We went to bed last night listening to the rain and woke up to temperatures in the low 50’s. It was the coolest temperatures we’ve had in a very long time. We also woke up to a terrible sewage smell in the RV. 🤢 We never did figure out why or where it was coming from—but, can you imagine? Ewwww, it was nasty. Yuck.
We weren’t sure if we should stay one more day/night at the Grand Canyon or continue on west. The weather forecast called for afternoon rain and we needed to be out by noon. Eventually, Papa made the call to move on. The Canyon Visitor Center has an RV parking area so we packed up, and moved off our site and parked at the Visitor Center. We would finish the tour of the Canyon by shuttle bus. We thought we’d begin at the “orange route” and work our way from Yaki Point back. The view was astounding, but there was also a great amount of cloud cover, which made it difficult to see the Canyon in some places.
After a short trek we hopped back on the bus and got off at Pipe Creek Vista. From here there was a paved trail you could walk back to the Visitor Center. We thanked the bus driver and headed down the trail. (I did notice we were the only two to get off the bus). We hadn’t walked too far when we felt a few raindrops. Nothing too terrible, just a few drops here-and-there. A short time later I happened to look up and noticed that an intense black cloud was moving our way. Let me tell you, when it did - it poured on us. Oh my goodness. Did Papa and Mimi ever get wet! We were SOAKED! Thankfully, we had grabbed a little umbrella “just in case” we might need it. I’d checked the weather and there was only a 30% chance of rain at 1pm and this was before 10am!
We were so wet our shoes squeaked as we walked. We went straight to the RV and changed our clothes. We’ve discovered this is an added bonus to having your home with you. ☺️ Good-bye Grand Canyon National Park! Thank you for the great visit. Oh, we bought a National Parks Passport book! Now, when we get the Route 66 Passport book completed, we’ve got more trips to take and National Parks to visit. Too bad we didn’t have it when we were at the Petrified Forest National Park.
We drove about an hour to our next stamp destination, which was a very fun place called The Roadkill Cafe & O.K. Saloon in Seligman, Arizona. Some of the items on the menu were: Awesome Possum, Roadside Revenge and Guess the Mess. There’s also Splatter Platter. 😂 We decided to eat lunch here andhad the best conversation with one of the girls who worked there. She gave us all the reasons to never live in California after we told her where we were headed. Or Phoenix. Too big and too busy, she says. (Gas is $5.18 a gallon here in Needles, CA.)
From there our next destination was in Kingman Arizona. This town was huge compared to the previous one. So many Route 66 destinations to stop and see. The mountains that surround these towns are just stunning. I just keep snapping photos of mountains as we drive down the road. I put my camera or phone down and before I know it—it’s back in my hand.
In Kingman we saw our first “In and Out Burger” place. I’ve heard they have really good burgers and I said that to Papa, “Oh, look an In and Out Burger. I’ve heard they are good.” I said. “Well, next time we stop you can get an Elk burger, if you want.” I think he’s growing weary. He told Mimi this morning that he was a “structured kind of guy” and all this lack of structure was starting to get to him. We never know what day it is nor do we know what time it is. Papa’s Fitbit changed back to Central time for some odd reason and he’s never been the same. ☺️
We waved good-bye to Kingman, AZ and headed west for Needles, CA. We’d made a call and discovered an RV park that had a place for us, so we called it a day since this was the also the last stop for the stamp. We are in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It was 93 when we arrived at 5:30pm. The park manager, Art, was super sweet and is a Packer fan, too. He grew up in Wisconsin and then moved here two years ago. The temperatures have ranged for the last several months at or above 105. Our park neighbor told us that the water tank that holds their drinking water is never cold in the summer and the heat is so intense it melts what is left outside. Don’t leave anything outside in the sun! They love it when the temperatures get into the sixties in the winter. That’s just way too hot for us!
