Tuesday, November 8, 2011

MONDAY November 7, 2011 WEST TO ARIZONA - The Scary Part

As "STRONG WOMEN", we forged forward and FOUND our next destination!  Leaving the casino, we easily dumped the $20.00 in Casino Coupons into the tank, not quite topping off both the rig and the jeep, but it paid for the 'casino buffet' the night before!   While waiting for our tanks to fill, we noticed this funny little rig at the next pump.  We hit I-40 and continued westward toward Flagstaff.
We had purchased pears, shortbread cookies, and coffees!   Then we drove, we talked, we stopped and shopped!  The scenery was great just great, and the 'funny looking clouds' in the distance were interesting, too!

We hit the Arizona border!  They lock up their TP, and have more 'animal warning' signs, we noticed!  We also head what sounded like HAIL!
Heading back to the RV, we noticed the JEEP! .....and the CLOUDS!
We went back inside the "Welcome to Arizona" station and asked the kind people for a weather report about the roads going west on I-40, questioned some fellow RVers, a trucker, who all had varying accounts of 'the forecast', etc.  We definitely wanted Magee to see the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest, so we continued to Sanders, AZ, where we filled 'to the brim' with gas and propane, again asking the attendants and the travelers about the weather going 'west'. 

 All opinions differed, so we decided to see the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest leaving I-40 at the NORTHERN entrance to the parks, opting for more opinions.  We asked the temperatures, forecast, and advice from all the same types of people who supposedly would know.   The attendant at the entrance to the Painted Desert, and the storekeeper said the parks were just cloudy, but fine.   We started the beginning of a beautiful trip through the parks!  It was Magee's first time ever to see them! 
It was the first day of this season that clouds had rolled across the parks, and quite unexpected!  The ranger suggested that we might want to continue through the park to the southern end, and head south via Highways 180 & 60 toward Mesa.  He should know, RIGHT?

Having been through the parks several times and trying to protect my knee from 'irritation' and a possible 'replacement' in the near future, I stayed in the RV while Magee hiked off down some of the trails.  I looked around trying to find something to occupy my time.   Remember those Peanut Butter Stuffed Pretzels Magee had bought at Camping World??   There were a few left !!

There were a few of 'those birds' outside, too!  Rooks, ravens, or what?  About the size of a chicken!! 
As we exited the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, we AGAIN asked for weather alerts and advice from officials, desk attendants, and travelers coming from 'the west'!   They also said we might want to consider dropping 'on down to Phoenix just to be safe!     So, with plenty of daylight, gas, and propane, we began our trip!
The sun would break through, the sky was beautiful.  The clouds would blow over, leaving only a trace of the burden they carried.
The colors were magnificent and the drive was beautiful.  It's always fun to see things through another person's first view!   We chatted, thinking we had made the right decision to head south!
The roads eventually turned to deep freshly fallen snow, and the sky continually darkened.   The hail, sleet, rain, and thick feathery BLINDING snow graciously took turns pelting us as we realized there were no places to turn around when towing a jeep behind your RV, as the roads ascended through the mountains to over 6,000 feet, revealing 7% grades, 90% turns, falling rocks onto the roadway, and absolutely no 'turnaround spots' as we were certain that the road we had traveled had only worsened.   With my sidekick,  'Tonto',  in the passenger seat we negotiated every single bit of those mountains with 'grace'.  My knuckles were white, stiff, and painful.   "Tonto" was an awesome trooper!   Everyone should have had the privilege of traveling with someone who was so encouraging, positive, and brave! 

We reached Globe, NM, ..not quite out of the mountains, but McDonalds had a "Welcome Parking for RVs and Truckers" sign in our line of vision!  We went inside and requested permission, bought refreshments, and fell into bed!!
We are headed to Quartzsite ......... somewhere down the road! 

Meet "Magee"

"Karen" aka "Magee" is from north central Missouri, and drove 507 miles to Mt. Pleasant, ..... and I would travel with her ANYWHERE!   She is an excellent navigator, efficient and funny, too!   Our next update will be a bit 'interesting' I hope!!