For our last treck to Phoenix, we picked up two hitchhikers (We had vowed not to pick up anymore lol, remember the lady bugs?)

The drive from Verde Valley to Phoenix is very scenic

but when we get to Sunset Point Rest Area, we are in awe!

We are happy to see the paved paths lol.

But aren’t snakes suppose to be hibernating at this time of the year lol?

Going down the road, we see electronic signs :

Cher the road

I Got You Babe

Then, we learn that Cher is performing in Chandler AZ tonight. Unfortunately, we do not have tickets…

Now, you must vote…

Who chose the best song of the day?

Norm and Roger : Hitching a Ride

or

Yolande and Denise : I Got You Babe

When we arrive at Desert Shadows in Phoenix, we see more signs lol

And then…to top the day, Norm’s nachos 🙂 Aren’t we lucky!

 

Yeah sunny day. Off we go to Jerome. But first, we visit the copper museum in Clarksdale.

It is housed in the recently restored Clarksdale High school that closed in the early 60’s.

‘Starting in towns like Clarkdale, copper leaves, and then blossoms into an amazing story of the world’s most beautiful metal. It is told through a wonderful idea of combining history and stunning artifacts into truly enjoyable exhibits.’

And what a wonderful idea! A visitor can admire the creative skill and imagination of mankind through the use of copper from the early civilisations to the present.

Now why did we pick the title of the song today? This still (supposedly used to make moonshine) is part of an extensive distillery and winery collection…

All collections are impressive but one is especially moving, the military art collection.

Imagine a soldier from WWI spending time in a trench transforming these expended shell casings into art to send home as gifts or to share memories…

Just a short TRUE or FALSE quiz to lighten things up…

1. Only 2 minerals actually have color, copper and gold.
2. Copper was discovered about 9,000 B.C.
3. The percentage of copper in your red blood cells is over 50%.
4. Dark chocolate is a good source of copper for human life.
5. It takes 250 fifty pounds of ore, 70% of it copper, to blow your trumpet. Zinc is the other ore needed?

Read on to see the answers😊

Jerome is Jerome. Such a one of a kind town… Population 15,000 when the mines opened in the late 1800’s, to a ghost town, to a favorite tourist destination thanks to dedicated business men and women and of course, the artists.
Of course, the road to get to this mountain town is quite memorable.

Then, the streets! To get from one to the other, you either drive switchbacks or use stairs…

The shops contain incredible art and well, the Mile High Restaurant, incredible food, worth the wait, even in Roger’s opinion lol

Now why would a restaurant select such a name, serve mile high burgers and mile high clubs??

Read on to see the answer 😊

A favorite store is Nellie Bly, the world famous kaleidoscope store. Can you see who is in this picture taken through a kaleidoscope?

Finally, we return to our motorhome. Again, the view is incredible.

 

Good thing we have a reliable chauffeur ha! ha!

Answers:

All the affirmations are TRUE

 

The restaurant is at 5,280 ft., 1 mile in elevation 🙂

Because of the fog last night, we do not go to the Qi-gong class. Instead, we reinvent the Sticks game, new rules being voted in by all.

Roger and Norm do  make a delicious beef stir-fry. Yum!

But then, card rage not road rage sets in lol A few arguments over a 500 game of cards. All fun:)

This morning, the sun peeps through the clouds. Then it plays hide and seek all day…

9:23 a m

 

So we decide not to visit Jerome. It is raining there, almost freezing in the early hours.  At an elevation of 5,000 ft, it is almost 2,000 ft higher than Camp Verde.

At the height of a copper mining boom at the end of the 1800’s, the population of this mountain town reached 15,000. Because of the mine closures, it would have become a ghost town if it were not for the artists who made Jerome their home.

Tomorrow, hopefully we can visit this vibrant community…

 

Well, we do love rainy nights, and they do make you sleep better…

Unfortunately, we did not wake up to sunshine like the lyrics of the song suggest lol

Good thing Roger and Norm cleaned my water proof running shoes yesterday… Yes, I am responsable for having suggested Roger and I walk in a path with wet sand… It just became encrusted like cement…patient guys 🙂

 

So what do you do on a rainy day?

Try to get a haircut… but the hair salons in Camp Verde are booked till next month!

Find a movie theatre, but they are miles away, in Sedona or in Phoenix…

Go for a walk in the rain? We did!

Catch up on bills to be paid and answer important e-mails? We did!

Try to drop off our hitchhikers from Mississippi… Yes, we still see them once in a while coming out of the woodwork!

Read inspirational quotes :

‘Yesterday, I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.

Today I am wise, so I am changing myself!’     Rumi

So what a better time to attend a Qi-gong class…

Luckily, we spotted this advertisement. ‘These classes will cover slow Qi-Gong energy movements and meditation. Participants will experience a simple and effective system that can be done anywhere’

Thanks Norm and Roger for preparing supper while we ‘energize’!

 

 

While we wait for Yolande and Norm to return, we prepare tonight’s dinner in the slow cooker and go for a walk lol. We wonder if cacti flower every year…

But it is not long before we get to hear all about the ‘Grand Canyon Adventure’.
Of course, they, like everyone else, were in awe of the Grand Canyon.

Yolande is excited to show us a usb stick (in the shape of a guitar) that she bought on the train, from John the entertainer. He now calls her his Canadian friend ha!

