Let’s see of I can get close to were we are now in our travels with this posting.  I won’t go into the details of our truck purchase but I will let you know we had to spend two nights in Scottsdale, AZ while the dealership got our new truck. The dealership did cover our hotel room including the extra cost for Ginger and they also paid for our meals. On Monday, while waiting for our new truck to arrive at the dealership, they brought our old truck around to the front of the dealership so we could start unloading it. The truck came around the building billowing its white smoke, almost eliminating any view of the other vehicles on the lot. Once they part our old truck Carolyn asked me what was leaking under the truck. A quick look under the truck showed anti-freeze streaming out the exhaust pipe and a hole in the bottom of the muffler with anti-freeze coming out like a small Niagara Falls. Well it was their truck now and I was looking forward to driving our new four wheel drive beast home. Carolyn picked the color and demanded it had running boards so she could get in. So with the new truck we took to the road looking forward to more adventures.

  

But this adventure with the new truck was not over. The dealership removed our 5th wheel hitch from the back of the old truck and we still needed to have it installed in the new one. It was to late on Monday, after getting the truck, to have it done so we returned to Williams hoping to have the hitch installed in Flagstaff. The next day after several calls to local hitch shops we could not find any one around Williams or Flagstaff to do it so we once again headed to Phoenix to have it done.  What a pleasure it was to drive a truck down HWY 17 from Flagstaff to Phoenix without a cloud of white smoke following. After our quick trip to Phoenix we returned to Williams and got ready to leave the next day for Wickenburg, AZ.

With the new truck our 5th wheel sets up higher. With the old truck we could just squeeze under a 13’ 4” overhead. With the new truck we are not sure of the height. Highway 60 through Wickenburg goes under the railroad tracks with an underpass that is just under 14’ high. At the last minute we spotted the sign showing the height. Not wanting to chance the clearance I hit the brakes and made a quick right turn to bypass this possible scrape to our roof top. After a stop on the west side of Wickenburg we returned, going around the railroad underpass, to the west side of town were we stayed. We spent the next few days looking around the town and walking around the country side around where we stayed.

Wickenburg had several small shops and stores to explore as well as a great museum. The upper floor of the museum has a bronze sculpture exhibition as well as a photos and paintings depicting the central and southern Arizona landscape and cultures. Down stairs is a wonderful display of local history.

 

The Wickenburg Visitors Center is in the old train depot and has plenty of information on the area. Around the town are real life looking statues depicting people you might have seen on the streets back in early Wickenburg. One interesting stop is the Jail Tree.  Between 1863 and 1890 Wickenburg did not have a jail so prisoners were chained to the tree.

 

 

While walking around town you may run intro a prospector and his burro coming in for supplies, a local lady out shopping for the day or even a new arrival to the down at the Wickenburg Train Depot.

 

 

After a warm and clear day to look around Wickenburg we had a two day rain storm. The day it started clearing I took a walk around our camping area. The desert yields some of its greatest scenes after a storm. The clouds passing through present a magnificent backdrop to the lush greens of the local cactus and succulents. In the first photo below you can see our 5th wheel near the right edge.

 

 

After a short stay in Wickenburg we headed out to our next stop on the Colorado River. It was only a short trip to Parker, AZ and Buckskin State Campground on the Colorado River. Buckskin is on a bend in the Colorado River about 11 miles north of Parker, AZ. Here we met up with several friends we had not seen since last year. This park has plenty of shady areas. A couple of displays along the edge of the river at the park give the history of mining in the area as well as information on the areas plants, animals, and fish.

 

 

 

 

 

Near the entrance to the Park by the day use area is Buckskin Mountain Interpretive Garden. This is a Cactus Garden and Desert Tortoise Habitat. While we were there the tortoise where still hibernating and did not come out.

 

   

    

There were a few roadrunners that would periodically come through the campground.  About the time you get your camera they are on the run and are reluctant to pose or a photo.

  

Also around the entrance are several examples of mining equipment used in the area. A couple of wagons sit in front of the park office along with a burro powered winch.

   

You can also see two examples of ore crushers.

  

 

While at Buckskin we took a drive over the Parker Dam and around the California side of the Colorado. At the Parker Dam is an interesting display giving some statistics and information about the dam including the fact that the Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world. 235 feet of it total 320 foot height is buried below the river bed.

 

 

As we were diving down the road Carolyn saw some of her friend from Oatman, AZ.  Several wild burros were along the road and in the brush throughout the area. As we pasted an RV park we saw several of the burros helping keep the greens well trimmed.

