The Return of the Blog!

OK, I have been chastised for not keeping up on the Blog. I just got lazy and did not do anything with it. I really didn't think anyone was looking at it. Guess I was wrong. So for those of you who were missing my blog, Sorry about that. I will try to do better. I will post every few days on all of the things we did during the summer while Mona was working as the Front Desk Manager at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. She had to do a lot of working hours up there and it was a pretty high altitude for me so we won't be doing anything like that again. We did however get to see a lot of scenery that most people who go there don't see due to the back roads and having to find them. Ahh, the Good ole Jeep Wrangler!

This post will have a few of the starter pics for the North Rim. And here they go.

This is a view of the North Rim Lodge at the Grand Canyon. This was our first view of the Lodge. There are not actually any rooms in the Lodge, the rooms are all cabins with an additional two small motel type buildings. There were a total of about 200 rooms and there was about a 97% occupancy rate. Which is unheard of in the Hotel/Motel industry. So therefore, Mona was a very busy person.

Now as we came in before the start of the season, we found that the front desk was left in pretty much disarray. Mona and her crew would have to do a lot of cleaning and arranging. This picture was of the Front Desk and surrounding area.

Here is another picture of inside the lodge. Again this was before everything was put in place and cleaned up. This was the lobby just to the left of the Front Desk area. There is another lobby to the right and the Main Dining Area was to the left. The Main Dining Room was a fine dining establishment and had very tasty food.

This view is from the Terrace in the back of the Lodge on the patio. It is pretty spectacular. However later on in these posts and I will explain where they are, you will find many views that are even better.

Well, there is your teaser post for the Grand Canyon. In the next post I will show you where we stayed while we were there and tell you a little about that part of our stay. Until then, talk to ya soon.

Apache Junction to Jacob Lake on the Way to the North Rim Grand Canyon

Hey Folks!
It has been awhile since the last post and I figured I had better get something put up on the site. We left Apache Junction on the 17th of April and drove up to Flagstaff where we spent a couple of nights awaiting the roads to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to be cleared of the snow so that we could get the Motorhome up there. We took some nice pictures of the scenery on the way so here they come.


Here we were stopped at a little roadside cafe to have breakfast along the way.

This is a neat shot of a canyon from atop a small mountain. This overlooks the area around marble canyon. Pretty cool how you can make out that big hole in the ground that is a canyon.









Here is a shot of inside one of the canyons showing the river flowing through it below. This is such a beautiful sight. Even more spectacular when you are standing on the bridge that spans it.

Here is another picture of the mountains around the canyon area. Just beautiful. I can't say enough how pretty this country of ours is. If you have not seen much of it then I implore you to do so. It can be breath taking at times.

This is an old old building that actually used to be a stage stop as well as a gas station but is now just a run down photo opportunity stop along the way to the Grand Canyon North Rim.

Well I seem to be having problems posting this and uploading pictures so I am going to call it a day for now. I will pick up where I left off with Jacob Lake to the North Rim when I post again. Our phone service here as well as our internet is somewhat spotty. I will do the best that I can and until then, See Ya!

Bisbie & Tombstone Arizona

This is a picture of an old original bar in the old town of Bisbie, Arizona. Bisbie has a vast old west history and now seems to be a haven for the new hippy movement of this era.

This bar was like walking straight back in time.

This is our group sitting at a table at the above bar. Pictured from the far left is Me of course, Cowboy Woodie is next to me with the white hat, Mona's Mom is on the right and the old cowboy with his back to us is a local man we met there.

People were pretty friendly in this place.

This is a picture of the whole community of Bisbie as it looks today. Still a quaint little town with an old time west feel about it.

This is the Big Nose Kate's Saloon that sits on the main street of Tombstone, Arizona. The OK Corral is located just down the street. It was pretty neat because the locals rode their horses into town and tied up at the front of the saloon.

Here is another corner of the main streets of Tombstone. One can just imagine the Earps and the Clantons having it out on the streets. It isn't hard to see in your minds eye the way it probably was back in the heyday of the 1800's.

Sometimes I wish I could transport myself back to that time, where men were men, cowboys rode horses and the times were hard. Hmmm, times are hard now, so what's the difference.

And at last, we visited Boot Hill Cemetary. Here is where the Clanton's and the McLaury's were buried. May they rest in peace!

Well that is all for this post. May or may not post another one until after we move from our current location at Rock Shadows RV Park in Apache Junction, Arizona. We have had a great time here but it is now time to move on to our next destination, The Grand Canyon North Rim.

Mona has acquired work there and we will be spending the summer there. So if you go the that area this summer, try to look us up. Till then, Adios.

Fort Apache & Salt River Canyon Drive

Today we went on another wonderful scenic drive. We took Rte 60 from Apache Junction up through Globe on our way to check out Fort Apache. The scene to the right was from the road as we were winding down into Salt River Canyon. Quite a beautiful area. This was a view of the canyon with the river winding its way through the middle.







