Fields of Destruction

The day began with the sun flirting with the clouds above the mountain peaks. We set off to explore a volcano that exploded about a 100 years ago. Most of these mountain peaks, at one time, were active volcano's. As we arrived at the Sunset Volcano National Park the clouds had won over the sun and it started to lightly sprinkle. You could stand there and watch as the clouds drifted by and see the area's that were getting rain.

Our first stop was to climb this very steep trail that would lead us to this view of the San Fransisco Mountains. That's Humphrey's Peak in the picture above, being the tallest in the state of Arizona. It stands a little over 12,000'. While we were here taking in the scenery and posing for a picture together a lighting bolt came out of the sky and exploded, what seemed to be, at the base of the mountain we were on. That's it! Too close for me! Get back to the car as quickly as possible. We are standing on this almost bare mountain top. If you look at the slide show you will see us in the picture after we saw the huge bolt. We are trying to smile as we realized where it struck.

By the time we made it back to the car the sun had taken over the sky and was shinning brightly once again. The next stop took us to the lava fields. As we walked this trail of sharp rocks we followed the contour of the flow. Its amazing that after 100 years there still isn't much growing around us.

What remains of the peak of the mountain now is only a black bald dome of pumice. For miles around you can see the blast zone.

Getting back into the car and driving only a 1/2 hour away we came across this Indian dwelling that they believe was constructed about the time of the volcano's eruption.

This was the biggest dwelling for 50 miles around and the Indians would build their homes around here so that they were never further away than a days walk. This was the center for the inhabitants of the area. A very interesting find was a natural blow hole. Its a crack in the earth where air blows out, deep from within. You'll see in the slide show our pictures of standing on top of the hole. The sun was finally out and it was another hot day but standing on the blow hole it felt like an AC vent.

Today, Saturday, we are headed to our next destination a little further south. Sedona. Many people said that we had to stop there because it is incredible. By the looks of it on the Internet it seems like a beautiful place. We will stay there until Tuesday when we have an appointment with a body shop in Phoenix to get Road Hazard's fender repaired properly. We can't be driving around with duct tape on it.

Big Hole

The day turned into a beautiful one after the last two days of running around and patching things up. If felt good to get on the road and just let your mind wonder while your eyes took in the different scenery. We headed off this morning to the Grand Canyon which was about 80 miles northwest. We took a scenic route which involved climbing over a mountain. The views were great. Tall mountains with evergreen trees reaching towards the peaks. The backdrop of white clouds against a blue background completed the picture. We felt our ears popping as we climbed up to about 8000'.

Surprisingly when we arrived at the Grand Canyon we were still pretty high up. I think it was about 7,000' above sea level.

How else to describe your first glimpse into the massive hole but overwhelming. You really have to stand there for a minute and just take it all in before you can say anything because the size is so big. It's one thing to hear about it or see it on TV but to actually approach the edge of this massive canyon is incredible. You're looking down a vertical mile while the canyon stretches to 11 miles across and even in some area's close to 18.

When we arrived the sun was still pretty high in the sky so everything looked washed out. The colors were not very bright.

As the sun started to set in the western sky behind us the shadows started to emerge and you began to see the different shapes and depth. The shadows of the clouds cast their presence across the landscape in front of you as it glided quietly across the cratered landscape.

We found ourselves sitting along the Rim Trail and just hanging our feet over the edge while we took it all in. I can understand why the Indians felt this place was special because you can't help but sit quietly and stare for miles around you and feel something special. Each person feels connected to this place in their own way. The sun cast different shadows and the colors started to become brighter and you were able to watch this magical postcard change right before your eyes. They say that this Grand Canyon took millions of years to create but everyday the canyon changes from the light dancing across the peaks and valley's right before your eyes. Merriam-Webster describe the word "Grand" as: large and striking in size. They must have thought of the Grand Canyon when they defined the word.

Change of Plans...Again.

Road Hazard is all patched up and ready to roll. Yesterday we spent the day running after certain items to patch up the hole in the basement compartment and reattaching the fender.
I replaced the wood in the compartment and added a wrap of galvanized steel around the outside of the box to protect it from the elements and road debris. I had to fix the mud flap because it was all twisted up but that only required taking it apart and banging it out with a hammer to get it sitting properly again. The last part was reattaching the fender. With the violent force, put on that entire area, the screws that hold the fender in place were just stripped right off. Just a matter of drilling in new holes and attaching new screws. As for the rip in the fender there is nothing like duct tape. It even matches the gray on the RV already. The important thing is it should all hold until we make it down to Phoenix and get it repaired properly.
As for us? We decided to stay put in Flagstaff and drive to the Grand Canyon in the Pick Up. After talking to a few people in the campground we discovered that the campgrounds near the park are really not that good. It's not that far but the comfort of this campground is well worth the drive. We will head off today to check out the big hole in the ground.

