6. Arizona

First stop was Chiricahua National Monument in Southeast Arizona, home to lots of really nice rock towers. Spent the night in their campground (dry camping -no hookups), and did some hikes that evening and the next day.

That afternoon, drove to Tombstone, "the town too tough to die".  This is where Wyatt Earp had the shootout at the OK Corral. Spent two hours walking the main street, running into loads of old men with long greasy grey hair dressed up as cowboys trying to get the tourists to come into their bar, restaurant or souvenir shop.  Glad I stopped there to see it, but it was a bit too much of a tourist trap for me.

Spent the night in an RV park close to Tombstone, and next day drove to Kartcher Caverns State Park, about an hour East of Tucson.  Took the tour there which was nice as these caverns were only discovered in the 70's and they took their time to set up the tourist facilities there so the formations continue to grow (unlike Carlsbad Caverns which stopped growing due to the way the visitor access was set up).  No pictures are allowed to be taken.
That afternoon, drove to Tucson where I stayed for 3 days (May 5-7).  Visited both the Eastern and Western districts of Saguaro National Park, home to the giant cactus and did some of their hikes.

Also visited the Pima Air Museum (3rd largest in the US) and took a tour of "the Airplane Graveyard" on the adjoining Davis-Montham Air Force Base. This is where they store about 4,000 military airplanes which are not currently needed. Was great to see, but couldn't help thinking about the government waste.

After Tucson, drove 2 hours North to see Casa Grande National Monument, an old multi-story ruin, pre modern Indian.

Spent the night in Coolidge, then next day drove north of Phoenix to Montezuma Castle National Monument, yet another multi-story pre-Indian ruin. Very crowded with tourists as it is close to Phoenix.  About 30 minutes away is a sister site called Montezuma Well which was much nicer and more interesting as it had cliff dwellings, streams and irrigation ditches surrounding this huge water hole.

Then drove another hour to just outside of Sedona where I stayed in a nice RV park right next to Cedar Creek.  Next day  visited Sedona, where I rode my bike and did some hikes through the the red rocks.  Very picturesque but everything there is about getting the tourists to spend all their money so it wasn't all that nice.

Spent the night at a state park in  Cedar Creek canyon just outside of Sedona. Next morning drove one hour just to the east of Flagstaff where I visited three national monuments in one day - Sunset Crater Volcano, Wupatki, and Walnut Canyon. Pretty amazing that all 3 are within 30 minutes of Flagstaff, at an elevation of about 7,00 feet.
The San Francisco mountain range is just outside of Flagstaff, which still had snow.

Hiking through the lava fields at Sunset Crater Volcano.

 Wupatki ruins

 Walnut Canyon- pictures did not come out well, but deep, steep canyon with lots of cliff dwellings.

That evening, drove 35 miles East and stayed at Meteor Crater RV Park.  Next morning, toured the crater, which is privately owned. Worth the visit, as it is really huge.

That afternoon, drove 2 hours East towards New Mexico, and toured Petrified Forest National Park. This turned out to be a really nice place as the logs were massive and numerous, and the drive through the park ended up in the Painted Desert, which was very picturesque.

Stayed the night at a dive RV park in the nearby town of Holbrook. Next day drove 1 hour North into the Navajo reservation, stopping at Hubbel's trading post for a short tour. The post was founded in the late 1800's to trade with the Indians and is still in business today.

Then drove 1 more hour to Canyon de Chelly National Monument whose sheer cliffs were truly magnificent, the best place I have visited so far. Drove to all of the viewpoints and did a hike into/out of the canyon.

Stayed the night in the park campground, next day drove a real nice road 2 hours North through the Indian reservation to Monument Valley, made famous by many Western movies and Marlboro commercials. The dirt road around the sights is very rough so RV's are not allowed.  I had to take a guided tour with a local Navajo. I thought I was getting ripped off by paying $40, but later found out that was cheap.  Also did the one and only hiking trail they had, a 3 mile loop. That was the best part of the place.

Spent the night at the Goulding's RV campground which is part of a big hotel/restaurant complex. It was packed with tourists, many Europeans who rented motorhomes.  Next morning, May 15th, drove North into Utah.