TIME TO MAKE TRACKS - COTTONWOOD, ARIZONA TO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

We have returned to our ex-hometown of Sacramento, California, in springtime each of the 9 years we have been traveling.  (Today begins Year 10 – Happy Anniversary to us!)  Each year, we’ve arrived a bit earlier… and this year we planned our earliest arrival yet, April 2nd.  Once that date was set, the speed and direction of our travels fell in place.  Leaving Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood (click here to read our review), we knew we needed to cover 900+ miles in 8 days – no big deal. 

Our plan?  From Dead Horse Ranch State Park, head up I-17 to Flagstaff, hang a left, and land in Williams, Arizona (motto: Gateway to the Grand Canyon) for three nights (to include a day trip to the Canyon); Williams to the Elks Lodge in Needles for an overnight stay; Needles to Mojave for the night, then on to the Escapee park in Coarsegold, California for two nights – with potential for a day trip into Yosemite National Park if weather cooperated.  A short drive from Coarsegold to the Sacramento area would be the final leg.

RV travel is very weather dependent!  This time of year, in the southwest, wind is not infrequent… big wind.  We kept a close eye on the weather as we headed north and west.

Our drive to Williams from Cottonwood was short and enjoyable.  After spending the winter in the arid southwest, we felt elated as we headed into the forests of Arizona’s higher elevations.  Snow on top of Mt. Humphreys!  On I-40, we turned west, dropped a little in elevation, and settled in to a site at Canyon Gateway RV Park (review to come later) for three nights… which turned out to be one night too long.  :)

We had beautiful weather for our drive, and more of the same on Tuesday – so we headed off in the Jeep to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  In prior visits, we have camped (with Scoopy) at the south rim; this time, we opted for the day trip, since it is both easier and cheaper to visit by car.  Fabulous day – cool sunshine, manageable crowds.  We walked and walked and walked, ogling the canyon and enjoying major people-watching. 

At one point, sitting on a bench along the Timeline trail, three elk came grazing up the hill behind us, completely unfazed by the pedestrian traffic.  Clots of camera-toting tourists formed, snapped their photos, then moved on… and we got a huge kick out of their guesses concerning the nature of these animals.  "Llamas?  Alpacas?  “Moose, look, moose!”  Deer?  Relaxing on the bench, Odel played senior ranger, providing animal identification to those who asked. 

My favorite “mind’s eye” snapshot?  A skinny, twenty-something male, smoking a cigarette, creeping slowly towards one of the big animals, taking photos with his iPad (or maybe a video?).  Such a funny juxtaposition of nature and technology!

On Wednesday?  Nothing much.  If we hadn’t already paid for three nights in Williams, we would have moved on.  A hike I thought we would like was still under snow… I should have started our taxes, but couldn’t get motivated.  Ho, hum… :)

Time to check on the weather again.  The report?  Needles, our next stop – and only 175 miles away – was considerably hotter.  While we enjoyed cool sunshine at Arizona’s higher elevations, California’s low Mojave desert was hot; the forecast for Needles on Thursday was pushing 90 degrees.  Ugh.  What a place to spend the afternoon!

Driving through southern California’s desert areas on I-40 is one of my least favorite routes.  It probably was interesting the first time we did it, maybe even the second and third.  Now, though, it is a long, usually hot, slog.  Heading west, I-40 dips down from a couple thousand feet above sea level at Kingman, Arizona, to a couple hundred feet above sea level at Needles, on the Colorado River, then climbs up and down the arid mountain ranges that march across the landscape.  Tiny towns, deserted service stations, closed rest stops (not all, thankfully), wild tire skid marks cutting across lanes… lots of scrub, plenty of heat.

Where I-40 ends at I-15 in Barstow, we pick up highway 58, even more boring.  Four Corners, Boron, Mojave… flat, pale, scrubby.  At last, 58 begins climbing up to Tehachapi through a pass populated with giant windmills – a clue to high profile vehicles drivers that this isn’t a good place to travel during a wind storm.

To avoid the heat of Needles, we decided to stay in the upper elevations as long as possible.  On Thursday, we drove a mere 100 miles, from Williams to Blake Ranch RV Park (review to come later) a dozen miles short of Kingman, AZ.  We’d have a longer drive on Friday, but better weather for any sightseeing we could dig up on Thursday afternoon.

And we found some GREAT sightseeing near Kingman!

With such a short drive, we were set up in our new site by noon.  We headed back out on I-40 and into Kingman, Arizona, taking the turnoff onto old Route 66, once THE route to L.A. from the east.  After a quick lunch stop, we were on that famous road, heading up over Sitgreaves Pass towards the revitalized mining ghost town of Oatman. 

