LAZY DAY

We left Moab and the Spanish Trails RV Resort this morning at about 11:00. We only had a short drive to our next stop, the James M. Robb State Park in Colorado. Captain Jim was at the helm, and we arrived at one minute after 1:00, exactly at check in time.  The campground is along the Colorado River, and if you look hard enough at the picture of our coach you can see the Colorado National Monument in the background. More about that tomorrow. 

We have camped here before and we really like this place.  There are large sites, lots of trees and beautiful lawns for dog walking. It's not even that hot here! In the mid nineties with a cool breeze off the river.  It's supposed to get down into the sixties tonight. Nice.

Today we did absolutely nothing worth writing about. Everyone is just lazy. They are acting like this is a vacation or something. No long drives to go sight seeing today, the lounge chairs are already out and so is the wine.

We did have a little problem getting one of the bedroom slides to open straight. With Warren's help the two guys figured it out and everything is okay now! Never a dull moment with an RV.

LOOKING DOWN AT THE COLORADO RIVER

Yesterday morning I went out at 5:00 when the lawn sprinklers were on.  Kathe didn't notice it because she was so sleepy, so I ran around and got myself totally wet just like in a rainstorm. Great fun until I came back into the coach and had to be toweled dry. Kathe wasn't very gentle and wouldn't let me back in bed.  So worth it anyway. This morning when she tried to point me in another direction, I ran back into the sprinklers again and got soaked. Really so much fun! Can't wait till tomorrow morning.

Today Kathe and Jim went on another road trip with Warren and Kathy. First they drove up to Dead Horse Point State Park to check out the view from the top of the mesa. It was a little hazy, but they were able to see 2000 feet down into the valley along the Colorado River where they drove in the jeep on Wednesday. They also checked out the new Campground called Windgate which had sites large enough to accommodate our motor home. Maybe we will camp there next time.

After the trip to Dead Horse Point they took a scenic drive down highway 128 to Red Cliff Lodge for lunch. There's a steep canyon on both sides of the highway along the Colorado River. Lots of people were floating past us on the river. A great way to beat the heat.

GOLDEN ARCHES

I'm feeling much better today, I'm eating and drinking again, so I guess everyone can relax. It's so hot here that you wish that you didn't have to wear a fur coat all the time. Today it's still over 100 degrees and there is a fierce wind, it feels like you are inside an oven. Too bad they don't let doggies in the pool here. I have a good idea, why don't they put a doggie swimming pool in every dog  park?

While I'm at home staying as cool as possible, those silly humans went to Arches National Park and did some hiking. It was very hot even with the winds, so the hikes were only very short ones to take some photos of the arches and crazy formations in the Park.

We have been here before, but I guess this old stuff never really gets old! Balance Rock is still balancing and hasn't crashed down on the hundreds of tourists below.  Of all the arches in the Park the Double Arches still remain as amazing as ever.

We are going to barbecue chicken tonight and it's my job to convince everyone that I'm well enough to eat people food again. Wish me luck.
   

CANYON LANDS BY JEEP

I'm not feeling my tip top best today. I guess the heat and the altitude are getting to me. I'm glad that I stayed home today because Kathe and Jim went on a very wild adventure with Warren and Kathy.

They took 4 hour drive in the Jeep to the Islands of the Sky.  It was miles of winding dirt and rock roads through Canyonlands National Park. I'm sure I wouldn't have liked that.  They loved it.  Here is a picture of the road taken from the top of Islands in the Sky looking down on the jeep trail that they took. Yikes! It looks scary.

Earlier that morning they stopped at the "Indian Writings"  turn off and took pictures of the petroglyph images dating from before 1250 AD. Most of the images could be seen from the road stretching for about 125 feet. Jim climbed up to the top of a cliff to take this picture.

There was also a very steep trail on the side of a cliff that led to some dinosaur footprints that Jim and Warren climbed to take a picture.  It just looked like a blob of plaster to me. I can make better paw prints with my eyes closed.

MOAB

Note to self:  Don't ask Kathe to help you write the blog after she has been drinking rum and cucumber/watermelon coolers. Here in Utah you have to buy alcohol and mixers at the State Store, and if you don't get there before closing you just mix up what you have. So tonight it's Rum and watermelon, cucumber, ice and apparently more rum.

