I have just two things to say about our visit to Canyon de Chelly National Monument – “Awesome!” and “If you have never been to this natural wonderland, put it at the very top of your travel plans NOW! You won’t regret it!”

I have been to the Grand Canyon and the Salt River Canyon, I’ve seen Canyon Diablo, and a lot of other natural wonders of the Southwest, and in my opinion, none of them are as impressive as Canyon de Chelly! I only wish I had discovered this magical place years ago.

Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d’Shay) is located at Chinle, Arizona, on the Navajo Indian Reservation, and has been inhabited by native peoples for nearly 5,000 years. At the canyon’s mouth, the colorful rock walls are only 30 feet high, but deeper in the canyon, the cliffs tower over 1,000 feet above the valley floor.

We had been advised not to take our 40 foot motorhome to Canyon de Chelly, and I’m glad we didn’t. There are two campgrounds, one the free Cottonwood Campground, which is best suited for small (under 30 feet) RVs, though we did see a couple of larger rigs that had somehow managed to squeeze in. But between the small spaces, tight turns, and trees close to the roadways, there is no way I’d take our motorhome in there.

Spider Rock Campground, about nine miles from the National Park Service Visitor Center, is privately owned, and it looked pretty run down to us. About the only amenities you’ll find there are lizards, porta-potties, and dry camping

We left the motorhome in Show Low and drove our van to Canyon de Chelly, and after a stop at the Visitor Center, we took the seventeen mile long South Rim Drive, which offered seven overlooks, each one more magnificent than the one before. Each overlook gave us a different perspective on the canyon. Our first stop was the Tunnel Canyon Overlook, which gave us nice views of the canyon, which is very green year around due to the river that flows through the bottom of the canyon.

At our next stop, Tesgi Overlook, we saw this farm, which is owned by a Navajo family who lives in this dramatic wonderland. Can you imagine what it would be like to wake up to these kinds of views every day?

Further along the South Rim Drive, at the White House Overlook, we took this photo of these ancient Indian ruins that date back to 1060 A.D. Archaeologists say that at one time the ruins had over 80 rooms, though only about 60 remain today.

It is very had to choose just one, but if I had to pick, my favorite view in Canyon de Chelly is of magnificent Spider Rock, which towers over 800 feet from the canyon floor. This rock formation is sacred to the Navajo people, who say that Spider Woman lives on top of the rock, and it was this deity who taught the first Navajo women to weave, creating a tradition that has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations.

Navajo mothers tell their children that if they misbehave, Spider Woman will carry them away and take them to the top of the rock spire to live until they learn their lesson.

I wish I had room to show you all of the wonderful photos we took at Canyon de Chelly, but there are just too many. And it doesn’t matter, because the photos just don’t do this natural wonder justice. You have to see it for yourself to believe it!

In tomorrow’s blog I’ll tell you about our visit to historic Hubbell Trading Post, another Navajo Reservation landmark.

Thought For The Day -A good traveler has no fixed plan, and is not intent on arriving.

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Yesterday was our last day in Apache Junction, and as much as we enjoy visiting with Terry’s parents, Pete and Bess Weber, we’re ready to get back up to Show Low, where it is a little cooler, and we can get another grandkid fix.

I spent part of yesterday doing some bookwork and maintenance on our subscriber mailing lists, and logging in several vendor registrations for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally in Elkhart, Indiana.

As of now, we have less than 20 of the 50 amp full hookup sites left, and twelve 30 amp full hookup sites. We still have quite a few 30 amp water and electric sites, and lots of 20 amp water and electric sites, but the folks who wait too long to register, and then expect full hookups, may be disappointed.

While I was doing that, Miss Terry installed another set of the Levolor window blinds that I mentioned in yesterday’s blog. These went on the small window in our bedroom, and I think they look pretty good.

A few people asked me if the blinds would rattle going down the highway. I don’t think so, since they come with metal brackets that attach to the wall or inside the window frame, depending on your installation. The bottom of the blinds slide into these brackets, which holds them securely and prevents any movement or rattling. At least that’s the game plan, we’ll know for sure after we actually do any traveling.  Plus, there is room for the blinds to pull up snugly in the header at the top of the window, where it is unlikely they can rattle.

