Tumbling Tumble Weeds!!!

Friday, February 27, 2009
Okay, today we start at the end.
We were driving through New Mexico today and I saw a tumbleweed blow by. I was telling Chris about seeing "A" tumbleweed when I was with Bud out west a couple of years ago. A few hours later we were on our way to Amarillo, TX and had just past through Tucumcari, NM and I saw a barrier that said "I40 Closed" at the side of the road. This was the second one I had seen today (they were both retracted at the side of the road) and I said to Chris "I wonder what they would use those for?
It wasn't any more than a few miles further down the road that all of a sudden ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!!! The wind (crosswind) had picked up all of a sudden and we found ourselves in a TumbleWeed storm from hell!!! At one point there must have been over 100 tumbleweeds of all sizes blowing all across the road out of nowhere (don't forget it was dark)!! We must have seen 1000's of tumbleweeds. I was worried that they may have scratched the van (we'll find out in the morning). It was like a white out in a snow storm, except it was a Brown Out!! Very scary! I was following a transport that was being blown all over the road (you didn't dare stop) , but at least I could see his tail lights. This went on for well over an hour!
Okay I got that off my chest. I think the Rolling Rock I'm having is helping calm me down.

Now let's start at the beginning shall we?
We woke up early this morning and decided to have breakfast at the Coffee Pot Restaurant again to get one more chance to pass through Sedona on our way to Amarillo.
This is what we saw on our way into town. This is already on my LIST, so we will do it next time!



The inside of the Coffe Pot.


Cheers again!


Now that is what I call a breakfast!! And it tasted as good as it looks!!


We stopped at Meteor Crater to have a gander. It was 6 miles off the road and obviously privately run. We asked a lady from Iowa who was just coming out how much it cost and she said $17/person hahahahahahahha She told us all about it, so I said "Thanks for the tour"! I will get my brother to take pictures (and pay the entry fee) when he comes with Malcolm!! 8O)
This is the only shot I got of the outside of the rim!


Here's what it looks like from the air. I believe my Iowa guide said that it was 2 miles across and over 500 feet deep!


Next stop Winslow Arizona!! Yesterday I was thinking of the Trompers and today my mind is on the FishGuts, the Basement Band that I'm in.
Some of the lyrics from the Eagles' famous song "Take it Easy"

Well, I'm standing on the corner
In Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
Its a girl, my lord, in a flatbed
Ford slowin down to take a look at me
Come on, baby, dont say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is
Gonna save me
We may lose and we may win though
We will never be here again
So open up, Im climbin in,
So take it easy

This is a song that we do almost as good as the Eagles!!! 8O)
The idea was to stop in Winslow for a photo op and also order a custom brick with the band's name and member's names enscribed on it. That way we will always be standin' on the corner!!
This is another thing that's on my LIST (although not near the top).

Here is the famous "Standing on the Corner Parkette"


My good (former) buddy?? and fellow band member Barry magically took this picture of me Standing on the corner. lol


Here's Chris and I.


Here's some of the bricks that are already there (6 weeks from now we'll be enshrined in fame!).


Took a quick look in the Route 66 museum there and found out that Blue Collar Comedy Team member Bill Engvall is from Winslow!!


That's enough for now. Got to get to bed. Got another 9 hour drive (and 2 BPS stores) in the morning!

Sedona Sunset

Thursday, February 27, 2008
Well what a day we had today! Where do I start? Okay at the beginning!
We left our timeshare in Cornville and headed for Montezuma's Well. Believe me, this place is dry and Montezuma's well must have seemed like a miracle for the Hohokum that found this place around 700 AD. It is fed by spring water and maintains a constant 77F. The Sinaugua people prospered here in the 1300's growing several crops. The well drains out into a channel they developed that irrrigated their crops.



This is a pueblo that was built into the side of the well. There are remnants of many of these surrounding the well area.


We went from there to Montezuma's Castle. This was discovered in the 1800's and was mostly intact.



The Sinaugua people disappeared without a trace! They estimate that there were 250,000 of them! No mass graves, nothing!!

Spotted this eagle/hawk (one of the 7 species of birds) flying above the castle.


