JUST A GREAT SCENIC JEEPING MORNING BUT THEN WE GOT CRUSHED BY THE SEDONA TRAFFIC!!

(THIS IS SATURDAY’S POST)

Stepping out of the rig early this morning I noticed the air currents were moving in from the Northwest.  Sedona is northeast of us so didn’t figure we would see any hot air balloons.  Later heading for the highway we saw a balloon chase crew sitting in a parking area.  They obviously know more about a balloon’s direction of travel than I do.  Minutes later heading into Sedona we saw 4 in the air with one looking like it was headed straight for Annie’s place.  I would like to get a few photos of a hot air balloon landing.

EARLY MORN AT OUR HOUSE

 

SPOTTED THIS BALLOON FLOATING ALONG BY THE ROAD ON OUR WAY TO SEDONA

Had not realized this was a long week-end with President’s Day happening.  We sure bore the brunt of that early this afternoon but this morning’s traffic was light in Sedona as we hit the Information Booth about 8:30 a.m. 

COMING INTO THE WESTERN OUTSKIRTS OF SEDONA

  

THE NAVIGATOR CHOOSES THE ROUTE…ME, I JUST DRIVE THE DARN JEEP

Armed with a couple good maps we made a bee line out of town looking for Schnebly  Hill Road.  Fellow in the info booth said it was a great Jeep road & that is exactly what it turned out to be.  Commonly called Jeep roads these roads are all usually doable by any high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle although I really had to wonder about some of the domestic vehicles we encountered today.  Had to keep in mind there were a lot of week-end tourists out & about as well & I’m sure a lot of the vehicles we saw today never did make it to the top of the 4 mile dead end road. 

THIS NICE SMOOTH PAVEMENT SURE DIDN’T LAST FOR TOO FAR

THIS IS VERY TYPICAL OF THE ROAD ALL THE WAY UP & ALL THE WAY DOWN…NOT NICE!!!!

 

But first a word about Sedona.  Yes it’s very commercialized with way too many people & way too much traffic.  Not my kind of place at all but there is another side to this place.  Surrounded by towering red rock mountains Sedona has gone to great lengths incorporating their surrounding mountain colors into the town’s architecture.  Buildings are restricted as to how high they can be so all buildings have a low profile which allows views of the surrounding mountains from just about anywhere in Sedona including downtown.  You can stand on main street in spots taking photos of the surrounding mountains as if you were right out in the wilds.  I like Sedona’s Southwest architecture & earth tone colors.  It’s a very pretty, neat & clean looking town.  I don’t mind seeing all the little colorful shops, arts & crafts places, eateries, café’s, & antique parlors.  To me they are eye pleasing scenery in themselves because they are constructed well to fit in.  There is beauty in landscape architecture & I like to see that.  Just as long as I don’t have to get dragged through the shops I like to look at I’m OK.  It’s just too bad there has to be such a mosh of people & such a mass of traffic.  But without one you would not have the other.  More about how Sedona’s crushing traffic swallowed us up & spit us out later.

  

The sheer beauty & majesty of Sedona’s surrounding mountain scenery is truly awe inspiring & breath taking.  It is the redness of the soil & rocks that gives this area it’s appeal.  And to that add a carpeting of greenery with Alders, Junipers, Mesquites, Oak & Pine trees, Sycamores, Acacia, Chokecherries, etc.  The list just keeps going as does the forests of green bringing out that deep burgundy red in the soil, the rocks, & the mountains.  It was into this wonderland of scenic wonders we soon had Jeepers scrambling over multitudes of rocks along one of the roughest & rockiest roads  we have ever been on.    This road was definitely a tire burner.

  

We crawled our way up through the Canyon with an average speed of about maybe 10mph tops.  We really got pitched around inside the Jeep on this road but the breathtaking scenery just kept pulling us forward. I did stop & get out at one point to figure out how I was going to climb over one particularly bad spot.  Figured I’d just follow the tire tracks of countless vehicles before us & that worked.  Did bottom the Jeep’s rear end out on the way back though at that same spot. 

