few more photos and we walked back to the car and followed the road were it may lead.  We found more beautiful sites to enjoy the Sedona desert and take more photos of the landscape.  We started our return to central Sedona to find something to eat and get ready for our Pink Jeep Tour.

We found a Chipotle restaurant across the road from the tour office.  Chipolte’s was perched above the roadway and they had a large window with a counter facing the window so the mountains were in perfect view for enjoying one’s lunch and there wasn’t any traffic in sight.  After we finished our lunch we crossed the street to the Pink Jeep facility and waited in the bright, warm sunshine for our tour to begin.  Others continued to gather waiting for their tours to begin.  The manager of Pink Jeep Tours addressed the group thanking us for choosing their tours and went over some safety rules and answered any questions we may have had.  After a few minutes, our driver/guide called out our names and lead us to the Pink Jeep that would take us to the ruins.  Laurel and I loaded into the jeep along with another couple.  In a few moments, we were on the streets of Sedona heading out to the ruins.  The temperature was near fifty and the air was cold for the drive-thru the streets.  We brought both jackets and there were blankets in the jeep to use also to help stave off the cold windchill as we road to the ruins site.

The roads looked familiar.  These were the same roads we were on earlier in the day.  It gave me a second look at where we had traveled and reoriented myself to the region.  Then we came to a tee in the road where we turned right earlier in the day, the driver turned left and we were on a road we hadn’t traveled.  The skies were clear but the valley was hazing in the distance.  It looked like smoke but we couldn’t smell the smoke in the air.  If it was smoke were was the fire?  We continued driving and all the sudden you could smell the smoke.  Our guide asked if had breathing problems and nobody responded with a yes.  We continued a short distance and the asphalt road ended and we were on a forest road leading us out to the ruins.  The mountains in the distance continued to be erased by the smoke in the valley.  The near mountains had a haze covering their slopes desaturating their color.

Up and down, sliding right and left, the jeep made it way over the unimproved forest road.  I was sitting in the very back of the jeep and movement was worse than any school bus ride as a child.  We would cross boulder filled washes only to climb a sharp bank out of the wash.  The tires had a slip on the terrain because of the loose sand covering all the surfaces.  After several miles of traveling the forest roads, we arrived at the Honanki Heritage Site.  There were other Pink Jeeps in the parking lot with other tourists visiting the ruins.  We were now on the walking portion of the tour.  We exited the jeep and put our boots on the ground.  We passed thru a gate and our guide stopped at a small check-in booth and picked up a small pack and walking stick.

We headed to the base of the sheer cliff of the mountain laying before us.  Our guide would stop along the way pointing out plants the Sinagua, ancestors of the Hopis, would use for food and medicine.  As we came closer to the cliff we started climbing staircases of stone laid to an unspecified building code.  As we rounded a corner there were the mortared stone walls dating back 1150-1350 AD.  Our guide used his walking stick as a pointer much like a teacher would use with their pointer on a blackboard.  The height of the cliff towered above us and extended out over us.  Our guide told us he has taken groups out to the site and it would be raining and the ruin site would remain dry next to the cliffs.  Eight hundred-year-old rock art covered the face of the cliff and some of the artwork is 30 to 50 feet above the ground.  There was some modern graffiti on the cliffs.  Modern in the sense as in 150 years old.  The graffiti was from the early settlers of the region scrolled on the cliff with charcoaled wood.

Our guide explained himself on how he interprets the ruins.  He said his grandfather used to bring him out to the ruins as a child showing him the site and telling him stories of the site.  He continued by saying his godfather was a Hopi elder telling him stories of the site.  Then there is the archeologist, telling their interpretations of the site.  He said he takes in all this information and tells the story that makes sense to him from all three sources.  As our curiosity would lead to questions, he would customize the tour to the group’s questions leaving us with a fulfillment of the ruins.

We returned back to the parking lot where our jeep waited for our return to Sedona.  There was a young couple talking to our guide and said they had walked to the site after parking their rental car back aways.  Aways as in about four miles!  Had they drove a short distance from where they had parked, they would have needed to cross a wash that surely would have ripped the exhaust system off the car.  Our guide was glad to help out the young couple getting them back to their car and safety.  We continued on our trip back to Sedona and the smoke had dissipated from the valley and the distant mountains came into view again.  The guide parked the jeep right were we got on three hours earlier.  Laurel and I made the short walk back to our car and went back to the hotel for a moment of rest before heading back to the Airport Mesa for another Arizona sunset.