 

 

 

On down the road we pasted the remains of the town of Cross Roads, CA. The original residents of the area came here to work in the copper mines. This location grew in the 1930’s 2,000 to 3,000 people. This population growth was do to the construction of Parker Dam and the Metropolitan Water District Aqueduct. This town was a roughneck town with many lean-tos, shacks and tents. The biggest businesses of the town were the saloons and dance halls. The remaining building was the Cross Road Mercantile Store. It remained in operation, supplying the area with everything from groceries and gasoline to rental cabins until 1973.

 

 

  

 

After a week at Buckskin and the Parker, AZ area we were finally ready to head back south, a whole 40 some miles to Quartzsite, Az. What a difference it was from our time there in December. Now the area was loaded with RVs of all styles and shapes from old converted school busses to new super busses and everything in between.  Shortly after arriving at Quartzsite a small group of us took a day trip 40 miles to Salome, AZ and to the Harquahala Mine and Graveyard. Salome is a small community on Hwy 60 northeast of Quartzsite. The hills around Salome are filled with some great sites to see. This trip we decided to go to the Harquahala Mine, located approximately 11 miles south of Salome.

The Harquahala was discovered in 1888 and operated until 1908 after which it was worked intermittently on a large scale until 1918. Later the Bonanza and Golden Eagle Mining Co worked it on a small scale mainly reworking the dumps and tailings until 1964. In its early years it produced very rich gold ore until around 1907. Later mining was done using cyanide leaching.

The Harquahala cemetery is located just north of the mine. Research completed at the cemetery by the Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project found over 50 graves in this cemetery. The graves include 40 adult males (believed to be miners), 5 male children between 2 to 5 years of age and two female children 4 and 10 years of age.

We stopped in Salome for breakfast at the Cactus Bar and Restaurant. As we walked in we felt like an invading force in there small dining area. The waitress took it all in stride and made us feel like we were regular customers there every morning. As the food came out of the kitchen and approached the table eyes began to bulge at the size and amount of each serving with some of our meals being served on two plates.

 

After fortifying ourselves with a hearty breakfast we were ready for our trip to the mine. There are the remains of several structures to see and explore as well as a few openings that can be checked out. The area of the mining operation extends from the flats below the mountain to half way up the slope.

 

From the remains of this adobe structure you can see the pink rhyolite tailing piles below the mine.

 

The remains of two other structures are near the adobe building but higher up on the hill. One has fireplace and chimney still standing.

 

The other building near the mine is a concrete and steel structure at the top of the small hill across from the mine.

  

After exploring the lower portion of the mine location we loaded up and headed up the mountain to the top of the mine. This gave me a opportunity to check out the four wheel capabilities of my new truck. As we reached the top of the ridge Carolyn could not see the ground over the hood of the truck, all she could do was hold on and pray there was more road in front of use and not a cliff. At the top is a large flat that provided plenty of parking area and made it easy to turn around. Though this was a gold mine this area had seems of copper minerals such as chrysocolla, malachite, and turquoise.  Though most of the mineralization is just surface staining some nice small pieces of chysocolla and turquoise were found in the rock rubble.

 

 

In years past some people took the time to identify the locations of the graves at the cemetery.  They placed wooden crossed on the graves and outlined them with rocks.

 

After our visit to the mine we returned to Quartzsite by way of Interstate 10. From the mines location you can drive 4 miles south on the dirt road and come to the Harquahala Road turnoff. This is an easier way to get to the mine from Quartzsite but you miss the opportunity of a wonderful breakfast in Salome.

 

The Quartzsite area has some breath taking sunsets. Almost every night there is opportunities to view and photography these wonderful events. Below are some examples of the sunsets from where we were located north of Quartzsite on Plomosa Road.

 

 

As the sunset brings an end to the day, this posting brings us somewhat up to date with our travels. We still have some more to post of our time in the Quartzsite area and our trip to Yuma and back to Lake Havasu for the fireworks show, but those will be their own separate posts I will do in the next few days.

I tried to cover quite a bit in this posting and hope I did not do it to quickly or briefly. It seems that the more I try to catch up the further behind I get. At this rate I should be caught up by the time we return home in the spring.

 

I was hoping that this post would complete our adventures up to the present, but in looking at what we had done until now, I see I will need to do one more post after this one to bring you up to date.  I do not want to overload you with to much at one time. This post will take you through our trip to the Grand Canyon and our ride on the Polar Express. Unfortunately, we mostly took videos on the Polar Express. I hope to share a couple of segments of the videos with you.

