232.2 miles today, 3,029.6 miles total

Surpassed 3,000 miles today! Departed the red rocks of Sedona for a zigzag ascent up Cleopatra Hill to hilltop Jerome (old mining town clinging to a steep slope), then over Mingus Mountain (7,000+ ft. elevation) in the Black Hills Mountain Range with steep slopes, tight curves, & numerous switchbacks meandering through Prescott National Forest. One of the highway pics shows us going by a funneling snow cloud!?! Then onto Seligman to travel on Route 66 going 93 miles to Kingman. We covered the arid desert, past huge caverns, an Indian reservation,  & funky dining spots. We stopped for lunch at one of those funky dining spots, Westside Lilo’s Cafe, for the best burgers and carrot cake on Route 66. We settled Thumper into Blake Ranch RV Park & Horse Motel in Kingman for the night. Next stop…Las Vegas…m, b & t

“If you ever plan to motor west, Travel my way, take the highway that’s best, Get your kicks on Route 66.” –Bobby Troup (Bing Crosby Lyrics)

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” –G. K. Chesterton

12.7 miles today, 2,797.4 miles total

We relaxed in the morning and hiked all afternoon ~ 3 to 4 miles in the red rock hills. Enough said…m,b & t

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

0 miles today, 2,784.7 miles total

Sedona, with it’s breathtaking Red Rocks (iron in the sandstone, i.e., natural electromagnetic conductors), which jut from the high desert floor in furious jags, have inspired everyone from the Native Americans who worshipped their energy fields thousands of years ago to the hikers who now worship the views. It’s views have become synonymous with the southwest. The Colorado plateau drops off into the southern deserts producing canyons, valleys, buttes & domes. The setting for dozens of Westerns–43 to be exact including with John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Elvis Presley–the Rocks are fully visible from town, but they’re best appreciated from the hiking trails that encircle Sedona. The town has 3 million visitors annually and only 17,500 residents (wealthy retirees, artists in love with the light, and service workers on a spiritual quest). One of Sedona’s major draws is its mysterious & magnetic reputation of vortexes (or vortices, depending on whom you ask). These are spots where believers claim the earth offers up a little extra zing: A psychic, supernatural and paranormal concentration of forces. Sedona is one of several major power centers on earth including Stonehenge, pyramids of Egypt, Machu Picchu, Easter Island, Takal in Guatamala and Eglise St-Germain des Prés in Paris.

We went into Tlaquepaque Village in Sedona and ate lunch at the Secret Gardin. We relaxed at the campsite before taking the pink jeep tour at sunset. We continue to meet the nicest people from all over North America at our various campgrounds. We ate “Arizona Style” Mexican cusine at El Rincon Restaurante Mexicano at the Village for dinner, including the red & the green hot sauces. Staying in Sedona for the next few days to experience the almost surreal aspect of these huge surrounding formations. m, b & t

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” –John Muir

“Most of those old settlers told it like it was, rough and rocky. They named their towns Rimrock, Rough Rock, Round Rock, and Wide Ruins, Skull Valley, Bitter Springs, Wolf Hole, Tombstone. It’s a tough country. The names of Arizona towns tell you all you need to know.” ~Charles Kuralt, Dateline America, 1979