The Spirits of Arizona

We spent nearly the whole month of September in Arizona this year. After our visit to the Grand Canyon, we spent just short of two weeks in Verde Valley, a very pretty area south of Flagstaff. Verde Valley is still in the higher elevations, and even though it was hot enough during the day, the humidity was low and the nights were cool.

Our campground was a Thousand Trails campground close to Cottonwood. It is one of the nicer Thousand Trails parks we've been in. The roads inside the campground are in good shape (always an important factor to me), and the grounds are well kept. Also, they have a swimming pool, which Mark tends to use more than I do (these days, anyway).

We took a few side trips while we were there--to a semi-ghost town, an ancient ruin, and a town known for its spiritual connectivity...I guess you could say we checked out the spirits of Arizona.

Jerome, Arizona -- a city on the side of a hill

Jerome is an interesting little mining town near Cottonwood, built on the side of a hill. In its heyday, it had a booming population--somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen thousand people. But today it's closer to five hundred, relying primarily on tourism. It is, in most respects, a ghost town.

We visited the museum on the hill, and for $7 each, learned about the glory days of its past.

Rocks & precious gems in the museum

Old mining equipment

The Jerome Museum

We also drove over to the Montezuma Castle National Monument. Twenty years ago, you might have been able to see the inside. But these days, it was merely a photo opportunity.  They no longer allow people to actually go up and walk around in it because of the obvious problem of degradation, caused by...well, the wear and tear of people walking around in it. The ladders that used to be there have been removed as well, to keep people from sneaking in when nobody's looking.

These ruins are estimated to be about eight hundred years old. There's a lot of conjecture about what happened to the original builders and inhabitants, but the truth is, it's a mystery. Nobody really knows. The Hopi Indians discovered it already abandoned.

Our last sight-seeing trip was to beautiful Sedona-- New Age mecca. Here is where you can go to connect with your spiritual side, or just spirits, if that's your thing. Several rock formations are marked on maps as "vortexes." I'm not exactly sure how they know where the vortexes are, or even what they're supposed to do, but they seem to be pretty popular. Sedona is also supposed to be a hot spot for UFOs...but we didn't see any. It's probably a good thing. I have a strong suspicion UFOs are just demons in disguise anyway. And I sure don't need to see any of those. But we took lots of pretty pictures while we were there.

Sedona from the airport trailhead

Mark's niece, Becky, and her husband, Ty, came up from Phoenix to see us just before we left the area. We all drove into Old Cottonwood and walked around a little bit.

On that weekend they just happened to be hosting an annual motorcycle rally, and the streets were lined with them. It was a little more crowded than usual, but everyone was well-behaved and we had a nice afternoon. Becky and Ty treated us to lunch-- Thank you! 

Our original plan was to stay a week at the Thousand Trails campground in Las Vegas, but while we were in Verde Valley, we heard from several of our fellow campers that the Las Vegas campground was terrible--run down and in an undesirable part of town. So Mark got on the phone and booked an RPI campground in Bullhead City, Arizona, instead--about an hour and a half south of Las Vegas--called Silver View RV Resort. It's a very nice park up on a ridge overlooking the valley. We will definitely return to this park if we're ever in the area again.

Coming into Bullhead City on Hwy 68 from Kingman

The view from our front window with Laughlin NV and
the Colorado River in the distance

The only excursion we made while we were in Bullhead City was to the Hoover Dam. In order to see everything Mark wanted to see, we had to take the "Whole Dam Tour." So we did. It took us down into the generator room and the tunnels. The security at that place is tighter than your average airport! It's too bad such efforts are necessary, but I'm glad they take it so seriously.

Walking across Hoover Dam

Before we left Bullhead City, Mark was blessed by a visit from an old-time friend, Miss Betty (and her husband, Steve) from his days in San Diego. They have since moved to Henderson, NV, and made the trip down to see us while we were in the neighborhood.

Miss Betty and Steve from San Diego (now Henderson NV)

Today we left Arizona for California. And, yes--we fueled up before crossing over the border! (Saved ourselves a dollar a gallon!)

God bless! And safe travels to all!

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

More pictures...

Village ruins below Montezuma's Castle

Beautiful riverbed near Montezuma's Castle

These are a variety of Sycamore tree. I was fascinated
by the bark on them. They reminded me
of paint-by-number pictures.

This was as close as we got to the inside of Montezuma's Castle.

Sedona, from the airport

Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona

Crucifix inside the Chapel (recently added)

The smaller rock formation is called "Madonna and Child"...
this was taken from the Chapel

The rock formation to the right is a "vortex" called Bell Rock

Bell Rock up close... still no UFOs

Mountain landscape around Bullhead AZ

Hoover Dam

The generators at Hoover Dam

Tunnel going through the width of the Hoover Dam.
At the end is a grate to the outside.

The grate looking out toward the river.

The dam was built in block, which they identified with
letters of the alphabet. This is a seam between two of them.
You can see there has been minor movement, as the copper pegs
above the letters and the letters themselves are no longer on level.

