Blogs from Arizona, United States, North America

Day 49……19/05/2012 Well as predicted, it was just a kick back day today, and I will struggle to find anything to say. Lynne caught up with her cousin Sophie who is eight months pregnant, and has not seen for around thirteen years, and I just generally got in the way while Brian, Sophie’s husband gave their pool a bit of a spruce up. He had this great little vacuum cleaner type machine that attached itself to the bottom of the pool, and then just merrily went about its business scrubbing away. But that’s all I can say about today really. Day 50……20/05/2012 Today we will visit the Saguaro National Park which is situated just to the west of Tucson, where there are literally thousands of the famous cacti of the same name. We were warned to ... read more

Nestled within the Mule Mountains, the historic town offers visitors a window into the past. This picturesque town founded in 1880 is home to the old Queen Mine, the very heart of riches and economic growth when the town was at its height of growth. The old West mining town was then the richest mining town in the United States producing large tons of gold, silver, lead, zinc and copper. Until the early 1970s Bisbee was a thriving town, but then the minerals became unprofitable, leading to the departure of many employees who sought work elsewhere. Today, Bisbee is one of Arizona’s main tourist attractions drawing thousands each year. Whether you are a resident of Arizona or just a visitor, a weekend getaway to Bisbee will engage you, your friends, family or colleagues in different activities. ... read more

Day 42……12/05/2012 After yesterday’s fine end to a rather damp start, we were more than a little disappointed to see low clouds and mist clinging to the mountains that were definitely visible last night. Today we plan to ride a 275 mile loop around the region, including the Big Bend National Park, and the Rio Grande river road, as with all trips where beautiful scenery is involved the sun is a definite prerequisite, but things did not look good so far. We decided to go with what we had and set off to get fuel in the small town of Marathon some thirty miles away, once there we were more than pleased to see a ribbon of blue over the mountains to the south, exactly the direction in which we were heading. With each mile we ... read more

Today we are back into the old routine with a 08:00 start. We are going to the Grand Canyon. We take the coach to Williams; which is about a 45-minute drive, some of it along the famous “Route 66”. We arrive at Williams and go to a Cowboy shoot-out between the “Cataract Creek Gang and the Marshall, with a bit of audience participation. (This group of cowboys will show-up again later in the day!) The train journey from Williams to the Grand Canyon South Rim takes about 2-1/4 hours. The scenery through the window of the train is not too interesting. There is some entertainment on the train – Clarence Clearwater; a Native American Indian sings us some old Indian songs. We arrive at 11:45. The first sight of the Grand Canyon is truly awesome; it ... read more

No trains again today, as we take the coach to Flagstaff, which will be around 350 miles trip.We have our driver Bob again and leave at around 07:45. At the hotel last night there were people stayingwho were taking part in a rally of vintage cars from New York to Alaska. Quite a few "Brits' were taking place with MGB's, Jaguar's etc..There was also an Australian in an ozzy-built Leyland?. They are due to finish in Alaska on June 7th. The road is long with many a winding turn which leads us to.......Cortez which is on the on the edge of the Meta Verde park - on old indian ground- not much more to say about the place....... We then arrive at the "Four Corners Monument" which is where the borders of four states come together;Colorado, ... read more