This is what I have always thought Arizona would look like. I could almost see the stagecoach and the band of Indians riding off in the distance.
Places We've Been
Project 365 Day 46 Boots
We drove over to the Superstition Mountains today. We stopped at the museum there and there was a cowboy dude there who had these kick ass boots on display.
Project 365 Day 44 Cactus
I love cactus. This one is a nice shade of purple red. It was in the landscaping at the gas station.
Montezuma’s Castle
On Sunday we drove the 75 miles up to Montezuma’s Castle. It was named after Montezuma, but he never lived there. It was not even the Aztec’s who built it. The Sinagua Indians were the ones who built this primitive condo back in the early 1400’s. They built on rooms and floors for nearly 300 years, to accomodate their growing tribe. It is an amazing thing to see, knowing that they had to climb ladders up the cliffs, hauling water, stone, and dirt to build their house.
The ladders to reach the house, and the support beams for the ceilings and floors, were made from the branches and trunks of these beautiful Arizona Sycamore trees. The trees get huge, and have the most amazing bark I have ever seen.
After living in the area for more than 300 years, the Sinagua’s abruptly disappeared from the area. They left no trace of where they went, or why they went. But from looking around at the area, we knew why they chose this area. The alcove in the cliff offered protection from the weather and attack from other tribes. The Beaver Creek offered a water source, and the flat level land at the bottom of the cliffs was excellent for agriculture, where there is evidence that the Sinaguans grew corn, beans, squash, and cotton.
There was more than one pueblo. This one was actually larger than the first one pictured, but it was closer to the bottom of the cliff. It is also not as well preserved as the other one, but you can clearly see the outlines of different rooms here.
yeah, I am in love with the Arizona Sycamore trees. They are just too cool. Did I already say that?
This clump of trees are some of the smaller ones. You can tell how large they are here. FabGrandpa is almost six feet tall. So yeah, they are pretty big trees. 
About 6 miles away is Montezuma’s Well. Montezuma’s Well is a sinkhole, a collapsed underground limestone cavern filled with water. More than a million gallons of water a day flow continuously, providing a lush, verdant oasis in the midst of surrounding desert grassland. Montezuma’s Well is 368 feet across and 55 feet deep; it sits at an elevation of 3,618 feet.
Lots of ducks were down there on the lake. It also has leeches in it. Ick. But it is a beautiful oasis in the middle of arid desert land.
This is the creek formed by water that flows out of the sinkhole. It was lush, beautiful, and very cool . We had to hike down a rock walkway to get down there.
This is maidenhair ferns growing out of the rock by the edge of the water.
Another view of the stream, showing the huge rocks, the trees, and the ferns. We heard lots of crickets and other insects chirping here. 
I have no pictures from dinner, but we stopped at a place called “The Gathering” in Camp Verde. We all ordered the flank steak on the “elders” menu. We didn’t have to be any particular age to qualify for the elders menu. It is just smaller portions and therefore a smaller price. The steak was good. I had a baked potato and grilled southwestern veggies with mine. FabGrandpa had “cactus rice” with his. It was rice with napalitos in it, which is chopped cactus. He enyoyed his but I just couldn’t go there.
It was a very fun day, sightseeing with our friends. Next, we’ll probably to to Saguaro National Monument. I can hardly wait!
Project 365 Day 41 Arizona Sycamore
We drove up to Montezuma Castle today. There were these gorgeous Arizona Sycamore trees there, in full fall display of color. The trees have the most interesting bark I have ever seen. They were huge, looking like they were three hundred years old. I know, no amount of words can describe them to someone who has never seen them, so enjoy the picture instead.
Wandering Lost In The Desert, But Finding Great Gluten Free Pizza Saves The Day!
I sat at my computer for at least an hour this morning mapping out our day. We were going to Mesa to the Camping World store to get a few things we needed, like a water filter for the trailer (to try to alter the taste of the Phoenix water supply, ick) and a new light fixture for over the sink. I wrote down the address of each place we wanted to go, and consulted my map program, Microsoft Trips and Streets, then wrote down the directions for how to get there. This would have all worked out if I had actually READ the directions again once we got on the road.
And, those roads didn’t look like BIG roads on the map, they looked like maybe four lanes with a median in between. But, when we got up there on that 101, it looked like a major interstate highway, four lanes on each side, with construction going on and SHIT! And I was driving, and FabGrandpa was sitting over there grumping and fussing and making me all nervous… Anway, we wound up going all the way to Glendale by way of Scottsdale, which is like driving all the way around I-285 in Atlanta during rush hour. Crap!
