Oklahoma through to West Memphis, Arkansas.

Away from the Grand, grand, Grand Canyon and Sedona: headed east.  Captivated by the rawness of Arizona, the energy of the rocks, canyons, dry bed rivers, and sparse landscape, it would have been hard to have pulled myself away, but my trusty driver saw the land as barren and a schedule ahead of us.  Into the RV and eastward we go.

The landscape changed, would one say dramatically when there were hundreds of miles rolling by, but it would seem that traveling in a particular type of landscape was going to last for a while, I would look down at my crocheting, camera, or map and when I looked up it had changed again.  From the arid dryness of Arizona, travels have now brought us through the flooded rivers, creeks, and fields of eastern Oklahoma and across Arkansas today.  At the Oklahoma Travel Center, the annual Oklahoma Annual State travel directory screamed with boldness and belief in itself, Come Here! Visit here!  Love us - we are beautiful and you will soon know it!  On the other hand, the Natural State, modest Arkansas produced an efficiently beautiful travel book the size of a readers digest, saying, "Well, here's a bit about us, if you are interested you will find out that we are a pretty interesting place with a lot to offer.  Here's how you get around."  I actually have now spent more time in the Arkansas book that Oklahoma but, I have a lot of Oklahoma information that I am intent on absorbing, just not sure when as we move across this landscape.

Flooding.

Thunderstorms and Tornado watches caused us to hold back heading east for a couple of days.
When we finally started to move, we saw lots of evidence of the storms that had passed through ahead of us.

When asking for an Arkansan Tourism magazine, the woman at the Travel Center,
looked up and me and said, "Just passing through?"  "Yes."
Rt 40 is one of the major East/West routes and heavily traveled.
This day, Tues, the majority of the traffic had ten wheels,
and along the route we saw a lot of tractor-trailer dealers.

Often passed clusters of ten wheelers that ranged from 4 or 5  to 10 to 12. 

Last week, it was land as far as the eye could see,
 this week, worked farmland as far as the eye could see.

Working the farmland.  Insect hatches now attached to the windshield.  

The Farms.

We waited an extra day in Arizona and saw evidence of the storms that passed ahead of us.

That's standing water in a field.

The bright yellow fields of flowers turned out to be Canola.
The plants are baled green then transported for processing into Canola oil.
The yellow fields were beautiful and cheerful.

Canola fields in the distance.

Dry camping is allowed at Cracker Barrels, Walmarts and a few other places.
 Often the views were great from these locations, on the edge of town with green fields and mountains in the distance.
This night, somewhere in Oklahoma, there were green fields and sun had set behind the trees in the distance
but on the overpass nearby it would reflect off the tractor trailers on the overpass.
It was like a truck parade and by the time I took this photo, the reflections had already begun to diminish.

Albuquerque to Oklahoma City

Rt 40 is the choice for this trip east..  Albuquerque; Oklahoma City;Cadiz,KY; Nashville; Asheville; Statesville; Charlotte; Durham....  that's the beginning.

Today's section meant leaving the high desert and driving into the soothing, farmland of Oklahoma.  That is, soothing because we held back traveling for a day while the thunderstorms and tornadoes blew through.  Fortunately, all we saw were large thunderheads in the far distance.

Low cloud layers over green pastures and lots of Black Angus cattle.

Okay, hamming it up because I finished my sweater.
It's Noro yarn and I've been knitting on it for months.  

Ted is a driver. Through all types of terrain, towns, and weather.
I like capturing the photos with his profile, it's like the American Road Trip.
Somewhere in Oklahoma.

Several times we passed miles of windmills. This section only had two rows of windmill,
but in places they went as far as we could see up and down the road and away from the road.

We had seen a variety of Teepees in Arizona and New Mexico but when we got
to Oklahoma, the only ones we saw we these on the top of a shopping center.

The road structures began to change as we moved eastward.

I was very excited to see Water.  Being a Mainer, and really a water lover,
I was loving the Arizona/New Mexico landscapes but really, really missing water.

As the terrain grew softer, water appeared and signs of farming.

Montezuma's Castle

Heading south out of Flagstaff for Montezuma's Castle (Learn more here) the sign beside the road said, 6% grade for 18 miles!!!  Rte 17 was the least drastic of the routes because 89A zigzagged down the canyon wall into Oak Creek Canyon dropping 2500 feet in the matter of a couple of miles!

