Our Travels
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.
On our way to Las Vegas for the winter , we stayed in Holbrook, Arizona for a few nights. Our first stop was the Petrified Forest. The weather was great and even the dogs had a good time.
The second set of ruins we visited are the Xunantunich Ruins in Belize. These ruins began to develop around 600 AD.
We were able to visit several caves in Belize. Judy and I took a canoe through one cave. Judy took still pictures and I used the GoPro. Judy was not able to hike to the second cave due to the terrain and the long hike to get there. Barbara, Joel and I went to that cave. We also went on a series of ziplines. Judy was not able to do the climbing but Barbara , Joel and I went on the six ziplines in the forest. Finally, we went snuba diving. Judy and Barbara stayed on deck to watch. It was rough in the water. Joel and I brought our GoPros but I am not able to post videos here so I used stills from the GoPro.
The Belize Zoo was small but it has animals native to the area. The birds were free to come and go; the remaining animals were in natural set cages. Some of the wildlife, such as the monkeys, we saw in trees while we visited the ruins.
