Monday, December 9, 2013

A Drive into the Mountains

Our background check finally came through so Tom started hosting this week.  His schedule for December is going to be Monday through Thursday, so that leaves our weekends free for exploring and adventure, which works well with my schedule and the kids’ schoolwork, too.

Besides school and work this week, we had visitors, too!  RV Dreamers, Dave and Maxine, stopped by on Wednesday for the afternoon.

Visiting with Dave & Maxine

We met back in 2011, when we were neighbors at the RV Dreams Sevierville Rally, and have been keeping up with each others’ travels through our blogs and facebook.  We compared workamping experiences and travel plans, and they told us all about their gig last year running a Christmas Tree lot in Texas.  That one sounded pretty interesting!

The weather had started to turn chilly on Wednesday, but we were still able to BBQ and have a campfire, until the sun began its descent and the wind picked up, driving us inside for dessert!

We had a nice visit, and it was great catching up with them . . . thanks for stopping by, guys!!  We’ll look for you in Quartzite next month!

On Friday, we decided to take a drive into the mountains . . . maybe see some snow!  Our first stop was Prescott, where we walked around the square in the historic downtown,

Courthouse in Prescott

and did a little shopping.   Whiskey Row -- Prescott, AZ

Apparantly, Prescott was once home to several famous saloons, and a few of them are still operating!

 

 

 

From Prescott, we drove across the mountains,

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towards the towns of Jerome and Sedona.  As we came over the mountain and reached the shady side, we saw something we haven’t seen for quite a while!

Snow on the shady side of the mountain

Snow!

 

S-N-O-W!!

We had to pull of the side of the road for a few minutes, so the boys could get out and make a few snowballs to throw at each other!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to stop and see the snow!

Making a snowball

We made our way down the other side of the mountain, and soon were back out of the white stuff!

The road to Jerome, AZ

Red Rocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Jerome, which wasn’t anything like Tom and I remembered from 20 years ago . . . we didn’t stay long since we wanted to get to Sedona before dark, but I did get a few pictures in town,

Jerome, AZ

and on the way out of town.

The view from Jerome, AZ

Cows in Jerome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could tell we were getting close to Sedona as the landscape began to change color . . .

On the road to Sedona

Sedona, AZ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The red rocks really looked beautiful with the late day sun shining on them.

Red Rocks

As we arrived in town, people were gathering for the tree lighting and the arrival of Santa Claus. 

Horsedrawn Carriage

We listened to some carolers singing around the Christmas Tree,

Carolers in Sedona

before walking through a few shops.    Tom & I in Sedona

Sedona is another town that has grown up quite a bit since Tom and I were here last.  We didn’t remember half of the stores or restaurants that are in town now.

 

 

 

As we walked along the rows of shops, we heard sirens announcing the arrival of Santa Clause.

 

Santa arrives in Sedona!

We enjoyed a few more spectacular views before the sun went down,

Sedona Red Rocks

Sedona, AZ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then found a spot to have pizza, followed by complimentary cookies and hot chocolate! 

We had an almost 2-hour drive back home from Sedona, so we got on the road.  I think we probably missed quite a bit of beautiful scenery in Oak Creek Canyon on the way out, so we might just have to take another trip up there during the day . . . we have plenty of time for that!

6 comments:

  1. We loved Sedona when we spent a few days there years ago. We arrived at sunset and the sight of those red rocks at sunset was unbelievable. We hiked the West Fork Oak Creek canyon and it was great. Thanks for bringing back memories :-0. Merry Christmas to you all.

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  2. Sedona is on our TODO list, but really wasn't thinking you would find SNOW!! Thanks for the quick peak and hope you get to spend more time before you leave the area.

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    1. That same area got hit with about 6" of snow the next day!

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  3. Really informative and I love the pictures. Never been out west, but post like this makes me want to put that on my list.. What kind of word does Tom have here?

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    1. This is our first time in Arizona, and so far it's been good. Not as warm as Florida, but very pleasant! Camphosting here is pretty simple - 4 days "on duty" but not a lot of hard work. They just keep track of check-ins/check-outs, and make sure the bathrooms stay presentable.

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