Greetings from Flagstaff!
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This made me giggle. My neighbor is friends with the owner of the shop you are referencing and she works there part time. She is a very prim and proper older southern lady which makes it down right hysterical.Did you find the fansy smoke shop in Jerome?
Cost of living has
Sedona is beautiful but we wouldn't want to live there. Not only expensive but people are a bit snooty. We're a couple of old shoes and not out to impress anyone so we don't fit down there.
I know you love fishing and the best place in AZ is Greer. If you ever get a chance to visit it's beautiful, the landscaping is different than around here. It does get cold during the winter with a lot of snow, but this time of the year is perfect. We aren't having much a of a monsoon season so it makes for great fishing and visiting. The water is absolutely gorgeous.
Like you I miss the ocean. People often travel to California to get their ocean fix. Also, Mexico is quite popular - Cabo San Lucas and Rocky Point are very popular with Arizonians.
Here is a link to peruse the Greer, AZ area:
greerarizona.com
Not sure if you've been to Colorado, but Durango has great fly fishing.
Safe travels and enjoy!
The cost of living has gone up significantly since 1999. Our home is a custom built ranch on roughly a 1/3 of an acre and the cost was $115,000. The lot was purchased separately for $45,000. The lot wasn't cheap but the view never gets old, wide open ranch. The homes are now going for around $370,000. Yes, a garage is important here as the sun will do a number on the paint job of your car (s). Hubby has almost 1000 sq feet of garage which is very nice. He can work on the cars and leave everything until the next day if he chooses to do so. Homeowners and Auto insurance is much cheaper than back east. The range of home prices varies depending on where you want to live. Prescott proper is more $$ whereas Prescott Valley is a lot cheaper. As a general rule we don't get much snow though we did get a freak storm that dumped 4 feet back in February. But usually we get a few inches and it melts by noon time.
Sedona is beautiful but we wouldn't want to live there. Not only expensive but people are a bit snooty. We're a couple of old shoes and not out to impress anyone so we don't fit down there.
I know you love fishing and the best place in AZ is Greer. If you ever get a chance to visit it's beautiful, the landscaping is different than around here. It does get cold during the winter with a lot of snow, but this time of the year is perfect. We aren't having much a of a monsoon season so it makes for great fishing and visiting. The water is absolutely gorgeous.
Like you I miss the ocean. People often travel to California to get their ocean fix. Also, Mexico is quite popular - Cabo San Lucas and Rocky Point are very popular with Arizonians.
Here is a link to peruse the Greer, AZ area:
Fish - GreerArizona.com
Not sure if you've been to Colorado, but Durango has great fly fishing.
Safe travels and enjoy!
Too funny! When I was there 4 years ago, I was visiting an old friend of mine from our California days, who now lives in Gilbert. When we walked into the store, you both said DAYUM!!! It reminded us of the days when Tower Records had a "back room".This made me giggle. My neighbor is friends with the owner of the shop you are referencing and she works there part time. She is a very prim and proper older southern lady which makes it down right hysterical.
Yesterday we went back to Walnut Canyon. We were there Sunday but the signage around the visitor center made it seem like hiking down into the canyon was a bit strenuous. We played it safe and took the rim trail which ended up being fairly level. But the dwellings were across the canyon. While we could see them, you can't appreciate them from 150 yards away.
In our journey across America, sometimes we say that we need to come back and explore someplace more. But often times we never seem to make it back for some reason. Yesterday we kept the promise because how often are you going to be somewhere that you can explore 900 year old cave dwellings.
1 of the more humorous trail signs read something like this. Hiking down is optional, hiking back out is mandatory. They had coolers with ice cold water for people to refill their water bottles. While it's still desert here, it's not the brutal hot of Lake Havasu or Phoenix. Drinking plenty of water in the summer is always a good idea. I took the cooler that I use when I take my boat out. It's a cheapo soft sided cooler but it gets the job done. I put 4 bottles of water in there along with 3 of those gel pack ice blocks. We were all set for our adventure.
The gal at the toll booth recognized us when we went into the park. That's is surprising since they get a lot of visitors. And we were driving a different vehicle this time. It must have been my Jersey charm. A quick last stop to the restroom, a few swigs of water, top off our water bottles and away we went.
