Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Dead Horse to Lake Mead

Following our FLLW incident, we wanted to find a park quickly.  We found Dead Horse Ranch State Park.  It was a nice location and gave us time to drown  our sorrows. (No internet accessibility). 




We enjoyed our respite and by morning were ready to charge forward.  


We decided to go out through Sedona.  The drive in was fine, the drive through was ok, but the drive out took us through Oak Creek Canyon---mistake.  We white knuckled it a bit after our earlier experience, but we did fine until we were almost at the top.  At that point, the transmission began to heat.  Jim, having had previous experience with such events, quickly turned off the ac and turned on the heater...yep.  Cooling began almost immediately and we easily reached the overlook at the top.  Just Jim's luck, the Native American Indians were vending their wares.  It did however, give the truck a chance to catch it's breath and cool down.




Hobbes wasn't much help with the shopping.  He just wanted to smell that leather.




From the overlook, this is a small portion of the  road we had just pulled up.




The truck cooled and my shopping monster appeased, we made it to Williams, AZ for a late lunch at the 66 Diner.  We both had excellent food and felt much better.


Jim remembered a very nice Forest Service Campground that we visited last year, so we headed out for it.  No services, but up on the plateau, it was quite cool and nice.





We thoroughly enjoyed this "Patio"  at our campsite.  I practiced my flutes.




Then we had a long walk up to the campsites on the hillside.  Kaibab Lake was low, but it was still a welcome sight for these travelers.


As additional folks pulled in late afternoon, Jim got a chance to practice his French.  It is always a surprise to European visitors when they find an American who can converse with them in their language.  Jim gets two points for International Relationships.


We hated to leave Williams, but felt we need to push westward.  Soon, we were at the Nevada border and Hoover Dam.  On the second try, we found a visitor's center and got excellent assistance.  We are now parked with a lovely view of Lake Mead.  Tomorrow our plans include a visit to Hoover Dam. One just has to see that damm dam.



Did I mention that it is HOT here?  We pulled in to 107 degree temperature.  How do people do this jaunt in the summertime?  Such a contrast to last night when we had no ac and closed the windows after the sun went down.  







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