Caverns, Sand Dunes, and Red Rocks
On Friday, the day after we arrived in Carlsbad, we went to Carlsbad Caverns State Park which was less than a half hour away. We'd gotten an appointment to go down to the caverns that morning, so we went straight there. The natural entrance to the caverns was a huge black hole in the ground, which was kind of intimidating. The winding pathway led down past formations of stalagmites and stalactites, 1027 feet below the earth. The deepest point of the caverns was the Big Room, a huge chamber with breathtaking formations, pits leading to pitch black depths, and clear pools of water. But before we entered the Big Room, we went to the underground snack bar. It was such a unique experience, eating chips hundreds of feet below the surface. After the Big Room, we rode the elevator back up (our ears were popping as we watched the depth marker change on the screen in the elevator) to the gift shop, theater, and museum. The caverns were awe-inspiring, and we all enjoyed our visit to them. After the caverns, we went for a ride on a scenic dirt road with lovely desert mountain views. Mia and I rode with our heads out of our windows to better enjoy the pretty views and warm weather.
We went to a gift shop nearby Carlsbad Caverns National Park and there were several big statues of things like zebras, bears, and sasquatch
The next day, we went to Sitting Bull Falls to hike and see the waterfall, but it was mega windy so we only did part of one hike after seeing the waterfall. It was a lovely waterfall, and the biggest one I'd seen since we'd started RVing. There wasn't a ton of water since it hadn't rained recently, but there was still a steady flow; though the water was small enough to be pushed horizontally by the wind when it spilled over the rock face. Even though it was very windy, the waterfall was still pretty and I was glad we went.
Frijole Ranch house
On the tenth we drove to Tularosa, Arizona; near White Sands National Park. Our campsite was right next to my nana's, and we went over a few times during our stay to hang out or play cards. Two days after we arrived, we went down the road to the petroglyphs trails and campground. The first of the two trails featured dozens of Indian carvings on stones, including animals (we saw a scorpion and bighorn sheep), people, and symbols. I had never seen so many petroglyphs in person before, and it was a memorable experience. After the petroglyph hike, we went to Pistachioland, where the world's largest pistachio was located. The 30-foot tall pistachio was surrounded with several people taking pictures, so we grabbed a few quick shots and then went inside. There was a sampling bar with flavored pistachios, including cinnamon, green chile, and bacon ranch (my favorites were garlic and dill pickle), souvenirs like snowglobes and T-shirts, salsas and hot sauces, and of course, bags of pistachios in all different flavors. It reminded me of Buc-ees, except pistachio-themed. Our last stop of the day was White Sands National Park. The park was home to countless white sand dunes; and the sand had such a strange texture: moist (due to the lake underneath the dunes) but not sticky. My nana bought us snow sleds and we found a steep sand dune to sled down. It was exhilarating, and so weird to be sledding without big winter coats and mittens.
My dad even took a few turns on the sand sleds
Mia getting her Junior Ranger badge
The next day, Sunday, we drove up the mountain into Cloudcroft, a ski town with a warm and friendly personality. We looked around in some downtown shops, our favorite of which was Burro Street Trading Post. It sold geodes and semi-precious stones (my dad loves finding and looking at different rock types), soaps and candles (you'll remember from my past posts that I love candles), and jewelry. But the merchandise wasn't the best part about the trading post. The shop owner reminded me of Mr. Rogers. He talked to people like they were more than customers; like they were actual people that mattered. When he learned that we were RV-ing and Mia and I were homeschooled, he stopped what he was doing to give us a pottery lesson. He picked up a horsehair pot he was selling and explained that when the Navajo and Zuni tribes made their pots, the striped designs came from horsehair that they made into the pottery. But the horsehair didn't come from just any old horse; it came from a horse that was special to the potter. We left the shop feeling happy and loved, which is the best way to leave a store. That night we went back to White Sands for the sunset tour, and the sunset was lovely. We've done many sunsets since we've been RV-ing, and I never get tired of seeing the bright sun lower beneath the horizon and the yellow and orange and pink streak across the sky.
There was snow up on Cloudcroft
On the fifteenth, we moved to Cottonwood, Arizona. I had been to Scottsdale, Arizona, once before for my twelfth birthday with my mom, and I had loved the state. Cottonwood was a wonderful little town with lots of vegan options at the restaurants; and fun shops, including a glitter store. We went to dinner one night in Cottonwood with the Hendricks' and Shae, Shiloh, and Owen at Pizzeria Bocce. The time spent waiting for the food was made so much faster by being able to play and talk with our friends. But before we went for pizza, my family and I walked around downtown. Mia and I got our names written and glittered on paper in the glitter store, and the lady did such a good job. We didn't get to look in all of the shops that afternoon, but we went back another day to do the rest of them.
