Saturday, November 4, 2017

Getting Back to SoCal

October 25-30, 2017
Williams-Golden Valley, Arizona
Newberry Springs, California


Other than mooch-docking at our friends' Tombstone home, we have not been to any place more than twice. And even those are very few in our relatively short time as full-timers.

Wednesday morning we drive to Williams, Arizona, where we set up at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park for the third time. Just a nice, clean, concrete park with small gravel space between sites, it's really not anything that special. But we like it, even being right next to the active train track. It is one of two places we've stayed that requires pads under the jacks. The WiFi works most of the time, all sites are 50 amp FHUs. Although we don't use it, the laundry/shower/restroom building is very nice. A major draw is the Passport America rate of $22/night for up to a week :-))

The smoke we saw the day before is a controlled burn in Coconino Forest, north of the interstate and still visible for miles. Fortunately the light wind keeps it away from Williams, and they have it out by the end of the next day. Presumably as planned.

One of the things we love about this location is the access to miles and miles of forest roads. We check out Dogtown Lake, and an old corral at the edge of a wide meadow. Mostly we enjoy being out in nature where no one else is. The weather is perfect, and we spend several hours just exploring. Life is good.

Bill Williams Mountain behind Dogtown Lake.

These Albert's Squirrels with their tufted ears and thick bushy tails entertain us along the trail around the lake. 
The forest opens up to golden meadows.

Old corrals have such interesting textures.

Old cattle chute.

I love having the quiet time to discover small treasures - like a thread flower on weathered wood.

Aged plank.

Too late for this old guy to pull energy from the light.

A tiny hole in the forest floor.
My last opportunity for really good green chili, we enjoy lunch at Anna's Cafe. There are dozens of eateries in the little tourist town of Williams, but none we've tried are as good as this nondescript diner/bakery - they close at 3 PM everyday.

Friday we're back on the road, driving 175 miles to Golden Valley, Arizona. This section of Interstate 40 has some great views and interesting geology, but the condition of the road is still awful in places. Miles of construction indicate there may be some relief in the near future.

Taking Hwy 95 at Kingman we pass a couple miles of backed up traffic - coming from Las Vegas and Laughlin? We're just glad it's clear in our direction.

Coming over the hill, Golden Valley is spread out for acres and acres. We soon learn it's all housing with almost zero services. No grocery store, two eateries. There's the local Hair Stylist/Massage/Auto Parts place so it's not without "amenities." With Kingman just 10 miles away it's not truly remote.

We check into Tradewinds RV Park, another Passport America Park, where we enjoy the $17/night rate for three nights. Just off Hwy 68, the all gravel park is a perfect "en route" stop for us to spend the weekend with a day trip and football before moving on to California. FHUs with 50 amp, wide open skies, nice hosts, and well maintained grounds. For there being nothing nearby, the park is surprisingly 3/4 full.

Saturday we visit the nearly-ghost town of Chloride. The oldest active mining town in Arizona, it also has the oldest post office. Another day of perfect outdoor weather for playing in the desert.


One of several vintage road warriors.

Many of the original homes are still inhabited.

In 1966 while on a break from his fine arts degree at Utah State, Robert Purcell worked the mine at Chloride for several months.

With the support of local residents, including funds to purchase automobile paint, Purcell painted a 2000 square foot mural about two miles out of town.

In 2006, Purcell returned with ten other artists to refurbish the murals which have become a vibrant part of  a small community of artists now calling Chloride home.

Only visible from immediately in front of the rock face, the murals manage to provide a stunning piece of art without defacing the natural beauty of the surrounding desert.
A few wash-outs along the 1.3 mile trail to the murals make a high clearance vehicle a good idea. There is space to park at the bottom for those who prefer to walk.
Local yard art.

Alien? Robot? Purple water heater with legs?

What is it about a big machine that shovels dirt that makes me want to go play with it?

We find a short wash to explore and look for rocks.

We never tire of these desert playgrounds. 

The oldest post office in Arizona - established in 1862 - has been serviced by stage coaches and trains during its wild history.
The only time we've watched our outdoor television has been for football games. And we rarely do that because even if the weather is nice, the sun is almost always in the wrong spot. Sunday is an exception and we enjoy watching the late game with a few brews. 

Most, several, some, crazy, other people would just drive the 290 miles to our destination stop in SoCal on Monday. It's not that I can't drive for five hours,  it's that I don't want to. Nor do I have to.

So we make a one-night stop in the "interstate-killed-the-little-towns-on-Route 66" of Newberry Springs, California. Newberry Mountain RV Park is literally between Interstate 40 and Route 66, and a nice, clean spot to break up the drive. A Good Sam park, the initial impression is "iffy", but once we pull in and set up it's just fine. The few seasonals are some of the best kept we've seen, and the sites are well maintained.

It's interesting to see both the interstate traffic and trains passing our window, and neither keep us awake.

This classic sits alone in the lot next to the cafe - empty window frames mirror the vacant roadside stop. 

The site of the cult classic movie by the same name.

Every wall is covered with patches, paper notes, shirts and hats. Every surface is dusty, flies show more life than the server, the food isn't bad, it's not a place you have to come back to once you've seen it.

Our first California sunset in six months - seems longer!


Tuesday morning we make the final leg back to Santa Clarita, California.

Returning to our former hometown always feels like putting a period at the end of a sentence. We don't plan "trips", we just go. And no matter how long or how far we've traveled, coming back is always the end of something, and the beginning of something else. 

Our time here is special, getting caught up with our six sons (one will fly in from Seattle next month), and of course those darling grandsons. We always look forward to it, no matter how long we plan to stay, and what other necessities are scheduled. We also look forward to heading out on new adventures at the other side.

