Cottonwood, AZ

Whoa, how fabulous, the RV Park in Cottonwood, AZ is nestled in a valley, surrounded by mountains. What a beautiful place. Instead of exploring Cottonwood we rather plan our stay and all the things we want to do and see. So far we changed our original plans just a little bit. We’ll stay an extra day here, instead of staying a day at a Park near the Grand Canyon.

Route 89 A is the scenic route we took towards Sedona and Flagstaff early Friday morning. The 15 miles drive to Sedona was full of great views and we were ooh-ing and ah-ing all the way. 

Chimney Rock

Coffee-Pot-Rock

Perfect weather, no winds and therefore no dust clouds obscuring the view. As with some of our plans, it doesn’t always go as planed.  Every now and then we have heard a noise from the left side of the truck, happening when doing a right turn. Not sure if we heard correctly, we turned the AC off, opened the window and listened. Of course, nothing was to be heard. Not this time, though. There it was, this distinct “clunk, clunk, clunk” noise when making a right turn. Another oh-shit-moment. Better have this checked out. We found a mechanic who fixed the problem. The yoke at the transmission end of the drive-shaft had a loose bolt, that’s why the clunk, clunk, clunk and the seal started to leak. Three hours later and some $ poorer we finally went on our way to Flagstaff via 89 A.Walnut Canyon here we come. We’ve made it close to closing time of the Park.

Dwellings sheltered by overhanging cliffs were home to Walnut Canyon’s only inhabitants more than 800 years ago

The dwellings were built between 1125 and 1250. Inside the Canyon and throughout the pine forests of the rim, these people made their living by farming, hunting deer and small game, gathering an assortment of useful plants and trading. The people are known today as Sinagua – Spanish for “without water” – a tribute to their ability to turn a relatively dry region into a homeland.

It always amazes me, what people are capable of. I can only wonder in awe. 

The historic background of Flagstaff did not keep it’s promise. We meandered through the historic part and the only (for us) interesting part was all the nice art shops and galleries. I could easily have spent some big bucks there. 

Ta-ta