Brotherly Love

We spent about a week and a half in Albuquerque visiting with Harold's brother, Arlo, and his wife, Linda. I think other than eating and catching up on a few TV shows, the guys spent most of their time in the garage. Linda and I added a few shopping trips in place of the garage stuff. 

Harold and Arlo put in a new shelf in the cargo bay to store our rockguard when we're parked. Having that stuff ride in the back seat of the car was an annoyance, mainly for me. So I was glad for them to fix that. 

They also further refined the underbed storage area for the dinette folding chairs. They added a false floor, if you will, for the chairs to make sure they didn't interfere with the slideout rollers. Wouldn't want to destroy a chair or damage the slideout if something happened to shift during travel.

Back at Arlo's garage, they repaired his secondhand boring facing head, cleaned the trunions on the table saw, and replaced lights in the garage, going from flourescent to LEDs. 

Then we took advantage of Arlo's 3D printer. I got a new toothbrush vanity organizer and Harold got a couple of koozie holders to velcro to the outside cooler. 

Now Linda is an amazing cook. Just mention you like something, and Linda will go out of her way to make it for you. That's how we ended up eating some amazing Reuben sandwiches and homemade beignets. However, we didn't want to completely wear out our welcome. 

We made it to Frank's Famous Chicken and Waffles, a Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives restaurant. Then on our last day, they decided that I needed to have a Travis on a Silver Platter from Grandma's K & I Diner. The dish was featured on Man vs Food. Whew! It took the four of us to eat it. 

Time to move on, before we completely wear out our welcome.  ; )

The second shelf!

New 3D printed goodies!

Linda making sure we had Easter baskets!

Triple D

There's a burrito under those fries...somewhere

Where Are We Going Next?

Petrified Forest National Park

After leaving Williams, AZ, we stopped at Holbrook, AZ.  Our goal was Petrified Forest National Park. I remember stopping there on a family trip, but don't remember much other than the weather being hot. Well, that was definitely not the case this time. The wind was blowing over 20 mph and the temperature was barely in the 40's. Brr...We took an abbreviated walk at the visitor center at the southern entrance and gave up the idea of further walks. We contented ourselves with driving the park road and snapping quick photos at overlooks. 

The colors of the petrified wood are beautiful and varied. Some of the logs are massive. You'd see concentrations throughout the drive. The painted desert landscape strongly reminded us of Badlands National Park. In some ways the colors seemed more vibrant  here. However, the Badlands had more depth and height and just bigger scope in general. 

If you're ever on I40 in Arizona, take the time to detour through the park. It's worth the little extra time. 

Where Are We Going Next?

Standing on the Corner...

...in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see. We'd bet a fair number of you immediately sang the rest of the lyrics when you read the title. Would you believe that that Eagles song is over 50 years old now? Yikes!

Winslow has certainly capitalized on the song with statues, a plaza, mural and a Ford flatboard. A prominant Route 66 is painted on the street. Yeah, I guess you could say we got our kicks on Route 66. Ha Ha!

Oh, and in nearby Holbrook, AZ, we found the Wigwam Motel. I think we know where the script writers for the Cars movie got its influence for the Cozy Cone. 

Where Are We Going Next?

Bears and Meteors

One of the places my sister-in-law wanted to check out was Bearizona. It's a wildlife park in Williams, AZ. She thought their grandchildren might enjoy it. So, we took a drive through the park and then spent some time walking through the walk-thru portion of the park. The animals were fairly active and visible when we were there. We're not sure how they'd be in the height of an AZ summer. 

Somebody's getting chewed out

With a high wind day (sustained winds in the 30 - 40+ mph range with gusts 60 - 70 mph) predicted for our original travel day, we opted to leave Williams a day early. Since Arlo and Linda were leaving that day too, we traveled together. Arlo rode with Harold in the bus, and I rode with Linda to our first break at Meteor Crater. 

Though a natural landmark, Meteor Crater is a privately run tourist attraction. Much to my surprise, the guided outdoor rim walk was moved to an indoor talk due to the high winds. After climbing to the upper crater observation area, I could understand why they had moved the talk indoors. The wind was howling and this was supposed to be the lesser wind day!

We said our good-byes at Holbrook, which was the next stop for Harold and me. 

Where Are We Going Next?

Grand Canyon National Park

It had been years since either of us had seen Grand Canyon National Park. We were thankful to be able to make several day trips from our Williams, AZ, base at Grand Canyon Railway RV Park. The Grand Canyon is about an hour north of Williams, and admittedly, by the third car trip, we were getting a bit tired of the drive.  In retrospect, it would have been nice to spend a couple of nights in the trailer village in the national park. 

Our first day trip was more or less a planning trip. We stopped at the first visitor center and picked up trail guides and suggested itineraries. We walked a bit of the rim trail and then headed back to Williams. 

Our next day trip was our walking day. We parked near the village in the first open spot we could find. Even in March there are lines to get into the park, and parking spots near the village with its lodges are at a premium. 

Once parked we started walking on the rim trail towards the west. After a couple of miles, we caught the free shuttle bus to Hermits Rest, the westernmost spot, and then back to our car for some lunch. Then we walked along the rim trail in the other direction, walking back to the visitor center we stopped at the first day. We walked around 4.5 miles total on the rim trail. 

We had thought we'd venture to the lower tunnel on the Bright Angel trail. One look at the snow, slush, and mud-covered trail changed our minds. The park service was recommending traction devices and hiking poles.  Nope, we had no desire to be a park statistic.

Our third day we made the 22 mile drive to the Desert View and the east entrance to the park. We had planned to eat a picnic lunch, but the picnic tables along the route were covered with snow. 

Our last day we rode the Grand Canyon Railway with Arlo, Harold's brother, and his wife, Linda. Once a month the railway runs a steam locomotive as opposed to the diesel.  It's around a  2¼ hour ride each way. So you end up with three hours at the Grand Canyon. We had deliberately saved most of the historic building museums and shops for this day, knowing that we didn't want to venture too far and miss our train back.

The Grand Canyon is amazing. We lost count of how many times we said, "Wow!" Go if you can, stay in the park if you can. 

Zoom to see the snow-covered Bright Angel Trail

Where Are We Going Next?