From Holbrook to Needles

From Holbrook to the Grand Canyon

Left Holbrook on the 5^th. Was not the greatest day in the world. Somewhere between Holbrook and Flagstaff some folks pulled up beside us and started pointing. Pulled over and found out that we had a tire on the camper coming apart. Fortunately it was on the passengers side and I was not in danger while changing it. An unlike last summer, the spare had enough air in it. It was also an extremely windy day. Fought that all the way to Flagstaff. A gust of wind would hit us and move us to the right. Traffic was heavy. Just a taste of what it will be like when we head home. My plan is to take I40 most of the way home. Stopped in Flagstaff and found a tire. Now have a new one for the spare. Good to go til next year I hope.

Left Flagstaff and headed north to the Grand Canyon. Arrived in Valle, Az and decided to camp at the Flintstone Campground. Truly a Fred Flintstone theme. Not much to look at, but just 25 miles from the entrance to the park and only $14 per night. Ended up staying in this campground for 4 nights. And anyway, if you are not going to be at your campsite much, why worry about what it looks like as long as it is quiet and safe.

I won't bore you with all the details of what we saw. But the pictures and TV programs you see are nothing like seeing it yourself. We did a lot of walking along the rim trail. I hiked down into the Canyon about a mile on the Kaibab trail. Also, if you are ever here, make sure you see the Imax movie by the National Geographic. Unbeliveable.

We left on the 9^th of April and headed to Las Vegas. On the way over we stopped for gas and a 'pit-stop'. Heard one of the cashiers tell someone else that it was snowing in the Canyon. While I am glad we did not get caught in any snow (it was cold enough and nasty windy), it would have been neat to see it snow covered.

Arrived in Vegas mid-afternoon. Checked in to Boulder Station Casino and Hotel. Room reasonable but not posh. It was clean and comfortable. Washed some of the Road Dirt, Camping grime off and went for dinner.

That evening we played the slots. I lost two dollars and Joyce came out ahead $30.00. Twice now that I have lost and she has won. Good thing gambling really doesn't do much for me.

Left Vegas this morning. Drove down the strip on the way out of town. What a place!!! Towering hotels and casinos. Ones going up and others coming down. And yes, they do look like the ones on CSI and Las Vegas. Drove west on I-15 to Baker, Ca and turned south through the Mohave National Preserve. About a 60 mile drive thru the center of the Desert. Took our time( about 4 hours), stopping along the way to check out the flowers. The desert there is really quite spectacular when in bloom. We saw about 32 new flowers along the way.

We are now in Needles, Ca. 2200 miles from home and heading east. I am so ready to be home. I miss my family, my friends,my bed and my easy chair. Not sure how long it will take us, but certainly not as long as it took us to get here. I checked the odometer and we have driven over 6000 miles on this trip already.