A moment to catch up

Miles behind us and many pictures to share. Let's catch up.
While in Flagstaff a month ago, we took a day trip through Oak Creek Canyon and down into Sedona, Arizona. Beauty surrounds the town that is built amongst cliffs and mesas, but one day was enough for us. The drive from Flagstaff to Sedona is well worth the trip.
Oak Creek Canyon::::
In Oak Creek Canyon is Slide Rock State Park. During the summer the canyon is packed with people sliding down the natural water slide. The day we were there was a little chilly. Kaleb was the only brave soul willing to give it a try. His outlook on it was, he might never get this chance again. Gotta love the kids attitude!!!!


As we drove into Sedona we were greeted with a thunderstorm. As we watched to clouds approach the locals assured us that it wouldn't rain. They were wrong. It poured cats and dogs. We took the opportunity to get shelter inside The Red Planet Diner. Some folks we met in Moab recommended the place. It is filled with alien and spacecraft decor. We filled up on a huge banana split and by the time we left I had Anika convinced that our server was really an alien. She watched her back as we walked out the door.

After Flagstaff we headed south to see some more cliff dwellings. First stop, Montezuma's Well. Montezuma's Well is a sinkhome, a collapsed underground limestone cavern filled with water. More than a million gallons of water a day flow continuously from the sinkhole. It is constant 70 degrees. The Sinagua's built dwellings above the sinkhole and below is an irrigation canal built by them to water the surronding lands and crops. Amazing!

Montezuma's Castle is a 5 story, 20 room castle from the Sinagua's more than 600 years ago. Early settlers to the area assumed that the "castle" was connected to the Aztec emperor Montezuma, but we now know it was actually abandoned almost a centry before Montezuma was even born.

Tuzigoot, another Sinagua ruin.
Ever been to Jerome? Located up on Cleopatra Hill between Flagsaff and Prescott its an old mining/ghost town. It is now filled with artist galleries and old saloons. We ate at a great burger joint called The Haunted Hamburger. Supposedly the ghosts still roam the building. We didn't see any but again had Ani convinced they were there. All in good fun I swear. Even knowing we were in a ghost town the older two chicklins were okay with me going into the saloon to watch Jay play the open mic there. I think I was more nervous about leaving them then they were.

After Jermoe we spent a few days in Prescott, AZ. We really liked it there but for those of you that have been following our blog know that we woke up to snow one morning and didn't think twice about splitting town. We did make it to Heritage Park Zoo, an animal sactuary before we left.
We then headed down the mountains and towards Phoenix and as the traffic got heavier we decided to keep on driving..... right on through. All I know of Phoenix is the Goodwill store and the great book selection they have. From what I hear, we're not missing much.
Our next stop...Casa Grande Ruins.
Casa Grande, meaning "the great house" was built by the Hohokam. The land surronding it was litterally littering with pottery. The kids being the great Junior Rangers that they are left them there, as hard as it was.

From here we spent a night in Picachu Peak State Park, north of Tucson. We pulled in early and spent the day exploring the desert, surronded by Saguara Cacti. This has been one of Kaleb's favorite spots. It was nice to have a day to chill in the sun, read, catch up on schoolwork, explore, watch the sunset and roast some marshallows.

I think we could've spent a few days at Picachu but it was time to catch up on laundry and find some hot showers. The next day we left for Tucson and found a RV park with a swimming pool. YIPPEE!!
During this quick stop we learned that we don't fair well in the city. The big life is just too much for us. :) We decided that we had enough. Our clothes were clean, the fridge stocked. We'd head to Bisbee, AZ. Bisbee is a town we heard about before leaving Bend. It's been somewhat of our final destination, as we haven't really looked at a map beyond this point. It's time to start researching New Mexico.
Before leaving Tucson we found a local who showed us an canal ditch to skate and spent the rest of the day having fun at the zoo.




We've been enjoying our time in Bisbee, Az for over a week. We still like it here, although one thing I'm learning on this journey is that I really like water. I haven't seen any since we left Moab. They say they have a river here, The San Jose..but i would call it a muddy creek. I think I may need to settle somewhere where there is a river or lake and some green trees would be nice. One thing I've never seen before is a pomegrante tree. I had to look twice when I walked past one. The trees grow all over town. I lost track of the number of pomegrante we've eaten weeks ago. They've been a constant in the fridge, so to be able to pick them from a tree on a walk is heaven in the kids eyes.
Now don't get me wrong, I love it here. I'm just not sure it could be forever. We'll enjoy the rest of our time here and when the time comes to hit the road again we'll be thankful for the time we've spent and the friends made.