GOT OUT & HAD A LOOK AT THIS SCRAMBLE BEFORE WE DECIDED TO GO LEFT

 

SOMETIMES THE ROAD JUST DROPS OFF ON THE SIDES

A PINK JEEP TOUR RUMBLES BY

As I have said before, we are not Jeep extremists & there is a very thin line where one can make a wrong decision which could easily result in damaging one’s vehicle.  That very thin line consists of two things.  On one hand is that young foolish male Macho attitude that of course is not just restricted to young males as many of us older males well know.  The counter balance to that maleoolishness is the much steadier common sense mature approach that many females rightly so bring to the mix.  It is generally an evenly balanced combination of the two that makes for a successful day.  Destinations are simply reached in a safely thought out manner with no harm being done to the vehicle or passengers therein.  Oh yes there are always some words exchanged along the way but as long as an agreeable balance is maintained we generally reach our destination in full agreement.

 

OUR DESTINATION IS THE TOP OF THAT TALL ROCK ON THE RIGHT & A TELEPHOTO VIEW SHOWS PEOPLE ALREADY ON IT IN CENTER OF PHOTO BELOW

At the top end of Schenebly Hill is a small turn around parking lot.  A short rock scramble from there takes one up onto a high rock formation called Schenebly Hill.  Great views from up there all the way back down the valley one has just traveled all the way up from Sedona below.  We didn’t scramble up the rock formation right away because there was a gaggle of people already there. 

 

THEY REALLY HAVE THESE JEEPS TRICKED OUT

Two pink Jeeps from the PINK JEEP TOURS company had arrived just before us.  No way we wanted to be up there with a whole bunch of people chattering away.  These types of places need to be seen & experienced in the true serenity of their surrounding.  That is precisely why we do not enjoy going on hikes or tours with groups of people.  Of course the upside of tour groups is that you have an informative guide along explaining everything you are seeing.      

LUCKILY THE LAST PINK JEEP LEAVES & THE HILL IS OURS…BUT NOT FOR LONG AS MY TELEPHOTO LENS TELLS ME MORE PINK JEEPS ARE ON THEIR WAY

 

 

WE SCRAMBLE UP SCHNEBELY HILL

Luckily we did not have a long wait & the pink Jeeps were soon loaded up & on their way back down the Canyon.  Didn’t take us long to scramble ourselves up onto the big sandstone rock formations.  Pheebs is part mountain goat & scrambles around rocks like a Monkey in a tree. 

 

Probably took a couple dozen photos before I noticed below more pink Jeeps on their way to Schnebly Hill where we were standing.  Knew they would be loaded with people so we soaked up as much of the tranquil ambience as we could in our short 15 minutes before heading back to the Jeep & getting out of their before all the noise arrived.

 

 

  

LOADING UP TO HEAD DOWN & A LAST LOOK AT SCHENEBLY HILL WE JUST CLIMBED

We have always found that whether one is walking, hiking, or driving, return trips to starting point trailheads always seem to take much less time.  And so it was this morning as we seemed to take half the time coming back down the rocky road as it took going up. 

  

  

We had spotted a dry rock waterfall earlier on our way up so stopped there & hauled out our peanut butter sandwiches.  Beautiful spot as we sat on a couple rocks beside a hiking trail next to a cave like rock formation that would indeed be an active waterfall during Monsoon season. 

EATING OUR PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES IN A FOREST BY A DRY WATERFALL

 

SOME LADY HIKERS & MOUNTAIN BIKE ENTHUSIASTS COME BY ALONG THE TRAIL WE

  

One of the pink Jeep tours slowed down & we heard the operator tell people this spot has been used in movies.  Said a big water tank truck would go up the road a bit farther then dump their load of water into the dry creek bed.  Below the film crew would be all set up to do their scene as soon as the tanker trucks load of water came cascading over the waterfall’s smooth rocky lip.  Groovy:))

THE DRY WATERFALL

 

ONCOMING TRAFFIC REALLY PICKED UP AS WE WERE COMING DOWN

 

We finally made our way down the canyon to the trailhead where the pavement started.  It was a short half mile drive into Sedona.  It was a short half mile drive into traffic hell is what it was!! 

