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22.12.2003: Las Vegas - Lake Mead
We got up reluctantly, having not slept very well on the new mattress. It's too hard! All that hard effort and time and we've ended up with something really uncomfortable!
Kirsten downloaded our diary onto CD and then we went to say goodbye to David and Debra from KOA. They'd given us a lot of tips about websites for RV parks and free places, not to mention the rides in the golf cart! When we mentioned the hard mattress, they gave us the tip to go to Camping World where we'd be able to buy an overlay made out of memory foam that forms itself to the contours of your body. They even showed us where the nearest one was!
After buying water and some batteries, we drove out to Camping World and bought an overlay for $40. The best buy we've made. It's only 1.5 inches thick but makes all the difference! By now it was 2-45pm and we hadn't got very far from Las Vegas! We also wanted to get to the library in Boulder City where we spent over an hour!
It was rapidly getting dark, so we drove across Hoover Dam for the umpteenth time, after going through yet another security check (the quickest so far!) and parked up at the White Rock Canyon car park for the night. We got the mattress off and put the new memory foam overlay inside the mattress cover and remade the bed. Kirsten tried it out whilst starting a new book and Helen made Cauliflower with Hollandaise sauce and mashed potatoes for tea.
Then we looked at our maps and Lonely Planet to try and work out where we were going to go for Christmas and what we wanted to see. We read about the Grand Canyon Caverns along Route 66 and decided to go there tomorrow. We did the washing up and then played cards - Kirsten actually won for once!
23.12.2003: Lake Mead - Seligman on Route 66
After breakfast, we headed down the 93 to Kingman and refuelled. Then we dropped into the visitor centre for some info and drove along Route 66. Kirsten went into the back and made Brie sandwiches for us whilst Helen drove and we ate them on the road as we drove to the Grand Canyon Caverns.
We had a snack at the café whilst waiting for the 4pm tour. We went down 210 feet in an elevator to get into the dry caverns. The tour took nearly an hour and we saw a mummified bob cat from 1850 - mummified due to the low humidity (6%). There was also a replica of a 15ft ancient Giant Sloth whose remains had been found there. The Sloth is the forerunner of the anteater which lived 11,500 years ago. The caverns were also used to store food, water and medical supplies for 2000 people during the Cuban crisis. The stores are still there.
Grand Canyon Caverns.
At 5pm it was still light (Arizona is one hour ahead of California and Nevada) and we drove the 25 miles to Seligman, still on Route 66, and passed snow on the side of the road. We saw a place for breakfast the next morning and drove back along the road to a place where we could dry camp that we'd passed on the way. Kirsten made us pancakes with bananas and then we had to go out into the freezing cold to put the blue sheet across the window as we'd forgotten to do it earlier. Then we read our books and went to bed with earplugs in as we were parked right next to the train tracks!
24.12.2003: Seligman - Sedona
We got up at 9am and drove into Seligman, parking outside the famous Snow Cap ice cream parlour. It was closed! Whilst Kirsten took photos, Helen walked further along the street and found a shop that was open. She was warmly welcomed by Angel Delgadillo - he'd been asleep in the chair when she walked in! He's quite a character and also quite famous for setting up the Route 66 association. There were thousands of business cards, many from all the famous TV stations and magazines who'd done reports and stories about him! He went out to let Kirsten in and gave us a personal tour of his shop and the old barber shop inside. The barber chair cost $124 back in 1928! We ended up buying a mug from the shop - well we couldn't really leave without buying something!
Then we walked further along the street to an Elvis memorabilia shop and a 1955 car drove up outside. The owner lifted up the bonnet to reveal everything was spotlessly clean and looked brand new! Then we finally went for breakfast! Kirsten also phoned home to say Merry Christmas as the German Christmas is traditionally held on the evening of Christmas Eve!
Afterwards, we drove to Flagstaff and went to the visitor centre. Flagstaff didn't look Christmassy enough so we decided to drive the 28 miles South to Sedona, a town where every building looks like the red rocks that surround it. Very picturesque. We've driven through it before on our way to the Grand Canyon and knew we would be coming back at some point.
The RV park cost $37 just for one night! We'd been planning on spending 2 night here until we found out the cost! After a welcome shower, we went for a walk and stopped at a café for coffee and cakes. The guy at the counter completely cocked up our order and charged us for cakes that a woman before us had ordered! He eventually sorted it all out and we got an extra piece of Blueberry flan and apple cheesecake to take with us as compensation! Mind you, it was so expensive, it was the least we expected! And it meant walking back to Winnie to put our cakes in the fridge.
We walked around the quaint little shops and then went to the Red Rock Fantasy - 51 apartments at a hotel that had all been decorated in lights with various themes which were then "judged" by the visitors who have the chance to win a trip to Mexico!
Red Rock Fantasy in Sedona.