Detour - Road Hazard

Oh, so much to tell...where should we begin?

What would a trip around the US be without some Road Hazard adventure? Let me just start by saying the Reta and I are fine but as for Road Hazard, there are a few pieces missing. I managed to salvage a few larger ones but there were to many small pieces laying about. Let me back up and give you the play by play of our journey from Moab to the Grand Canyon.

It started as usual, packing everything in the RV, stowing everything into the basement and hooking up the pickup truck. I was excited because we got out early and would avoid the mid-day heat. Moab is a beautiful city and one that I would definitely go back to visit again. Make sure you bring all your toys: bikes, kayaks, hiking shoes, and 4WD vehicle.

The entire drive from Moab to the Grand Canyon would be on 2 lane roads. My atlas has these roads marked as "Scenic Roads" and that they were. Once we reached the Navajo Territory the landscape changed into deep canyons and huge red rocks towering above. We switched off driving to stay fresh behind the wheel and when I resumed my second shift we had just crossed into Arizona. A little after that we turned onto route 64 that follows the South Rim of the Grand Canyon all the way into the park. It was turning into another beautiful drive. Once again we crossed into Navajo country and passed a roadside stand for the "Big Chief". All the nick-naks you could possible want was sold in this place, according to the sign by the freeway. Just as I finished reading the big red sign that said "You Passed the Chief" we heard this loud rattling sound. Were the Indians shooting at us because we hadn't stopped? My first reaction was to make sure the Pick -Up truck was not trying to pass us again. Nope, still there. It sounded like when you were a kid and would put a playing card in your bike's spokes to get that neat sound...rat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat. Only this sound was much louder as if it were amplified from a boom box.

Our previous experiences have taught us to remain calm as I gently steered the Road Hazard off the highway. Reta and I looked at each other as if asking what had just happened. I had seen previous signs in the road indicating "Soft Shoulder" and once the right wheels of RH hit it, I quickly understood its meaning. The whole thing leaned quickly to the right as if it were going to flip over. I gently steered the rig back onto the highway so that the left side was encroaching the highway driving lane but not leaning so badly.

We jumped out to inspect what had happened but by this point we had a feeling that we had blown a tire. When we do something we like to make sure we do it all the way. When the rear right outer tire blew it created a tongue of rubber and steel that ripped apart the rear basement and in the process tore the fender off the side of Road Hazard.

(note the basement door is fine it's open here so that you could see the hole in the floor)

As Reta proceeded to call our Road Side Assistance I tried to salvage the couple of flares that survived the pounding from the rubber tongue in that compartment. I called the police to come out to lay some more flares because the rig was sitting partially in the road and was leaning at a severe angle. About 25 minutes later an Arizona Highway officer showed up. I asked if he had any additional flares that we could lay out and he said that cones are used in this area because of the risk of starting a fire. Uh oh! I scanned the flares that I had laid out and the landscape around us to make sure I didn't start any wildfires. I don't want to be on CNN.

(Officer Brian and Reta enjoying the afternoon)

The police officer turned out to be a great guy. He laid out many cones and hung out with us until we were back on the road. We pulled some lawn chairs out, popped a few soda's open and sat in the shade of the RV. Brian, the officer, had some great stories to share with us. He also talked about some weapons that he had on his utility belt. Tazer, pepper spray, etc. About an hour and half went by before Floyd, the tire guy, showed up to change our flat. Now remember, this RV is heavy and you need the right tools to attempt to change a tire. We had a spare but it needed to be mounted on the rim. Floyd was a good ol' fellow. "Be'in changing tires for years." His deep raspy voice could be heard above the roar of the air compressor on the back of his truck. He pulled out this little jack that I thought was only big enough to lift a motorcycle. He assured me that size didn't matter. Remember the sign about "Soft Shoulder"? As Floyd began to lift the RV with this little jack it also started to bury itself into the soft shoulder. I asked if he wanted a piece of wood to prevent any sinking. NO, it'll be fine! I've heard that before...right before something bad usually happens.

Floyd showed his experience by quickly getting the flat shredded tire off and mounting the spare on the rim. He then put the new tire on and was under the RV securing some loose pieces so that we could drive without anything rubbing and causing another flat. WHAM! In a split second the RV had fallen off the jack. Officer Brian and I were standing close by and all we saw of Floyd was his two legs sticking out from under the RV! My first reaction was to put my hands up like I was going to stop the RV from leaning any further. Officer Brian was quick to see if Floyd was still alive. "Floyd? Do you want us to pull you out? Are you OK?" The only sound that came out from under the RV was the hissing sound escaping from the air bag suspension. After, what seemed like a lifetime, we heard Floyd reply that he was fine. We pulled him out and his eyes were wide as the gaping holes in his mouth where teeth used to be years ago. He brushed it off like it was nothing but I suspect that once he left us he had to put on some clean underwear. Can you imagine?