 He is the author of today’s song 🙂  Type Ride this train, John Carpino video in google for more amazing pictures of the Grand Canyon, even in winter…

In Williams, what a treat! It is Christmas time and they see thousands of lights.

Well, biggest tree still needs to be decorated…

Every year, the Polar Bear Express brings children (and parents) to the ‘North Pole’ to meet Santa. All are dressed in pyjamas for the occasion…

But you better book ahead…

Bits and pieces of information…
-If you decide to hike the Grand Canyon, be sure to stay hydrated…a rescue helicopter will cost you 6,000$ (and there are no plastic bottles allowed or available for purchase…
-There are no dogs allowed (except service dogs) in the park…Leave your pet at home…

As for the cacti??
Cacti are flowering plants, so every kind of cactus is capable of blooming when it is mature and if there is some rain.

Most cactus bloom in the spring, opening during the day. Some species flower at night and are pollinated by bats or moths 🙂

Listening to this song brought back a lot of memories for both Roger and I…

 

Same year, visiting Hoover Dam.

Now, Norm and Yolande will cherish their memories after seeing one of the seven natural wonders of the world! Do you know how long the Grand Canyon is??

Terrific Weather. Tomorrow, they are forecasting snow at the Grand Canyon…

Oh Oh! We forgot to tell Yolande that the train robbery was not for real…No need to be scared lol

So everything about the train ride to the Grand Canyon from Williams and back was exciting according to Yolande 🙂

The cowboy jokes were, well…you decide…

1. What do you call cows lying down? (Ground beef)
2. What do you call three-legged cows. (Lean beef)
3. What do you call cows running across the land? (Fast food)

Today, Norm and Yolande set out on their long awaited adventure…

Tomorrow they will board the train to the Grand Canyon.
But first they drive to Williams.

Just a few hours after they arrive, Yolande sends me this picture of her new friend…

Roger and I plan to do laundry (me), knit (me),

clean (me), fix things (Roger),

pick the next card game (Roger), prepare meals (both), read (both),

go biking (both), go walking to appreciate the campsite,

(potentially both)

and meet with our neighbours again…

blog (me), take care of business (Roger), always people looking to buy a classic.

Maybe we will visit the casino (both) lol but for sure, we will enjoy the sunset (both) 😊

There are no words to describe Sedona… Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Sam Elliott, Joe Pisci all would agree with the visitor’s guide that identifies it as ‘the most beautiful place on earth’ as they all own homes here.

 

Lunch at Canyon Breeze. What a treat!

No house  in Sedona can exceed 28 feet in height and all have to be in earth tones.

But who was Sedona?

In Sedona, this juniper has a blueberry type of berry (yes they are blue). With the berries, you make wine. But the bark of the tree is a cure all for… hangovers lol

The International Dark-Sky Association has named Sedona to a short prestigious list of cities where you can actually see the stars at night…

So here we are, gazing at the stars…

Just wishful thinking lol.

You will not regret typing Can’t stop the feeling Michell Grimm in google to see the video to our song today 😊

Very worth it!

 

 

First things first, we visit the Camp Verde tourist information bureau. It is located in a 100 year old grammar school. We tour the collection of local ephemera and artifacts. But most of all, we ask: where are the easy hiking trails in the Verde Valley and Sedona…

We visit the 1933 jail, restored in 2010 with 2,000 volunteer hours!

Roger is still waiting for fuel filters for the car so we have no choice but to continue our walking tour of the historic village. Quite unexpectedly, we come upon…the Red Star Saloon. It housed the town’s first pay phone which had slots for nickels, dimes and quarters. Luckily for us, it is now a great Italian restaurant lol We must return!

We then visit Montezuma Castle National Monument. At the entrance, we stop to see the Exodus Monument. In 1875, the Yavapai and Apache people who had resided in Arizona for centuries were forced to walk 180 miles to a reservation. During this sad and silent procession, one old man placed his wife in a basket so she could survive…

The monument honors the strength of the human spirit!

When you visit Montezuma Castle, you have to imagine life in the 700’s. The Sinagua farmers farmed the land but their dwellings at 1300 ft elevation, overlooked their crop fields in the bottomlands.

Then I try to take another panoramic view lol

The paths offer information on many native plants like the sycamore tree with its white bark. Its seasoned logs can last for centuries…

Back at our campsite, we take another walk…

Yolande has an interesting conversation with our neighbours lol

Then, we sit and watch the sun go down… Well Norm is still looking for the UFO…😊

From the Buffalo range on 40, we can see Humphreys Peak. At more than 12,000 ft, it is 17 km north of Flagstaff but at times it looks like we are driving right into it…

Roger does not want to take route 66 to stop at a Walnut Canyon National Monument. Wonder why? He is only driving a 45 ft rig, pulling a car lol

The drive to Camp Verde on 17 is one of the most different as we see evergreen forests  with Sedona rocks in the background.

Now is the time to sing The Happy Song lol Beautiful sunshine, warm weather, time to relax. We will be staying in Camp Verde for 10 days 😊

Beautiful sunset!

Can you believe? Our neighbors in this park only are from :

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=324212

Colorado, Oregon, Texas, Montana, Arizona, Washington, South Dakota, California, New Hampshire, British Columbia, Florida, Alberta, Michigan, New Mexico, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Québec!

Can you match the state or province with its flag?