Going down isn't so bad. It's a bunch of steps(240) initially and they have a few landings to break them up. It's neat going down into the canyon. Then you realize that the natives did this without the benefit of a concrete walkway or steps. They have a few interpretive signs that show illustrations of the dwellings when they were occupied. Time and the elements have left most of them with crumbled walls. But you get enough insight on what it must have been like. Imagine being the mother of a 2 year old when you live on the side of a canyon wall. I joked at 1 of the rooms with a very low ceiling that it was the day care.
In my elementary school education, I remember them teaching us the the native Americans were nomadic and traveled depending on the season and where the game traveled to. But seeing the dwellings and the pueblo homes at the other national monument, I think my educators sold the Indians short.
Our loop was cut short since they were doing some trail maintenance. A park employee was hanging over the side with a jack hammer busting out some rocks. He was suspended by a series of ropes. They also had a cloth cradle that they used to raise the stones up to the trail. The stones were about the size of a large beach ball. As the stones went up, you could see the tension on the ropes increase. According to the guy hanging from the rope, we didn't miss much since most of the dwellings were on the other side where the trail was open. There are 25 identified dwellings in the canyon. At it's peak, they think it housed 400 people.
And 1 of the jobs they had to do was haul water up from the canyon floor. The sign said that work was done by the women and children. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds and then add in the weight of the clay container they put the water in. But somehow they managed to survive in those conditions. The tribe name was the Sinagua tribe, which means literally without water. So they had to haul water or collect snow and store it where it would melt into useable water.
Now it was time for us to begin our ascent. We took a few breaks going up. The closer we got to the top, the more the people coming down said that we were almost there. A park employee came down while we were going up. We exchanged pleasantries. I mentioned that they should reverse number the step so you know how close you are to the top. He inquired about our well being but we reassured him we would be fine going the rest of the way. The entire trail consists of 700 steps but it's those last 240, where you pretty much head straight up, that take it's toll on your legs.
Safely out of the canyon we high 5ed each other. Only to realize that we still had 2 more steps to reach the visitor center door. We celebrated with drinks at the Silver Saddle Tavern. We chatted with a few locals to get an idea of what living in FLG full time is like.
1 more thing. The National Parks System. They control 417 sites. This includes everything from seashore to battlefields. While the National Parks seem to get all the attention, we have visited quite a few amazing National Monuments. If you get a chance, try and visit as many as you can. The park service is steward to over 84 million acres and host over 320 million visitors a year. NPS has a budget of around $3B. I think it's money well spent.
In our journey across America, sometimes we say that we need to come back and explore someplace more. But often times we never seem to make it back for some reason. Yesterday we kept the promise because how often are you going to be somewhere that you can explore 900 year old cave dwellings.
1 of the more humorous trail signs read something like this. Hiking down is optional, hiking back out is mandatory. They had coolers with ice cold water for people to refill their water bottles. While it's still desert here, it's not the brutal hot of Lake Havasu or Phoenix. Drinking plenty of water in the summer is always a good idea. I took the cooler that I use when I take my boat out. It's a cheapo soft sided cooler but it gets the job done. I put 4 bottles of water in there along with 3 of those gel pack ice blocks. We were all set for our adventure.
The gal at the toll booth recognized us when we went into the park. That's is surprising since they get a lot of visitors. And we were driving a different vehicle this time. It must have been my Jersey charm. A quick last stop to the restroom, a few swigs of water, top off our water bottles and away we went.
Going down isn't so bad. It's a bunch of steps(240) initially and they have a few landings to break them up. It's neat going down into the canyon. Then you realize that the natives did this without the benefit of a concrete walkway or steps. They have a few interpretive signs that show illustrations of the dwellings when they were occupied. Time and the elements have left most of them with crumbled walls. But you get enough insight on what it must have been like. Imagine being the mother of a 2 year old when you live on the side of a canyon wall. I joked at 1 of the rooms with a very low ceiling that it was the day care.