After our day of sitting by the highway for 3.5 hours with Officer Brian we decided to bypass the Grand Canyon and instead head south to Flagstaff for some much needed repairs. Tomorrow we'll find out more details about repairs. As for the tire? After Floyd inspected the tattered doughnut he concludes that we must have driven over something that caused the tire to explode and rip the huge tongue that licked the bottom of the RV until only pieces were left.

Chalk it up to another - ROAD HAZARD.

Heading Down

Today we will be on the road for most of the day. Road Hazard will roll for 373 miles. It shouldn't be bad since we will stitch off every couple of hours. Enough time to catch up on my reading. Our next destination is the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The campground is about 30 miles from the rim. There isn't a whole lot out in that area. The campground we are staying in only has water and electricity. There is a dump station close by but that means we have to shower in the bath house. Not our favorite thing to do. The other thing is that being out there we probably will not have Internet connection or phone. So, if you don't hear from us in a couple of days you'll know why.

Slick Rock Mecca

The Gods were smiling down at us this morning when we arrived at Slick Rock to go mountain biking. There were huge banks of clouds covering the hot burning sun from beating down on us. To get ready we read many reviews of this trail and learned about the high risk that this trail poses. NOT INTENDED FOR BEGINNERS. MAKE SURE YOUR BIKE IS TUNED UP. VERY STEEP AND DANGEROUS. TAKE PLENTY OF WATER. YOU CAN GET SERIOUSLY INJURED.

Sounds fun huh? We decided to take a trail called Practice loop because it is a 2 mile trail that sticks pretty close to the parking lot. In case you get hurt or your bike brakes you don't have to walk very far or be carried out very far.

The trail was marked by white marks on the rock. Occasionally there was bright yellow XXXX across the trail to warn you off a large drop off and to stay away.

I have written about several of our hikes that were very strenuous and that we felt like our lungs were burning for more oxygen. How our legs were dead weight. Well, it was all either a good training for today or a good measuring stick for how much we got our butts kicked. This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. The hills were so steep that it took everything you had to climb them. When you got to the top it just felt like you wanted to throw up. In the picture below, I didn't fall but I did collapse after one of these huge hills. I just needed to catch my breath. Please don't laugh. I just wanted to lie there until the vultures started to circle overhead.

I know that Steve DeSatnick and Kenny Bumgardner would appreciate these trails. It is nothing like the trails back east. To start with you're riding on sandstone which is really like sand paper. Your tires stick to it like stink on poop. It was amazing to ride steep inclines and not have any fear of sliding or your rear wheel slipping. It made climbing the steep inclines a little easier because you could stand up to peddle and your rear tire would never slip. If we had more time here we would venture off to try some other trails. They have one trail that has a 900' accent over 3 miles. The reward is that you have a 2,800' descent that takes you to the Colorado River. At that point you better have a car down there to take you out because there is no way you would turnaround and ride back up.

I am very proud to say that Reta was the only women on the trail and she kicked butt. I am also proud of the fact that we did it and survived with no injures. Just very tired, heavy legs. We had such a good time that when we got to the end, we turned around and did the loop going in the other direction. Ok, now my legs are like jello.

Fiery Furnace

After talking to a local at a local watering hole, she told us of a place about 9 miles north of the city that is not known to many people. It is some hills that are exposed, showing layers of green clay that the water has slowly been eroding. It's exposing many types of rocks that have been buried many years ago. We found a few geodes that when you break them open reveals beautiful crystals inside. There are also pieces of bone that are from the dinosaur period. We found a few pieces that looking at closely does look like bone but not being an expert it is hard to tell.

In the afternoon we headed back into Arches National Park for a guided tour of the Fiery Furnace, an area in the park that you can only hike with a guided tour. The reason you can't wonder off alone is because there are really no trails in the huge spears of rock and it is very easy to get lost.

The tour was very informative . The guide would stop and show us certain rock formations and explain how they believe it was formed. She also told us what to look for to determine the different layers of rock.

Of course, we found many more arches that few people ever see because of its remote locations. The park has over 2,000 arches.

The downside to taking the tour was that it seemed that we stopped every 10 minutes to look at something or wait for the entire group scramble over rocks.

After walking this 3 mile hike we were both ready to head back to Road Hazard and relax. Tomorrow we are heading to the mecca of Mountain Bike riding.