Today we have an 8 a.m. appointment at Camping World in Mesa to get the problems with our inside dual wheels corrected, and hopefully we’ll be out of there in a couple of hours. Then we’ll head back up the hill, as local folks call it, to Show Low.

We have our choice of two routes, either U.S. Highway 60 east to Globe, and then the same road north through the Salt River Canyon to Show Low; or we can take State Route 87, the Beeline Highway, north to Payson, and then State Route 260 east to Show Low. The first route is the more scenic, with the dramatic drop down into the Salt River Canyon and the climb back up, but the route through Payson is a little easier and the road is better most of the way.

Since we came down through the Salt River Canyon, I’m leaning toward the Beeline Highway going back up, just for a change of scenery if nothing else. But I never know for sure which way I’ll go until I get there. That freedom is one of the advantages of the RV lifestyle. We usually don’t have to travel by any certain route, or be any certain place, unless we want to.

We have met a few fulltimers who are so rigidly locked into schedules that they never leave themselves any room to explore whatever comes up along the way, or even  to have a buffer in case bad weather or mechanical difficulties interrupt their trip. Most folks like this either loosen up and learn to roll with the punches, or they realize that fulltiming isn’t for them and they eventually find themselves settled down, either in a long term RV park setting, or back in a sticks and bricks house.

Thought For The Day – Everything worth knowing leaves bruises.

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We pulled out of Juniper Ridge RV Resort about 9:30 yesterday morning, drove twelve miles  in to Show Low, and then followed U.S. Highway 60 south 48 miles across the White Mountain Apache Reservation to the Salt River Canyon, a dramatic chasm that folks here in Arizona refer to as the “Other Grand Canyon.”  The route took us from the high pine country of the Mogollon Rim to the fringe of the desert. The road between Show Low and the canyon is mostly two lane, with frequent passing zones.

The seven miles down to the bridge at the bottom of the canyon are a series of tight switchbacks, with more twists and turns than a politician’s biography. It can  be intimidating to a flatlander driving an RV through here for the first time, and the rule is slow and easy. I shifted our Allison automatic transmission down to third gear and let the transmission and exhaust brake hold us back.

Climbing back out of the canyon on the south side, the Cummins diesel engine did a fine job, and before long we were out of the curves and making good time rolling south. We did have to stop for a few minutes at a road construction zone that had the highway down to one lane.

In Globe, we picked up State Route 77, a narrow roadway with its own share of hills and curves, and took it south past the mining towns of Winkelman and San Manuel, then past the historic town of Oracle, and the turnoff to the Biosphere, until we eventually came to Tucson.

We pulled into Tra-Tel RV Park a little after 2 p.m. We had covered exactly 200 miles, dropping from 6500 feet elevation in Show Low to 2300 at the RV park. With that drop in elevation came a steep rise in temperature. On Sunday we had two inches of snow in Show Low, and it was 95 degrees when we stepped out of the Winnebago in Tucson!

Tra-Tel  is a small, friendly place, which is our base whenever we’re in Tucson. The RV park is less than half full, and we got a nice 50 amp full hookup pull through site. The minute I had the electric cable plugged in, Miss Terry turned on the air conditioner to cool it down inside the motorhome.

The purpose of our visit to Tucson is to spend some time with my cousin Beverly, who is one of my favorite people in the world, so once we were settled in, we drove across town to her apartment near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Along the way, we passed the Pima Air and Space Museum, with it’s impressive collection of military aircraft, and then the Davis-Monthan “bone yard,” where retired military aircraft are brought for storage and eventual dismantling. There sure are a lot of taxpayer dollars sitting behind those chain link fences!

We had a nice visit with Bev, took her out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and then went back to her place to chat some more. By about 8:30 I was getting droopy from our long day, so we said our goodbyes and promised to see Beverly again today. Miss Terry drove back to the RV park, and we spent the hours before bedtime catching up on e-mails that had come in during the day, and watching the Biography channel on television.

We’ll be here in Tucson a week or so, and it’s supposed to be in the mid-90s all of the time we’re here, so I expect our air conditioner will get a good workout.

Thought For The Day -  A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.

