Author: David Moss

6/15: We totally relaxed all day. In the evening we had dinner with Dave’s cousin Rick. He then came over and saw our Motor home. I also gave him the genealogy info my cousin Cindy sent for Dave’s family. We didn’t get to see Dave’s cousin Jason this time as he was in Illinois for his daughter’s graduation from Northwestern. Congratulations Saya.

6/16: Yesterday we drove to Albuquerque, NM. It was a horrifically long drive due to an accident. It took 3+ hours to go 5 miles. The roadway on I 40 was at least a better drive. We spent the night a High Desert RV Park.

6/17: Today was an easy drive. We drove to Amarillo, TX today. An easy drive. We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. We are staying at Oasis RV Park. (No relation to Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort).

Wow. Things have been crazy. We were planning on leaving Las Vegas the end of April, but David was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. After many tests it was determined that the cancer was localized (had not spread to the lymph nodes or bones). He had 28 radiation treatments, the last one was today.

Day 1 6/14.

We left Las Vegas at 10:15 am today and arrived at our destination in Arizona at about 4:30 pm. We are staying at Distant Drums RV Resort in Camp Verde (just outside Sedona). We will have lunch or dinner with Dave’s cousin tomorrow.

I 40 east had lots of construction and the road was bad! I 17 south was even worse!

Hopefully we will go to Montezuma’s Castle, Montezuma’s Well, and or Tuzigoot National Monument tomorrow.

We are finally getting on the road again. We are currently in Las Vegas at the Oasis RV Resort. We will be heading to Sedona, Arizona mid-June to visit my cousin Rick.

We went to Hoover Dam yesterday along with our friend Jay. It was amazing how low the lake is. There were signs on the last remaining boat ramp showing the declining levels since the year 2000.

We had a short 69 mile drive to Gillette, Wyoming from Buffalo.

We attended the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) 104th International Rally in Gillette, Wyoming. It was a lot of fun. Lots of different classes. Too many to take. There were classes on the Cummins Engine, Onan Generators, Photography with cell phones, Google Cloud and Blogging. There was a Ladies Luncheon ,and an Ice Cream Social. We attended shows with Jim Pelley, Three Dog Night, and Narrow Gauge.

It was very patriotic. Before one group event they sang the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard group songs. At the opening ceremonies they sang, “The Star Spangled Banner and O’ Canada” . They recognized all veterans, current military, and first responders.

Hi! July 3 we arrived in Buffalo, Wyoming. We were going to go to Devil’s Tower on the 4th, but a gentleman at the campground told us about Crazy Woman Canyon, a 13 mile drive along Crazy Woman Creek. Crazy Woman, the tale says, was an Indian woman who was left alone in a teepee. The canyon drive is all dirt and an SUV is advised because of higher clearance. It is a beautiful drive. People camp in tents along the river.

Boomer and Molly have been very happy because there have been NO FIREWORKS!

Jerome is located between Sedona and Prescott, Arizona. The town overlooks the Verde Valley.  Mining was the main business with a large copper mine but also, gold, silver and some other resources.  Ore deposits ran out in 1953 and the town nearly died.  It has been revitalized as a tourist town with older stores, restaurants and of course old mining equipment and museums.  The town became a National Historic Landmark in 1967.

Of course, we dined at an old BBQ restaurant and had great beef ribs.

We visited Montezuma Castle, which is outside Sedona, Arizona, at the end of April.  It is the first part of our trip in the new motorhome.

The Sinagua first began to develop the Castle about 650 CE with pits dug into the ground.  They began to build the cliff dwellings around 1050 CE.  We have been here numerous times, but we are still are amazed at the Castle and the overall construction.  They choose this location since it faces south for warmth and the proximity to the river and farming areas.  Other Sinaguas’ built Tuzigoot which is several miles away.

We are currently in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are waiting for our second Covid shot which we are scheduled for March 23, 2021. We upgraded our trailer to a motor-home; our truck to a Jeep. We will be leaving here mid-April and hope to visit our relatives in Arizona and Texas. We will update the page as we travel.

The Verde Canyon Railroad goes through the Verde Canyon which is in Clarkdale, Arizona. This is by Sedona, Arizona. The four hour trip was a beautiful ride through the canyon and with views of some old Hopi ruins, old home sites and of course the river. They fed us a delicious snack tray including champagne and water.

Our second stop was the Homolovi Ruins. Again, the weather was beautiful. What was impressive, there are pieces of pottery all over the place. “Homolovi” is Hopi for “Place of the Little Hills” — the traditional name for Winslow, Arizona. These ruins are from the Hopi from the 1200s to the late 1300s.