Day 27: Happy Little Park: Cottonwood, AZ to North of Williams, AZ
What a lovely state park Dead Horse Ranch turned out to be. We were a little tired when we got there yesterday so we did not explore much. But this morning I looked up a trail on All Trails and set out for a nice walk. Well, well, well. It was really different from anything we had seen since Louisiana (there was water) and vegetation and ducks and a flume and scenic vistas. Once I got back and ate the usual breakfast, Mrs Milddogs, Amy and I went out down the trail that started right at the back of our campsite. There were birds and lizards and plants. It was great. After packing up and hitting the dump station (uneventful) we drove around to the lagoons and to see the scenic vistas. A really nice spot with plenty of trails.
Oh, before I forget. When we were at the restaurant patio yesterday. This truck arrived for a delivery.
After departing the state park we went into Cottonwood for some provisions. Amy and I hung out in the van whole Mrs Milddogs navigated the Safeway.
By ~1030 we were on the road towards the Grand Canyon. We did not go through Sedona so no Sedonuts for me 🙁 The drive from Cottonwood to Flagstaff, AZ involves a ~3000 foot elevation increase as Flagstaff is at ~7000 feet. It’s all divided highway so not too stressful. Our little van does pretty well in those conditions. I use “tow/haul” mode to avoid excessive gear changes for the transmission.
We stopped north of WIlliams, AZ for some fuel and a quick snack break. Oh boy, wish we had stopped for fuel in Flagstaff as the prices on this here Grand Canyon Highway are the highest yet. We were making good time so we could find a good spot on public land to camp. We chose this here Forestry Service road and found a decent pull off about 1 mile in that we currently have all to ourselves. The ground is a little soft but we are not sinking significantly. We tucked behind some trees for privacy just in case someone else arrives. In retrospect, it’s hard to see us so we are not a deterrent to pulling in here for those that want to be alone. Also, the trees block our view of potential wildlife.
Before committing to the spot we did check cell service. Our Verizon hotspot with external MIMO antenna is pulling in enough signal to make blog posts, message with people and stream videos. All good on that front!
I flew the drone. Poor little fellow suffered a bit in the wind.
This is where we are.
Mrs Milddogs gathered up a bag of garbage from the area and we will deposit that where it belongs. When levelling on the soft ground I used one of my Go Treads for the first time. I purchased those from StrikeForce67 which is in Sarnia, ON.
After setup and droning we hung out then made dinner on the Blackstone Griddle. Tonight we had chicken, asparagus and potatoes. Mmmm. They say asparagus makes your pee smell (maybe the way Sugar Crisp does??). It won’t be hard to tell given the washroom is 16 inches from the head of our beds.
We had a lovely post dinner walk down the forestry service road. We saw a single Mule Deer. We have seen Deer, Elk and Coyote tracks. We have seen Coyote and Elk poop. Hoping to get some friendly critters stopping by after dark. We are hoping to see a lot of stars tonight. We are very close to the spot that we pulled off the highway when returning from the Grand Canyon to Williams 13 years ago on a family vacation. That night the stars were plentiful and the coyotes were howling beautifully.
Tomorrow we head for the Grand Canyon! We have decided we will not head back south for a few days next week. Instead we will start the meander home.
It’s supposed to be -2C here tonight (for a brief period). I’m really hoping Mrs Milddogs allows us to use the furnace. We don’t have electrical hookup here in the middle of nowhere so it will be propane and battery if we need heat.
Peace!
