Dateline: Scottsdale, 26 Mar 09

Note: All photos are located at:
http://web.mac.com/goodlenora/iWeb/Site/Moon%20Over%20Stelling.html then click on Library 3

We spent a few days at Todd’s, enjoying his new house and the winds that kicked up in Las Vegas – upwards of 50mph. We stayed inside mostly, as it was rainy and just a tad cool in the open. We left the casinos to the tourists and enjoyed good company and good food at Todd’s.

We left Monday morning, as soon as we figured ‘rush hour’ traffic would be rushed out of the way, and headed down toward Boulder Dam. The highway still goes across the dam, but they are building a new four-land bridge next to it (see web.mac photos) and, of course, widening the highway for some miles to four lanes to accommodate it. We were stopped by security (everyone is) before crossing the dam, but once stopped, he waved us on. I guess we’re only Thelma and Louise in our minds, not in actuality ;-)

About 20 miles or so down the road, out in the middle of nowhere, we found Rosie’s Den, and stopped for breakfast. If you are ever in the neighborhood, make the stop – great food. Alas, it was too windy to take Flat Stanlietta out, and she said she wasn’t hungry, anyhow.

We got snowed on as we got near Flagstaff and Williams. Again it didn’t stick, but it was cold, and ‘sleety’ rather than flaky snow. We decided we liked the North Rim of the Grand Canyon much better than the South Rim, so just went on toward Sedona.

Six years ago, when Kay and I made the Southwest Tour, as we called it, we really wanted to see Sedona, and it was a three day weekend, and Sedona was so crowded we couldn’t even get into the town, so this time, we came down from the north and drove through it. Beautiful scenery (see web.mac photos) but so crowded, and on a week day, we drove right on through. We thought we’d stop at one of the parks for a picnic but every one we came to was both full and charged – so we went on by. We decided we didn’t want to live there-too much of a hole-in-the-ground type of place.

We did get out and walk a bit by the Huckaby Trail Vista – had to have a shot of the sign for my cousin, Jim, who is the Genealogist for the Huckabee-Hardwick side of the McBrayers (my maternal Grandfather). We were going to picnic here, but as we headed toward the picnic tables, we saw another sign telling us we had to have a Red Rock Park pass displayed in the window if we were parked here – and, of course, no shoulders on the roads. Oh, well.....

We went on to Jerome, and again, it was so crowded we couldn’t find a place to stop. For those of you who have never been down here, Jerome is worth the visit, and if you can find a parking place, worth wandering around. It is an old copper mining town, and when the copper mine went bust, it became a ghost town with something like 23 residents. The artsy folks found it, moved in, and it is again a booming town. In fact, we saw many new homes and buildings. Jerome, by the way, is built on a mountainside – there is up and down. A whole lotta down! a misstep on a midnight walk would not be fun!

From Jerome we went on to Prescott, and stayed in the Prescott Inn and Suites. We stayed there before, and though the name has changed, and the personnel has undoubtedly changed, the hospitality was every bit as good as we remembered. Kerry checked us into the hotel, and was a lot fun, and enjoyed being introduced to Flat Stanlietta (see photo on web page). Kerry had not heard of Flat Stanley, as he went to school K-12 in Lagos, Nigeria. His father was a graduate of Emory Riddle University, so Kerry decided to go to school at Emory Riddle in Florida, and after graduation, moved to Emory Riddle in Prescott for his Master’s. He made our stay a lot of fun. Thanks, Kerry!

In the lobby of the hotel is a life-sized portrait of Tom Mix, who used to own the property across the street. I managed to get Flat Stanlietta in a photo with the portrait, but you really have to look for her (down by his feet). I remember Tom Mix movies from when I was a kid – those of you who don’t remember him, well, Google him.

On our way out of town the next day we stopped at a quilt store where I bought lots of fabric six years ago, this time, I held back and only bought 4 fat quarters (there are a lot of quilt stores yet to visit ;-)

We arrived at Mark and Terri’s in time to put our feets up a bit and then went out to dinner at a highly recommended restaurant, Uncle Sal’s. Mark and Terri have eaten there many times, and we were looking forward to a good dinner. Alas, Kay’s dish of shrimp and pasta was mostly inedible. The shrimp were so over cooked they were too tough to eat, and the waiter was too busy to check back with us. When we did mention it, the head waitress (who is one of the owners) was positively rude to Kay and scolded her for not mentioning it sooner. There are too many good restaurants in the area to go back to that one.

Yesterday, Kay, Terri, Flat Stanlietta, and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden and Butterfly Pavilion – see the photos on the web.mac page!!!! The cactuses were budding out, and many were blooming. It was hard to get Flat Stanlietta in too many shots with the cactuses, but we managed to get her in a few. One is on a sign, explaining about Hotel Saguaro and how the various animals will dig into the cactus for shelter. There was a Saguaro above the sign, with a hole in it, I took a picture of the hole, and when we got home and I uploaded the shots to my computer, realized there was an owl staring back at me from inside the hole!

Took many photos of cactus, and many, many of butterflies. Be sure to check them out.

Last night, we met some friends of Kay’s a light dinner and good company. Donna and Bev are from Fargo, and have known Kay since they went to school with her kids. They are a lot of fun, and on their way to visit Todd in Las Vegas before going back to Fargo. We’ll see them again on the tail end of our sojourn when we arrive, and are looking forward to the visit.


“Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.”
--Richard Bach