Monday, Nov 15th, Prince of Tucson RV Park

Greetings!

Just before we left Santa Rosa, I attempted to fix the roof vent on our Airstream.   There is a lever which, when rotated from just above the bed, cranks up one side of the lid.  It lets in fresh air, and through which you can see the stars in the dark Arizona night sky.

That’s if the little plastic wheel on the end of the lever rolls well up a track in a corresponding metal sleeve attached to the lid.   For some reason unknown to me, the plastic ball broke at the end of our last trip. 

My attempt to fix it began by driving around to the various RV parts stores in our area, only to find that the now common replacement lever was attached to a turning arm which was an inch longer than the one my Airstream accommodated (think screw hole placements).  Plan B went into gear, and I found a metal washer the size of the plastic wheel, and I used some pliers to fashion it into place on the end of the lever.

Perfect., except for one small catch.  The larger rectangular lid to the vent pivots on one side (opposite the side where the lever arm lifts the lid) by snapping cuts in the lid into opposite cuts in the Airstream roof.  And there’s no way that you can snap that side into place from inside of the Airstream.  It has to be done from on top of the lid (hanging from a crane so as not to damage the malleable roof?).

I did my best to put it into place, crank the handle tightly shut, and vow never to open it until I could find a RV shop with a crane.  And not tell Pat.

One day into the open road wind, and that night Pat looked up from the bed and remarked, “I’ve never been able to see the stars so clearly before”.   I'm sure that somewhere in the Sierras lies my large plastic vent cover, a hole where the lever arm was attached.  We’ve located an Airstream service shop in Tucson where we’ll be taking it in tomorrow morning to see if they can fix it.  I am really glad that it hasn’t rained since we left.

Here's a link to the three shots I took of Saguaros in a field at Sunset in eastern Tucson (and didn't step on any cactus in the process): Tucson Saguaros.

Gregory

Sunday, Nov 14th, Meteor Crater and Wuptaki Ruins

Greetings!

Pat and I continued our visits to Arizona's ancient and beautiful parks today.  Our first ever meteor crater was spectacular, and I was able to capture a great shot of our guide in action taking a photo of a couple with us on a ledge overlooking the rim.

    I sent it to the company which runs the tours, but only wish I had gotten the email of the couple.  The next shot I took turned out even better of them on the edge.

We learned much about meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites (out in space, encountering our atmosphere, and after it hits the ground), and of the history of meteor impacts.

Later in the day, we visited Wuptaki National Monument.  It's a great little pueblo, preserved well with easy walks to view the site.

We're settled back into the Airstream, enjoyed a great penne pesto dinner with an Argentine Malbec wine (Tapiz), and are looking forward to our trip down to Tucson tomorrow.  We've had a good four days in Sedona, and recommend it to everyone.

Here's a link to the day's photos (not many): Meteors and Ruins

Gregory

Saturday, Nov 13th, Palatki Ruins

Greetings!

What most folks remember about Sedona are the red rocks cliffs.  Both on the way here from the north in Oak Creek Canyon, and in the various mountains where jeep tours ferry tourists, the colors abound.  The greens and yellows of the foliage stand out against the red and brown layers of rock piled up to the blue sky.  It's a palate Michaelanglo would envy.

We heard about a set of ruins northwest of the town which contains pictographs that didn't require a great deal of hiking.  One of many in the area, it wasn't hard to find.  We did get to give the Touareg a workout, though.  The road there turns gravel soon, and creekbeds and large boulders began to take their toll on the bottom of the car.  So, I raised it up 12 inches, and salivated for a water crossing.   No luck, but we felt much more secure on lots of very unmaintained roads.

Tomorrow, we'll be heading out to another set of ruins, to a meteor site, and to a volcano.  Older, older, and really old.    It all makes two 62-year olds feel very young.

Here's a link to the complete set of photos (which, with this slow wifi, are taking a very long time to load up to the internet, so there may not be a complete set by the time we go to bed tonight): Red rock cliffs and pictographs..  

Friday night, November 12th, Sedona, Arizona

Greetings!

We drove up to Flagstaff for lunch (chicken chipotle soup, sandwich/falafel in a nice organic food restaurant), and then visited the Museum of Northern Arizona (www.musnaz.org).  On the way, we drove up one of the canyons near Sedona, and visited a Chapel built into on of the rock cliffs.  It overlooked a completely awful looking house.

The Museum has a great collection of Native American pottery, and one of the best bookstores for Southwest tribal art research.  I bought a book I've wanted to find on the photographs of Navajo.  They also publish a monthly journal (Plateau - The Land & People of the Colorado Plateau) that I arranged to receive.

Tomorrow, we're going up into the local canyons, and Sunday we'll drive back up to the hills east of Flagstaff to see the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, the Wupatki National Monument (a large ancient pueblo), and a nearby meteor site.

Here is a link to the complete set of photos I took today: Trip to Flagstaff

Gregory

Friday, November 12th, Sedona, Arizona

Greetings!

The fall colors in the Oak Creek Canyon, and the red rocks around Sedona are beautiful. We're in a Good Sam RV Park just along the river in the heart of the town. I'll take some photos today as we explore.

Gregory

Thursday, Nov 11th, Kingman, Arizona

Greetings!

It's Veteran's Day (honoring 11/11/11, for those of us with memories failing). We've made it through the shakedown portion of our travel. Since we stayed at a motel in Bridgeport on Tuesday night, last night was our first night in the Airstream. First lesson: Don't forget to flip the switch on the power pole after you have hooked up the cable. Two hours after reading the many parts of the owner's manual on electrical systems, we discovered the reason we weren't getting other than 12 volt lights (powered by the batteries) was that we hadn't flipped the "on" switch.
We're beginning a journal on dumb mistakes, and fixes.

And I have to chide myself for not taking the time to stop and take photos of the Eastern coast of California on the way here. It was sooo gorgeous, with storm clouds reaching over from the Sierras, while we drove in clear sunlight admiring all of the solar arrays being built out here. We were in a hurry (can you believe we once drove from Kingman to Santa Rosa so Pat could sleep in her own bed. But that was in the days of the Volkswagon Vanagon. Our bed in the Airstream is much more comfortable.

Today, we're off to Flagstaff.

Gregory

Driving through the Southwest

Greetings!

Okay, we oppose Arizona's laws against being Hispanic, but we'll try to shop Hispanic while we're in the Southwest over the next couple of weeks. We're driving over the Sierras, down Hwy 395, and into the desert for a needed break from elections, meetings, and leg casts.

We'll post photos and thoughts periodically.

Gregory and Pat