Anyway, today we drove from Monument Valley to Moab. A long, hot 31/2 hour drive on a two lane highway.  When we arrived at the Spanish Trail RV Resort it was a pleasant 103 degrees in the shade, so no one wanted to do anything and there are no pictures for me today.  This picture is a re-cycled one from yesterday that our neighbor took in Monument Valley at the RV Resort. It is a pretty cool shot with the Monument in the background.

Today we shopped for groceries, cleaned all the red dirt out of the motor home, vacuumed and washed the floor and did three loads of wash.  Exciting, huh! It's even too hot for much of a walk around the campground to the dog park.

NAVAJO TRIBAL PARK

The Navajo Nations call this area Tse-Bii-Ndzisgalit (the valley within the rock.) Monument Valley extends into Arizona and Utah and covers about 91,696 acres. The height of the monuments range from 100 feet to 1,500 feet tall.  And there sure are a lot of them!

Today, in the comfort of the air conditioned jeep the gang drove the 17 mile Navajo Valley Trail. You had to pay the Tribe for the pleasure. Of course, it goes without saying no doggies participated in this adventure. The temperature today was over 100 degrees and there wasn't a breeze to be felt any where. Better to stay home and look at the pictures.

It was a spectacular 3 hour drive with pull outs for picture taking and jewelry shopping all along the way. There were so many wonderful sights that it's hard to decide which pictures to show you.  Monument Valley is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen.
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MYSTERY VALLEY

Today we were all up early so that everyone with two legs could go on the Mystery Valley Tour. It's a mystery as to who inhabited this area. It's a hidden valley full of Anasazi Ruins and rock art which most tourists do not see.

They had a Navajo tour guide who drove them in an air conditioned 4-wheel drive Tahoe.You cannot enter the area without a native guide.  The terrain was very rough and bumpy, the guide drove the car through sandy washes and climbed over rocks to get to the ruins.  The area was very quiet, absolutely no other tourists around. You can easily see why this place is sacred to the Navajo people.

VALLEY OF THE GODS

It's so hot here.  It's like a big oven.  When you go outside, you do what you're supposed to do and then you run back home into the air conditioning. All of us doggies are turning orange. Not from the heat, but from the red soil all around the campground. Bella and Gianni used to be white Maltese doggies, now they are both apricot colored. My paws are orange too.  Good news, no baths anytime soon. Our next stop is Moab with more red soil there too, so no sense cleaning up yet.
Today the humans took a jeep trip to the Valley of the Gods. It's a 17 mile loop through Monument Valley and there are famous monuments, mesas, and buttes everywhere.

MONUMENTAL DRIVE

This morning we left the Flagstaff area and drove north on Highway 89 to Utah and into Monument Valley. It was a such a scenic drive we didn't care that we drove for four hours without stopping.
We've never been here before so everything we see here is new and beautiful for all of us.  We are camped at Goulding's Lodge on the edge of Navajo Tribal Land. There are huge and unusual red rock formations all around us in the RV Park. There is a small museum that has exhibits from the early 1900's when the Gouldings first set up a Lodge and Trading Post. Many of John Wayne's movies that were filmed here are shown each night in the Lodge.

It's been really hot, over 100 degrees today, but tonight it finally cooled down enough for us to sit outside and eat fish tacos! The tacos were too spicy for me, but I enjoyed the margarita ice cubes in Kathe's glass very much.

Tomorrow we will take a jeep tour of the Navajo Trial lands and see some of these beautiful rock formations close up.

VISITING THE RIORDANS

Today's excursion was a trip to the Riordan Mansion State Historical Park.  This building is an Arizona treasure, built in 1904 and designed by the same architect who designed the El Tovar in Grand Canyon.  The house is a great example of Arts and Crafts style, featuring rustic Ponderosa pine log-slab siding, volcanic stone arches, and hand split wood shingles. The residence was the home of the two Riordan brothers who owned the Arizona Lumber Company.



The brothers married sisters and built this 13,000 square foot residence for both families.  It is actually two separate 6,000 square foot homes connected by a common room which was used for recreation by both families.

The homes were very modern for the time, with indoor plumbing and electric lights. Much of the furniture and belongings in the home were original including pieces by Stickley and Tobey Furniture Company.