The mesa was filling with pilgrims on a spiritual journey to watch the final rays of sunshine highlight the mountains of Sedona. I took a short walk on a path that left the growing crowd behind. I took photos of the mountains being bathed in the golden sunshine turning the red rock into orange and the white rock into a golden yellow.  I returned to the crowded mesa lot and watch the growing shadows with everyone else.  As soon as the sun dropped below the horizon and the shadows on the mountains disappeared, the crowd dispersed as quickly as a stadium after a sporting event.  Laurel and I returned to our car and went to Nick’s Restaurant for dinner.

Nick’s was across from the hotel and we were there the night before and Laurel noticed they had barbequed meats on the menu.   We ordered a barbequed meat sampler and split the dish between the two of us.  The amount was right and we had a chance to taste several cuts of meat barbequed.  We finished our dinner and returned to the hotel.  We did some packing and pulled some dirty clothes together to be washed in the morning.  We needed to freshen up some of our wardrobes for our remaining days, and Laurel had a few more days remaining in Arizona than I.  The fresh air of Sedona this day made way for a good nights sleep.

Stay tuned for Part- VI

Our Arizona Adventure- Part IV

It’s Monday morning and I’m still in bed. I take a peek at the clock and it is the latest I have slept in on this trip. Is it the cool thin Arizona air or is my body adjusting to Mountain time? Today is a travel day and our destination is only a couple of hours away. The daylight is lighting the town of Williams before Laurel and I get ourselves ready for the day.

My plan of the day was to travel to Flagstaff and then travel thru the Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. I wanted to make a side trip to Jerome, a small town laying high in the mountains, Laurel suggested we travel from Williams to Jerome then into Sedona, This route would add an hour of travel time and still leave us arriving early into Sedona. With a new plan for the day, we went through our morning routines and grabbed a quick breakfast. I packed the car and went and checked out of the motel. I spent a few minutes with the motel owner in conversation about his motel and thanked him for the hospitality. It was a good stay and it was the right room for our busy travel plans.

Before we left town Laurel and I wanted one more photo of Route 66 before departing from this historic roadway. There was a small park in Williams with an oversized Route 66 sign and a couple of railcars on display. The day was bright with sunshine and a cold wind in our face just like back home in the winter. I staged the camera and set the timer and we captured a few last photos and then we off to Ash Fork where we would leave Route 66 behind. We traveled south to Prescott Valley on Arizona 89 where would pick up route Arizona 89A that would take us to Jerome and then Sedona.

As we traveled south of Ash Fork on Arizona 89 we traveled parallel the mountains on the east side. We arrived in Prescott Valley and turned onto Arizona 89A and we headed towards the mountains. We looked at the mountain before us and as we reached the base of our assent, there was a sign warning for no trucks over 50 feet in length on the mountain road. We started our climb and it was clear why no long trucks were allowed on the road. As we climb and switched back and forth, Laurel was sitting on the open side of the mountain. There were many times the asphalt would disappear from her window view and all she could see was the narrow gravel shoulder and a never-ending drop-off. The base of the mountain elevation was about 5600 feet and we would cross the summit at about 7800 feet. As we reached the apex of Mingus Mountain the Sedona Valley was laid before us in the distance. The descent from the pass was just as winding. Laurel was still on the open side on our descent. There were times when the asphalt disappeared and the bottom of the valley was nowhere to be seen.

We made our way into Jerome and parked the car. It was a good time to take a little break from the mountain drive. We got out of the car and started an easy stroll looking for small shops to visit. One of the first buildings we passed was a restaurant named the Mile High Restaurant. They had a chalkboard outside their door listing the daily special, French Dip Sandwich. Sounded good but we continue walking. We hadn’t gone far when we returned to the restaurant. It was early and not quite lunch time. The host seated us in the window of the restaurant and we ordered up the special. I also had a small glass of a beer from a local microbrew for my adventurist tastebuds. Our meals were served and the restaurant continued to fill in with customers. Before we had paid our bill the host went outside and erased the daily special. I guess we ate lunch at the right time! We exited the restaurant and started our tour of Jerome.