In my elementary school education, I remember them teaching us the the native Americans were nomadic and traveled depending on the season and where the game traveled to. But seeing the dwellings and the pueblo homes at the other national monument, I think my educators sold the Indians short.
Our loop was cut short since they were doing some trail maintenance. A park employee was hanging over the side with a jack hammer busting out some rocks. He was suspended by a series of ropes. They also had a cloth cradle that they used to raise the stones up to the trail. The stones were about the size of a large beach ball. As the stones went up, you could see the tension on the ropes increase. According to the guy hanging from the rope, we didn't miss much since most of the dwellings were on the other side where the trail was open. There are 25 identified dwellings in the canyon. At it's peak, they think it housed 400 people.
And 1 of the jobs they had to do was haul water up from the canyon floor. The sign said that work was done by the women and children. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds and then add in the weight of the clay container they put the water in. But somehow they managed to survive in those conditions. The tribe name was the Sinagua tribe, which means literally without water. So they had to haul water or collect snow and store it where it would melt into useable water.
Now it was time for us to begin our ascent. We took a few breaks going up. The closer we got to the top, the more the people coming down said that we were almost there. A park employee came down while we were going up. We exchanged pleasantries. I mentioned that they should reverse number the step so you know how close you are to the top. He inquired about our well being but we reassured him we would be fine going the rest of the way. The entire trail consists of 700 steps but it's those last 240, where you pretty much head straight up, that take it's toll on your legs.
Safely out of the canyon we high 5ed each other. Only to realize that we still had 2 more steps to reach the visitor center door. We celebrated with drinks at the Silver Saddle Tavern. We chatted with a few locals to get an idea of what living in FLG full time is like.
1 more thing. The National Parks System. They control 417 sites. This includes everything from seashore to battlefields. While the National Parks seem to get all the attention, we have visited quite a few amazing National Monuments. If you get a chance, try and visit as many as you can. The park service is steward to over 84 million acres and host over 320 million visitors a year. NPS has a budget of around $3B. I think it's money well spent.
GWguy
*
Get back to us in a day or so and tell us how your legs feel.
240 steps doesn't seem like a lot, in theory. Then reality sets in...
Many of the stairs/pathways are steep, so going down you definitely want to watch your step because one wrong move and there's nothing to break your fall. Climbing back up, fatigued and stopping to catch our breath periodically, we were met by a significantly older couple making their way down, and also a quite large woman, so I'm curious how their trip back up went.
And that's 700 total steps - as in stair steps - not walking steps. The whole thing is a little over a mile roundtrip.
We were asked by several people coming down as we were going up whether all that climbing was worth it, and the answer is YES. The history of our badass ancestors who lived in those caves is inspirational and seeing them in person isn't an experience you want to miss.
Many of the stairs/pathways are steep, so going down you definitely want to watch your step because one wrong move and there's nothing to break your fall. Climbing back up, fatigued and stopping to catch our breath periodically, we were met by a significantly older couple making their way down, and also a quite large woman, so I'm curious how their trip back up went.
And that's 700 total steps - as in stair steps - not walking steps. The whole thing is a little over a mile roundtrip.
We were asked by several people coming down as we were going up whether all that climbing was worth it, and the answer is YES. The history of our badass ancestors who lived in those caves is inspirational and seeing them in person isn't an experience you want to miss.
On arising this morning, I felt a slight tightness in my ankles. 2 minutes later, I forgot all about it. Today I have a slight spring in my step.Get back to us in a day or so and tell us how your legs feel.
A late entry about my fishing trip up to Lee's Ferry on the Colorado river.
From the campsite to Marble Canyon was an easy 120 miles. Easy because it was 1 road once I got out of the CG. Nobody was on the road early in the morning. A good bit of my trip was through the reservation. They have a lot of trading posts for the tourists to by jewelry and other assorted tourist stuff. I was way early for them to be open. The run up takes you through various landscapes. In Flagstaff it's ponderosa pine forest. Then it turns into plains or prairie then giving way to the rock landscape of the canyon region.
This is the landscape on the last 10 miles of road.
I stopped at a rest area right where the bridge is that crosses the river. Signs warn you to not jump from the bridge. I'm not sure anyone would survive that fall.
