HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY PHYLLIS XX
Having spent over a month in Arizona (2 separate occasions) we really loved it there and were sad to have to leave. In fact we loved it so much we have bought a house – more later : ) Why do we keep going on about Arizona so much… numerous reasons but they include; Amazing jaw dropping scenery from sand dunes to white snow capped mountains and huge holes in the ground. OK, no sea or coast but some very big lakes and an almighty river – the dammed Colorado. The climate is a ‘pick and mix’ with latitude and altitude combining to offer a truly mind blowing range of alternatives all year round. Tourism has four ‘High’ seasons. Winter Sun (Southern Arizona, 100ft above sea level), Winter Ski (Northern, 8,000ft), Spring (Central, 3,000ft) and Summer (Northern, 6000ft +). It is possible to mix sun and snow, desert and forest, hiking in T shirt and shorts and/or jeans and coats all in one day! Perfect for RVer’s – if you don’t like the look of things at breakfast a couple of hundred miles and it’s totally different by night fall. Arizona is moderately low cost and even has some culture in the main cities (Phoenix and Tucson). So we enjoyed sunny, warm days, blue sky - Spring every day : ) It’s quirky - just look at the place names you can drive through… Why, Sells, Dateland, Show Low, Snowflake etc. Maybe a tour of your inner self at the Sedona Vortexes – ‘one of the few places on Earth where there are numerous areas of concentrated spiritual energy’ (Yeah, right - that explains why we both had migraines that week!) Even though it is not unusual to come across a town that was first settled in 1985 there is history. History in real Western towns (cowboy western),13 Indian reservations and Mormon colonies where you can still see the children playing Mummy…Mummy, Sister Mummy and Daddy. Yes, polygamy is against the law in the US but so is shooting female Senators but that happen in Tuscon (Obama came to the funeral) while we were there. Then there are scorpions, rattlesnakes, drunk all male ‘boaty’ parties, the hunting, shooting and Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) brigade… Oops… Did we mention the Grand Canyon and the other National parks? 
Our last destination in Arizona was Lee’s Ferry… a tiny dot on the map… multi coloured canyons rising 3000ft out of the Colorado with several full car park and no people… no one anywhere, nobody? We discovered after a day or so that it was the only staging point for Colorado rafting trips (private and commercial) down along the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. The amount of noise these guys make when they finally get going you would think that they had been waiting a couple of years in anticipation of the experience of a lifetime. Er… close, it’s a 10 year wait (only 2 parties allowed to leave each day – 4 in summer) and then ‘they’ had to rewrite the scale to allow for the level of danger on the main rapids in the Canyon. So some of these guys and girls have been planning this trip since they were 10… anymore ‘whooping’ anyone? Looking at their kit all laid out (what looks like Christopher and Logan’s inflatable that they bought in Ibiza, toilet paper, 10 cases of beer and a case of vodka) and the power of the river, I can only think it must be like hanging on to a rubber ring in a washing machine during a fast spin with a beer in one hand and a very bad hangover... for 14 days. Kate, we were only joking about buying a house, Mummy is coming home! However, we did do the interested buyer bit with the estate agent. You can see we were ideally looking for a little ‘do upper’ light and airy, a garden, good views of the river (large picture widow maybe) own car parking space, short walk to the shops and a scenic area for the dustbin. We found one with an interesting patio room but I considered the widow frames were rotten and would have needed replacing. Jane fell in love with a small stone built cottage and seemed convinced that Norm would be happy to fix the roof vents. As the family would want to visit we were overjoyed when we realised that there was a good sized shed that Anth could help me sort out and even a outside loo for Mother to re-live her childhood at Rose Cottage. Our favourite had a good size bedroom for Kate and Taryn to share (too much white) and an outside den for the boys (just don’t forget to check for rattlesnakes before bedtime). Although we loved the backwoods feel of some dwellings and even found one that had a pick-up truck thrown in (owner said that it may need new tyres) the uneven car park and long walk to the shops (37 miles - impassable due to flooding in winter) made us agree to keep looking. 