 

A LAST LONG TELEPHOTO 300mm LOOK BACK UP THE VALLEY TO SCHENEBLY HILL

Within minutes we were transported from some of the most scenic beauty we have ever seen into instant traffic chaos.  Our day went from super great to super upside down aggravating in about half a mile.  Never in my life have I encountered so many round-a-bouts in just one area.  If there was 2 there was 22.  Not having ourselves a hard destination we were soon swallowed up in the madness & it didn’t take us long to become totally disoriented, turned around, befuzzled, & discabooble-ated in the swirling manic maelstrom of downtown Sedona.  I felt we were caught up in Monsoon’s raging torrent.  We went around numerous round-a-bouts like we were on a merry-go-round.  I won’t attempt to tell you where we all were because I don’t know where we all were.  I do know at one point we were headed for Flagstaff so had to make a U-turn & drive right back into the moiling metal mess again.

JUST MADE A U-TURN & ARE HEADING BACK INTO THE SEDONA FRACAS

We came out of one round-a-bout heading south on highway 179.  Didn’t take us long to realize we had just made one big huge mistake.  179 is a major highway into Sedona from # 17.  Traffic coming into Sedona was bumper to bumper for miles.  Figured half the city of Phoenix was probably headed into Sedona for the long week-end.  We just kept heading south cause I didn’t want to turn around & get stuck in that long traffic jam going back into Sedona.  Did see a sign for the CHAPEL OF THE HOLY CROSS so rocketed out of a round-a-bout down that way to have a look.  Well it’s a dead end road & the whole area was a Zoo.  Cars randomly parked & abandoned with people all over the road taking photos etc.  I grabbed a few photos out the side window going by, wiggled onto a big flat rock (remember you can do that with a 2 door Jeep Wrangler:)) & got turned around.  No way was I wanting to stop in that mess so we got ourselves out of there right quick.  Maybe go back again & have us a look another time when there are not hordes of people everywhere.  Oh ya, a tour trolley loaded to the hilts had just pulled in ahead of us too.  I was lookin fer ya Phil but didn’t see ya.

 

ALL THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS WERE TAKEN FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT ALONG HIGHWAY 179 SOUTH

We were soon back on 179 thankfully putting miles between us a the traffic menace in Sedona.  On the plus side we got to see more great scenery that we might not have seen if we hadn’t got muddled up.  Kelly remembered a place called the V-BAR-V HERITAGE SITE east of #17 so figured while we’re down that way trying to find our way back to the rig we might as well check it out.  Well that didn’t work.  Signs up saying ‘No Pets’ as we pulled into the parking lot.  Well that was it for me.  Not leaving Pheebs in the car no way!! 

By now with the maps we had Kelly figured out a shorter way back to the rig.  I certainly did not want to have to go back through Cottonwood because I knew that would be a traffic nightmare over there as well.  To make a long story short we found a road heading towards Fort Wow that lead through a little town called Cornville.  Lite traffic & we had nice quiet & scenic ride all the way back to our rig.  Soooooo glad to get back to our wide open spaces, chirping Robins, & loads of peace & tranquility.

Not sure where we are headed in the morning but if we have to go into Sedona to pick up another Jeep road we will do so very early in the morning & make sure we have a clear escape road heading back to our camp.  Many of these back mountain roads are connected so I’m sure we can map out a route to totally avoid Sedona on our return.  Don’t get me wrong, I do like Sedona & think it has a lot going for it.  It’s just too darn bad about all the people & all the traffic.  And too bad we had to be here on a long week-end.  But then again we headed here for probably the very same reason countless thousands of others did…..this great spell of unusually warm weather going on at the moment.  Think we might have made it into the 80’s again………………….