We slowly strolled the up the main street passing thru Jerome. We would make short shopping stops in the stores lining a couple of blocks in the part of town we visited. There were many more stores, but we didn’t venture into all of Jerome. We picked up a few items as a remembrance of our time in Arizona. We made our way back down the street returning to our car and continued our descent down the mountain. As we looked back from the lower elevations, Jerome was anchored on the face of the mountain like all the trees covering the mountain. We continued our slow drive thru the towns of Clarkdale and Cottonwood. Then we continued onto Arizona 89A for the final leg into Sedona.

The barren red and white mountains guided us on the pathway to Sedona like the Yellow Brick Road. As the speed limit slowed the traffic I began to look for our hotel. The GrennTree Inn was on the west side of Sedona. I spotted the sign and turned into their parking lot. We were early for check-in, but I stopped into the office anyhow to see if our room was available. They checked with the cleaning service and said it would be about twenty minutes. At the same time I put in a small request, “could we have a room with a view of the mountains?” They responded with, “we believe you will like the view.” We told them we would do some more sightseeing before returning to the hotel.

Had we traveled to Oak Creek Canyon from Flagstaff, I wanted to visit Side Rock State Park. Being the state park was just outside Sedona we made the short drive to the park. The park is famed for the small stream flowing over the rocks thru the canyon. People will get in the stream and ride down the rocks like a giant water slide. The park is also an old apple orchard and the park harvests the apples and sells them to raise funds for the park. There is no overnight camping so it is a day use natural amusement park. We returned back to Sedona and found our way to the Airport Mesa. This is an overlook of the Sedona valley with the mountains as the backdrop. There was a small parking fee, but we were told the fee would be good for the whole day and we could return for the sunset. We made our we back to the hotel and checked into our room.

We were not disappointed! The hotel has no hallway in the building, much like a motel. We entered our room from the back side of the hotel after climbing the stairway to the second floor and entered our room. I made my we to the other side of the room and pulled back the curtains and Thunder Mountain was framed by the arch over the balcony attached to our room. We had the best view of the mountains at this hotel. We unpacked a few items and readied ourselves for dinner. We drove back to the Airport Mesa for sunset but we missed the sunlight on the mountains by a few minutes. As we reached the parking lot, many were leaving the vista, but we still took in the golden hour of the sun’s light. We drove back to the main road running thru Sedona and found a restaurant and light dinner. We split a nacho appetizer and then went back to our room for an early retirement from the day’s travels.

It was a good day of travel and not hurried. The landscape of the region was breathtaking and a little more so for Laurel being she was the passenger on the mountain road. Tomorrow will be our day in Sedona looking for all the great vistas of the red and white mountains and the cactus green dappled valleys.

Stay tuned for Part_V

Our Arizona Adventure- Part III

My body is still on Central Time. The room is black and I try to be as quiet as possible. The bed squeaks as I try to get up and the floor is a laminate type and so it to can be heard as I shuffle my feet. As I approach the bathroom area the motion detector light switch turns on the lights over the sink. I quickly dash to the switch and turn off the lights. I assemble the coffee maker in the room and start it brewing the first cup of the morning. The coffee maker is older and may have a calcium build up because it took about twenty minutes to brew the small pot of coffee. After pouring the first cup I sat in a chair next to the bed enjoying the quite, the darkness and the cup of hot coffee. I peeked out the curtains and noted the sky was still dark and the parking lot was softly lit by the lights from the motel. I picked up my iPad and did a little surfing of the internet while I sipped my coffee.

I wanted to pick up a quick few more snacks from a grocery store so I looked for a store in town. The Safeway was one block from our hotel so I got dressed and slipped on my coat and made a leisurely walk to Safeway in the still early morning Arizona air. The morning was cool but not cold, but a morning that would give way to a beautiful fall day. I found the freezer section and purchased some more breakfast burritos and some other snacks. The burritos the day before were good and light for the morning’s travels of a day. I took a leisurely walk back to the motel with my eyes taking in the brightening eastern sky. I reached the motel and Laurel was awakening and we got ready for Sunday’s adventure.

One of the things I was looking at on the internet earlier was the weather report at the Grand Canyon. I looked up weather.com on the iPad and it said 60 degrees at the canyon. On my iPhone, it said it was going to be 40 degrees. That’s a big difference! I checked a few other websites and they confirmed the 40-degree temperature so we dressed for 40 degrees and windy.

