Mr. Gee.... My Hero

Greetings! I'm back from a five-day Michigan visit. Beth, Katie and I flew to Michigan on June 9th to celebrate my June 10th birthday with my Mom (93) and sister and brother-in-law (plus four dogs and two cats). It was a wonderful visit... and Mr. Gee outdid himself, showing us around and helping us get to where we needed to be.

Beth was the driver on the car rental contract, so I didn't actually do any driving. But we arranged to have Mr. Gee travel with us, and even though my daughter is a seasoned traveler, she really enjoyed having the GPS along. She felt it made her trip so much more stress-free. AND, if the driver is stress-free, so are the passengers!

We especially appreciated the GPS feature that shows so clearly when and where to change lanes on the complex Michigan freeway system. Horray for Mr. Gee.... he truly performed in an admiral and reliable manner on this trip. He's my HERO!!!

Map Summaries

---DAY ONE---

Time for pie at Rock Springs. I remember my first time at Rock Springs... it was with the HiLo Campers during our get together at Lake Pleasant. My first time camping with PG.

Links of interest:
Rock Springs Cafe, Rock Springs Arizona -
The Pie Place off Interstate 17
Black Canyon City, Arizona
Rock Springs Cafe













In Kingman, we ate at the Route 66 Diner, and then spent some time in the Power House, an old electrical generating plant museum right by the tracks. PG would have liked that! But I'll bet he's already been there.

Links of interest:

Mr D'z Route 66 Diner

Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner

Powerhouse Visitor's Center

Powerhouse

The Casa Blanca Resort and Casino in Mesquite NV where we stayed... beautiful. The grounds were well taken care of, with pools and waterfalls, and lovely places to sit out and enjoy the evening. See pictures in DAY TWO, below...

---DAY TWO---

Casa Blanca Resort and Casino

---DAY THREE---

From the Best Western Red Hills in Kanab, we set out for Zion National Park.

---DAY FOUR---

After a restful evening at the Holiday Inn Express in Flagstaff, 
we headed out.

---DAY FIVE---

-----Home Sweet Home!-----

Oak Creek, Sedona, and Tuzigoot

Today was the last leg of our trip. We headed for Sedona from Flagstaff where we spent the night. We took the Oak Creek Canyon route. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it, from way back when Jim and I took the kids there to stay in Don Hoe's Cabins.

Sedona and the surrounding countryside are great, but have become such tourist attractions. Here is the main street with blocks and blocks of shops and jeep tour opportunities.

Later in the day, we toured the Tuzigoot National Monument near Clarkdale.

I made a new friend there, but decided not to bring him home!

Bryce Canyon

A great way to spend the day... at Bryce Canyon. AND I adopted a new friend while I was there. His name is Bryce the Bunny, a jackrabbit from Utah. He will fit into my growing family very nicely!

Bee-ooo-tee-ful!

What gorgeous country! Yesterday's jaunt into Zion National Park was really awesome.

The scenery into the park, the towering walls of rock,

the play of sun and shadow on the cliffs ... it's indescribable.

I'm traveling with a very congenial group of people,

and our guide is knowlegable and agreeable.

I look forward to Bryce today.

Howdy Partner!!!

Morning broke bright and sunny.... I ate breakfast.... and at the appointed time my escort arrived, not on a horse, but in a red jeep! Howdy Partner.... it was Cowboy Dan!


And guess what??? I was the only passenger! So mine was a private personalized ride. He showed me the sites, told me the lore, taught me the biology and geology of the area, AND he didn't drive too fast! I had lots of time to take pictures and ask questions, and laugh at his jokes. Take a look at what I saw!














Later in the morning, after my jeep tour, Mr. Gee and I went to an area of unique shops and artisan's galleries... Tlaquepaque. I explored there for a while and then had lunch at The Secret Garden. It was a cozy little place with a garden nestled in-between the shops.







Then, negotiating all the roundabouts, I headed back to Baby Quail Inn. Later in the evening, I ate my dinner at the famous Olde Sedona Bar and Grill.

I'll be heading home in the morning.

On My Way!

I left FVT about 10:00 AM and headed for the north country. The traffic was pretty heavy until I cleared the major towns along the way. Then the rate of travel smoothed out nicely.

I stopped at Sunset Point to stretch my legs a bit, like I did on my way to Prescott. But this time, instead of being mixed up and heading back towards Phoenix when I got back on the freeway, I asked for directions from a fellow traveler. I knew which way I wanted to head, but I didn't know how to find the freeway entrance. "Just follow me," he said. It was music to my ears.

As I got closer to my destination, I stopped again... it was one of those scenic views. I tried to capture my first glimpse of the red rock....






....and snapped a few pictures. Can you see the hint of color?




I ran into lots of construction in Sedona. They are doing a major overhaul on their streets. It's really going to be nice when they finish.

Also, I had heard from the lady at the motel that there were now numerous 'roundabouts' at the intersections in town. Soooo.... before I left home, I googled 'roundabouts', found some sites that explained what they were and had video lessons to help drivers learn how to negotiate these traffic patterns.

After a crash course in Roundabouts 101, I headed out, ready to put into practice all I had learned. THANK GOODNESS I had read up on them and had an idea of what lane I needed to travel in to make my left turns!

Tomorrow I get to ride in a jeep... on the road.... not off road!

Gearing Up!

Well... the plans are coming together. The reservation's been made for two nights at the Baby Quail Inn. Mr. Gee and I will drive up to Sedona on Tuesday, spend two nights there and then come home.






On Wednesday morning we'll take a jeep scenic tour of the area. There will probably be some photo opportunities during that morning.







And I plan to spend some time on the street, exploring the galleries and shops.

I would especially like to look around an arts and craft village of unique shops. It's called Tlaquepaque.

Time To Go UP!

Still trying to figure out where to go next. The weather is going to be getting very warm now, over 100 degrees every day! So if I'm going to be outdoors, I really need to go to a cooler part of the state.

Several people have suggested I try Flagstaff or the Sedona area. For some reason I'm balking at driving up into the rocks and cliffs and switchbacks of the higher elevations. Why should I even be worried with Mr. Gee along? He has proved himself many times over already!

For that very reason, I'm thinking about an over-nighter somewhere around Sedona, just to show myself that I'm being influenced by one of my own self-imposed unnecessary boundaries.

I've been in Sedona many times with others, and I love it there. So why not? I can't do it this week because of a choir rehearsal commitment on Wednesday, but maybe next week.

Lights! Camera! Action!

Here are some of the first pictures I've taken with my new camera. The day was clear and bright and Goldfield and the Superstitions were perfect subjects to practice on. Enjoy!