Going to try & answer a few questions here from readers.  The Class A we thought might grab our spot pulled into a tiny spot just off the road about a quarter mile before they would have reached us.  So in hindsight we might have been Okay leaving our spot empty maybe.  They were still there this morning but when we came home this afternoon the Class A was gone……Question in Shoutbox was, “What is the annual cost and maintenance expenses for a Class A vs Class C MH? What is the mileage lifecycle for these MH's?  Best answer & advice I can give to this ‘Guest’ is head on over to RV NET FORUM & post those questions.  You will find a bunch of knowledgeable RV folks over there much better qualified to answer those questions than I.  Somebody asked me the other day how old I was & I even had trouble with that…………:((

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Mrs. Baker wanted to go ice fishing. She had read several books on the subject, and finally, after getting all the necessary equipment together, she made her way out onto the ice. After positioning her comfy stool, she started to make a circular cut in the ice. Frighteningly, from up above, a voice boomed, 'There are no fish under the ice.' Startled, Mrs Baker moved farther down the ice, poured herself a large coffee, and began to cut yet another hole. Again, from the heavens, the voice bellowed, 'There are no fish under the ice.' Mrs Baker, now became very concerned so she moved way down to the opposite end of the ice, set up her stool, and began again to cut her ice-hole. The voice rang out once more, 'There are no fish under the ice.' Mrs Baker, stopped, looked upwards and said, 'Is that you, Lord?'  The voice replied, 'No, this is the Ice-Rink Manager.'

AFTER A RATHER EXCITING MOVE THIS MORNING WE HAD US A RATHER RELAXING AFTERNOON

(THIS IS FRIDAY’S POST)

PHEEBS NEEDED A BIG REST AFTER HER & MOM HAD TO HOLD THE FORT DOWN ALL BY THEMSELVES FOR AN HOUR THIS MORNING

Soon as the sky lightened this morning I was out looking for balloons.  No not Valentine Day balloons but big colorful hot air balloons.  And by golly I saw some.  We are kind of located in a hot air balloon alley.  The big balloons lift off in Sedona & drift lazily in the early morning’s calm air currents to the southwest.  We are actually in the hot air balloon’s landing area.  Saw 4 of them this morning with one being very close.  Hoping to have one land in our front yard while we are here.

SPOTTED THIS ONE FLOATING WEST OF US OVER NEAR CLARKDALE & COTTONWOOD

  

   

 

THREE MORE BALLOONS EAST OF US WITH 2 VERY CLOSE

  

  

I have sometimes blogged about the ‘WOW’ factor when buying an RV.  But another kind of WOW factor known to many if not all RV’ers is that special feeling one has when they reach a destination & just go ‘WOW’ is this site ever great.  Well, our spot we had wiggled in the night before did not have that WOW factor & we knew it.  And we were both a little grumpy about it so figured we had better get out & find another spot first thing this morning.  A car had rolled in late Thursday night & parked within earshot & eyesight & for us that is unacceptable.  Plus 2 vans had moved into another spot just above & there appeared what might have been some young homeless people in a tent about a hundred yards away.  No doubt about it, we had to get out of there!!!!

CATHEDRAL ROCK IN MORNINGS EARLY LIGHT

JEROME ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE VALLEY

We all 3 piled in the Jeep & headed further inland from the highway because we had heard of a couple more spots further down the road.  We did find them but one had a truck camper in it & the other was nice but too big.  Problem with big sites is other people will move in on the same spot.  I don’t think city folks are bothered about crowding like us country bumpkins are.  The road ended at what looked like a beautiful retreat or resort of some kind.  Posted as private property so we didn’t go any further.  Kelly later looked this place up on the internet & it is the Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat Center.  This is the same place 4 people died in a sweat lodge back in 2009.

 

We decided to head back across the highway & out the other way where we had been scouting around the day before.  Maybe we had missed a good spot.  We hadn’t.  Too many Goathead stickers everywhere.  We were getting a little discouraged because we didn’t know where else to search for a suitable boondocking site but we certainly did not want to stay where we were.  And then we caught ourselves a ‘big break’.   

