Monument Valley, Arizona

Today was a day of driving, and our first stop was The Glen Canyon Dam. Here are our reactions:

Suzanne: Yawn. Where are the bathrooms?

Brad: This is so cool!  Do you see/think ............(This is when Suzanne stopped listening).

Suzanne did take a couple pictures on the way to the bathroom - Brad was still talking.....

We then drove through Monument Valley as we made our way to Colorado.

The last stop - the famous view from when Forrest Gump stopped running:

In case you've forgotten:

 

And this is just a cool picture that Suzanne noticed while taking pictures our the window as we drove through Monument Valley......

Justin’s Diamond J RV Park, Tucson, Arizona

 

We spent one night at Justin’s Diamond J RV Park and one night was enough. Although there were very good reviews online (we like to use www.rvparkreviews.com to check-out potential parks), this was not a park to our liking. The office was closed the entire time we were there, and payment was on the honor system. Although fellow RV’ers were nice and helpful, the surrounding area wasn’t so great – we heard barking dogs, screaming children, a neighbor father screaming at the children, roosters cock-a-doodle-ing, etc… all day - you get the picture. That being said, it was a clean park and some sites (for long-time residents) have beautiful views of the mountains. Oh yeah, forgot the mention the sounds of the shooting range two-miles away as well. :-)

RV Blind and Shade Restringing Mail-In Service ~  Easy and affordable - no matter where you are!

Safety at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

We’ve left Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, but wanted to say something about safety there. We’ve met people who refuse to go there, concerned with drug trafficking in the park and the issue with people illegal crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. As far as drug trafficking, yes, it is a problem in the park and in 2002 a park ranger, Kris Eggle (for whom the visitor’s center is named) was killed in the line of duty in pursuit of drug traffickers. The park took swift action and closed much of the backcountry to visitors, however drug trafficking from Mexico is real and happening, although not in the campground and areas where visitors frequent. The same goes for illegal immigrants into the US – they, too, tend to stay away form the popular areas, for fear of being caught. That being said, the first day we arrived, once we had set-up and eaten lunch, we took the short drive (1 ½ miles) to the visitor’s center. One the way back, not twenty-minute later, we drove by 3-4 rangers handcuffing what seemed to be an illegal entrant – the sirens of border patrol quickly coming.

Even with all this going on, we felt safe here and would come back again. More photos of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument have ben posted to our Picasa photo page ~ enjoy!

 

****As you may know, we launched Brad’s Blind & Shade Repair for RV’ers earlier this year.  Well, we’re excited to report that it’s been very successful and we’ve already expanded our services! Introducing: RV Blind and Shade Restringing Mail-In Service!  That’s right, from anywhere you are, we can restring your RV shades. Click HERE for more information.****

Flora of Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona

Just thought we’d post the requisite photos of flowers. Enjoy! 

 

 

****As you may know, we launched Brad’s Blind & Shade Repair for RV’ers earlier this year. Well, we’re excited to report that it’s been very successful and we’ve already expanded our services! Introducing: RV Blind and Shade Restringing Mail-In Service! That’s right, from anywhere you are, we can restring your RV shades. Click HERE for more information.****

Ajo Mountain Drive, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

 

Organ Pipe Cactus National Park has two gravel road drives, the longer of which is the 21-mile Ajo Mountain Drive we did this today.  The Ajo Mountain Drive takes about two hours, not including taking two possible hikes and enjoying a picnic. We picked up the Ajo Mountain Drive Guide at the Visitor’s Center, which nicely outlines the drive with numbered stops along the way. Note – be sure you follow the numbers with the small organ pipe cactus picture – there are brown signs with number as well, which we can only surmise was connected with a previous guide numbering.

So here are some interesting things we learned today:

• The saguaro cactus grows as high as 50’, can weigh up to several tons and can live up to 200 years. At Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, the cacti first flower at around 65 years of age, and their first arms begin at about 90 years of age. Since water is so scarce here, some saguaros may never have arm growth.
• The prickly pear cactus adapts to the desert sun by keeping its pads straight up, thus avoiding the harsh noon sun.
• The ocotillo aren’t part of the cactus family – they’re actually members of the candlewood family.

 

****As you may know, we launched Brad’s Blind & Shade Repair for RV’ers earlier this year. Well, we’re excited to report that it’s been very successful and we’ve already expanded our services! Introducing: RV Blind and Shade Restringing Mail-In Service! That’s right, from anywhere you are, we can restring your RV shades. Click HERE for more information.****

Desert View Hike, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

 

We took a short 1.5 loop hike today in the desert to enjoy more of the scenery of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  The Desert View hike trailhead is found at the group camping area and is a nice one-hour or so hike among the many cacti, such as saguaro, ocotillo, cholla, mesquite, palo verse, and, of course, organ pipe cactus. The loop trail takes you to great views of the Senita Basin and Sonoyta Valley in Mexico.

Also of interest to us, although not on the park brochure information :-), is that from this vantage point, there’s a very good view of the fence at the border.

We took advantage of the hike to take some up-close-and-person photos of the cactus thorns – ouch!