The last post ended with our arrival at the Grand Canyon. It was overcast and cold. The clouds gave a dramatic effect to the Canyon. It is something to see how the cloud movement and shadows play on the Canyon views. In the short time we had at the Canyon we walked from the El Tovar Hotel to the beginning of Bright Angel trail. We stopped in at the El Tovar for lunch, Carolyn has to have their French Onion Soup when ever we go to the Canyon. From the El Tovar we walked along the rim to Bright Angel Lodge and on to Lookout Studio and Kolb Studio.  Lookout Studio was designed by Mary Colter and constructed by the Santa Fe Railway in 1914. It is designed to blend into the landscape and look like a continuation of the Canyon wall. The Kolb Studio was the home and photographic studio of pioneers Emery and Ellsworth Kolb. The brothers started it in 1904. After several successful years of selling still photos of the Grand Canyon area they decided to take on a new challenge. The brothers took a 101 day run down the Colorado River. They document this harrowing trip with the new technology of motion pictures.

Before going into the El Tovar we had to take our first view of the Grand Canyon. The view from the Canyons rim at the El Tovar is as spectacular as any of the other views awaiting us along the rim.

 

 

After enjoying our first breathing taking view of the Canyon we were ready for lunch. The El Tovar was opened in 1905 as a Harvey House Hotel. The hotel was designed by Charles Whittlesey, the Chief Architect for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.  Today, the El Tovar still has its rustic charm. The china and silverware used in its dining room are the same southwestern patterns used by Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe Railroad. This is one of three Harvey House Restaurants we have eaten at. The other two are the La Fonda in Santa Fe, NM and the La Posada in Winslow, AZ. In all these restaurants we have had great meals with wonderful service at very reasonable prices.

Just walking through the lobby of the El Tovar takes one back to the days of steam engine trains and horse drawn coaches coming to the Canyon. In the center of the lobby is a large Christmas Tree. When you first see it, it looks like the top was cut off. But when you walk up to it you find it extends up past the second floor balcony.

  

Before going in to eat Carolyn and Kelly had to have their picture taken in front of the Christmas Tree.

Once in the dinning room Carolyn could not wait for her order of French Onion Soup. We enjoyed a superb lunch of French Onion Soup and Indian Tacos.

  

View of the El Tovar from near Bright Angel Lodge.

After lunch we walked along the Canyon rim to Bright Angel Lodge. Bright Angel Lodge is actually a complex of cabins around a central lodge building along the edge of the Canyon. It was designed by Mary Jane Colter who also designed two large fireplaces inside the lodge. The larger of the fireplaces was built out of stone from the various geological strata in the Canyon. The hearth is made from the flat river bottom rocks and each layer up from the hearth is made from rock of the representative strata making the fireplace a representation of the Canyon itself.

If you click on the photo below to enlarge it, you can see Bright Angel Lodge on the left side on the rim and Lookout Studio to the right of Bright Angel Lodge at the rims edge.

The Geological fireplace is in the Bright Angel Lodge history room.  The information in this room covers the development of the Harvey Houses, and the Harvey Girls.  There is also a display for the Indian Detours, and the Girls who were guides on it in the 1920’s. It primarily  covers Fred Harvey and the development of tourism at the Grand Canyon.  As you see in the photo below Carolyn made me dress for the cold.  She told me I could not go out unless I had a hat and ear covers. By the way she picked out the hat, and she calls it the Elmer Fudd hat.

  

From the Bright Angel Lodge we walked over to the Lookout Studio, where we waited for Carolyn to catch up.  I must say, Carolyn did dress for the cold weather she even had ear muffs on under her hood.

From Lookout Studio we headed down to  the Kolb Studio. The Kolb Studio is at the beginning of Bright Angel Trail that descends the Canyon from 6860 ft. down to Indian Garden Campground at 3800 ft. and 3.9 miles from the trailhead. From Indian Garden Campground the trail continues on to Phantom Ranch at the Colorado River which is at an elevation of 2546 ft. and 9.9 miles from the trailhead.  Needless to say we did not venture down the trail.

Just outside the studio was a warning sign of the icy conditions for those hardy enough to head down the trail.

At the Bright Angel trailhead we had some more great views of the canyon.

 

In the first photo below you can see a trail going out to a point in the bottom center of the photo. The other photo is of Indian Garden Campground in the small valley you see in the first photo running from the bottom center of the photo to the lower rim edge.

 

After a cold but exciting day we headed back to the train to enjoy a relaxing ride back to Williams. As we traveled down the tracks we watch as the pine forest turned into a range land of pinion and scrub cedar. This area is home to many animals including herds of elk that are sometimes seen from the train. We continued on talking about the days events and just taking in the scenery around us.

  

But Wait!! What Is That Outside The Train!! A group of riders on horseback are racing along side the train. They look like the same outlaws that had the shoot out just before we  boarded the train. They must have escaped jail. As the bandits boarded the train Carolyn and Kelly prepared for the harrowing experience to come, not for them, but for the outlaws.

 

 

As the train robbers entered our car we were taken by surprise. Shock and bewilderment was on every passengers face.