Having spent over a month in Arizona (2 separate occasions) we really loved it there and were sad to have to leave. In fact we loved it so much we have bought a house – more later : ) Why do we keep going on about Arizona so much… numerous reasons but they include; Amazing jaw dropping scenery from sand dunes to white snow capped mountains and huge holes in the ground. OK, no sea or coast but some very big lakes and an almighty river – the dammed Colorado. The climate is a ‘pick and mix’ with latitude and altitude combining to offer a truly mind blowing range of alternatives all year round. Tourism has four ‘High’ seasons. Winter Sun (Southern Arizona, 100ft above sea level), Winter Ski (Northern, 8,000ft), Spring (Central, 3,000ft) and Summer (Northern, 6000ft +). It is possible to mix sun and snow, desert and forest, hiking in T shirt and shorts and/or jeans and coats all in one day! Perfect for RVer’s – if you don’t like the look of things at breakfast a couple of hundred miles and it’s totally different by night fall. Arizona is moderately low cost and even has some culture in the main cities (Phoenix and Tucson). So we enjoyed sunny, warm days, blue sky - Spring every day : ) It’s quirky - just look at the place names you can drive through… Why, Sells, Dateland, Show Low, Snowflake etc. Maybe a tour of your inner self at the Sedona Vortexes – ‘one of the few places on Earth where there are numerous areas of concentrated spiritual energy’ (Yeah, right - that explains why we both had migraines that week!) Even though it is not unusual to come across a town that was first settled in 1985 there is history. History in real Western towns (cowboy western),13 Indian reservations and Mormon colonies where you can still see the children playing Mummy…Mummy, Sister Mummy and Daddy. Yes, polygamy is against the law in the US but so is shooting female Senators but that happen in Tuscon (Obama came to the funeral) while we were there. Then there are scorpions, rattlesnakes, drunk all male ‘boaty’ parties, the hunting, shooting and Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) brigade… Oops… Did we mention the Grand Canyon and the other National parks? 
Our last destination in Arizona was Lee’s Ferry… a tiny dot on the map… multi coloured canyons rising 3000ft out of the Colorado with several full car park and no people… no one anywhere, nobody? We discovered after a day or so that it was the only staging point for Colorado rafting trips (private and commercial) down along the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. The amount of noise these guys make when they finally get going you would think that they had been waiting a couple of years in anticipation of the experience of a lifetime. Er… close, it’s a 10 year wait (only 2 parties allowed to leave each day – 4 in summer) and then ‘they’ had to rewrite the scale to allow for the level of danger on the main rapids in the Canyon. So some of these guys and girls have been planning this trip since they were 10… anymore ‘whooping’ anyone? Looking at their kit all laid out (what looks like Christopher and Logan’s inflatable that they bought in Ibiza, toilet paper, 10 cases of beer and a case of vodka) and the power of the river, I can only think it must be like hanging on to a rubber ring in a washing machine during a fast spin with a beer in one hand and a very bad hangover... for 14 days. Kate, we were only joking about buying a house, Mummy is coming home! However, we did do the interested buyer bit with the estate agent. You can see we were ideally looking for a little ‘do upper’ light and airy, a garden, good views of the river (large picture widow maybe) own car parking space, short walk to the shops and a scenic area for the dustbin. We found one with an interesting patio room but I considered the widow frames were rotten and would have needed replacing. Jane fell in love with a small stone built cottage and seemed convinced that Norm would be happy to fix the roof vents. As the family would want to visit we were overjoyed when we realised that there was a good sized shed that Anth could help me sort out and even a outside loo for Mother to re-live her childhood at Rose Cottage. Our favourite had a good size bedroom for Kate and Taryn to share (too much white) and an outside den for the boys (just don’t forget to check for rattlesnakes before bedtime). Although we loved the backwoods feel of some dwellings and even found one that had a pick-up truck thrown in (owner said that it may need new tyres) the uneven car park and long walk to the shops (37 miles - impassable due to flooding in winter) made us agree to keep looking. 
Stupid half hour over… The night before we left Arizona - Lee’s Ferry… (Google it - very interesting history including, Mormon expansion route ferry, a massacre, Lee’s execution, the two Mrs Lee’s (surprise, surprise), 4 dead Johnson children (diphtheria) a failed gold mine and a steamboat), the wind got up (50 MPH) and our 10 ton bus rocked so much that we both felt sea sick in the morning. As we approached the Arizona, Utah border it snowed and we just got across the mountains as the snow ploughs were going in. 
The drive into Utah was a white blur… clearing long enough for us to get a glimpse of the entrance to Zion National Park. We have been looking forward to this one. With its towering snow cover peaks and white valley beyond, Zion looked more like the Ice Kingdom of Narnia but the wardrobe in this RV is not even big enough for a child.
Take Care Den and Jane X
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