Finally, we stopped at a gas station and called Camping World, and got found again, and he started driving and I sat over there and fumed steam out my ears. So, after driving farther than we did yesterday to get to Phoenix from Flagstaff, we arrived at Camping World and spent some more money.
As we made our way back home, we had a couple of other places we wanted to go, but since we had actually seen the road they were on before we got lost going to Camping World, we knew where we were going. Sort of. And here is where I have to tell you that Phoenix has some very cool road art on their highways. Bridge abutments, overpasses, and concrete walls display some really neat artwork: (click on the pictures to make them bigger so you can see the art)
Our destination for lunch was Picazzo’s Pizza on Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard in Scottsdale. I read about the place on the Phoenix Celiac Support Group’s web page. They not only have gluten free pizza available, they have an entire 4 page gluten free menu. They even have gluten free beer on tap. And gluten free deserts! I was in gluten free heaven. The first thing I noticed, though, was the artwork on the walls. This was a classy place, too.
This mural was on the wall near our table. It made me feel like I was in a busy place, even though there weren’t many customers in there at the time.
We ordered the medium Puttanesca pizza with white sauce. It had olive oil and garlic sauce, mozzarella, fresh Roma tomatoes, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and feta cheese topped with fresh basil. OMG! FabGrandpa and I ate every bite!
And, FabGrandpa said he would be inclined to lick his plate if it wouldn’t make him look so much like a pig. Very yum, he said. We will probably go there to eat at least once a week while we are in this town. Oh, and they have one in Sedona and one in Flagstaff, too.
Click on the picture below to see their menu:
Gone To Phoenix
We left Flagstaff around 10:00 a.m. this morning. We had one last look at the San Franscisco Peaks from I-40 as we left town:
We got on I-17 headed south. We only had to go about 120 miles so it was a short trip.
The road had a lot of 6% mountain grades and curves. I was pinching a hole in my seat! It was quite a ride!
About half way there, we started seeing lots of cacti on the side of the road. 
Then as we got close to Phoenix, there were armies of Saguara cacti, standing watch:
The mountains here look naked compared to the Kaibab Plateau:
Ah, Flagstaff!
And so it came to pass that we left the North Rim and went down to Flagstaff. I had a loose plan of what I wanted to accomplish on our first day there, which included getting my hair cut and getting a pedicure and a manicure. Not such big and impressive plans that they could not be accomplished, right? Wrong.
It could have just been that I was having an incredibly bad day (Or I was just cranky). The trip from the North Rim to Flagstaff is only 200 miles. It only took about five hours, including stopping for breakfast one last time at Jacob Lake, which was quite delicious. But as soon as entered the Flagstaff city limits, everything changed. At least for ME it did, but maybe Flagstaff is just a more laid back kind of town so that it was business as usual for the people there.
We arrived at Greer’s Pine Shadows RV Park, and I went to the office to register, but though the door was open, no one was in the office. I waited. And waited. And waited some more. After about a half an hour the office dude sauntered up with his dog, and said, “Can I help you?”
We finally got checked in and and went to our site to set up the trailer. But right next to where we were to park, they were working on the road with one of those hole digging machines. It was so loud that we could not hear each other talk, which is a detriment to setting up a travel trailer. After about two hours, we finally got things in order and went to town in search of hairdo and nail places.
While FabGrandpa went to Gamestop, I went into the nail shop down the sidewalk. When I walked in, no one said hello, no one said “we’ll be with you in a minute.” I sat down and waited for ten minutes. Then I walked to the back of the shop where the nail people were doing pedicures for other people and said “Excuse me, can you tell me how long it will be?” And they said, about thirty minutes. I said I would come back.
I left and went next door to the hairdo place. When I walked in at least they said hello. The girl behind the counter asked me what I needed, and I said I would like to get a haircut. She said it would be about fifteen minutes. So, I sat down and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, after about thirty minutes, the girl said she was ready to take me back. And THEN, her co-worker said, “Oh, can you rinse my color for me before you take her?”
So, the girl who was supposed to cut my hair tried to rinse that guy’s hair right off his head. I know this because after about ten minutes, she was still rinsing him. And I walked out of the shop. But by that time, I was fuming mad that I had to wait, and I kept seeing THIS in my head, and I decided it would be better to wait until the next day to get a haircut than to risk having that, or worse, happen again.
Yeah, it could have been worse, but I have not had a haircut since July. My days off were Sunday and Monday, and everyone knows that the hairdo shops are closed on Sunday and Monday. I am not a very frou frou kind of girl, but I am a little picky about my hair. I was READY for a haircut. Now, I am thinking I may just let it grow out long. Maybe.
So what DID I accomplish on my first day in Flagstaff? This:
And there was no waiting in line for it.
