Yes we stood on the corner, then saw some beautiful old sites

November 13 (Monday)

We headed east down the I40 toward the town of Winslow, about 50 miles east of Flagstaff. Of course Winslow seems to be best known for the quote from the Eagles song…."Standin' on the corner in Winslow Arizona"……. So we thought we should see what the fuss was about. Turns out Winslow is a very nice town with lots to see and do in addition to its famous corner.

We started at the Visitor Center, which was a converted trading post. It had great displays and we spent quite a while there. The original trading scales, order desk, and elevator to the basement were in very nicely restored condition.

We took the walking tour to downtown past some great displays. This is an old Route 66 town, so lots of quaint buildings and seeping with history.

Lots of flight paths over this area.

Symbol of the ranching community

Nicely carved totem

Beautiful town square.

'the corner'

Across the street

Across the other street

The 'flatbed Ford' from the song

Next was a stop at La Posada Hotel. This place is like a museum, but still caters to guests wishing to spend a night in a real classic hotel. You could spend a full day (and night!) here exploring the various rooms, paintings and antiques. Or just relax in a lounger on the grounds. A real classy place that they managed to save from the wrecking ball and restore.

Lots of butterflies in the garden

Mary Colter designed a lot of historic structures in Arizona including the Watchtower at Grand Canyon.

Even the washroom was like a museum. I wasn't sure if I should use it or not. I did!

On the way north out of town we passed the Town's 911 Memorial. The two steel beams are from the collapsed World Trade Center. They are 12 and 14 feet long.

We headed north about 20 miles on Hwy 87N to a small former county park called Little Painted Desert. We ate lunch overlooking the vistas. Unfortunately due to funding cuts the place is not maintained and vandals have made quite a mess. But if you look past that…..the views are incredible.

On the way back south on Hwy 87N we stopped at the Homolovi Ruins in the State Park. This park was established in 1986 to help preserve the ruins of the Homolovi shelters. The $7 per vehicle entry fee gets you access to the self-guided trails to two sets of ruins and of course the visitor center.

Yep....I was watching my step!

See the window that was closed up?

That's the San Francisco Peaks in the distance. Flagstaff is about the middle.

Examples  of pottery found around the ruins. Note the various colors. This indicates the pottery was not made here rather was the result of trade from other tribes.

Thousands of shards!

Very colorful rocks

A buried wall that has never been excavated.

Some larger shards. Thousands.

As with other locations of archaeological ruins, this site has been vandalized over time and the historical significance has been compromised. That said, the sites are now protected and over time the archaeologists will excavate and hopefully produce meaningful data and exhibits. As these locations have not been fully excavated you need to use your imagination to 'see' the structures. On the other hand, there are thousands of pottery shards laying all over the sites. It is illegal to collect these pieces however others have laid them out on stones for us to view.

That was Our View From Here......

Williams, AZ; and a nice forest drive

November 12 (Sunday)

First, fuel at Safeway. Diesel was $2.57/gallon. That would be under 90 cents/liter. Not bad.

Today we headed about 30 miles west of Flagstaff to the small town of Williams. Located on the historic Route 66, Williams has ensured their town remains viable by creating a tourism showcase of their history. The buildings in the old part of town on the original Route 66 streets are very well maintained. Right out of the heyday of the 50's and 60's.

Smoky the Bear (the one on the left!)

Grand Canyon Train. You can take the train from Williams to Grand Canyon and return the same day.

LOTS of gift shops!

Originally a bank.

Town Christmas tree is up!

Can you tell this is Route 66?

Zip Line with a Santa theme.

We had lunch at the 66 Diner.

Diner was nicely decorated. We had one of the best hamburgers we have ever eaten!

We headed north of Williams on Hwy 64. This is the main road to the Grand Canyon from the south. As was expected, Sunday afternoon traffic was a bit heavy. State Troopers and Highway Patrol were on the job and at least resident was not having a great afternoon after being stopped, no doubt for speeding.

Red Butte (elevation 7235) in the distance. Very pretty mountain located about 15 miles north of Valle, AZ.

Valle is a small town on the way to Grand Canyon. Not too much here but they do have an aviation museum on the southwest corner of town. (Planes of Fame Aviation Museum) We didn't visit but did get some shots of the planes stored outside.

We turned onto Route 180 at Valle and headed back Southeast toward Flagstaff. A very nice drive through the Kaibab and Coconino National Forests. The road also takes you past the Arizona Snowbowl on the side on Mount Humphries, the only ski hill in Arizona on the highest peak in Arizona.

Lots of great sights today. That was Our View From Here.

Parts, lunch, home

November 11 (Saturday)

Not much sightseeing today. We took a trip out to Bellemont, about 15 minutes west of Flagstaff on the I40. Home of a Camping World location. We needed to replace a couple of lights. One over the bed had a faulty switch, and one in the bathroom only had three of six LED's that would light. So we bought some replacements fixtures as you really can't repair electronics in the LED fixtures. One of the downsides of LED lights.

In addition to the lights we renewed our Good Sam membership as they had an early renewal special. (Yep, they got me!) Most RV folks we've spoken to recommend getting a Passport America membership. This gives you half price camping, subject to conditions of course. I had done some research on this and it seemed that the blackout dates were exactly when we would have wanted to used the discount card. As luck ?? Would have it, the Passport America membership was also on sale today……so we got one. You really only have to use it three times and it pays for itself, so…..we'll see.

A few other things and $200 later, we were out of there!

We decided to treat ourselves to Mexican for lunch. Cheryl had read about Salsa Brava in her Diners, Drive-ins and Dives books. If you are unfamiliar…… Guy Fierri has a show on Food Network where he visits restaurants around the country and featuring some of their dishes. Anyway we went and yes, it was very good.

Back to the campground and chores balance of day. Changed the light fixtures, cleaned the trailer, sorted receipts, and caught up on computer stuff. Didn't need supper. Too full from lunch!