Carolyn took on the first bandit telling him if he wanted her money he would have to work for it. The bandit stepped right in, took off his hat and proceeded to take the money. With is hands full of shootin’ irons the only alternative he had was to extract the money with his teeth. When the next robber approached he was prepared for this advisory. He swept in and extracted the bills right from Carolyn’s vault. As the first two bandits crawled away down the car after this traumatic episode the next expecting robber entered the car.

  

  

Before this younger holdup man was able to make sure the others had left no valuables behind a voice was heard from the seat across from Carolyn. Kelly had jumped up and yelled at the departing robbers “Hey! you forgot me”. The older of the two, probably the leader of the group, returned and said “Sorry missy, I was so shocked by the first encounter that I didn’t notice you”. He then proceeded to extract what money Kelly had hidden.

After seeing the terrifying events that preceded him the younger bandit, probably the leaders son, stepped up and exclaimed “Sorry for the way my pa and his brother treated you, I do hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.” To this Kelly responded by grabbing the startled young man and saying “Sonny, maybe you can finish what your daddy started.” With that he stepped back with Kelly’s remaining hidden money in his teeth.

 

As with most crimes the sheriff arrived to late to catch the outlaws, but when questioning Carolyn and Kelly told him they had taken care of the perpetrators for him, stating “Sherriff you should have no problems rounding up them outlaws. We took the lead out of their bullets for you and now they are shootin’ blanks.”

With the robbery behind us and the excitement of the day winding down we were finally able to slump down in our seats and enjoy the magnificent Grand Canyon sunsets as the day came to a close.

 

 

But the best Grand Canyon Sunset was the one Becky, our hostess and mixologist, prepared for us to smooth our tired bodies and minds.

Christmas Eve we all prepared for our trip to the North Pole on the Polar Express. With our comfy pajamas and visions of Santa Clause bring us presents we prepared to take the adventure to Santa’s house.  The Grand Canyon runs this train ride twice an evening from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve. We had tickets for the last train of the season, Christmas Eve at 7:30PM. This is a 90 minute ride from Williams to the North Pole.  How can you get to the North Pole and back that quick you ask. They do it by way of a Time Warp Tunnel. As you leave Williams you pass through a tunnel of strobing blue, red and green lights and come out on the other side just a short ride from the North Pole. As we approached the North Pole we could see the lights on the horizon. As we pulled into Santa’s home town we saw his workshop, the Reindeer’s stable, Santa’s house and there in the center was Santa himself with his Elves loading his sleigh. As we left the North Pole we noticed Santa’s sleigh was still their but Santa was missing. As we continued back toward the Time Warp Tunnel and Williams we heard a commotion coming from the back of the train. In burst the jolly old man. With a Ho! Ho! Ho! and a shout of “Merry Christmas” we all knew it was Santa. He passed through our car giving each individual a silver sleigh bell from his sleigh. This is a special bell that, as in the Polar Express story, can only be heard ringing if you Believe in Christmas. All of our bells rang with the clear chiming sound of true believers of Christmas.

Before boarding the train we had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Clause. Carolyn and Kelly had a cordial time with her but Linda was as excited meeting Santa’s wife as she was in meeting the big guy himself.

 

Outside in a balmy 20 degrees we anxiously await our turn to board the Polar Express were hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies awaited us.

 

 

On the train we were greeted by our chefs who served us a perfect cup of hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie so filled with chocolate chips that there was not much cookie. Conductor George came through the care checking tickets that he deftly turned into confetti with his punch. Along the way we sang Christmas Carols and listened to the store of the Polar Express. At times some of the passengers, Carolyn and Kelly included, were dancing in the isles. Do to the excitement and revelry I did not take many photos of the journey.

 

 

After our unforgettable trip to the North Pole we returned home for a restful sleep and dreams of the wonders of the day. The next morning we awoke to a white wintery Christmas and some great friends to share it with. As children in the past Carolyn could not wait to rip open the colorful wrapping of her presents.

After a relaxful day spent remembering our Christmas Eve trip we enjoyed a bountiful Christmas Dinner at the Grand Canyon Depot Café.

 

 

The next day we had to say Good-bye to Vance and Kelly. We took them to the Phoenix airport. Little did we know this would be the last trip we would take in our beloved truck. We loaded up, added a gallon of anti-freeze and in a billowing cloud of white smoke started off on our fateful journey. The smoke from the truck did not stop until we arrived at Camp Verde, AZ. After breakfast we added 2 gallons of anti-freeze and continued on to the airport. From Camp Verde to the airport we only had a few puffs of smoke from the truck but when leaving the airport we puffed smoke for awhile up the highway so off to the truck dealer we went.

Well it looks like we will have to wait until part 4 to bring our journey up to date. We look forward to sharing more of our travels and adventures with you in the next post.