This picture shows part of the road down below as shown from the same road at a higher level.












And here is the bridge that spans Salt river that runs through the canyon.












This is the Post Office from Fort Apache. Looks to be the actual building from the late 1800's.












And this is a row of Officer's Quarters housing. Nice looking stone houses that are now used as housing for the American Indians living in the area.

Overall, the trip to Fort Apache was kind of disappointing. It looks to me like it has been allowed to be run-down. I don't believe the U.S. Government even has any involvement in the daily operations of the old Fort. It appears that the Indians have been given the property back. They do have a museum but it is basically an Indian heritage museum instead of an historic outlook of the fort itself.




Well, that is it for today's post. The next trip we take is to Tombstone, Arizona, the place where Wyatt Earp, his brothers and Doc Holliday shot it out with the Clantons at the OK Corral.

Computer Crash

Well folks, There is a reason I have not uploaded any blogs for a few weeks. My new computer that I bought in May of last year crashed. Luckily it was covered on warranty. The hard drive crashed so I had took it back to Best Buy and they sent it to the service center. The worse part was they had to have it for two weeks. I wish they would have just given me a new hard drive and I could have put it in myself. Oh well, just glad to have it back. I will work on a couple new postings and put them on as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience.

Rick

Goldfield Ghost Town

Today we got together with some friends from back home and spent the day at the Goldfield Ghost Town just outside of Apache Junction, Arizona on Rte. 88. Our friends Mike & Debi Richardson were out here for the Fiesta Bowl and we arranged to meet for a little excursion.

At the left is Mike & Debi Richardson, from our little home town of Woodlawn, Illinois. Mike, Debi and I have known each other for more than, well, let's just say more years than any of us care to admit to.

It was great to see you guys. Thanks for letting us know you were coming this way. I just wish we could have had some more time, cause I wanted to show you some more sights.

Here is a picture of the whold gang together just before we boarded the Ghost Town's Train. From the left is my beautiful bride Ramona, her mother Barbara, Me (dressed in old time Cowboy garb), Mike and Debi.

This picture is of the Building that was the Town's Brothel. We went up for the little tour of the building and because I was wearing my lawman's badge with my cowboy outfit, I got in for free. The normal charge was only $2.oo so not that big of a deal, but $2 is $2.

If you look closely in the window, you will see one of the soiled doves looking out over the roadway.

Pretty neat old building. Although all of the building were rebuilt replicas due to the originals being destroyed by fire.

Here is a bunch of the Cowboy Re-enactors doing one of their many shows of the day. While we were there they did about 3 shows that I can remember. There could have been another one while we were in the Restaurant but I am not sure. By the way the Restaurant had some pretty good food and it was also reasonably priced.

This last building is actually the first one you see when you get to the Ghost Town. It is the Mercantile building and has a shop inside of it that sells the usual tourist souvenirs. Now one of the best things about the Ghost Town is that it is free parking and free entry. The only things that cost are to ride the Train ($6.00), the Bordello tour ($2.00) mining or panning for gold (not sure on price but as I recall it was pricey) and whatever souvenirs, food or tips you want to give to the re-enactors.

Well that concludes this weeks posting. Not sure when I will post again but I will always attempt to let everyone know by just forwarding the sight. I hope you enjoy these little trips with us. Till next time, Adios Pardner!

Cliff Dwellings

Hey folks! Sorry for not posting for a while, but just have not been doing a lot. But the other day we did take a little drive and found some neat cliff dwellings.

We started out by driving up Rte 60 to Globe and then we headed up toward Roosevelt Dam from there. We entered the Tonto National Forest.

We found a place off the beaten path which had some cliff dwellings. They were called the Salado Indian Cliff Dwellings. The Saldo Indians dated back before the Apache Indians and actually dated back to the 1400's. They were gone by the 1600's.

The trek up to the Dwellings was very steep and filled with switchbacks. I attempted to make the climb but found that it was just to much for me to make it. So, I sent Mona up to the top (she likes these places much more than me) with the camera and she took a lot of these pictures. This picture shows part of the trail.

Here is one of the many rooms that are seen inside the dwellings. Hard to believe that many people lived in these little hideaways. Must have been really crowded. Not to mention dark at night.

Here is a great view of what the Salado Indians would have seen every day. Mona took this one while standing on the porch of the cliff dwelling. Pretty spectacular views.

And last but not least is a picture of Apache Lake which is on Rte 88 on the way back from Roosevelt Dam. The road is not paved but most any car can drive on it and the views are worth the trip.

That will conclude this posting. In the next posting in a couple days we will visit the Goldfield Ghost town just outside of Apache Junction Arizona. Some friends of ours from back home were in Phoenix for a vacation and got together with us. We had a great time. Till then, See Ya!