Prior to leaving on our trip to Arizona, I wanted to take the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon. I had prebooked the trip from our home and I also added the bus tour at the canyon. This gave us the whole day to enjoy our time together and be chauffeured for the day. We made the quick drive to the rail depot and parked our car. We walked to the depot and got checked in and Laurel did a little shopping in their gift shop. As I was at the ticketing booth, the attendant explained the timeline of the schedule. First at 9 am there would be a gunfight near the end of the train. Then we would start boarding a 9:15. The train leaves at 9:30. When we arrive at the canyon and a bus would be waiting for us. Show your ticket to the bus driver and they will take care of you. They would return us to the train for our return trip with plenty of time with boarding at 3:15 and the train leaving at 3:30 sharp. Thank you and enjoy your trip. I found Laurel and we started finding our way out of the depot for the gunfight.

A shot rang out! Did we miss the first killing of the day? What kind of law-breaking individual was testing the Marshall’s law and order in town? We made our way down the platform towards the back of the train to find a pseudo town. A crowd had gathered and some of the people were sitting in the bleachers for a better seat to see all the action. Words in suede and the gunfight was on. The Marshall of the town made quick work of the riffraff that had invaded his town. After the show, the crowd made their way down along the train looking for their railcar to board. Our car was towards the front of the train. We showed our ticket, boarded the train and found our seats. After the train was boarded by the passengers, the train softly pulled out of the depot. People waved us off from the platform as though we would never return. We continued to see people waving to the train throughout Williams as we depart the town.

The train continued to increase its speed as we reached a rail underpass. The town had disappeared and the train was flanked by tall pines on both sides. We reached our travel speed and the Arizona countryside passed by our window like an IMAX environmental movie. There were a few homes and small ranches on our journey. We saw some wildlife, open desert, juniper covered plains and more tall pines as we arrived into Grand Canyon National Park. There also a small homestead just outside the park and the conductor noted to us the homesteader waves to the train’s passing every day. And sure enough, there he was with his arm extended above his head waving to us welcoming us to the Grand Canyon. The train was slowing as we approached the canyon village. As we crept closer the conductor said we would get our first glimpse of the canyon as we passed around the corner. In a small opening between the trees was a stone wall that was the wall of the canyon. And still, the true majesty of the canyon was still an hour away.

Our bus tour also included a lunch stop. I figured this was a good way to schedule in a lunch stop and not have to forage for our own meal. The bus made its first stop at the Maswik Lodge for lunch. It was a buffet style meal with a wide array of foods to please all palettes. There were three busloads of people looking to eat all at the same time. We had one hour to eat, use the restroom, and be back on the bus. The food wasn’t over the top, but it was still good. The chef and their team had to have enough food prepared for two hundred people from the busses and still feed the other guesses in the dining hall. We lined up and grabbed a tray, silverware, and plates and made our way to the buffet counter. It was like a family reunion potluck and everybody’s dish needed to be tried.

We re-boarded the bus and we were off to our first stop. The canyon was no were to be found. Trees flanked the roads as we drove to Yaki Point. As the bus driver approached Yaki Point, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon became visible in the distance. At the point was a looped turnaround and the bus stopped in the middle of the loop. The reds, greens, and yellows of the north canyon wall were right out our bus window. The passengers dismounted the bus thru the door going in a semicircle of different directions. We were all headed to the rim of the Grand Canyon. There were a few barriers to define the edge but most places were open and you could stand so close to the rim that your toes could curl into the canyon. Majestic, Magic, Grand, Awe-inspiring, Unfathomable Scaling. It is true, the Grand Canyon can not be experienced vicariously. It can only be experienced with your feet on the edge of the rim of the canyon.

Laurel and I took photos and overlooked the full range of colors of the canyon walls. Hiking trails zig-zag thousands for feet below us and still thousands of feet above the Colorado River. We tried to absorb the size and I made some mental notes of points around the rim. We all bored the bus and off to our second stop. Again we got off the bus and this time we had to walk up an embankment to get to the rim. Again the sight was indescribable. We took more photos and then Laurel stated, “this is stupid to take all these photos!” “The photos will not help anyone understand the awe of the Grand Canyon.” Every so often, a shutter button would be pressed for one more capture for our memory.

We loaded back onto the bus after for our trip back to the train depot. We still had twenty to thirty minutes before boarding the train so we took a quick walk up the steps to the historic El Tovar Hotel. A few more long looks into the canyon and we went back down the steps to board the train. We stepped up in the train car and found our seats. We sat back and waited for the train to start its southward journey back to Williams.

