April 30, Sedona AZ Visit

When we were planning this trip I was told by very good authority, that we had to go to Sedona, and do a Pink Jeep Tour and we shouldn't leave the reservation too long, as they book up very quickly.  Well we procrastinated and by the time I went to reserve the RV park, they were fully booked. The next best thing was to stay at Flagstaff, rent a car and drive to Sedona.  We were really disappointed that we couldn't stay in Sedona, but having driven there by car today, we were very pleased we had to drive by car and not by RV.  Some of our pictures will show how the road winds down, down, down to Sedona.  The picture of the GPS gives you an idea what one of the sections looked like.

We had booked our Pink Jeep Tour for 12.00 and having woken to rain in Flagstaff we wondered if we would still be able to go on the tour.  By the time we got to Sedona the weather had brightened, and although still cool, very pleasant.  We had a wonderful tour, we were the only two on the jeep and a very well informed guide.  As we ended the tour and drove into the parking lot, the heaven opened and we had to rapidly get raincoats on and run to our car.  We had a good lunch in town and by the time we had finished lunch, the rain had stopped and the sun was out again.  We then drove to the look out point at the airport, looking down on the town of Sedona.

It was indeed a beautiful and interesting day.

April 29, Flagstaff AZ

Yesterday we traveled a little further west, stopping at the Meteor Crater on the way.  We have been here before, but the wind was blowing so hard the last time, we could not stay outside too long.  Having started out early, we had a rather pleasant trip from Holbrook to the crater. Although there was a very cool breeze blowing, we could walk to all the view points, take some pictures.  It boggles the mind to think that the size of this crater could fit 20 football fields on the floor and seat 2 million people in the surrounding stands.

We did have to have a good laugh at a couple of our pictures.  Never ask a tourist who is taking photos with his cell phone and doesn't speak English, to take your picture with a proper camera.  It took 3 shots before he got a picture of us together. (Proof is in picture number 6 & 7).

We left the crater with only about 38 miles to go to get to Flagstaff, I think it was the worst trip we have had to endure.  The wind was blowing so hard, I was sure we were going to be blown over.  My poor husband fought that steering wheel the whole time.  The most important thing was that he got us here safely.  We registered at the KOA Flagstaff office and pulled into our site, in time for the sleet to start falling.  It is amazing how one minute the sun is shining and the next minute it's either raining or sleeting.

April 27. Holbrook/Petrified Forest, Arizona

Today dawned a beautiful day in New Mexico, we are very pleased we have traveled so far west, that we have missed a terrible storm that hit a few places we have left behind.

Today we moved a little further west, to Holbrook, Arizona.  On the way we traveled through the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.  We have been here before, but were able to spend more time today, as our journey wasn't too long.  We were also able to do some really good walking.

Once again this area has taken our breath away.  As you can see, we have posted many pictures, to try and give you an idea of the beauty of nature.  Unfortunately, pictures don't do it justice.  If ever you have the opportunity to travel to these parts of the US of A, this is one area you must visit.

This is where the really interesting part of our vacation begins, we just love the scenery as we move further west and later start heading north.

We are now in Mountain  time zone, which is 9 hours behind South Africa.