Day 55-August 12, 2012-Flagstaff, AZ
Great weather-we feel alive again. Hovered between 68 and 81 all day, sometimes cloudy and a few sprinkles, sometimes sunny, always breezy.
Spoke to one of the other campers who lives in Phoenix and comes up here to get cool. He said Phoenix used to be very dry but because there are so many swimming pools now it’s getting more humid. Don’t know how much of that I believe but I guess it could be. He also told us how to get to downtown Historic Flagstaff which turned out to be a very nice trip. It’s very busy, lots of tourist stuff, gift stores, outdoor supply stores, western and Indian artifacts and crafts, little pubs and taverns and lots of historic things to see. Historic Route 66 runs right through Flagstaff and it’s big out here, we’ve been following it for a while now and will continue to follow it for a few more days. Lots of people downtown seeing the sights.
Spent a while there then got gas and groceries so we’re all set to leave tomorrow. Got gas out by I-89 which leads up to the Grand Canyon (about 80 miles north). I remember being on this road last year on our way up to the Canyon, but we came in a different way. The way we went today had all kinds of shopping and restaurants.
Thought the crows around here were awfully big ‘til we realized they’re ravens….we’re up high and that’s where ravens live. Good to see wildflowers again after nothing but desert.
Came back to camp, cleaned up a bit, trying to get most of the sand cleared out ‘til the next bout. Everything was gritty and dusty, better now. Then we just chilled for a while, then had dinner and looked at maps again. We’re definitely headed home but there’s a lot of ways to do it. Going to try to get to Albuquerque tomorrow, it’s about 330 miles and we lose an hour with the time change. Don’t know how long we’ll stay there, last year there was a big sand storm there so we just drove right through to Taos so maybe we’ll spend a day or two there this year and see what there is to see. We’re both having a bit of trouble breathing with the altitude so there won’t be anything too strenuous involved. We might even just hang around the campground, we haven’t done that much this trip.
Weather is really wonderful here, even at night there’s a cool breeze. This campground has a lot of people who come up here for months and I can see why.
Watched a little of the closing ceremonies for the Olympics, then packed up some stuff to get ready to leave tomorrow and played some Rummikubes.