my travels in pixels

The next few posts are from our trip last year that I never got around to finishing. We have come back to North America to do one last trip in our 5th wheel. Lindsay really wanted to get some more bear pictures so the whole trip has been planned around going to Bella Coola and Likely in BC, Canada. Antelope Canyon, AZ I photographed Antelope Canyon in 2012 but wasn’t completely happy with my photos, so seeing as we would be in Page Arizona again to go to Horseshoe Bend Lindsay asked me if I wanted to try again. The only way into the canyons is to do a tour, but I didn't want to just do the normal tourist tour as there are too many people in the way and you can't use a tripod, so the only option is to do a photographic tour. Taking good photos inside the canyon without a tripod is difficult, I did that last time as I had trouble with my tripod and cast it aside. I wasn't going to make the same mistake again. When I first started looking for a vacancy three months ago,...

Watson Lake AZ After the dentist in Yuma we went north to Cave Creek in AZ to catch up with our friends Bill & Michele. Lindsay took the opportunity to get the truck and trailer detailed to keep it looking good. One of the days we went up to Prescott to have lunch and then onto Watson Lake, which is really pretty. Another day we took a picnic up to Yellow Cliffs at Bartlett Lake in the Tonto National Forest. Yellow Cliffs, Bartlett Lake AZ A first for us was meeting up with a couple whose blog I follow – Mona-Liza and Steve. They were staying in nearby Cave Creek state park, less than 10 minutes from where we were. We spent a couple of hours drinking red wine and swapping stories. They have been to Australia where Mona-Liza fell in love with sticky date pudding, it just happens to be one of my specialities, so I've sent her the recipe. They have been to nearly every state in America, so have lots of information and ideas that I will be able to use for our upcoming No...

Cottonwood Campground in Canyon de Chelly National Monument, AZ Chinle, AZ One of the larger sites Check with the visitor centre on arrival as they have ranger programs and a free walking tour. There is only one walk to the White House Ruins that you can do on your own. The other options are private walking tours, 4WD tours or horse trail tours Why we chose here? There are only two campgrounds in Canyon de Chelly (pronounced shay), one near the visitor centre - Cottonwood and another – Spider Rock, a fair way in on the south rim. Location: Drive to Chinle, AZ, then drive east. Coming out from the visitors centre, turn right, then turn right, then the campground will be on your left. Sites: 92. Up to 35’. Most of the sites are difficult to get in to if you are large. The entries seem to be in the opposite direction than you are supposed to be driving. Lots of small sites. There is a dump, but no water in winter – they take the hoses away. There is only one tap in th...

Canyon de Chelly National Park, Arizona When we arrived in Canyon de Chelly (d’shay) two weeks ago there had been a ranger talk that night and a ranger walk the next day, but because we couldn’t drive our truck we missed out on both of them. Now the next ranger walks are not for two weeks due to staff shortages, so we miss out again. This national monument is on Navajo reservation land and observes daylight saving while the rest of Arizona does not. So we were a bit confused as to the right time to see sunrise and sunset. My photography app showed nearby towns with and a different current time and a different time for sunrise and sunset to what we had been told. Reality was somewhere in between. People have lived here for over 5,000 years. The current inhabitants are the Navajo, who first arrived in 1700 only to be captured or killed before or during the long 300 mile walk of 1863 when the land now known as Arizona and New Mexico was taken from the Mexicans and became part of...

Mexico - Take 2 Since I had my teeth cleaned in Mexico a few weeks ago, I’ve been having doubts. What I didn’t say in my previous post is that they told me I needed 5 fillings. Five! I only have one that I got in 1977, how could I possibly have gotten five in 12 months? My first reaction was that they were wrong, just trying to make money on unsuspecting tourists, so I did nothing. Then the more I thought about it, the more I started to worry. I know there is more sugar in food in the USA, you can really taste it in bread. Is this the price I’ve had to pay for wanting to travel? We had planned to come back in January but I didn’t want to spend the whole of next year worrying about it, so I made an appointment with the dentist we had been referred to by Bill and Michele, who hadn’t been available the first time we went. 220 miles back to Yuma we went. One of the assistants took 5-6 x-rays, then Erika came and checked my teeth. No cavities! And no bill, come again?  no bill. Even t...

OK RV Park 1576 Roadrunner Road, Holbrook AZ Site 15 yellow is under a tree Why we chose here? Closest RV park to the Ford dealer in Holbrook Location: East of Flagstaff, 5 mins east of Holbrook Sites: 79 long pull throughs, you need to park either at the end or front of your site (they will tell you) so that you are not alongside your neighbour Facilities: Restrooms with showers, laundry: $1.50 wash, $1.50 dry, free coffee and muffins every morning between 8-10am Groceries: Safeway is 2 miles away in town Reservations: Yes, but we didn't. They do get very busy in the snowbird migration season. Cell Coverage / WiFi: Good wifi most of the time, occasionally it stops, especially late afternoon Price Paid: $177 a week = $25.29 a night, normally $30 Good Sam park Date of visit: April 2015 Other: a popular stop for snowbirder’s returning home, most people only stay one night Would we come here again? Yes, but probably wouldn’t need to Place...

On Sunday we went up to an old mining town called Crown King for lunch, calling into the town of Cleator for a drink along the way. Blink and you would miss it. There is a general store, a pub with a Surf bar out the back, yes seriously. The rest of the town is a bit rundown with mobile homes, quaint but not somewhere I'd want to stay for very long. It's a long, narrow dusty drive about 10 miles off the bitumen. Lindsay, Michele and Bill outside the General Store The inside of the bar has dollar notes stapled all over the walls with comments from travellers from all around the world, a bit like the pub at William Creek in the South Australian outback. Cleator Pub Lindsay & Bill had to have a beer Make sure you fill up well before hand the road to Crown King Quad bikes are the main form of transport up here Up on the hill we had lunch at the Mill Bar & Grill, really the only place in town to eat. You can get some food at the Prospector, b...

We meet quite a few people on our travels and try and keep in touch as much as we can. Catching up again can be difficult, especially if both of you are on the road, and with our plans forever changing, sometimes it's impossible. It's much easier if the friends we are trying to catch up with are stationary. Bill and Michele whom we met in Fairbanks in 2013 and caught up with again in Salinas last year have been asking us to join them in Arizona. They have an ideal set up. Friends they met while camp hosting decided to buy a house near Cave Creek (just north of Phoenix) and set up a private RV park in the back yard. They have 4 permanent spots that the same people return to each winter and one that is rented out to friends who drop by to catch up. All have full hook ups. It's ideal in that it's not out in the boonies, so you can actually do a lot of things. We arrived on St Patrick's day and they had an Irish pot luck with neighbours and friends - the menu consiste...

We were very surprised by how quiet and non-congested Tucson was. Here are some pictures that I took when we did a self guided walk from the visitor centre, you just follow the painted line.... Tucson Visitor Centre A restaurant Wall Mural An old theatre St. Augustine Cathedral Related posts: RV Campground Review - Tuscon, AZ Guns, Cameras, Action!