I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Love and miss you,
Papa and Mimi ❤️
We weren’t sure if we should stay one more day/night at the Grand Canyon or continue on west. The weather forecast called for afternoon rain and we needed to be out by noon. Eventually, Papa made the call to move on. The Canyon Visitor Center has an RV parking area so we packed up, and moved off our site and parked at the Visitor Center. We would finish the tour of the Canyon by shuttle bus. We thought we’d begin at the “orange route” and work our way from Yaki Point back. The view was astounding, but there was also a great amount of cloud cover, which made it difficult to see the Canyon in some places.
After a short trek we hopped back on the bus and got off at Pipe Creek Vista. From here there was a paved trail you could walk back to the Visitor Center. We thanked the bus driver and headed down the trail. (I did notice we were the only two to get off the bus). We hadn’t walked too far when we felt a few raindrops. Nothing too terrible, just a few drops here-and-there. A short time later I happened to look up and noticed that an intense black cloud was moving our way. Let me tell you, when it did - it poured on us. Oh my goodness. Did Papa and Mimi ever get wet! We were SOAKED! Thankfully, we had grabbed a little umbrella “just in case” we might need it. I’d checked the weather and there was only a 30% chance of rain at 1pm and this was before 10am!
We were so wet our shoes squeaked as we walked. We went straight to the RV and changed our clothes. We’ve discovered this is an added bonus to having your home with you. ☺️ Good-bye Grand Canyon National Park! Thank you for the great visit. Oh, we bought a National Parks Passport book! Now, when we get the Route 66 Passport book completed, we’ve got more trips to take and National Parks to visit. Too bad we didn’t have it when we were at the Petrified Forest National Park.
We drove about an hour to our next stamp destination, which was a very fun place called The Roadkill Cafe & O.K. Saloon in Seligman, Arizona. Some of the items on the menu were: Awesome Possum, Roadside Revenge and Guess the Mess. There’s also Splatter Platter. 😂 We decided to eat lunch here andhad the best conversation with one of the girls who worked there. She gave us all the reasons to never live in California after we told her where we were headed. Or Phoenix. Too big and too busy, she says. (Gas is $5.18 a gallon here in Needles, CA.)
From there our next destination was in Kingman Arizona. This town was huge compared to the previous one. So many Route 66 destinations to stop and see. The mountains that surround these towns are just stunning. I just keep snapping photos of mountains as we drive down the road. I put my camera or phone down and before I know it—it’s back in my hand.
In Kingman we saw our first “In and Out Burger” place. I’ve heard they have really good burgers and I said that to Papa, “Oh, look an In and Out Burger. I’ve heard they are good.” I said. “Well, next time we stop you can get an Elk burger, if you want.” I think he’s growing weary. He told Mimi this morning that he was a “structured kind of guy” and all this lack of structure was starting to get to him. We never know what day it is nor do we know what time it is. Papa’s Fitbit changed back to Central time for some odd reason and he’s never been the same. ☺️
We waved good-bye to Kingman, AZ and headed west for Needles, CA. We’d made a call and discovered an RV park that had a place for us, so we called it a day since this was the also the last stop for the stamp. We are in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It was 93 when we arrived at 5:30pm. The park manager, Art, was super sweet and is a Packer fan, too. He grew up in Wisconsin and then moved here two years ago. The temperatures have ranged for the last several months at or above 105. Our park neighbor told us that the water tank that holds their drinking water is never cold in the summer and the heat is so intense it melts what is left outside. Don’t leave anything outside in the sun! They love it when the temperatures get into the sixties in the winter. That’s just way too hot for us!
I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Love and miss you,
Papa and Mimi ❤️
  Last few photos of the Canyon from Yaki Point.    Lots of history of Route 66 in Kingman, AZ.  We were caught off-guard when we had to go through the inspection station when we arrived in California.  Can you spot our camper behind the big cactus plant? |   There were so many of these mounds of rocks along the drive.  Sign in Kingman you can drive your car into and take a photo. You can bet if we’d had a car we’d be there. RV didn’t fit!  We made it to California!  The last stamp in Arizona was from the Wagon Wheel Restaurant.  Goodnight from the Mojave Desert. ❤️ |  See that dark black cloud at the top?? It dumped on us.  The umbrella was too small for the two of us. Lol   I shall never complain about heat again. Lol |
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