 

 

****As you may know, we launched Brad’s Blind & Shade Repair for RV’ers earlier this year.  Well, we’re excited to report that it’s been very successful and we’ve already expanded our services! Introducing: RV Blind and Shade Restringing Mail-In Service!  That’s right, from anywhere you are, we can restring your RV shades. Click HERE for more information.****

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

 

We’ve left the “town” of Mesa Regal RV Resort and are finally back to nature ~ Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southwestern Arizona. The campground is really quite lovely – all sites are pull-through and very long – although the literature says no rigs over 40’, there would not be a problem if you were a few feet longer. There are no hook-ups, but bathrooms are provided with flush toilets and free hot showers, although the water is on solar-energy, so it heats up during the day, and given the cloud cover, some days the showers are hotter than others. It is very quiet at the campground (unlike the RV park), partly because we are one of about 15 rigs here.

Oh, so if you come here, be sure you take the turn to the visitors center – the campground is on the same road. We missed the turn and couldn’t find a place to turn-around and kept going…..and going….and going……and there was the Welcome to Mexico sign! Just before crossing the border, there was a place to turn-around ~ obviously we aren’t the only ones to have missed the campground road!

Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, Arizona

We went to the Musical Instrument Museum today using our Museums on Us benefits from Bank of America. Surprisingly, we spent three hours at the museum and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit!

The museum is very new – just about two years old – and in fact, not all of the displays are complete yet. The general premise of the museum is to experience – by seeing, hearing and playing – instruments of the world.  Upon getting your ticket, you’re also given an audio tour headset, which simply starts/stops at various displays.  We decided to begin our tour upstairs, and along the way enjoyed the Orientation Gallery with samples of guitars and various instruments from around the world. This cornet is from the late 19th century, and here’s a photo of the air guitar on display. Keep practicing yours, as the championships

held annually in Oulu, Finland.

The upstairs in divided into continents, with multiple displays from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, Europe and the United States & Canada. Often there was a video of dancers and/or musicians playing the instruments that were on display – this was where the audio tour came in, as you could hear how the instruments sound. The flow of the upstairs was perfect, as you simply walked from continent to continent. 

 

Of course, all this listening made us hungry, so we took a break from our touring to enjoy the café on the first floor.  There are two areas to eat – the coffee shop with pre-made sandwiches, and the café, with an assortment of freshly made sandwiches, frittatas, pizzas, etc….  We split a hamburger and sweet potato fries which were both great, along with the staff and service.

Good thing we filled our bellies, as next on the agenda was the Experience Gallery where people could play with all of the instruments we saw upstairs.  These are not your everyday instruments, but replicas of the drums, gongs, and other exotic instruments of the world. In case you’re wondering, yes, Brad is for hire the next time you need a gong player.

Adjacent to the Experience Gallery is the Artist Gallery which houses some of the  instruments from prominent artists, including John Lennon’s Steinway Model Z  piano, purchased in 1970.  He wrote Imagine on it based on a poem written by Yoko Ono.  

Also exhibited is a guitar used by Eric Clapton, 

and the last guitar on which Elvis Presley preformed, February – June, 1977.

So if you’re in the area, this was a very cool museum, different than most, and one we enjoyed more than we thought.

The museum is open

Mon., Tue., Wed., and Sat.: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Thu. and Fri.: 9:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Sun.: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Price are

Adults 18–64: $15.00
Seniors 65+: $13.00
Youths 6–17: $10.00
Children 5 and under: Free

There are also upcoming events and a music theatre that can be enjoyed. Oh, and if you play the piano, there is a Steinway in the lobby where you can sit and play – a variety of people entertained us while we wandered the museum.

The Musical Instrument Museum’s motto was written everywhere ~ Music is the language of the soul ~ so we decided to become more musical after being inspired by all that we saw – we think we’ll start with the musical spoons!

 

Flower Photos, Mesa, Arizona

We biked around today with the camera ~ just wanted to take some flower pictures while thigns are still in bloom in the area ~ enjoy!

 

 

 

Canoeing on Canyon Lake, Apache Trail, Arizona

 

We took a nice little jaunt on our inflatable Sevylor Canoe yesterday on Canyon Lake. We parked at the Canyon lake Marina so we didn’t have to pay the fee for parking on national forest land, and launched from their docks. There are three main areas from which to tool around at this point ~ to the right, which will take you past the restaurant and camping area, straight which takes you to the vastness of the lake, and to the left, which takes you under the bridge (where motorized crafts are not allowed) and towards a narrow channel – we chose this route.

We meandered for about an hour, enjoying many birds in the brush (along with trash, unfortunately), saw other kayakers, lots of fishermen and fisherwomen, and enjoyed a bit of nature. We enjoyed the turns of the lake, as we kept thinking we got to the “end,” but alas there was more beyond the next turn. We did make it to the end, finally, and enjoyed about an hour, maybe a bit more, on the lake.

We then enjoyed lunch at the restaurant – fairly good food (better than expected as there is a captive audience), yet slow service. If you do not have your own watercraft, there are boat rentals at the marina, and if in the area, especially on a hot day, this is a fun place to spend some time.

The REAL Final Day of Workamping - Mesa Regal RV Resort, Mesa, Arizona

As we stated last Friday,  we were asked to help on Monday with some final pick-ups of decorations, so along with nine other Workampers and our boss, Mikki, we spent about four hours Monday morning picking-up decorations from a couple parks and putting them back where they belonged in storage for the summer. For the first time, Suzanne was able to join the Decor Team workampers, since her signing classes are finished for the season.  Mikki was kind enough to thank us by buying lunch for us all. So now we can finally say ~ our first workamping gig is done! :-) We'll be hanging out at Mesa Regal RV Resort  a bit longer, enjoying the many amenities, the area, and the perfect weather.