Sat May 27th 11:06 am
It's raining outside and we are on the plane about to take off to Arizona to see my Mom. Last night was Jen's 35th B-Day party. We had dinner @ SBX which stands for Saucebox. 8 girls plus Pat and I. Tough job but someone has got to do it. SBX was ok. We went there after Jen's wedding cause she really likes the place. The food is ok ~ it's not really my thing but the girls seem to like it.
After dinner we went dancing at Aura which I think is Portland's premier dancing place to be if you are into that. It's not really my thing either but the girls like it so I have to show em my dance floor moves. Heidi is a very good dancer - nice hip movement.
Funny that I felt anxious on the way to the airport this morning. The last 2 times I rode with Heidi to the aireport she was dropping me off so I kind of had some of those feelings again. Luckily this time she's sitting right here next to me.
I'm curious to see how the weather is in AZ and what kind of convertible rental car we are going to get.
Sun May 28th 9:47 am
We have a great room here at the Bed and Breakfast. It's run by Gary, a single guy. I like his attitude. The terrain here is awesome. It seems almost artificial. The rock formations seem like styrofoam casted prices made for someone's movie set. Can't wait to hike it tomorrow.
Mom's house is at the base of a mountain. Well more like half way up it. Glen has a great studio to work his art trade with an awesome view of the valley and opposing mountain range. The lack of any tree's on the mountain's are strange. On the drive to her house we saw some strange houses. An 'A' frame with a yard cluttered with old vehicles, a dog, etc. Looked like someone you'd see in the bible belt. Then there was this castle. Well a castle wall with a couple of trailers parked inside. Chickens, goats, donkey's etc. Like a small farm. You can build what you want here like the guy across the street from my Mom's house that is from California who has built this palace like something from the gardens of Babylon in the middle of the desert.
The drive up to Prescott from Phoenix was beautiful. Little to no traffic. Lots of vehicles broken down on the side of the road however. The drive too about 2 hours fr the 80 or so miles. The convertible ended up being a Chrysler Sebring which wasn't the Ford Mustang that they had pictured on the expedia.com site when I made the reservations.
Mon May 29th
I didn't take any notes so this if from memory.
We did a long drive today. Out from Prescott to I-17. Stopped at Montezuma's Castle which is an old Indian village built into the side of a cliff.
Then on to Sedona through the beatiful Red Rock Mountains. Once in Sedona we stopped to have lunch at Olde Sedona Grill and the waiter gave us some good advice.
He recommened we drive north 15 miles in the opposite direction and go through the Oak Creek Canyon canyon. Wow. What a great view.
We stopped at this viewpoint at the top of the canyon after having driven through a series of awesome switchbacks.
We then turned back south back through the canyon, through Sedona, and then stopped in the town of Jerome. An old mining town perched on the side of a moutain supposedly haunted by ghosts.
Also a stop for all the biker crowd. One thing about AZ, I felt right at home with all the Harley-Davidson riders going by all the time... not a single one with a helmet either. We then left Jerome and drove through a mountain range through some magnificent switchbacks - stuff that will make your stomach turn as you veer around each corner and look out over a long drop from the cliff your car is on.
At the top of the mountain range was a park where you could camp. Top of the mountain was 7100 feet. Once on the other side we headed back into Prescott and had dinner with my Mom before going home for the evening.
Tue May 30th
We flew home on Tuesday to some great weather back in Portland. Every time I've flown in perviously it's been raining or overcast. This time is was clear for miles so you could see all the surrounding snowcapped mountain peaks - Mt. Hood, St. Helens, Adams and easily all the way north to Mt. Rainier outside Seattle. It's impressive just how large these huge mountains are and how far you can see them from.
Great trip. Pic set here. Looking forward to going back for more than just 3 nights and 2 days so we can do a little camping, hiking and mtn biking.
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