The train started its slow moment the park and picked up speed as we twisted our way away from the canyon. We reach the small homestead and the homesteader was standing there again waving to us on a safe journey back to Williams. The sun starting its slow evening set and the train cast a shadow upon the ground. As the sun continued on its decent to the horizon, the desert plains were bathed in increasing hues of oranges and reds. The shadow of the train continued to move farther from the track until the sunlight shown from under the train and the shadow of the train was a great distance from the tracks. When we were about ten miles from town, our conductor warned us of the Cataract Gang who would be trying to stop the train and then board the train to rob all the passengers. Sure enough, the train slowed and the gang was riding their horses beside the train slowing the train to a complete stop. After the gang boarded the train the train started moving again. Dressed in their finest cowboy clothing, they were wearing a handkerchief over their nose and mouth as a disguise. The gang started in the first car working their way to the last car looking for valuables from the passengers.

The sun fell behind the horizon and the sky displayed the final light of the sun. Darkness covered the land as we made our way into Williams. Again the people of Williams welcomed us into town like passengers from a faraway land. The train backed slowly into the rail depot stopping in the same spot where we had boarded the train earlier in the day. The town was decorated in lights to reminding everyone the Christmas season was just around the corner. Laurel and I exited the train with our memories of our day at the Grand Canyon. We found our way back to our car and took a short drive to Grand Canyon Brewery for a nightcap before going back to our motel room.

The cool mountain air and the days travel made it easy to fall asleep. Tomorrow would be another travel day to Sedona.

Stay tuned for Part- IV

Our Arizona Adventure 2018- Part II

The early morning dark was void of any light in our Airbnb Bunkhouse. All the sudden the early morning silence was abruptly ended as the horn of another passing train echoed through the sleeping town of Holbrook. It was a warning for a single rail crossing in town and I would not hear another sound, even from a distant crossing. My body and mind told me it was time to get out of bed, but the darkness and clock reminded me to remain under the warm blankets of the bed. After a while of staring into the darkness of the ceiling, I arose from the bed and started my morning shuffle. The Bunkhouse was void of any light including an ambient light coming thru the windows. A single car passed by our Bunkhouse and I wondered if they were going to work at one of the restaurants in town. It was time to start the coffee and get the grill heated so they could cook breakfast for the first customers of the day. As the morning light found its way into our Bunkhouse, we were both awake and starting to plan our day two in Arizona. We would leave Holbrook and find our way to Williams by sundown.

When we first started planning the trip, Laurel was wanting to go to the Petrified Forest. I found it to be a little out of the way based on our time frame. We were able to leave one day earlier and that made the Petrified Forest possible. The night before, we stopped at Safeway and picked up some groceries. One of the items was a couple of breakfast burritos. A quick warming in the microwave and breakfast would be a no-fuss meal and no cleanup. We sat on the front of the Bunkhouse eating our burritos in the cool Arizona air. Now it was time to say goodbye to the Bunkhouse and start day two by traveling to the Petrified Forest National Park.

We traveled eastbound on I-40 towards the Petrified Forest exit, paralleling the old roadbed of the Historic Route 66. The 25 miles went by quickly as we continued to marvel at the early morning lighting of the distant horizon. How did the early pioneers motivate themselves to continue on a never-ending horizon and the promised land was weeks and months away. We made a brief stop at the visitors center and watched a looped film before starting our tour of the Petrified Forest.

We paid our admission and drove to the first vista in the park. The morning light painted the landscape with bolder colors than what a camera could capture. We did our best with our iPhones using an HDR app and then tweaking the photos in Lightroom software. After a few minutes at the first vista, we were off to the second vista. More photos and time admiring the colors of the landscape. Then the Painted Desert Inn and more vista time. Then off to the fourth vista and still more photos and mind absorption of the landscape. We had spent 1-1/2 hours in the park and had only traveled 4 miles! At this rate, it would take us all day to see the park. So we had to stop pulling off at the vistas and taking photos. Fat Chance! Along came several more vistas of beauty. Finally, we reached an old rusted 1932 Studebaker sitting on the old roadbed of Route 66. This site is on the north side of I-40 and we had traveled for 2 hours and had only covered 5 of the 26 miles of park road. It was time to put on the blinders and focus on reaching the petrified trees on the south side of the park.

