07-2009 Camp Verde and Cottonwood Arizona

Camp Verde AZ
Cottonwood AZ

Campground: Krazy K Rv park. $18 per night (Passport Discount), full hookups. A clean neat park right off of I-17. They have a nice rec. room including a small work out room with new equipment, swimming pool and hot tub are also all new. Very well maintained.

Campground: Dead Horse Ranch State Park. $19 per night, Elec. And water. I work camped here last fall.

I left Roosevelt Lake. There really isn’t much to do in the nearby area except visiting the pueblo ruins or fishing. I saw lots of fishermen out in their boats on the water, even at sunrise, when it was a chilly 38 degrees. These guys really like to fish.

I could have stayed a day or so in Payson, but decided to drive straight through to Cottonwood. About 120 miles down the road. When I got to Dead Horse State Park, it was all full up. Did I miss a holiday weekend? In any case, I drove back to Camp Verde and got a spot in a commercial park for a couple of days.
When your on the road, minor things happen that have to be taken care of.

This weekend I had the propane tanks filled (I’ve been using a lot of propane to heat the camper at night). After they were filled, one of the connector thingee knobs got damaged and I need to replace it. Next, when I got to the Krazy K Rv park, I was put on a site with 50 amp service. No problem, I’ll just pull out my trusty 50amp to 30 amp cable. Not so fast there buddy boy. As I went to plug it in, I discovered it had a burned out prong. Hmmm, who did I last lone it too? Things happen and one simply puts it on a quick list of things to fix.

I’m about a mile away from Montezuma’s Castle so of course I stopped by to see it again. I’ve reported on it in the past and you can do a search on the Blog (upper left hand corner) to read what I wrote the last time. It’s a beautifully preserved cliff dwelling. The Cliff Palace Casino is real close too, so I dropped in and made a whole $17. Luck was with me today.

A few days later and I went in for my Eye exam for Glaucoma back in Cottonwood. My pressure number is 14 and the Dr. Martin is happy with that, so I’m good to go. For those interested, I have Gov. BC/BS and never have a problem going to a Dr’s office across the country. If I have a minor emergency, I head right to a 24 hr clinic. I pay the same co-payment I would in Fla. and I’m on my way. I now keep my own records of Dr’s visits and bring those with me when going to the Dr’s office.

I met up with a couple of the camp host workers at Dead Horse Ranch State park, Bill W and John H. We had a few cocktails, dinner and great conversation, adding to my growing list of friends across the country. I might have to get a second rolodex to keep track of all of them.
Bill is a volunteer docent on the local Train ride out of Clarkdale and we were discussing how everyone is so different in the way they tour. Some of the train passengers do the normal sightseeing, going out to the observation deck, asking questions about the region, others sit in their assigned seat and just look out the window without ever moving, others take a nap with the rhythmic rocking of the train, some even play cards never even looking out the windows while on the scenic tour. Each experiencing the train tour in the way that makes them feel fulfilled. We both realized that each traveler is getting out of the tour what they want to experience. Showing there is no right or wrong way to see the world around us.

And yet again, another new tire. I was checking my tires on my new truck (15 months old) and saw that one of the back tires had a gouge in it. Not knowing if the tire would last 20,000 miles or 20, I decided to replace it. How I had a chunk eaten out of the tire is anyones guess.
I’ll be heading up through Flagstaff where yesterday they had 50 mph winds, rain, snow and hail all in one day. We had some pretty heavy winds too, so not much fun being outdoors. I’ll stay in Williams and then onto Bullhead City where I plan on staying a week or two. Bullhead is right on the boarder of AZ, Nevada and Calif. Never been there so I’ll let you know all about it.

This picture was taken at sunset after an entire day of heavy winds. The sky was filled with dust and the sunset made it appear as if the hills were on fire.

Recent Books read:

Black Wind, by Clive Cussler. An adventure book. Clives books usually involve underwater adventures, searching for lost treasure. In this case it involved finding a sunken Japanese submarine with a dastardly cargo on board.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, by Joanne Fluke. Joanne’s books always have cookie receipts in them I gather. This if the first book I’ve read in her series of murder detective stories. A fun light read. If you’re a baker, you’ll love her receipts.

My current read is: Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman. Tony is my recent favorite author. Writing about the Navajo Tribe with such clarity and insight. Great story telling at its best.