This visit will include minor surgeries, doctor and dentist appointments, financial transactions, catching up with friends, picking up mail, getting passports (a hint of travel to come), and a Thanksgiving trip to see Bill's family in Fresno. 

We have no travel plans until New Years in the desert with high school buddies, so we may be here until then.

No matter what else we get up to, there will be lots and lots of Ezra time!





25 comments:

  1. Nice post Jodee! I enjoyed the beautiful pictures in the old ghost towns...the thread flower is perfect!
    Love your header of the corral, but the last picture of Ezra is spectacular...I even had a tear in my eye!
    Enjoy your time with family!

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    1. We love the old western towns. The sun was in my eyes so I was delighted when I saw how the pic turned out :-)

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  2. You went to the Bagdad Cafe! That's one of my all time favorite cult films. :-)) And I think we may need to stop in Chloride sometime. That purple water heater with legs, haha!! We're in Ashland for almost a month, doing the rounds of similar things you're doing. You said it well, "Coming back is always the end of something, and the beginning of something else." Enjoy that sweet time with family!

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    1. I have to confess to having never heard of it, but plan to find it while we're here and give it a watch!!

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  3. Interesting post. I love the vintage trailers. The metal yard art and drawings look like fun items to check out. You just never know where the journey is going to take you.

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    1. These old western towns usually have something quirky to entertain us!

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  4. Jodee, this was an especially beautifully written post. You do have a way with words. I love discovering old places like ghost towns, old mining sites, etc. Love the photos of the cattle chute and thread flower:) We (I) need to visit Chloride! I really want to see the mural. We will only be 42 miles away while in Bullhead City. I am seeing a visit in our future this week!!! Gee, it sounds like this is that time of year for many of us. Good luck with your medical appointments. Hope all is well:) Enjoy every minute with Ezra, oh, and the rest of your family:) Your closing photo is spectacular!

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    1. I should have paid attention to how close you were, we could have met there! Oh well, December for sure :-) The trail continues past the murals so I'm sure you could get a short hike into the boulders if you go - sorry John :-) I can already tell it's going to be really hard to leave this special little boy!

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  5. I love the way your story brings us along to some most amazing places and sights. I have so much more exploring to do in the forest on the south side of Grand Canyon. And now for family time and stories. Plus pics of the heartthrob Ezra.

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    1. I think we like the little surprises every bit as much as the big must-sees.

      Looks like we'll be here through the first week of December so lots of family :-))

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  6. When you are moving around doing one nighters, PPA is really nice though the parks seriously vary. I swear we saw your vintage road warrior on the road a day or so ago. Same color. Those original chloride houses look like a place artists would love to live in. Love the Purcell art. Not sure how I feel about it being painted on those rocks. Love the yard art though. Maybe the purple one is H2O’2! Love the idea of a Post Office since 1862 to which the stage coach delivered. Great find! One of the very best things about retirement you put so well I don’t want to and I don’t have to. LOL- “flies show more life than the server”. Great line! Looks like great times with family coming up. You need a girl in that group.

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    1. You'd think that once the murals were done that others would have come along and "added to it", but all of the area is paint and grafitti free so it's just the one artist's work. Love the H20'2! We're thankful for our daughter in laws breaking up all the male-ness of our family gatherings!!

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  7. Hi, just saw your Chloride pics, dang, wish I read this earlier. My brother visited last weekend and we took him to Chloride as we had never been and it is only 1/2 hr from us. Wish we
    knew about the rock paintings beforehand 😕 . If you are in Williams again try the Circle Pines KOA, our favorite! Enjoy your CA visit. Judy C.

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    1. That happens to me all the time - I leave a place then see some awesome gem we missed. Of course then we can put it back on the list :-)))

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  8. I love seeing those old road warriors, Jodee. The 1970's GMC's always catch my eye. 😎

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    1. Mine too! The ones that still have their '70's decor are my favorites.

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  9. Thanks for the info on those PA parks, enjoy your family time.

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    1. Arizona is especially great for PA parks - I need to remember to look for them in more places!

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    2. When planning a trip I use RVTripWizard.com. I can set the filters to list various types of parks within a set perimeter to my current location and then look up their amenities. It's $39/year and so far I like it.

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  10. We also have PA. We recently renewed and joined the lifetime club :-) I am looking forward to the time when we can drive just a few hours b/c we can. When we go to So-Cal we usually drive half-way and do an overnight stop just off the freeway in Coalinga but even that is a five to six hour drive from home base. I'm reading these backward at the moment and doing a bit of blog catch up. I also love the thread flower!

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    1. For route planning I always use campendium.com - it also has a couple filters for narrowing what I want in each area. I don't miss those six hour drives!!

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  11. Bill & Jodee! Great site, blog: Clean, clear, easy navigation, simply great photo composition, fantastic! And the replies are awesome for folks (incl. me) learning small but important facets to the life, eg. Passport America. It is the little things in life that matter. Keep it going, and thanks agains! I previously lived for many years in Flagstaff and Grand Canyon. I've camped at Dog Town reservoir and fished for crappie. Brings back memories! For those into hiking, this is great country for it, not forgetting of course the big daddy himself: The Grand (Canyon).

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    1. Thanks Elliott! Glad to have you along for the ride, and always nice to hear from folks who know an area relatively new to us :-)

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  12. Chloride, another spot we've missed. I always get that nostalgic/things ending feeling during late fall, especially coming back to the old hometown. Love those pictures as always!

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    1. It's an easy spot to miss as it's more "on the way to somewhere else", but we're glad we happened to use the area as a quick stopover. 'Tis certainly the time of year for many of us to be back with family :-)

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