Rt 17 South from Flagstaff

Going south on 89A was a wild ride in the car,
so we headed south on a the more sedate (ha) route . Photos of downhill grades cannot give you the actual affect of the ride, but I try.

And a lot of gawking to the west at Red Rock Area

Rt 17 Heading down for 18 Miles

.

Looking West to the walls of Oak Creek Canyon

West to the Red Rock region around Sedona.

So, we did it, we made it down the 18 mile downhill run and turned onto Camp Verde Road that was labeled Montezuma's Castle Road on my Iphone Maps.  It was okay, regardless of the road name, the blue dot was still on the green line.  Ha! Such is life.

Two left turns takes you to the entry road for Montezuma's Castle National Monument.  By the way, it's good to call ahead, they only have parking for three large rigs or buses defined by red pavement. 

Cresting the hill before the Monument ridges of cliffs rise on the horizon, I immediately assumed that they were part of the Monument, but staff advised us that these were not part of the Monument area and that people did not live in the visible holes in those cliffs.  Oh well, I had the same problem looking at cliffs near the Gila Cliff Dwellings north of Silver City, NM.  

One fourth of the way in from the left you see a couple of dark spots on the cliff, these turn our to be part of the community.

It's only a third mile hike into the Monument, with views of it immediate as soon as you step out of the Visitor Center: The Visitor Center had an excellent interpretative displays inside and out.

Montezuma's Castle

I've been looking for cottonwood trees everywhere since my western reading always referred to the cottonwoods by the creek.  Well, I was excited thinking I finally was seeing Cottonwoods, Aha!  Sycamore, and the Naturalist said that she did not believe that they could cohabitate.

It was lovely in this serene creekside area, sitting allowed for the stillness to grow within.

RV Life: Simplify

Simplification.  It is certainly one of those ideas that come to some at a young age, for others it takes the accumulation and weathering of life to entice one to think of simplification.  I had viewed life as my garden, diverse with flowers growing among the vegetables. Work and adventures blooming and growing intermixed children, grandchildren, family and friends

For me, much of this simplification came about after having a stroke a year ago.
Life became very simple:
a)  Stay alive - thanks to EMTs and Maine Medical staff;
b)  Recover  Thank you My Children, Jason, Erin and Keva, their spouses, Mere, Don and Rob, and My Grandchildren, Gavin, Dayton, Mya and Doria, The Couch, Kelly & Michael, Family and Friends, and the at home staff from Maine Medical Center;
c)  Take the medications and work out a plan for living as long as I would like to
d)  Figure out how to finish up the things I had been doing
e)  Make a simpler plan for the future.

Will I get to it?  Will I get to simplification?  It's a year later and I am in Pharr TX with my significant other, Ted - having left behind a huge house that I share with my daughter and her family. My life in the role of Mother and Grandmother has transitioned to include partnership and traveling with Ted while maintaining all my family relationships.  Who would have thought?

The first acknowledgement of this transition was that my extensive wardrobe, featuring several types of lifestyles, Day to Day casual, Maine Guide, Business person, and Ballroom Dancer, would not fit in an RV.  What to do?  First, Invite another dancer, Karen, over for an afternoon of try on!  She left with what she loved, I tried on my own clothes as well.  When she left, a nice assortment of dresses, skirts, and blouses left but I had also packed another bag for Goodwill.  Winter in Maine while thinking about the weather in Pharr, TX posed little challenge.  It would be warm there so I could ship a small assortment of shorts, tanks, and necessities ahead.  When it came time for me to join Ted in Texas and start traveling, I added spring season clothing by taking a very few favorites of day to day casual with me.

Hats! Back to Crocheting!

My work: back to what I have returned to time after time: Crocheting.  I have created thousands of one of a kind hats that have been sold at a variety of shows and shops through the years.  I will continue but many of them will be documented and turned into hat patterns - I always enjoyed the creation process and that of the hat finding its proper home.  Sometimes the yarn spoke what the pattern should be, not me and then it would be pure joy when some would lay their eyes on what was to be their hat.  The hats and patterns are going to be on my Ravelry site and there will be a link as soon as it is ready.  Each part of life in its own timing, and letting it have that timing.

I can not travel in an RV with my Yarn Stash so, selected yarns with specific patterns in mind are traveling with me in a large suitcase - very large and a corner has been set up for my design work.  Changes have been occurring in my pattern writing that is making it simpler, no more writing it out by hand, into a notepad on my Iphone to be emailed to me later.

