We last left you in the Walmart parking lot in Benson, AZ, as it snowed... from there we made it to my cousin Andy's place in Scottsdale, a suburb of Phoenix. Shangri-La!! Beautiful temps, a backyard pool, an orange and a lemon tree!
Good company and great food!
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| Cousin and "Chef" Andy! |
The only negative was that Andy's wife and best friend, Laurie, was back in Buffalo, NY, helping take care of her dad...
The three of us rode our bikes through downtown Scottsdale and into Tempe, home of Arizona State University.
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| The Bible Thumpers are still going strong on college campuses! |
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Skateboard lockups?! New convenience...didn't have this
when we were kids, but then again we didn't have people
stealing them.
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| Mosque in downtown Tempe |
Then on for lunch at one of Andy's favorite places, the House of Tricks.
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MmmmmmmMmmmmmmm...fish tacos decorated with a
"watermelon radish!" |
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| Mass Transit with a sense of humor! |
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| Andy and Laurie's sweet, sweet Katie! (much better behaved than Tank by far!) |
We unhooked the camper and left it in Andy's driveway, and Karen, Tank and I took a two-day side trip to Flagstaff. The first day we took a tour through Jerome, Cottonwood and Sedona. We really enjoyed Jerome, an old copper-mining town. Walked around looking at great art and eclectic stores. Had a burger at the Haunted Hamburger, where of course Tank was his usual people-charming self! Then catching a little live music at the Spirit Room.
We also enjoyed visiting Tuzigoot National Monument, a pueblo native settlement from around 1300 AD. Gorgeous and spiritual...
Then up the canyon to Cottonwood, home of the Hippie Emporium (under New Management!!) With a name like that I couldn't resist!! We bought a non-original poster for Woodstock. Oh, did we tell you that 13-year-old Karen was actually there!!
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| Flashback to the old head shops! And it still smelled the same too! Can you say Patchouli?! |
Then on to Sedona... I had last been there over 20 years ago and remembered a sleepy little art town, much like Jerome. Well, changes happen. We drove through the main drag, surrounded by trendy (and of course expensive!!) shops. We stopped at the Chamber of Commerce and asked where Sedona went to... the woman smiled and said, "Well, when you were here twenty years ago, there was one stoplight. That was a long time ago." Wow!! She directed us to a part of town where there were "cute little artist shops." We went there, and yes it was awesome, but waaaaaaay out of our price range! We drove on out of town, enjoying the surrounding red bluffs, which humans have found no way of improving on...
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| Cool, I forgot all about this white stuff! |
Tank enjoyed the snow in Flagstaff!!
Then on to the Grand Canyon! We spent all day there, hiking along the south rim. What an experience!!
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Directly upon our arrival...and before we could walk the South Rim, we were swamped with
the laying of the hands on Tank.
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| Ranger Jennifer talking about California Condors, back from the brink of extinction |
Then back to cousin Andy's and a rendezvous with Rachel, Karen's bestest buddy from birth to the age of eight, when Karen's family moved away. What a nice time with Rachel, her husband Charlie and their pup, Daisy!
Thanks, Andy, for a great time and a little slice of heaven! Love you!!