The drive was FANTASTIC!  Twisting, turning, climbing and descending.  The interesting sights we discovered along the way piqued my curiosity, and I found a great website detailing this stretch of Route 66 when we returned home – I especially enjoyed the part about Model T’s backing up the slope, and about the Shaffer Fish Bowl (I climbed those steps and photographed the bowl).  Oatman, our goal, was not of much interest to either of us – too touristy – but we were happy that it had drawn us into this lovely, historic drive.

Above: I climbed the cliff side steps to the Shaffer Fish Bowl, captured from a seep from the rocks. Below: the “ghost town” of Oatman had too many tourists and shops for us.	Above:  the view from the fish bowl ledge. Below: The Garmin’s route map of the road to Oatman – very accurate!

Early Friday morning, we pulled out of Blake Ranch RV Park and headed west again, planning a drive of almost 300 miles to Mojave, California.  The forecast was great (though a little warm): sunny and calm.  But a change was coming, with high wind warnings posted for all the passes in southern California, including the wind tunnel of Tehachapi Pass.

When we hit Mojave at 2 pm, we just rolled on through, and ended up posting our highest one-day mileage record, 375 miles.   We took advantage of the calm winds to climb Tehachapi pass, roll down through Bakersfield, and continue on to the big, flat parking lot at the Elks Lodge in Wasco.   The entire, boring Mojave desert drive was behind us and we had just a short hop up to our next stop.  Yippee!

And now, we’re safely settled at the beautiful Park of the Sierras, the Escapee RV park in Coarsegold, California (review to come later).  Our drive from Wasco to Coarsegold was wonderfully uneventful; by the time the forecast wind and rain hit us, we’d finished setting up camp and taken a short walk.

I was up early this morning to check the Yosemite webcams, wondering whether we should venture up Highway 41 to the national park.  Ha, ha, ha!  Yes, the road is open (chains required)… but I don’t think we have the right clothing for the park today (photo from the Sentinel Dome webcam).

Tomorrow, we’re off on the last leg of our winter travels, back to visit family and friends in Sacramento.  Maybe we can slip back down to Yosemite before we head out for our summer travels.

OUR VISIT TO POPULAR SEDONA, AND MORE FOOD: POLENTA AND GRITS

Saturday dawned cool and sunny, perfect for our planned day trip to Sedona, 20 miles away.  We packed our lunch, grabbed our maps and were out the door at 9 am.

The small city of Sedona is nestled in one of the beauty spots of North America – my opinion, and the opinion of hundreds of thousands of people who come to gaze upon it… including hordes who wanted to gaze upon it on Saturday.

Like many beautiful places, Sedona suffers from its popularity.  Strip malls (albeit far more attractive than most) and traffic line its approaches; the town center was a stressful knot of stop-and-go traffic and tourists.  We weren’t interested in browsing or shopping, so passing through town was simply a practice in patience.

Approaching from the west, our first stop was the Boynton Canyon trailhead.  Gaping at the enormous, stunning, red rock formations as we approached the parking area, we looked forward to enjoying this popular trail, leading to one of Sedona’s famous vortices.  From both the written trail description and the number of cars in the parking lot at 10 am, we knew we wouldn’t be alone.  What we didn’t know – unfortunately - is that half a mile or more of the trail runs directly adjacent to a luxury resort that spreads across the bottom of the narrow canyon. 

Less than a quarter mile into the hike, the trail enters a designated wilderness area (always a good sign, in my mind – no powered vehicles or bikes allowed).  Shortly after signing the wilderness register, the trail approached the edge of the resort – and for the next 1/2 mile or more, we were serenaded by the sounds of leaf blowers, cars, and a chain saw doing its thing.  Even after we left the resort behind, the sounds of gas powered engines followed us up the narrow canyon.  What a shame!

The scenery, though was just what we hoped: glorious!  Both of the photos above were taken along the trail, along with dozens more – it was difficult to keep the camera in my pocket.  So, though I wouldn’t hike this particular trail again, we did enjoy the views and the weather.  No vortex effects to report.  :)

Part two of our planned excursion was a drive up beautiful Oak Creek Canyon to the switchbacks 14 miles north of Sedona.  There is only one way to access the canyon from the south, and that is right through the knot of congestion in the heart of Sedona.  We worked our way through town, and joined the other drivers heading up the canyon on a beautiful day in a beautiful area, windows down, sunroof open.

What a drive!  The canyon is narrow, as is the two lane, winding road.  Oak Creek boiled with muddy snowmelt from the recent storm.  At times, rocky cliffs crowd the roadside; everywhere, high, carved, brightly colored rock walls vie for attention.  Per posted signs, vehicles over 50 feet long are prohibited on the switchbacks on highway 89A.  Though we did see a tour bus descending, there is NO way we would use this route to travel in the motorhome from Sedona to Flagstaff!

Back home, I found many interesting comments about huitlacoche (aka corn smut or Raven’s excrement) – blogs about food always seem to touch a chord.  The biggest surprise came from Judy (Travels with Emma): “I think I would have liked to try one of those quesadillas.”  I don’t think of Judy as a very adventurous eater, but her comment and a recent blog post indicate otherwise; she tried grits! 

