All good things must come to an end, or so they say. With just a few days left in Northern Arizona, and the heat being in the uncomfortable zone, we decided Saturday morning to be tourists in Williams (our current home) and visit Route 66 and all the touristy offerings it holds before running a few errands. We had fun walking up and down the streets for a couple of hours. We aren't into kitschy type stuff....and besides....no room in our RV for extra stuff. But, we sure did have fun looking around! (Oh wait, I may have purchased a cuff bracelet. I really had my eyes on anther one, but it was 300% more costly than the one I actually got....haha).
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| lots of restaurants |
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| does that say opium den? |
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| lots of shops and restaurants along Rt. 66 |
Lots of 50's era stuff, which was before our time....well, okay-maybe not, but we were just little kids in the 50's! Some of the gas stations and restaurants really played it up, nicely.
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| interesting shops....lots of Rt 66 memorabilia |
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| woah....looks like Tom did a little time travel back to the day |
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| we went into so many shops...hahah...look at Tom's face....says it all...hahahaha |
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| nice car! |
My favorite shop was the art gallery. There were a lot of beautiful things in there, and we really enjoyed our window-shopping excursion. Some of the other tourist shops had lots of funny things in them. We had a few belly-laughs looking at some of the items.
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| the art gallery was awesome |
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| Tom met a friend...... |
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| hahahahahahah |
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| we laughed our way through one of the shops |
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| haven't we all worked in a place like this at least once in our lives? |
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| say no more |
It was getting to be late morning and the restaurants were becoming pretty lively. Lots of outdoor seating available throughout the area. Lots of outdoor barbecues going at some of these restaurants too. You know where this is going, don't you? Before long, we were starving!! We weren't planning on eating our lunch out, but we did have a late morning snack while other diners were eating their lunch....hahahhah.
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| all kinds of stuff around town |
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| so many restaurant....and the smells were getting pretty enticing |
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| something for everyone |
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| oh look, more shops! |
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| did my part for to support some businesses on Rt. 66 |
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| the shade ....best place to be...enhances the storefront! |
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| we skipped the zipline today (hahahaha) |
We ended up at Twisters for an old fashioned malted (for Tom) and a hot fudge sundae for me. Yummy! Just gave us enough energy to run a few errands before heading back home, and eating our regular healthy lunch.
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| love the license plate! |
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| a peanut butter shake at Twisters :) |
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| hot fudge sundae for me |
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| check out that face!!! Hahahahhaha! I think he liked it! |
Monday, our last full day before leaving Williams, we took a loop drive down 89A through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona. The temperatures were near 100, so we weren't doing a whole lot outside of our air-conditioned car. The drive is very scenic. A couple of winters ago, we drove up 89A through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon from Phoenix, but turned around in Oak Creek Canyon when the road got snowy. (Remember that Jo and E?)
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| heading out of Flagstaff...the forest looks a little dry |
It was still relatively early in the morning, about 8:30am, when we happened upon Oak Creek Vista. Not only are there several viewpoints overlooking the canyon, but there are Native Americans selling their jewelry....nice jewelry too! Well, this was a week for bracelets for me! I could not resist a copper and sterling bracelet, created by a Navajo artist.
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| setting up the jewelry made by Native American artists |
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| the views of Oak Creek Canyon are awesome from here |
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| nice |
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| perusing the goods |
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| another viewpoint, another fantastic view |
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| so pretty |
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| the views are great, and we will be driving down there through the canyon shortly |
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| Purchased a work of art from a Navajo artist (the top cuff-not the circle thingy) |
Afterwards, we drove down through the canyon, with the gorgeous views of this very popular recreational area. We did not stop this time around, but instead continued driving through Sedona. The red rocks are awe-inspiring, but the traffic was pretty heavy and everything was pretty crowded. No stop in Sedona either.
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| down in the canyon |
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| markets and cabins all over this busy recreational area |
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| the drive was beautiful |
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| Slide Rock State Park (remember this Jo and Elaine?) |
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| looking back at Slide Rock |
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| heading into Sedona |
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| magnificent rock formations |
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| love the red rocks |
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| so pretty as we drove by |
Staying on 89A, it wasn't too long before we were driving through Jerome, an old mining town we visited last winter. Very cool place! Again, we didn't stop, but just drove through. Love that quirky little town though, and the views all around are pretty nice too!
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| enjoying the landscape as we drove |
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| Jerome! |
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| the day after our little excursion, a fire started in the area and Rt. 17 was closed for a few hours |
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| entering Jerome...someone has a good time decorating these guys each season |
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| haunted? |
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| the town is built into the side of the hill-lots of hills and stairs everywhere |
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| The Haunted Hamburger...a very popular restaurant (guess people are dying to get in?) |
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| the Grand Hotel on top of the hill |
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| lots of stairs here...the houses are on the side of the hill |
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| 89A is a little tight here...glad we aren't in the RV! |
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| the road winds around the mountain |
We continued on 89A, through Mingus Mountain, and enjoyed the mountain roads since we were not in the RV! I don't think the RV could handle that road, and quite frankly, neither could I (in the RV). The views were really nice here as well. Peaceful mountains!
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| really scenic mountain road |
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| its so hot...the view is not crisp and clear at all, but still very nice |
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| mountain roads climbing and twisting through the mountains |
Coming down the mountain, we entered the town we really wanted to go to....Prescott! The location of the nearest Costco to us! (I know.....crazy, right?....but we really had a hankering for stuffed salmon...our favorite meal in the world). Maybe the heat was getting to us...ahhahah. The temps were in the 100 degree range!
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| is that a longhorn? |
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| heading into Prescott |
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| we hiked in this area last year,, around the lake with all these cool boulders |
Once our mission was accomplished, we headed back home along 89, which seemed much quicker, but was not as scenic. We had brought along a cooler with ice packs for our special purchase, so we were feeling pretty good....until we hit the weather. Yikes! It is monsoon season, and we could we were headed for a little excitement. The lightening show we watched as we drove was quite impressive. The land is so dry, we were worried about lightning strikes and forest fires starting. It is really dry here!
We did drive through some monsoon type rainfall, but not for too long. Happily, the temperature dropped 40 degrees! Yes, forty!!!!! The temperatures went from 95 in Prescott to 55.....ahhh...refreshing! Not for too long though. And so ended our time in northern Arizona.
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| weather is moving in big time |
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| monsoon season! |
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| the temperature went from 95 to 55 as we drove through this |