We went to Roberts restaurant for what turned out to be a disastrous Christmas meal. Helens rack of lamb was fine, but Kirstens was not the medium that she had ordered and she had to send it back. So Helen ate alone whilst Kirsten waited. Then Kirsten was served with rare lamb! She nearly cried when the waiter asked if everything was OK. We didn't have to pay for Kirstens meal but that wasn't the point. It ruined the evening.
We walked back and Kirsten worked on the computer whilst Helen did the washing and drying up. Then she did the finances and wrote the diary. Not the best of Christmas Eves! But at least the light show was good!
25.12.2003: Sedona - Phoenix
After a shower, Helen phoned home and then we had a light breakfast. After sorting out rubbish, dirty water etc, we left just after noon and had only driven a few miles when we pulled over so Helen could eat her Blueberry flan. Well, it had been some time since breakfast! Then we drove onto Highway 17 and stopped at a service area to make a cuppa and Kirsten ate her cheesecake. Then we continued South to Phoenix.
We drove through an almost deserted city centre. Phoenix was a lot smaller than either of us had expected. We tried to find out the opening times at the Science Museum but failed. Then we drove to the Scotsdale area in the eastern side and found a restaurant open. Helen had her traditional Christmas meal but Kirsten wasn't that hungry after her cheesecake, so she just had some (delicious) Calamaris. Helen had Pecan pie included in the price and had to take it with her as she couldn't fit it in!
We left at 6-30pm and hunted for a Walmart to dry camp but couldn't find one. So we drove further east towards McDowell Mountains Regional Park which was a lot further out than we'd expected. The campsite charged $18 which we didn't want to pay, so we drove back along the road for a mile to a place we'd seen off the road where we parked up for the night. We didn't sleep much because it started raining at 4am and was incredibly loud inside Winnie. The rain was probably nowhere near as heavy as it sounded. Merry Christmas!
26.12.2003: McDowell Mountains Regional Park
We didn't get up till late, after our disturbed sleep, and it was already warm and sunny outside. We found a sign where we'd parked that said "No Trespassing" but had been shot to pieces! No wonder we didn't see it last night. At least we didn't get disturbed.
We drove the mile back to the entrance of McDowell Mountains Regional Park and got some information at the gate. We decided to check out the campsite and found that the $18 was for a hook up. So we found a spot and paid for 1 night. Then we put drinks and snacks into a rucksack and went for a 3.5 hour, 9.5 mile walk along some of the trails.
It was a really good walk and it seems ages since we've been walking in nature. We walked past lots of Saguaro cacti - the typical tall cacti that you see in Mexico and look like they are covered in velvet. When we got back we went for a shower and then Kirsten started work on the computer and Helen made baked potatoes with cheese and salad for dinner. Then Helen worked on the computer whilst Kirsten did the washing up.
27.12.2003: McDowell Mountains Regional Park - Ak Chin
Got woken up at 8-50am by the host who wanted to know if we were renewing for another night. She got a very short answer! And we went to bed for another hour. After scrambled eggs on sweet bread with freshly squeezed orange juice, we filled up our water tanks and left.
We spent quite a bit of our sparse petrol vainly looking for the fountain that we'd seen somewhere near the campsite. It wasn't gushing forth this morning, so there wasn't much point looking for it really! So we gave up and drove to the Science Museum in Phoenix. We spent about 45 minutes looking for a parking spot, and the one we eventually found was apparently for employees only - we got a warning note left on our windscreen to make sure we didn't park there again. Well they should put some signs up!
Unfortunately, the museum was not at all what we were expecting. It was only designed for children aged 3 and up. Nothing for adults. Although, Helen did queue up with all the kids to play a virtual game of volleyball! So we'd wasted $18.
Helen is playing Volleyball.
We drove to the University area to go to the cinema but left our student cards behind so had to go back and get them. Good job really! We suddenly realised that the parking meter was not free at weekends as we'd been told. So we tried to find another parking space but failed miserably. By now, the film had already started so we gave up on the idea of the cinema. So we decided to check out the Walmart car park to see if we could park overnight. There were signs up saying we couldn't.
We were getting really fed up with Phoenix, so we decided to leave and not bother with the rodeo show tomorrow. We headed south about 30 miles and drove to Ak Chin Casino, where we knew we could park up for free. We got there at 5-15pm and went inside for a wander round. We went for coffee and doughnuts and found out that the coffee and all soft drinks were free! It was the cheapest coffee and cakes we'd had in the US - $1-50.
We spent time watching the Black Jack tables, but in the end we decided to find a slot machine to put in the only 2 quarters that we had. We won $6-50!!! Hardly the win of the century! But we were really pleased. Then we watched "The Beatles" - an imitation group who were providing live, free entertainment. They actually looked and talked like the real beatles and were very good. We decided that we liked this place! And it made up for the rest of the day!