Lots and lots of glitter!
Shae and I had a photo shoot while we waited for our pizza
On March 18, we joined Shae, Shiloh, and Owen for an early-morning hike to Devil's Bridge in Sedona. The round trip was nearly five miles, and the end point was amazing: a natural, red rock bridge. We had a really fun time on the hike, and it was so beautiful. Sunday was rainy, so we forfeited our earlier plans to visit Jerome, and instead went to Tuzigoot (a hundreds-year-old village of Native Americans) and Montezuma Castle (an Indian castle built into the side of the mountain hundreds of years ago). Both spots were fascinating, and the rain there wasn't that bad. We ended the day with dinner at Poquito Loco, a fabulous Mexican restaurant in downtown Cottonwood. We ordered a big basket of prickly pear fries, which were sooooo good and had such a unique flavor that I loved. The burrito my mom and I split was also delicious, and our waitress, though busy, was super nice.
As we were at the beginning of hiking, hot air balloons were going up
Owen turned over a rock and was surprised to find a scorpion underneath. I was happy to check "find a scorpion" off of my 50 Things to Accomplish While RV-ing List!
Before we started our hike at Tuzigoot, I had to snap a close-up of this beautiful orange wildflower
The mountains were gorgeous, and I got several shots of them
Tuzigoot. The structures had been rebuilt by the discovery team, but this was what Tuzigoot was thought to have looked like according to the location of the stones that had once made it
I'd never seen anything like Montezuma Castle
My dad with the prickly pear cactus fries
The next day was Monday, and we went to Jerome. The Historic Gold Mine was our first destination; it was the site of a mining camp named Haynes that had been abandoned when the gold ran out. It was bought in the 1960s and a man named Don Robertson brought vehicles and buildings correct for the era of the gold mine up to the site. There was a working power plant that was used at the mining camp when it was populated, the last of the sixty homes in the mining camp, and many other buildings; including a dentist's office, post office, and schoolhouse. We spent the rest of the day in downtown Jerome, which was so unique. The local shops and restaurants were perched in rows on the side of the mountain, which I had never seen before, and it really set Jerome apart from other small towns. I loved Jerome; the fun shops and kind people made it feel like home.
Farm animals at the ghost mine
The replica mine shaft was cool to walk through
The power plant
One day we got up early to go to Sedona, because we knew that it got busy quickly, especially at the hiking trails, and the parking lots filled up. So we reached our hike, Bell Rock, before 8 am. The hike was fun, with wide, gorgeous views of the mountains in colors of green, blue, red, purple, and yellow. After the hike we went to Karen's, a dietary-friendly bakery where we ordered a brownie and chocolate cinnamon roll (the cinnamon roll was our favorite). Karen herself was really nice, and it was a pleasure to talk with her. We spent several hours at Tlaquepaque, a fancy area where everyone walked on the small lanes instead of driving, with boutiques, galleries, and lovely staircases and courtyards all around. We went to the Chai Spot, a tea shop overlooking Tlaquepaque. The balcony where we sat to drink our tea was bright and colorful, and it felt like I'd been transported to India. We spent the rest of the afternoon just peddling around Sedona, and we went to Whole Foods to buy something for dinner that we could take to the sunset up at Airport Mesa. We had cheese and crackers, chips, and chocolate pudding for dinner (it was delicious) and then found a secluded spot to watch the sun set over the mountains.
Fountain in the roundabout of Tlaquepaque
Relaxing at the Chai Spot
Though we didn't buy anything from this bakery, I wanted to take a picture because it said that it'd been featured on Food Network!
The sun on these beautiful purple wildflowers was heavenly
On March 24, we got up early again to drive 2 1/2 hours to Grand Canyon National Park. I had been to Grand Canyon on my first trip to Arizona in 2019, but I hadn't hiked down into the canyon; and that was just what we did that day. The hike took us first to Ooh-Aah point; then down to Cedar Point, where we had a snack of granola bars and took some fabulous pictures. We also saw a condor, which is an endangered animal that is protected in Grand Canyon National Park. Mia was so happy, she said that she'd been wanting to see one for years ever since she'd read about them. We rode the shuttle to several overlook points, and had an early dinner at a picnic table right on the Grand Canyon rim. When I visited in 2019, the tour bus my mom and I were with had parked by the rim, where lots of shops were clustered around. We found that same spot and I showed Mia and Daddy places there that I had memories about, which I had been looking forward to doing. We didn't have much time to make it to a point where we could watch the sunset, but we made it just in time and got some lovely photos. Our day at the Grand Canyon was one I will never forget, and I really enjoyed it.