With a mind concentration span of a gnat, yep, there were more stops along the way. A stop at Puerco Pueblo, Newspaper Rock, then the Teepees of the Blue Mesa for more photos. Southward we continued with a stop at Agate Bridge, the Jasper Forest, and little longer stop at the Crystal Forest. We admired the blocked tree trunks dotting the landscape. A tree millions of years ago, and over time and with natural forces, the wood would be transformed into stone. Colors covering all the colors of a rainbow plus a full spectrum of grayscale. Now was the time to find some relief and it was time to make our way to the Rainbow Visitor Center. After a little shopping, we returned to our car and made our way back to Holbrook and started westward towards Williams. But before we got on the interstate, we made a stop at Jim Gray’s Petrified Rock Shop. The shop was overwhelming of petrified products. The one item that caught my attention was a table made with a slab of petrified wood. The cost…a cool $29,000 and that didn’t include the chairs.

We traveled westward and exited the interstate in the little town of Winslow. I just wanted to Take It Easy,

Well I’m a standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona, and such a fine site to see. It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me.

The corner had attracted many visitors. A musician on one corner was playing his guitar. Coffee shop on another and a gift shop on another. There was a couple of bronze statues and of course the flatbed Ford. Painted in the middle of the intersection was a large Route 66 road sign. We jumped back in the car and found the interstate again. Still headed for Williams.

We made a brief stop at Walnut Canyon National Monument just outside of Flagstaff. Then we traveled Route 66 thru the city of Flagstaff. Back to the interstate and the next stop would be Williams. We entered Williams under an iron overhead sign welcoming travelers to Williams. We traveled thru town looking for our motel. We were on the one way westbound and the motel was on the one way eastbound of Route 66. We found our motel, The Highlander, and registered for our stay. We asked the front desk for recommendations for restaurants and he was happy to help us with that request.

Our room was a 1950’s Route 66 era motel. I wasn’t looking to spend the big bucks on a room that would be sitting empty most of our time in Williams. A decent bed, place to hang my hat, and a step back in time. The reviews were decent and I had pre-booked the room. The room was small and representative of the time. In its 1950’s life, there would be no TV, no air conditioning, and no vending machines nor ice machines. That was ok and as I said, we wouldn’t spend much time there in our room.

We settled into our room and made plans for dinner at one of the restaurants recommended. We made the brief drive to the restaurant. The restaurant was full of diners and it was decorated for the upcoming Christmas season. We had a fine meal and had a few leftovers for the following days as lunch. We there went to a local microbrew brewery for a sample of the brewmaster’s artistry. They also have a craft distillery on site too. This appealed to both of us. I had a beer and Laurel had a signature cocktail from their distillery.

We went back to our room to retired for the evening because tomorrow would be our trip to the Grand Canyon. There was one small glitch in the room, The bathroom sink area had a motion detector switch. Any movement near the switch and the lights would turn on and make you feel like you were going to be interrogated. The first night we tried a post-it note paper and that was a failure. The second night I wedged a washcloth behind the cover plate and that worked. Darkness all night

End of our second day in Arizona- Stay tuned for part-III

Our Arizona Adventure 2018-Part 1

It is 4 o’clock in the morning and I hear the voice of Laurel asking “are you getting up?” The shower was already running to warm the water to a proper temperature for a shower. Laurel gets in the shower first and then I take a quick shower. After getting dressed, I take our luggage to the car and make a cup of coffee. Just before we get into the car, I stopped to feed the cats outside and noted the two inches of snow that had fallen overnight. We were able to be on the road shortly after 4:30 and as I reached the bottom of our driveway I realized I had forgotten my coffee. I turned the car around and drove up the driveway to retrieve my coffee and off we were for the second time.

We made the drive to my brother’s home and arrived at about 6 am. My brother gave Laurel and I a ride to the airport and he parked our car for the week at his home while we were in Phoenix. We made our way thru the airport gauntlet and Laurel had a small hang up with the TSA. Her one bag had a metal item in it that caught the TSA’s attention. They went thru her bag and found a small Leatherman tool inside of her bag. She has been out banding Northern Saw-Whet owls over the past month and had dropped the leatherman into the bag and forgot about the tool. The TSA gave her the option to check her bag, but she chose to give up the tool and keep her handbag.

From there the rest of the trip was uneventful all the way to Phoenix. After we landed we found our way to the rental car shuttle buses and boarded the bus for the short ride to the car rental building. The rental process was quick, and then we made our way down an escalator to a line of waiting cars for our choice of car. We picked our car and mounted the Garmin on the windshield and programmed it for our first destination. In a few minutes, I made the first left turn onto the streets of Phoenix, Arizona.