Laptop = Flagstaff, AZ

Combining traveling and life means that sometimes things that you don't expect control where you go.  This time, my laptop demanded that I come back to get it after a few days in the Grand Canyon area. The goal of sharing on a blog can't be accomplished without this tool.  As you see, I am back in Flagstaff and thank you Staples for the great repair job and virus removals.

Sedona and Cottonwood AZ = Getting to know you.

Todays destination was Sedona and Cottonwood, AZ via  Route 89A out of Flagstaff that takes you through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona, or rather through a journey of amazement from 7000 feet elevation to 3000 feet in a matter of minutes through a zig and zag down the canyon walls.
Click here to learn more about Oak Creek Canyon.

A few views of the canyons walls from the bottom of Oak Creek Canyon.

Oak Creek Canyon delivers you to Sedona, long known as the home of very early people that dwelled in the cliffs nearby,  Red Rocks Area, Red Rocks Climbing Area, and as a Healing Vortex  This mix of culture, history, healing, adventure and beauty bring millions of visitors a year to a town with a population of 10,000 year round residents.  In this small town, big tourist area the area explodes with activity as people come seeking the wide variety of options the area offers.  Today, as spring exploded in the natural landscape and in the cultivated.  Early leaves sprung from the trees and shared a bit of love while poppies and other flowers graced the walkways.

 Every direction in Sedona provides breathtaking views.  From one of the several Free Public Parking areas, I captured the surrounding landscape.  Throughout the area, the homes and businesses are either of the red rock or constructed of materials that blend with the red rock.

 This is just the beginning of saying "hello" to Sedona.  Click here for more on Sedona

Ah, I almost forgot.  Food!  It's everywhere.  While chatting with the folks at the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, the Thai Palace brochure jumped off the rack.  Since Ted would prefer not eating another taco or enchilada right now, he agreed.  Great spring rolls with shrimp and chicken and a plum dipping sauce, followed with salad with ginger dressing, Coconut Soup with ginger, mushrooms, lime, chicken and other unknown spices and brown rice (mine with peanut sauce, Ted with a bit of soy sauce.)  The taste and the lingering after taste were delicious.  We ate in the covered outdoor patio because of heavy winds, the open outdoor patio offered a delightful fountain area.

RV Life: Silver City New Mexico

Mountains on the horizon as we headed north from El Paso, TX on Rte 10 for a short drive through New Mexico.

As we headed out of El Paso, TX, we headed to the New Mexico Information Center, it was small, no state maps and great inspirations!  Requesting information on the geology of the area led to a couple of flyers on Silver City, NM and the Gila National Forest Geologic Map.  Time was not of the essence during the next few days and the plan to pass through New Mexico was quickly aborted as we discussed Cave Dwellings, Hot Springs and an old mining town.  What a treat!  In the current world of cell phones and internet data, immediate searches were done on activities and campgrounds in the area.  Passing through New Mexico on Rte 10 became history as we headed for Silver City.  Boondogging, we found a local Walmart and parked for the night.  Heading downtown to the Visitor Center, we found a very friendly receptionist who offered maps and directions for todays activities while sharing a bit of local history.

New Mexico mountains on the northern horizon from the Visitor Center on Rte 10 north of El Paso, TX.

I've heard about the Yellow Rose of Texas but found this beauty in New Mexico.

And more to the east.

Stockyards to the west of Rte 10 for quite a few miles along the highway.

Miles and miles of Pecan Groves.

City of Rocks State Park, just south of Silver City.  

The rock formations were formed when volcanic ash, from Supervolcanoes in the area were eroded over the millions of years to reveal these rocks. The spaces between the rocks reminded people of city streets, hence: City of Rocks.

City of Rocks State Park website:  http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/cityofrocksstatepark.html

City of Rocks State Park offered RV and tent camping in private and group areas.
This is a destination for stargazing with a series of telescope pads set up near a group area. 

Add caption

Second area of smaller rocks nearby.

Pavillion of group area.

Ted heading out on our exploration of these amazing rock formations.

Imaginations ran wild and we looked at this family of rocks, forty feet tall and thought how much they looked like a family.

Later, walking in Silver City, we found a park with a bit of still water.  Much of the stream bed was dry, but there were occasional stretches of water.