Both grits and polenta are made of ground corn.  Polenta is a favorite of ours (grits, not so much) and Judy’s post reminded me to include a recipe I discovered the other night, Enrico’s Easy Polenta – baked in the oven! 

Cooking boiling cornmeal on a stovetop can be hazardous; the thickened mass looks like lava as hot bubbles form and burst.  Stand back!  Polenta can be cooked in the microwave, but I’ve ended up with a massive mess when I used too small a bowl. Cooked in the oven?  Trouble- and mess-free! 

I used the creamy polenta in its traditional role – in place of pasta, topped with a tomato-fennel sauce.  Next morning, I cubed the now-firm leftover polenta, fried it in olive oil, put it on top of a pile of savory beans and topped it off with mildly spiced guacamole.  Yum!

EXPLORING DEAD HORSE RANCH STATE PARK AND BEYOND–COTTONWOOD, AZ.

We just returned from a failed attempt to visit Tuzigoot National Monument on foot from the trails at Dead Horse Ranch State Park (click here to read our review).  10,300 steps, and we turned back without success.  :)

BUT – the sunshine was warm on our shoulders and bare legs (yep, we dug out shorts), a light breeze was blowing, the temperature was 70 degrees.  The cottonwood trees show a hit of green and birds were serenading us, so it wasn’t all bad.  :)

Quite a bit of snow fell in the high country before we left Congress on Wednesday morning.  We took the longer, more big-rig friendly route from Congress to Cottonwood: south towards Phoenix, east on highway 74 to Interstate 17, north to highway 260 which runs northwest to Cottonwood.  As we climbed up over 5,000 feet on the interstate, a thin layer of snow covered the slopes – and here at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, the surrounding peaks still show signs of the recent storm.  It was a lovely drive.

Spring break!  We forgot all about it until we pulled into the state park, but were quickly reminded by the kids tearing around the campground on bicycles and on foot.  The campground has been full all week, with lots of activity today as the weekenders are arriving.  This is a huge park, with miles of trails, adjacent to the Verde River (which is actually WET, rather than the usual dry Arizona riverbed).  Plenty of trails for hiking, a lagoon for fishing, a tent campground loop separate from the RV loops; I can see why this park is so popular.

After a morning hike yesterday, we hopped into the car and headed up to Jerome, a copper mining town very reminiscent of Bisbee (though larger and busier).  Phelps Dodge ran the mines in Jerome (like they did in Bisbee – and maybe Ajo?).  Jerome clings to the steep side of Cleopatra hill; driving is a challenge. 

The population of Jerome dropped from 15,000 to 50 after the mine closed in 1953.  Like Bisbee, Jerome was saved by hippies and artists who moved in and eventually created an atmosphere appealing to tourists.  Now, Jerome boasts numerous restaurants, shops, and wine tasting rooms.  The streets were packed with tourists when we visited mid-week.

Above: Looking at Jerome from below.  The big building at the top is the Jerome Grand Hotel. Below: a funny intersection in Jerome as we walked up to the historic hotel.	Above: the Jerome Grand Hotel up close and personal.  Below: Looking down on Jerome from the hotel’s vantage point.

After a couple of hours exploring this quirky town on foot, we were ready to sit down to a meal.  The campground host back at Dead Horse Ranch had recommended 15.Quince (pronounced keen-say, the Spanish word for fifteen) for “Mexican food with a twist”, so that is where we settled.

The restaurant was small, busy and bright, with a polished, stamped metal ceiling.  Color and art everywhere your eye rested, and I got a huge kick out of the TV: the Food Network was on (Paula Deen), rather than ESPN! Odel ordered “Braised pork with black beans and green rice”; I ordered quesadillas.  Filling choices were the usual, plus something very unusual: huitlacoche, a corn fungus considered a delicacy in Mexico.  That’s what I picked.

Awesome!  Both servings were so large that we knew immediately we were looking at both lunch and dinner, and so yummy that we were happy to have the leftovers.  I had heard of huitlacoche before, but had never had it in such quantity.  The fungus is chopped, the slowly sautéed until it becomes a savory, oily paste, quite rich tasting.  In this dish, the paste had been mixed with soft, sautéed chile peppers and onions – awesome is the best description.  Too bad huitlacoche isn’t more readily available in the U.S.; I’d love to get my hands on some.

Tuzigoot in the distance, from the trail.	Standing on top of the ruins.

4:56 pm: It’s now later afternoon and – guess what – we made it to Tuzigoot National Monument, via car.  From the hilltop ruin, it was easy to see the trail we had walked this morning, and to see where we turned around – about half a mile short of the trail up the hillside.  It is an interesting site, beautiful in a spare way.  We weren’t going to leave without a visit.

Tomorrow?  We plan to revisit Sedona, to hike to one of the vortices for which it is famous.  Red rocks, here we come.