Weekend with Tim and Kathryn -- Sedona and Grand Canyon

After spending 4 nights in Mesa, Arizona and getting to have my cousin Dave and his daughter Tori over for a cookout at my RV the night before I left for Flagstaff (which was nice and the only reason I had for going to the Phoenix area to begin with) -- a few nights less than originally planned but, the emergency stop in Las Cruces to deal with the broken slide topper had to happen first.  I delayed my exit from Mesa to get the oil changed on my big rig (hadn't been done since I bought the unit a year and half ago).

The climb up to Flagstaff was a bit slow going at times as we (me and the twins) went from about 1300 feet to 7000 feet where I parked at Black Bart's RV park and restaurant.  My spot was in the section of the campground that I would refer to as "Death Valley" because not much was there as far as trees and it seemed to be in the valley of the campground -- a diagonal short walk from (or to) Black Bart's restaurant (which had a piano player and the waiters and waitresses all sang throughout the evening of serving some delicious food).  I had to check it out by visiting the bar on Wednesday and Thursday evenings to make sure it would be good for an evening there with Tim and Kathryn (which we did Saturday evening after visiting the Canyon).

I went to the Visitors Center in Flagstaff (at the old railroad station) on Thursday and gathered as much information and brochures about the Canyon and the areas around before heading to the Phoenix airport the next morning to pickup Tim and Kathryn.

Friday morning was an early start before sunrise and I had to drive in the dark for about the first hour before I could see the roadway without having to use headlights.  After picking up Tim and Kathryn, we headed back up Interstate 17 and took route 179 over to Sedona for a hike and a late brunch afterwards.  The weather was spectacular and the views were just as good and the hour or so of hiking made the brunch even tastier with a beautiful view from one of the patios in the heart of town (near the Hyatt).

Tim & Kathryn at Bell Rock

After hiking and lunch we continued up route 89a for the scenic drive up the canyon and into Flagstaff where I dropped them at their motel (Little America) where they could rest and recoup after the long and tedious morning flight and such.  Later I picked them up and we had a cookout at my RV where I served them some of the Whiting I had caught in Port Aransas -- accompanied with steamed asparagus and fresh fruit salad followed by some Tin Roof Sundae ice cream.  I think we had some cheese and crackers before dinner and some other light snacks (picked up at Walmart with some other things for the next day at the Canyon).

The next morning, after Tim and Kathryn made their way back to my RV site in my Jeep, we headed up to the Canyon and arrived around 10:30 or 10:45 near the Visitor Center at Mather Point.  With backpacks loaded with water and snacks we hiked about a mile and a half along the rim and turned back for some lunch near the spot we parked.  The weather again was spectacular and the views were so awesome -- too bad I couldn't find my camera on my initial quick search (it actually was in the side pocket of the Jeep).  I thought for sure I had left it back in the RV with my black fleece (which I had forgotten to bring along).

Thankfully, Kathryn's phone camera provided some documentation of this wonderful visit to the Canyon with the two of them (and the little one due in August -- his first visit to the Canyon -- mine and Kathryn's too).