Standing on the Corner in Winslow Arizona is Not the Only Sight to See

There is a great deal more to do in Winslow than stand on a corner.  That said, the Eagles song, “Take it Easy” has made this town famous and people come from miles around to stand on this cute little corner and take pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures!  Not only did this song put Winslow on the map, but the town has taken it to a whole new level.  There is a “Sleeping on the Corner” motel, and with the stop being right on old Route 66, there are tons of gift shops and touristy stops that have a distinct 70’s feel and are focused on everything Eagles and Route 66.  It is definitely a fun little place to check out.  Here’s our photo to prove we actually did “stand on the corner”, as well as a few other photos from Winslow.

We stayed at Homolovi State Park which is an archaeological site which preserves and protects the history, lands, and artifacts of the Hopi people.   I really, really enjoyed our stay here, but it was a bit too hot for Greg’s liking.  We arrived on a Sunday and the following day the temperature was 108 degrees.  The park ranger said that was the hottest day EVER recorded at the park.  The humidity is in the single digits to teens though, so as long as you are in the shade it feels nice.  If you are in direct sunlight though…  it feels hot. Let’s just say it’s a good thing we have two a/c units because they were both running 24/7! There are two large areas of pueblo ruins at the park as well.  One of them had originally consisted of and estimated 1,200 to 2,000 rooms before it was destroyed by looters and others who dug the sites out with no care for preservation for the purpose of selling what goods they could find.  Here are some pictures of our site and from around the campground itself.

Only about 10 miles from the state park is “The Little Painted Desert”.  We drove there to check it out, not really expecting much of anything.  Boy, were we surprised!

All three of us went on a day trip to The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park which was less than an hour’s drive from Homolovi.  The only word I can think of to describe this park is WOW!  I’ve never seen anything like it.

While staying at Homolovi, we decided to take a day trip into Sedona to celebrate my birthday early, since we were supposed to be relocating on my actual birthday.  Turns out we relocated earlier than expected.  Our electricity kept going out at the park and we’d  have to reset the breaker to get it to come back on. We have a good surge protector, so that wasn’t a big issue, but it took about 20-30 minutes for it to come back on and that means an inside temperature gain of 5-7 degrees after going that long with no a/c.  Greg was NOT happy about this.  Also, we didn’t want to leave Popeye (our goldendoodle) home alone EVER while we were there for fear that we would lose power and not be there to turn it back on.  That could be deadly and not a chance we were willing to take.  So, I made some phone calls and “it just so happened” that the RV Park we were already booked at had a cancellation and was able to get us in earlier and we talked Homolovi into refunding us for the days we had prepaid so we could leave early.  They were very gracious about it. God is always in the details.  Instead of being at Homolovi for a full two weeks, we ended up being there for nine days.  Anyway, back to Sedona… Here are some pictures from our day spent there…   which I LOVED!!!!

We are now at an RV Park in Williams, which is close to the Grand Canyon. I so prefer state parks or at least a campground, but again we have full hook-ups here and it’s a great home base for paying frequent visits to the Grand Canyon.  We are staying here for a full month, which is longer than we’ve stayed anywhere.  All three of us are ready to slow down and settle in each area for longer periods of time.  Plus, it’s generally cheaper when you are able to take advantage of their monthly rate. We have basic shopping and a cute downtown touristy area right here in Williams, yet are only about 25 minutes from Flagstaff where there is an abundance of shopping and even a Whole Foods.  Here is our current setup:

Finally, as I mentioned above, Sunday 7/3 is my birthday.  I actually turn 50, so it’s a BIG one! The year of 2016 is quite a momentous one for our family. Greg and I were married at 17 and had our first child at 20.  So not only do Greg and I both turn 50 this year, but our oldest has a milestone birthday as well as he is turning 30! But wait… there’s more.  Once all of our birthdays have occurred in 2016, all of our ages will be multiples of 5 as follows.  Greg and I will be 50 and our kids will be 30 (Robby), 25 (Brittney), 20 (J.Jay) and 15 (Eljah).  How cool is that?!?!?  So if someone asks me, “How old are you kids?” I can say, “15, 20, 25, 30!”  Pretty cool, if you ask me.  It won’t last long though because J.Jay turns 21 in February of 2017, but it will be fun while it lasts.  Speaking of birthdays, I do want to show you my birthday present.  I have been looking for just the right gecko to hang in our home since we hit Texas.  I’ve seen tons of them, but none of them spoke to me.  Greg finally found him yesterday and I knew when he texted me his picture that HE WAS THE ONE!  He bought him for me for my birthday!  Check him out:

I am happy to be able to settle in a bit and order curriculum for Elijah’s upcoming school year, do some planning, and just take a bit of a break since we will be in the same location for a full month.  J.Jay is flying into Phoenix on July 5th for two weeks, so we will NOT be visiting the Grand Canyon until he gets here.   To say that Elijah is excited for J.Jay’s visit is a MAJOR understatement.  We are all excited, but Elijah can’t wait to be able to spend some time with his best friend, especially since he is someone OTHER THAN his old parents!

Until the next time…  Happy Trails and Sunny Sails!

P.S.  The contract on our house back in South Carolina fell through so Greg and I have firmly decided to keep the house as an investment and rent it out.  Greg has been contemplating doing this all along, but I have been fighting it as I really just wanted to be DONE with it and not have the stress of being long distance landlords.  Part of my dealing with the multiple sclerosis is to try to do as much as I can to avoid stress since I know and fear the havoc that stress wreaks on my health.  When it comes right down to it, I’m a wimp and would rather avoid as much of that havoc as possible!  That said, it’s not always possible and not always wise, but it is a major weakness of mine.  One of many.  The house not selling simply made no sense and anyone who has been to our house agrees. God has blocked every potential sale and now this contract fell through unexpectedly. It is now crystal clear to us that the ONLY reason that beautiful house has not sold this entire time is because it was simply not God’s plan for us. He always knows best, so I’m done with fighting it.  So,  onto Plan B, which probably should have been Plan A, but it took us (especially me) a while to catch on (and give in) to God’s plan.  Pray we get some good, responsible tenants in there who will be blessed by, love,and care for the house as much as we did.