A view downstream of the bridge
1 of the rock ridges had some boulders that broke free over the years. The boulders then protect the dirt below it from erosion. Those boulders end up looking like they are up on pedestals.
From the campsite to Marble Canyon was an easy 120 miles. Easy because it was 1 road once I got out of the CG. Nobody was on the road early in the morning. A good bit of my trip was through the reservation. They have a lot of trading posts for the tourists to by jewelry and other assorted tourist stuff. I was way early for them to be open. The run up takes you through various landscapes. In Flagstaff it's ponderosa pine forest. Then it turns into plains or prairie then giving way to the rock landscape of the canyon region.
This is the landscape on the last 10 miles of road.
I stopped at a rest area right where the bridge is that crosses the river. Signs warn you to not jump from the bridge. I'm not sure anyone would survive that fall.
A view downstream of the bridge
1 of the rock ridges had some boulders that broke free over the years. The boulders then protect the dirt below it from erosion. Those boulders end up looking like they are up on pedestals.
I would like to see 1 of those boulders break free. It must be awesome to see nature in it's rawest form. I could have spent more time here but I really wanted to try and catch some fish. So after a quick photo op, it was back in the Jeep.
At the river I decided to go to the right. There were a few trails down to the river. 3 cars were already there. This is the sight in front of me while I cast.
The current was flowing pretty good. I didn't see any signs of fish. I did see a lot of signs of fishermen. Mostly trash they had left behind. I saw 3 people fishing upstream. Based on their gear, they looked like serious fly fishermen. They were a bit too far away to chat and see how they were doing. I did find 1 young guy down my way. He was bait fishing but so far didn't have any luck. He claimed that he had caught trout in that area in the past. I had lures that were intended to catch bass.
After flogging the water for a while without luck, I went upstream. There is a boat ramp that is a hub of activity on the river. Companies ferry clients to the boat ramp to set them off on rafting trips down river. Some of those trips last up to 2 weeks. Ground support goes ahead of the raft and sets up the evening meals and tents. A younger me would have jumped on an opportunity to do that. Watching the rafts float by, everyone on them seemed to be enjoying themselves although the trip was just beginning.
North of the boat ramp there was some artifacts left over from the days before the bridge was there. A ferry was operated that took people across the river. A few of the old buildings are still there for nosy people like me to explore. I love our country's history.
The corporation office. Imagine going to work here everyday. The other building appeared to be some sort of home.
There is a part of the old ferry in the water. The signs ask you to not disturb them as they are cultural artifacts.
I ran into a few other tourists in this area but no other anglers. I took a trail up to where there was a bend in the river. I could see some fish splashing up that way. Since I had shorts on, I wet waded into the river to about just above the knee. I figured those fish were trout. I only had a few lures that might work on trout and I gave them a try. All the while I was glancing around looking at that spectacular scenery. Excluding Alaska, that spot was the prettiest place I have ever fished.
If you cast long enough, you will eventually catch something. Or at least that's the way I figure it to go. So after a few hours in other non productive spots, I found the honey hole. I caught 5 trout and should have had at least 1 more. What would have been better was if I had found this spot first instead of waste time downstream. But that is how you learn, especially when going to a new fishing hole for the first time. Look how clear the water is. Now if I only had someone along to take my picture.
When I was done fishing, I went back by the boat ramp. Still more groups were getting ready to raft down the river. It's big business in that part of Arizona and they take it serious. Some companies haul in their gear with a semi.
If you ever find yourself in northern Arizona, treat yourself by stopping at this place.
If you cast long enough, you will eventually catch something. Or at least that's the way I figure it to go. So after a few hours in other non productive spots, I found the honey hole. I caught 5 trout and should have had at least 1 more. What would have been better was if I had found this spot first instead of waste time downstream. But that is how you learn, especially when going to a new fishing hole for the first time. Look how clear the water is. Now if I only had someone along to take my picture.
When I was done fishing, I went back by the boat ramp. Still more groups were getting ready to raft down the river. It's big business in that part of Arizona and they take it serious. Some companies haul in their gear with a semi.
If you ever find yourself in northern Arizona, treat yourself by stopping at this place.