The power poles are built sticking out at an odd angle
in order to clear the rock face. (The copper building is
the visitor center.)

Nevada time on the Nevada side

Arizona time on the Arizona side

Lake Mead water level is managed by the state authorities
as they decide how much water to release downstream.
As you can see, it's currently very low but is expected to
fill up in the spring from the winter snow melt.

Hoover Dam was built with tourism in mind.
They designed it with an "art deco" theme.

Palm trees near the visitor center at Hoover Dam.

The bridge over the river that I refused to drive across.
(Call me a coward.)

The Magnificent Canyon

It is my firm belief that the Grand Canyon was too modestly named. I propose the name "Grand Canyon" be changed to "Magnificent Canyon" immediately. There really are no sufficient words to describe its grandeur, but "magnificent" comes close.

Our base of operations for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon adventure was Jacob Lake Campground, situated about 45 minutes north of the Rim. For the South Rim, we stayed at Tenn-X Campground, which was much closer -- roughly a mile from Tusayan (pronounced "too'-see-yuhn"), where we picked up the shuttle for the Canyon. Both parks are part of the US Parks & Recreation campgrounds, and we were able to book them online. There were no hookups whatever, but as the weather was mild for the duration of our stay, we didn't need the AC and only ran the generator in the morning and evening to recharge our batteries. They were both very nice campgrounds, lack of hookups notwithstanding.

We spent only one day at the North Rim, stopping first at the visitor center, where we walked a couple of the shorter trails to the Rim. After that, we got in the car and drove another twenty minutes along Cape Royal Road, which is on a spur to the east of the main visitor area. It took us to a viewing area called "Angel's Window." I can't imagine walking out onto that spot without very strong railings, which (fortunately) were present. The views were amazing. Spectacular! (Can you tell this was my first visit to the Canyon??)

Angel's Window (North Rim)

This was the path over the "window"-- a sheer drop
on either side. (I did NOT look down!)

There are multiple parking areas along the North Rim roads to stop, view and take pictures. I have shared my favorite photos, out of the 350 or so shots I took, at the end of the post. But, of course, pictures never do justice to God's amazing natural wonders.

The road to the South Rim took us past the Vermillion Cliffs, which are actually a part of the shallower eastern-most part of the Grand Canyon-- and then over the Colorado River.

Vermillion Cliffs

Bridge over the Colorado

Because there is so much more to see at the South Rim, we took two days there. The place was packed in September-- I'd hate to see it at peak season! The main visitor center is in Tusayan, about five miles from the Rim and before you get to the gate. Here there is an IMAX theater that shows a forty minute film called "Secrets of the Grand Canyon." It gives you an aerial ride over the canyon and delves a little bit into the history of its discovery. We saved that for the second day.

From Tusayan, you can buy (or show) your entry passes and board a shuttle that takes you into the park (bypassing the long lines of cars backed up at the entry point) and straight to the Rim Visitor Center where you can connect with one of three shuttle routes:  two going east along the Rim (Orange), and one going west (Blue). The Blue route takes you to a point at which you can pick up the Red route that goes to the furthest western stopping point.

On the first day, we rode the Blue and Red routes, which have the most scenic stops, including the Village, the "Bright Angel" trailhead, and "Hermit's Rest," the farthest point.

Endless canyon view from the South Rim

Entrance to "Hermit's Rest"
(an old stone building near the cliff edge that is now a gift shop)

The second day we headed back to the Park and rode the two (east and west) Orange line shuttles. The nice thing about the shuttles is that you can walk as much or as little as you wish. All the stops are within a few feet of the Rim, but there are also many trails along the edge you can choose to walk--even between shuttle stops. Trails vary from lengths of a quarter mile up to one or two miles. Then, for the very hearty among us, there are the trails leading down into the canyon, such as the "Bright Angel" trail that goes all the way to the river and back up to the North Rim.

We ended our visit with lunch at the Yavapai Lodge and then back to Tusayan for the IMAX show.

Of course the "philosophy of this world" saturates the "interpretive centers" everywhere you go, speaking of an earth millions of years old and the gradual changes that have occurred over this made-up time period, as though they were facts...as though they were there when everything happened. (Read Job 38.) Scientists are never able to explain the problems and contradictions with this old-earth theory (there are many), and yet continue to reject God's claim to creation...or for that matter, His claim to existence.

God's Word tells us about the Great Flood of Noah's time. Jesus himself made reference to it, confirming its reality. What could cause a flood of that magnitude, and how would it change the face of the earth? I ran across this video not too long ago that I think you'll find interesting. It explains exactly how a cataclysmic event such as the one described in Genesis could create the Grand Canyon and all other canyons and rock formations around the world.  And, it answers questions such as why we find fossils of ocean creatures in the middle of huge continents.

With that, I'll close this post and wish everyone Happy Trails and safe travels!

More pictures of the "Magnificent Canyon"...

A non-rattle snake off the path

Hermit's Rest from around the corner

Thank goodness for rails!

Crazy young people on the edge