ROUTE 66

Last night Kathe and I had a little talk. Well, she was doing most of the talking, blah, blah, blah.  Something about not waking her up at 5AM every morning.  So, this morning I woke her up at 4:45. I'm such a good doggie!

The town of Flagstaff was established in 1881.  The Railroad arrived in 1882 and the town was built along the main street which later became Route 66.  Many of the historic buildings are still standing and have been renovated.  The Visitors Center published a booklet with a walking tour of the these buildings in the historic downtown area of Flagstaff.

While I stayed home to catch up on my sleep, everyone else went into town for an historic stroll. As they walked the streets of downtown Flagstaff, Kathe was able to read about the history of each of the buildings. Many have been restored and re-purposed as interesting shops for the tourists. The Babbitt Brothers store was a very large General Store with all sorts of sporting goods and souvenirs for sale.

ANCIENT HISTORY

Today while Giani, Bella and I were chilling at home, all the humans went to out exploring around Flagstaff.  First they went to the Sunset Crater Volcano National Park and then they visited the Wapatki National Monument.

Sunset Crater is a cinder cone that was formed during an explosive eruption of Magma sometime between 1040 and 1100 AD.  After a stop at the Visitors Center they hiked a mile loop trail around the Crater. An interpretive booklet helped to understand the volcanic field and plant life of the area.

Then after a picnic under the pine trees they headed to the Wapatki National Monument which was connected to the Sunset Volcano via a loop trail.  Wapatki were a puebloan people who came together in this area to build a vast farming community.  By 1180 there thousands of people farming here due to the thin layer of ash which absorbed precious moisture helping to prevent evaporation, and improving the agricultural potential of the area.

There were five large pubeloan structures still standing in the National Park and many other ruins could be seen from the highway on the road leading out of the Park.

RED ROCKS AND SUNSHINE

We woke this morning to a beautiful sunny day. It was cool and breezy at 5:00 AM when Kathe and I went for our walk, actually Kathe was kind of stumbling, sleep walking along side of me. We were soon back in our toasty motor home and fast asleep. At this altitude we were expecting temperatures in the 40's last night but I don't think it ever got that cold. By the time they got up for breakfast it was a comfortable 70 degrees outside. Lucky me, I always have on my fur coat so there is never that shorts or long pants discussion for me. It was a long pants day!

Us doggies decided to spend the day at home relaxing while the humans drove to Sedona for lunch. They took a scenic drive through Oak Creek Canyon on highway 89 to the center of Sedona.  Things were very quiet in Sedona and they were able to do some serious shopping without the usual crowds of tourists.

They had lunch at a restaurant with a view of the red rocks before coming back up the canyon and home to the RV Resort. Right now everyone is napping, I better wake them up so they don't miss happy hour.

MEETING NEW AND OLD FRIENDS

I knew things would be better once we reached Flagstaff, and I wasn't wrong.  We are camped under the trees at high altitude and it's cool and breezy.  I've already done a walk about the whole park and although there isn't much in the way of wildlife, I'll give this place 4 paws up!

The best part?  My friend Gianni and his new sister, Bella are camped right next door.  Oh, of course they brought their humans along.  Somebody had to drive.  Warren and Kathy are my special pals too!  Warren is making a tri-tip for dinner tonight in his new smoker and I bet us doggies will get a taste. I like Warren, he give treats under the dinner table when he thinks no one's looking.We're going to travel with these guys for the next two months so we have lots of adventures planned together.  Warren and Kathy bought a new Phaeton coach the same week that we bought ours. I took a picture of the two motor homes side by side under the trees.  We have a neat place in between our spots for partying, and I plan to do a lot of that because we are here for five nights!

DON'T BLAME ME

Here we are, starting out on another adventure.  We're planning to travel to 4 states in the next 2 months so you can understand that I was really excited when I saw the suitcases being packed last night.  In fact I was so excited to be going on a long trip in the new motor home that I woke Kathe and Jim at 5:00 AM this morning.

Unfortunately, by the time they got their fannies in gear and loaded up the motor home it was half past noon.  So, tonight we are staying in Needles, CA after a six hour long drive through the desert.

Needles, really! Dry, Hot, Dusty, Windy--they call this a vacation? Things have got to get better tomorrow, but at least we have a river view site.
I heard the next stop is Flagstaff. Looking forward to cooler temperatures and a little rain.
There's nothing to do here, so I guess I'll jump in bed.