 

We were just about back to the highway when I saw a pick-up towing a large silver horse trailer also heading for the highway.  We had just seen that same trailer parked in a really nice spot the day before.  Could this fellow be leaving?  Could the nice spot this horse trailer was in now be empty?  We quickly raced down the dusty road to the spot where we remembered seeing that horse trailer & sure enough the spot was empty.  Enter the ‘WOW’ factor.  We recognized this prime spot as one of only a scarce few along this road.  We had just caught ourselves a big break but now our problem immediately became how to hold this valued piece of dirt.  Our rig was probably a good 2 miles to the south & we knew if we left this spot to go get it somebody else could quickly grab this site.  Oh Dear what to do.  And then a solution…..sort of.

WE QUICKLY BEGIN LAYING SOME STUFF OUT

It is common practice & an unwritten understanding among Campers & RV’ers alike that if one find’s a site & leaves something on that site like a chair to reserve it until they get back, that is Okay.  However we didn’t have any chairs or coolers, etc in the Jeep.  But we did have blankets, a couple towels, a raincoat, my old shirt, a jug of water, & my Bayfield Bunch baseball cap.  We layed out the blankets & hung some stuff on a tree.  Kelly even left a note warning would be site poachers to back off or else mighty big trouble.  But in reality & being Canadians we probably would have apologized for being there first & graciously handed the site over to the invaders with a pleasant, ‘have a good day eh.’  However in the meantime we had to get back to our rig as quickly as we could to get it back out here to this great site.  Plan was for Kelly to drop me off at the rig & then high tail it back to the WOW spot with the Jeep.  I would pack up the rig & follow a bit later.  We were almost back to the highway when…..Oh Oh!!

THIS WAS WHEN WE SPOTTED THE BALLOON RETRIEVAL CREW PACKING UP 2 LANDED BALLOONS

There coming towards was big Class A with a tow car in behind & we knew instantly they were looking for a site.  I stopped the Jeep dead in her tracks.  We had to make a fast decision.  Could we trust these incoming RV folks not to grab our site despite the stuff we left on it.  Our site was like a Gold nugget lying on the desert floor & here was coming some likely Prospector hungry for a Gold find.  I quickly burned a U-turn right there on the narrow gravel road (you can do that with a 2 door Wrangler) & we headed lickity-split back towards our flat piece of dirt with the Class A for all intents & purposes hot on our tail.  We couldn’t see him for the cloud of dust we kicked up though.

WASN’T COMFORTABLE WITH THAT SHINY JEEP WE HAD LAST WEEK SO TRADED IT IN FOR THIS OLD LOOKING DUSTY ONE:))

Now here’s where a Senior moment kicked in & dominated our thought patterns all the way back to our new & precariously held patch of dirt.  How were we going to get the rig to the new site.  Figured Kelly & Pheebs would have to hold down Fort WOW while I took the Jeep back, parked it, quickly packed up Winnie & brought her right back to the new site quick as I could.  But how to get back then to pick up the Jeep.  Maybe Annie could come out & pick one of us up to return for the Jeep.  Can you see our Senior moment thinking pattern going on here?  We were both working hard to solve this seemingly unsolvable problem when all of a sudden a light bulb came on.  Thought to myself….’hey wait a minute Dummy why not just hook the Jeep back up to the rig & bring both vehicles back at the same time.  After all, you have towed the Jeep before…..right!!   Duuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  Some days I just downright scare myself.

I LEAVE TROOPERS KELLY & PHEEBS AT FORT WOW & HEAD OUT TO RETRIEVE THE RIG

I left Kelly & Pheebs at Fort WOW & headed back to our overnight campsite.  I wasn’t long in getting the rig stowed away & the Jeep hooked on.  Slipped over to Annie’s to tell her we were moving & for her to come on out & have a look at the site because I figured it was a site she might be interested in after we leave sometime next week.  I wasn’t long in getting back to the 2 intrepid Fort defenders.  Even before I got there I gave the 2 troops a couple horn blasts to let them know help was riding in over the hill.  A minute later I had the rig securely parked at Fort WOW.  Yaaaaaaay team:))

  

