Last day

Final map of our route - Bicycle tour heading west on the northern tier and the Sprinter Van return heading east thru middle and lower US.

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Day 116

Day 115 Interstate 40 EB Milepost 23, Yucca, AZ-Joshua Tree NP Cottonwood, CA 11.23.16

Day 115 Interstate 40 EB Milepost 23, Yucca, AZ-Joshua Tree NP Cottonwood, CA
11.23.16
Drove Route 66 through the Black Mountains over Sitgreaves Pass.  It was a tight narrow road with no guardrails. In the 1930s, dust bowl migrants feared the steep, winding grades on this section of Route 66. Many migrants hired locals to drive or tow their cars over the Pass.  Once over the pass, we were in Oatman where wild burros run freely through the streets.  Of course, it helps that tourists are always feeding them.  As it was early in the morning, nothing was open but we did spot one lonely burro waiting for a hand-out. We stopped the van and I called to the burro and he trotted over.  Jo fed carrots to the burro from the van window trying to keep all of her fingers safely away from the burro's large teeth.  We headed out since it would be a couple more hours before anything would be open in Oatman.  Winding our way through the desert with lots of great free camping spots.  Eventually we crossed over the Colorado River into California.  In Needles, we attempted to find the gravesite of Kevin's great Uncle Ernest T Whitaker at the Needles Riverview Cemetery.  We were unsuccessful as the cemetery lacked plot markers and we were not up to walking through the whole place grave by grave.  Kevin bought his S10 Blazer from a friend who owned the Chevy dealership in this town.  It is no longer a dealership, but it looks like someone sells a few custom cars there by appointment.  Tried to take the National Trails highway toward Amboy but the road was closed. Kevin said he remembered hearing something about a big wash out in this area. So we continued on I40 which had its own road construction detours for new bridges across washes then turned south on Kelbaker rd to Amboy and 29 Palms.  Passed by the home of the National Chloride. The desert landscape is reshaped here by huge piles of dirt lining the trenches dug to extract the salt.  We entered Joshua Tree National Park knowing it might be difficult to get a campsite the day before Thanksgiving.  The visitor center said that Cottonwood campground still had a few spaces so we made a bee line in that direction which meant we missed going through the climbing area of the park.  Oh well, we'll be back. We made it to the campground and actually had a few spots to choose from. Ate a hearty meal of ramen noodles and enjoyed the sunset from the van rooftop.

Day 114 Prescott, AZ-Interstate 40 EB Milepost 23, Yucca, AZ 11.22.16

Day 114 Prescott, AZ-Interstate 40 EB Milepost 23, Yucca, AZ
11.22.16
Breakfast at Waffles and More. Guess what we ordered?  Phil gave us a tour of Prescott, the hiking areas around town and his new shop.  Phil demonstrated how his light weight backpacking stove works. The whole cook set only weighs 5oz.  It's made from an aluminum soda can.  After we said our goodbyes, we headed down Route 66. Along the route was Ash Fork, AZ. Ash Fork has proclaimed itself "The Flagstone Capital of the World", due to the large number of stone quarries and stone yards in and around the town. During its history, the town has had several fires destroying most of the buildings thus not much exist in the town anymore. I guess calling themselves the flagstone capital gives a nice spin to a dying town along Route 66.  From there the highway was a pleasant two lane road in the desert until we reached Kingman, AZ.  Kingman was a different story-lots of people and traffic.  It was getting late so decided to stop at rest stop however it was closed in our direction of travel but across the highway it was open. So turned around at next exit to get back to the eastbound rest stop. Always turning around and heading in the opposite direction, you'd think we weren't ready to go home. We do like our nomadic lifestyle, however we do want to get back home to see family and friends. So tomorrow, we will return to our westward journey.

Day 113 Lees Ferry, AZ-Prescott, AZ 11.21.16

Day 113 Lees Ferry, AZ-Prescott, AZ
11.21.16
Rainy and windy day so sight seeing was a challenge but we managed.  Left our campsite next to the Colorado River which was flowing at 6200 cfs. Seems low.  Drove upstream to check out Lees Ferry put in for the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. No boaters putting in today. Next stop was Sunset Crater National Monument. Cool lava flow beds and cinder cones. Still blustery and raining so we continued on our way. Stopped in Flagstaff to try out Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers. It's a fast food joint but some people had recommended it so we thought we try it since we don't have them back home. Our evaluation is that it's better than most fast food joints and the custard is tasty. Steep descent on I17 out of Flagstaff towards Prescott with occasional view through the clouds. The landscape near Prescott is similar to Southern California. As we were driving through town we noticed many RV resorts so it must be a good place for snowbirds. Finally arrived at our friends Phil and Lynn's. They took us to downtown Prescott. We walked around the square with the old courthouse and historic buildings surrounding us. Ate dinner at Gurly Street Grill.  Fun time catching up with old friends.

Day 112 Bluff, UT-Lee's Ferry, AZ

Day 112 Bluff, UT-Lee's Ferry, AZ
11.20.16
At the sand Island campground, took a short walk to the petroglyphs. They were very faint images.  Sadly, some people had graffitied over them so the BLM has fenced them off.  Spent time at Goosenecks State Park. Here the San Juan River winds its way in a serpentine fashion through the canyon. I guess someone thought it resembled a goose's neck.  Back on the road, we passed by the Mexican Hat rock. With a lot of imagination you could say it was an upside down sombrero. Heading into Monument Valley, we decided to take a run with Forrest Gump.  Well actually, this was the spot where Forrest Gump stopped running after 3 yrs 2 mos 14 days and 16 hours.  We visited the area in Monument Valley where John Wayne western movies were filmed. We decided to save the tribal park for a future date when we would have more time to explore. Besides it's a weekend which seems to generate loads of tourist buses.  Just after crossing into Arizona, a parade of fire trucks passed us.  A few miles down the road, we came across the scene. The Anasazi Inn or some part of it had caught fire.  All we saw were the charred remnants of one of the buildings.  So sad, hopefully no one was hurt.  We continued south then west towards Glen Canyon Dam.  Watched a video on the building of the dam which was completed 1963.  It is the 2nd largest dam built by Bureau of Reclamation.  For an entertaining "fictional" story about the demise of the Glen Canyon Dam, we recommend you read "Wet Desert" by Gary Hansen. Not surprisingly, you won't find this book at the visitor center. LOL  Our final stop is at Lees Ferry campground along the Colorado River just downstream from the put in for the Grand Canyon run on the Colorado River.  It's Kevin and Jo's first time here but I have been here twice (1999 & 2004) when I kayaked/rafted the canyon.  I can hear the rapids roaring!