Any ideas out there from those that feel there are more than 7 species??


From there we traveled back to the Mesa airport in Sedona so that I could complete one of my top "50 Things To Do"!! Chris and I were supposed to go for a helicopter flight together, but Chris backed out, worring that if her vertigo acted up, it would be a torturous drive tomorrow. I went with two great ladies who enjoyed it every bit as much as me.


WOW!!! that's all that I can say. Absolutely one of the best things I've ever done! Again pictures are worth a thousand words!!




We flew right down some of the canyons, just an unbelievable ride! Our pilot was a veteran of over 200 missions in Afghanistan!


Here are some ancient ruins that most people would never have a hope of seeing!





I will definitely be doing this again!!

Bud, you need to seriously think about doing this with Malcolm!!

We went back to the Oak Creek Brewery for one last meal.
That's a Doc's Pale Ale your looking at!
Hey.........................what a place for a Tromper Trek!! The Sedona Summit!!
Bud, Gary! Let's start the planning!



Cheers!


Our incredible week has finally come to a conclusion. One of the best weeks of our life!

Goodbye Sedona! Thanks for the memories!

Peace and Tranquility!

Wednesday, February 25, 209
Gave up on the idea of Phoenix and decided to stick around Sedona for another day. This place is so special! Many people had told us that we had to go for breakfast at the Coffee Pot Restaurant and we're glad we did! For beginners, 101 different kinds of omelettes!



The food was fabulous and the company was grand!.........Cheers!.........


Next we visited a nearby "Vortex" near the airport. These are supposed to contain strong magnetic or spiritual forces. Now, don't write me off just yet, but I did find it to be very relaxing and spiritual. In fact this whole area experience has been very relaxing and uplifting.
This is the top of the hill of the vortex.


And looking down.

The view was absolutely amazing!!! The experience exhilarating!! A 360 degree view of all the rock formations around the city!!!

Another Double Clicker!



Next destination was the Chapel of the Holy Cross designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.


An absolutely beautiful structure and view!


These photos weere taken up by the Chapel.









Notice the shacks that people are forced to live in here!!!
I'll bet Gary could use the Observatory at the top of this house!!





The suset brings a whole different lighting and look to the formations around Sedona!






My brother Bud has said that he waits for my posts like an expectant Mother!! Its funny, but I know what he means. I remember our trip out West in Sept. '07 and how he got enjoyment out watching my enjoyment. He has talked to me so long about Sedona and the Grand Canyon that I know he is enjoying it "all over again" through my reports. It is a special bond that we have. There is something in us that makes us want to adventure out. He has it a lot worse than me though. If only we could affect our sister Judy in the same way. I know if she could get herself out here that she would enjoy it every bit as much as we have.
Tomorrow the plan is to knock off another one of my top "50 Things To Do Before I Die"!
Stay Tuned!!!

Simply Incredible!!!

Tuesday,February 24, 2009
The day of our incredible journey started mildly enough with a trip to the Chrysler Dealer in Cottonwood for an oil change.
From there we left Cornville where we're staying, passed through Sedona (still can't get over that place!) and went "Ridin' Down the Oak Canyon", actually we went ridin' UP the canyon, which you can see in the first photo. It may look pretty tame, but packs a lot of punch and by the time we got to the top, Chris' vertigo was in full swing.



We stopped at the lookout where there were about 10 Navajo ladies selling authentic native jewlery.



It was absolutely beautiful!



After checking it all out and dropping several $$$, Chris was feeling better (amazing what shopping will do!) 8O)
We headed on our way to our destination.


What can I say about the Grand Canyon?? This has been one of my top "50 Things To Do" for years and it did not disappoint in the least!! There was snow on the ground, but it was 60F and very comfortable (almost hot out). What a fabulous day!!!!!
Words cannot do it justice, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves!




There were actually 3 mountain goats on this ledge checking out the tourists!




















This is another of those double click ones!



It should be noted that Chris took most of these shots. We took over (only) 300 pictures between us both. One of the best days in both our lives!
This whole week has been unbelievable. In fact the whole trip has been that way!