Our first waypoint on this first day in Arizona was Payson. We found our way eastward on I-10 to the east side of the Phoenix metro area. Then we found our way to Arizona Highway 87 and headed northward towards Payson. After a few miles, we started looking for food. It has been several hours since our last meal and we needed a boost to our energy. We started noticing our food choices were behind us. So I turned the car around and found a Jack-In-The-Box just pass where we got onto Highway 87. We received our food and got back into our car for our adventure in the state of Arizona.

As we headed northward there was a huge yellow diamond-shaped road sign warning drivers of wild horses on the roadway. I continued driving and all the sudden I noticed a group of wild horses grazing in the Tonto National Forest. Laurel exclaimed her trip could be considered complete now that she had seen the wild horses of Arizona. The Saguaro cacti cover the hills of the Tonto National Forest lands as thick as any wooded forest of the Northland. After driving several miles I pulled off the highway at a trailhead so we could get a better look at he Saguaros covering the landscape. After a few photos and a few deep breaths of the Arizona air, we continued on our way to Payson. We drove a short way and broke over a ridge and the Saguaros had disappeared from the landscape. We would not see the Saguaro covered hillsides again until our return trip to the Phoenix area several days later. The landscape continued to change every few miles all the way to Payson.

We arrived in Payson and made our way to Zane Gray’s cabin and museum. We made a short stop and walked around the cabin and did a little shopping in the gift shop. Back into the car, we set our next waypoint on the Garmin to Heber, Arizona. Now we are higher in the mountains and the hills are covered in stately Ponderosa Pines. This is the famed Rim Country of Arizona. We continue weaving our way thru the mountains until we reached the Mogollon Rim Visitors Center where I made a quick left turn onto Forest Road 300 away from the visitor center. I drove a few miles and parked at a parking lot and we made the short walk to the overlook of the valley. The valley was covered in Ponderosa Pines as far as we could see. The mountain ridges in the distance were bathed in their own personalized shade of smoke blue. As we admired the vista, I noticed several small metal tags screwed to the trees on the edge of the vista. Where these remembrances of those who had perished at the vista? As we examined the dates on the tags I came to the conclusion these were the grave markers of loved ones who had passed. Their loved ones were cremated and had their ashes placed into the winds of the vista to rest in the beauty of the vista forever.

We got back in the car and made a short stop at the visitor center. The center was closed and the vista wasn’t as impressive. So we continued our way to Heber. We reached Heber and found the correct road that would lead us on the pathway to Holbrook where our Airbnb was waiting for our travel tired bodies. As soon as I turned onto Arizona Highway 377 the landscape molted once again into something new for our remaining miles to Holbrook. The land was flat and the horizon was many miles away. We drove thru rises and drops until all the once I spotted buildings reflecting the setting sun-rays in the distance. I pointed to the bright spot on the horizon and said to Laurel that is the town of Holbrook. I took a quick glance at the Garmin and noted the next turn on our travels was 17 miles away and Holbrook was a few more miles down the road. In our daily spot in the world, I can see 5 miles down a valley from the back of our home. So this was very impressive to me to see a town glimmering in the afternoon light 20 miles away.

We made our way into Holbrook and turned onto Historic Route 66. We drove several blocks and turned into the Wigwam Motel parking lot and drove around their lot admiring the teepee motel rooms and old cars parked in the lot. We continued on our way to our Airbnb and found the Bunkhouse for our first nights stay in Arizona. We unloaded our luggage and took a brief rest in the Bunkhouse admiring the interior. We readied ourselves for dinner and headed to the restaurant a few blocks away. I had asked our host beforehand where a good restaurant in town was for us to enjoy the local flavors of Holbrook. After dinner was stopped at Safeway grocery store to pick up a few items for breakfast, and some travel food and drinks for our daily travels and we were able to keep things cold. We had packed an insulated cooler to carry the cold items while we were traveling.

We headed to bed because our body clocks were off by one hour and with the early wake-up alarm it made for a long day. The bed slept well but during the night the silence was broken several times throughout the night by the air horns of the trains passing thru town. It seemed like trains were passing thru town every 20-30 minutes. Many of the trains I saw the next day were carrying overseas containers bound inland to American cities.

End of our first day- stay tuned for part II