WHILE KELLY WAITED FOR ME TO RETURN WITH THE RIG & JEEP SHE BUILT THESE TWO GREAT LOOKING INUKSHUKS

We have ourselves a great site now with a clear field of view all around us.  And we have a tree right beside us too.  A tree is always a big contributing factor to the WOW.  We know we have a good site simply from the good feeling we get inside about it.  If it is not an ideal site we have a tendency not to put the mat & chairs out.  In fact we just don’t set up anything.  If we arrive at a new boondocking site we like we are immediately hauling out all our stuff.  Chairs, tables, mats, my camera tri-pods, me, etc. etc.  And if we put the awning out that means for sure we are really pleased with where we are & are likely to stay happily put for a bit.

While setting up we did have one short ‘OH OH’ moment though when a white car suddenly appeared turning in off the road.  I always figure the worse in these situations.  Farmer Brown coming to throw us off his land, Park Ranger saying we can’t stay here, or the FBI wanting to know why we have a black dog or something.  Turns out it was Annie & Jake.  Yaaaay team:))

ANNIE, JAKE, KELLY, & PHEEBS

 

Pheebs & Jake were happy to see each other again & we were glad Annie dropped by.  Had a little tour of Winnie The Bago & a chance to get to know Annie & Jake better.  Annie is one of those calming natural soft spoken people one takes a liking to immediately.  We all had ourselves a nice visit & Annie said she would be interested in this site when we leave.  So we’ll do that next week sometime…..

 

THAT JAKE IS A HANDSOME BOY

We have a very pleasant horse smell at our camp left by the sites previous occupier.  It is a smell we like & it takes my memory back many, many, years to when I was a small boy. 

And how nice to hear the sounds of Robins chirping in the nearby Juniper bushes & trees.  Growing up in southwestern Ontario it was always the sounds of Robins we strained to hear in early Spring.  And who would be the one lucky enough to spot the first Robin of the year.  Yes those were good old days all right……………..

Interesting post this morning from long time full-timers JO & FRED WISHNIE.  They are at a stage in their RV lives where issues have to addressed & changes have to be made.  Not an easy time as decisions do not always meet with mutual agreement.  They are in a phase all RV’ers will one day find themselves in.  Unlike much blogged about early RV dreams & travels the thoughts of winding down the lifestyle one day remains a topic often left in the closet.   Some Bloggers talk about their days coming in off the road while others just sort of disappear from the Blogging world without a murmur.  Good for you Jo & Fred in casting some thoughts & opinions on a topic important to all of us whether we like it or not.

And I see we have a couple new Blog Followers in our ‘Friends’ box. A big welcome goes out first to Pete & Maura from BUCKET LIST OR BUST TRAVELS.  Here’s a couple folks who with their dog Mutton Chops are riding out the big Atlanta storm at the moment. Welcome to our travels & it was a good time to climb aboard while we are out & about in Winnie The Bago.  Also a big Bunch welcome to Jodee from LET'S GO.  Thanks for the emails last week Jodee & am hoping you got that subscription problem ironed out.  Welcome aboard & thanks for dropping by.

Finished our day with a setting sun over Mingus Mountain casting it’s long fingers of evening light across a red rock mountain face off to our north.  In the morning we will head into Sedona & pick up some Jeep & hiking trail maps for the area & head out to see what we can see:))   

Annie sent an email tonight saying we got out of last night’s spot just in time.  A group of young tenters moved in today.  It’s the week-end so it will probably be party central there now.  We were soooooooooo lucky to catch that big break this morning…………………..

BEST I COULD CATCH WITH TONIGHT’S FULL MOON RISING BEHIND A VEIL OF CLOUDS

GROANER’S CORNER:((  You are driving in a car at a constant speed. On your left hand side there is a valley and on your right hand side there is a fire engine travelling at the same speed as you.  In front of you there is a galloping pig which is the same size as your car and you cannot overtake it. Behind you there is a helicopter flying at ground level. Both the giant pig and the helicopter are travelling at the same speed as you. What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation? ……… ‘Get off the merry-go-round Dummy’!!