The condor at Cedar Point
Our dinner picnic on the rim
On the 25th, we had very special guests come for three nights: my grandpa and grandma! They had driven all the way from North Carolina to see us, and it was good to see them after so many months. We played mini golf, went to dinner at Poquito Loco, and my grandpa played music at night before bed and the neighbors came over to listen and talk (the kids, of course, played). I always love when my grandpa plays music; he always plays bluegrass songs that make me think of home and give me such a warm feeling inside.
My nana came on the 28th for a quick visit, and we spent the afternoon with her in Cottonwood. First we went to lunch at Mai Thai, a Thai restaurant with good food and service. I usually get the cashew nut platter, which is really tasty, and this time was no exception. Then we walked around downtown Cottonwood and Mia and I got new stickers at a store called Cat's Meow. I got a typewritter, a rainbow cat silhouette, and a floral one with a Bible verse on it. Mia got two stickers, one of which had two Corgis (our favorite dog breed) on it. I put my stickers on my water bottle, which is now officially packed with stickers, and Mia put hers on the back of her journal.
On our last day in Sedona, we went to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. From the chapel you had a great view of the 8,148 square foot mansion below, which is owned by the Romanian doctor who invented the laser for Lasik eye surgery. The house has its own waterfall with koi pond, and sprawls out below the Chapel. But inside the chapel itself is a simple yet beautiful sculpture of Jesus during his crucifixion. We were able to hike to Chicken Point from near the Chapel, and the trail was very pretty. The end point was given its name because of the "chickens" who didn't ride their four-wheelers around the point, which would put them dangerously near the drop off. After that hike we managed to get to Cathedral Rock, which filled up quickly so we had been unable to get to it on the last few trips into Sedona. We climbed up Cathedral Rock with little difficulty, but getting down was another story. While my parents went up farther, Mia and I stopped on a side piece that offered an awesome view of the mountains and red rocks. I have really loved our trips to Sedona while staying in Arizona; it is such a beautiful and unique place, and I definitely recommend visiting it.
Red rock formations on the Chicken Point Trail
The view from Cathedral Rock
On Thursday we went to several National Monuments/ Parks. Our first one was Wupatki National Monument. We did a short paved loop around the ruins of a centuries-old Indian settlement. The visitors center had complimentary guides that told you about certain points among the ruins. I learned several interesting facts, like that the men were the weavers, not the women; and that sometimes the hunting season would keep the men away from home for the whole season. We got to see the blowhole, which is a hole in the ground that blows up cool air from inside the earth. Nobody knows why this happens, or how deep it goes. We were all puzzled by it, and I wondered if someday somebody would figure it out. But there are things in God's creation that humans just can't explain: the blowhole was one example, and another from my RV adventure was the Marfa lights in Marfa, Texas (see my post, The Lone Star State Part 2). After Wupatki, we went to Sunset Crater National Monument to do two really fun hikes. The first one, an easy loop, led us through black lava fields under a dormant volcano. Ponderosa pines, which smell like vanilla (I'm not kidding- they really do) were along the trail, and there were fabulous views of the snowy San Francisco Mountains from the trail. Our next hike was harder, but still wonderful. We were hiking through a forest of pines, which reminded me so much of hiking back at home. I'm definitely a mountain girl, even though I love the beach as well. Our last stop of the day was Walnut Canyon, but the hike we wanted was closed, so we did a small loop trail with overlooks of the canyon. Mia got another Junior Ranger badge there (she's collected eight so far, and really enjoys getting them) and the people were super nice. My favorite part of the day was on the first trail at Sunset Crater; with the cool black pebbles replacing sand or regular yellow and white pebbles, the vanilla-scented Ponderosa pines, and the awe-inspiring mountain views.
The view from one of the ruins' windows
Our first hike at Sunset Crater National Monument
Snowy San Francisco peaks
All along the first trail were big, twisted trees that were so unique
On Friday we hung out at the camper with friends and prepared for the first day of our two-day trip coming up tomorrow. Where were we going? Well, my dad had gotten a maintenance position from April to September in Yellowstone National Park; and we'd be staying there all summer with him. The five-month stay would be very different from our one to three week stays, but I looked forward to settling down for a break; though I knew I'd be ready to get back on the road soon. Our campsite would be only about a five or ten minute walk from Old Faithful geyser, which I thought was so cool. Being at Yellowstone for so long would give us time to do schoolwork for the next year, so we'd have more free time while traveling, and to decide our path after Yellowstone: which areas we wanted to hit and where we'd be staying. I'm excited for my first trip to Yellowstone, and I can't wait to find out all I'll discover while staying there.
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