Gypsy Tour – Arizona

Funny how it seems I just get comfortable and it’s time to go, guess that’s life on the open road. Since I don’t always have WiFi, I thought I better get this written and posted. Anyhow, here is the scoop to follow the last two sets of photos from Arizona I posted to Facebook. As we made our way to Arizona, we traveled to the Petrified Forest National Park. I don’t know where the wind was hiding the day we went to Sky City, but it popped it’s little-old-self back out and tortured us for the day. Did I let it stop me from taking pictures…heck no. But I’ll admit by the time we were done driving through the park my hair was a sandblasted sculpture of something…not sure what though. Dan was able to keep us on the road, thankfully, and we found a dirt parking lot in Tuscon next to Walmart to hold up for the night, thanks to my sister, Robi, and her directions.

We spent the next three days being spoiled with great food, wine, and vistas as David and Robi showed us what their city and surrounding areas had to offer.  We did a four-stop wine tasting with David, Robi, David’s sister, Chris, and her husband, Buster on Saturday finishing with a yummy roast David had prepared with all the trimmings. Sunday was a full day of driving to the peak of Mt. Lemmon, and back down. It blows my mind when I see the saguaro cactus forest and the rock formations. Then you get to the top and you are looking at pine trees that suddenly put me back home in the PNW. Okay…so not as dense a forest, but it did bring me home a bit.

My last full day near Tucson was spent with my sister, Robi, having a sisters’ day in Tuboc. It is an artsy little town filled with all types of art that will blow your mind. The colors, designs, and creativity were amazing. Robi and I had a wonderful lunch at a Mexican restaurant that was delicious. That evening Dan and I went back to their house for another great dinner.

Next stop on our agenda was Spring Valley and the little town of Mayer to visit family members of Dan’s good friend, Steve. They greeted us with open arms and had us set up in their family mini RV camp they named “Flood Park” and rightfully so since last year they had a flood try to take out everything in its path. The mountain behind had been ravished by fire leaving nothing to stop the rainfall from rushing down the hillside and overflowing the river and into their backyard and beyond. They have repurposed the land beautifully and we sure appreciated the campsite for a few nights. This was my first time meeting them, and we quickly became friends. Chrystal and I will always stay in touch, and I can’t wait to spend time with her and Bob again. Hospitality is their middle name.

Next stop was Grand Canyon. I will forever remember the emotions that rise to the surface when I first laid my eyes on, as Dan would call it, the big hole in the ground. The air was smoke filled at Grand Canyon due to the fires, but I’ll eventually clean the photos up more, but wanted to share a few with you. Here I am pretending to fall off the ledge at Grand Canyon. There is a place you can hike down to where there is no guardrail to protect you. I knew this might be my only time at the park, so I didn’t hesitate to make the hike. I’ll admit it’s a little scary both ways, and you are very conscious of the fact it would be the end if you aren’t careful. But it was worth it. I did scare this young couple, who apparently thought I was really falling. I felt bad, but it’s all part of the adventure.

The next day we traveled to the lower area of Antelope Canyon…what can I say other than it blew my mind.  The lower tour is not for people that get claustrophobic or have aversions to metal grate stairs. You go down about 120 feet below and then you work yourself back up to ground level. Of all the places we’ve visited, this park takes top billing so far. I can’t say enough about the amazing sights. I have enough photos to make a full-size travel book…lol. I loved all of it. This shot, if you look, is called Seahorse…can you see it…can you see it?

So, now you have the scoop on a few fun places to hit if you travel to Arizona. Again, I am in awe of the beauty this state has to offer. A big shout out thanks to family and friends that made this state shine…love you all and we’ll see you next time through.