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Yesterday we were up and out of the bus early, making a road trip to our old hometown of Show Low, Arizona. It is 175 miles from the Pinal County Fairgrounds to Show Low, and every foot of it is scenic.

U.S. Highway 60 winds its way uphill from the Valley of the Sun to the White Mountains, passing through desert, spectacular mountains, historic small towns, and dense pine forests along the way. The highway has been undergoing a major construction project between Apache Junction and Superior the last few years, and the results are great. Much of it is divided four lane highway, and the portions that are still two lane road have frequent passing lanes. They call this the Old West Highway, and it weaves through the Queen Creek Tunnel and between rough mountains that are popular with rock climbers, photographers, and artists.

As we drove through the small town of Miami, tall mine derricks looked down on us from the hillsides, and a few miles down the highway at Claypool the smokestack and main buildings of one of the many regional copper mines dominated a ridgeline. Globe, Miami, and Claypool are all separate towns, though you drive out of one and into the next without ever knowing it.

There is a lot of history in this area, so slow down and enjoy the neat old commercial buildings as you pass through. Since this stretch of the route is also aggressively patrolled for speed, be careful so you don’t make an unexpected donation to the local economy. This is a No Tolerance area, and the cops here will write you up for one mile over the limit.

35 miles north of Globe, U.S. 60 starts winding five miles down to the bottom of the Salt River Canyon, one of the most breathtaking places in the West. Here in Arizona, we call this the “Other Grand Canyon.” The highway has lots of pullouts, so be sure to stop at each one. The vistas are just unbelievable, and different at each pullout.

Be sure your camera batteries are fully charged, because I guarantee that you’ll be taking lots of pictures! Be careful driving through the canyon! In my years publishing the weekly newspaper in Show Low, I covered many fatal accidents on this highway. Most were caused by speed and carelessness. Those signs that show 15 mile per hour curves are there for a reason. The canyon’s hairpin turns are unforgiving, and if you go off the side, it’s a long way down!

At the bottom of the canyon there is a rest area large enough for RVs to pull into, and it’s a good place to take a break, enjoy the scenery, and to let your brakes cool down if you need to. A pair of bridges cross the river just past the rest area. One is closed to vehicular traffic, but pedestrians use it to get good views of the rushing river below. On summer days you’ll often see white water rafters enjoying the river. This is Apache land, so if you want to hike, fish, or explore past the highway, you’ll need a reservation permit.

Once you cross the bridge, it is 48 miles to Show Low, and you are climbing all the way. The elevation at the bridge is 3,363 feet, and Show Low is 6,450 feet. Once you climb out of the canyon, there are still curves and some short, steep climbs, but most of it is gradual. Between the Salt River Canyon and Show Low, the road passes through the huge White Mountain Apache Reservation.

The only place to buy gas between Globe and Show Low is at a small convenience store 24 miles north of the Salt River Canyon, at the junction with State Route 73. This store seems to open and close at the whim of whomever is supposed to be working on any given day, so I always top off my tank before leaving Globe or Show Low.

As the highway climbs up to the White Mountains, it passes through dense forests of tall Ponderosa pine trees. Be alert for wildlife here. Elk, deer, and black bear are commonly struck by vehicles in this area. When you arrive in Show Low, you will not believe you are still in Arizona. The pine trees, lakes, and snow (yes, there was still a lot of snow on the ground yesterday), will make you think you are in Colorado or Montana.

The long trip was worth it, because we had several hours with my daughter Tiffany, son-in-law Jim, and granddaughters Hailey and Destiny. Little Destiny is still too young to remember us from our last visit in April, but it didn’t take her long to warm up to her Grandpa. Here is a picture Jim took of me with my favorite ladies in the world (from left), Miss Terry, Hailey, Grandpa Nick, Destiny, and Tiffany. Did you ever see a fat old guy with so many pretty girls?

We spent the afternoon with the kids, looked at a house they are negotiating to buy (which has plenty of room for our bus and a dozen more RVs to park), and all too soon had to make our way back down the hill to the bus. It was a long day, but we have been away from those two grandkids too long and we had a whole bunch of kisses, snuggles, and tickles we needed to deliver.        

Thought For The Day – If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees.

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