It is time to head on
towards Flagstaff for the Overland Vehicle Expo. So another session of map
planning – we always look for back roads and scenic routes – we find one – a
section of Route 66. But first is an awesome drive through dry sandy desert,
crazy plants & weird escarpments. Finally off our back roads and onto the
main motorway: Rte 40. When we reach the Colorado River, we turn off the
motorway onto our historic route. This section is a bit rough & deserted,
but by the time we reach Oatman we find the tourists. The town is straight out
of the mining days- with old time shops, mock mines, tourist tat, burros
(donkeys) & even a shootout on the main road. After lunch in the local bar
we head into the Black Mountains – a very scenic, narrow part of route 66. At
Kingman we stop to tour the museums, especially the Route 66 one. Then on to
find a spot for the night. Fifty trains go past every day so we want to be a
bit away from the railway line – end up not far from the road, but most of this
flat area is farmed.
That evening we check out
camping details for the Expo and discover that we were expected today
(Thursday) or by 8am tomorrow as we are (VIP Traveler’s). Woops, we are still
over 200km away. We wake early – mainly because it is so cold & a bit noisy
- so decide to head off. Back to the motorway as soon as we can. The road
starts to climb, and we see why the night was cold. There is lots of fresh
snow, with more to come. Traffic slows down & only one lane is clear. As we
reach Flagstaff we see snow ploughs heading out. We reach Mormon Lake (where
the show is) before 8am. The grounds are pretty waterlogged – we find our soggy
site & settle in. John heads off to explore while I stay nice & warm
inside catching up on some computer work. Eventually I head out for some talks.
In the evening it is way too cold to head to the outside fireside chats. That
night it snows!! Brrrr. The place looks magic covered with snow, but it doesn’t
take long to turn into massive muddy puddles. Despite this we go to lots of
forums & presentations, see lots of overland vehicles & meet lots of
people – including a few Aussies in their vehicles. We really enjoyed the expo
with many likeminded folk and lots of interesting vehicles.
Sunday the show winds up
with a BBQ. We decide to stay put for the night. Lots have left – lots have to
be towed out. Monday morning we head back to Flagstaff to replenish our
supplies. We spy an appliance repair shop, so drop off our washing machine
(which we still haven’t been able to repair) and head off to meet our friends
Johan & Anne who we met in Alaska last year. The rest of the day is spent
with them – we even sleep outside their Wyndham unit for the night. (Guess what
kids – we even went to a Wyndham presentation!)
Heading off the next
morning we are “back on the road”. First stop Sedona (very highly recommended
by Elizabeth). The drive descends through a glorious canyon to a landscape full
of brilliant red escarpments that get more jaw dropping as we head into town.
Sedona town is a lovely tourist strip full of many ways to part with your
money. There are heaps of tourists & heaps of hotels. After loading up with
more paper from the info centre we head off to explore. There are numerous
scenic back roads – mainly dirt – that we explore. The other tourists are doing
the trip in open back jeeps. It is a full day with lots of driving, trekking
& sightseeing before we end up in a BLM area to disperse camp for the
night.
Back to Flagstaff. Our
washing machine can’t be repaired, so we collect it & head on to Walnut
Canyon National Monument. We walk down many, many steps to look at some of the
Indian cave dwellings perched under ledges of rock. There are 100’s of them
here. Then back up those stairs for a well earned lunch in GR2. Next stop
Meteor Canyon. As this is privately owned our National Park pass doesn’t work,
& it costs $16ea (even as seniors!) So we make sure we see the movie, go on
the guided tour (was that “Baaa” you said John?). As usual the day has raced by
& we had planned to tour the Petrified Forrest as well. Oh well, we carry
on and are suitably pleased to see a free camping ground at the entrance. What
perfect timing. We stop beside Aussies in their RV. What a small world.
We thought we would just
buzz through the Petrified Forrest – how wrong we were. Lots of stops, lots of
walks before the better part of the day is over. Obviously we enjoyed it more
than expected, especially the Painted Desert. By 2.30pm we are back onto the
motorway and into the Indian Reservation area. There are so many red rock
formations I have to stop myself taking too many photos. They are amazing. Find a great spot beside a lake to camp, but decide
to carry on as the weather is so gorgeous - We are heading to Canyon de Chelly
National Monument. As we approach the landscape is flat with lots of scruffy
plants. We head down to the first vista point and wow we are blown away by this
canyon. It is truly gorgeous. We stop at all the lookouts & even glimpse
lots of cliff dwellings, before evening approaches. My Lonely Planet says there
is free camping near the visitor centre at Chinile so we head there for the
night.
Another day dawns bright
& sunny so we head off early to have breakfast at one of the many lookouts
on the south side of the canyon. There is a walk down into the canyon, but as
it takes 2 hours (probably much more with John prodding me with a stick) we
decide to head on. Back in town we restock with food & stop at the local
flea market – more trash than treasure, before heading on through Indian
farming/reservation with untold red rock formations. Our planned destination is
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Because it is Indian owned our National
Park card will not work. So in we head at $20 per vehicle. The signs say no
RV’s or trucks on their road around the monuments – as it is a rough Indian
road. We head off on the 18km drive. The other poor suckers who can’t drive on
it have to pay out for a trip on the back of a jeep – all open air. And the
drive is pretty dusty! We spent the rest of the day exploring – amazing. There
is an RV park inside the grounds, but at $45 a pop – we head on out. Further
down the road we pass Mexican Hat – an interesting rock formation. There is a
little road to it – so we head off and find a magic spot for the night along
with a few other campers. On our way here we have crossed the border – Utah coming
next.