Another Day in the Wild West

Tonight, daughter Julie said in phone call: "Aren't you going to add to the blog?" Okay! Okay!

Having lost the battle to secure a lakeview site at Lake Pleasant, we hit the road, heading north to Cottonwood, AZ. First stop was a Starbucks for hazelnut lattes. Getting back on the road, I noticed a lack of acceleration on the I-17 on ramp. I puzzled over it, but the answer was apparent when we arrived at Deadhorse Ranch State Park.

After passing through the gate and being told “good luck”, and then being told by the camp host, “All full”, we snagged a spot and I left Janice and Annika standing guard as I left the campground to disconnect the Honda. I pulled to the side outside the campground and, voila!, the Honda battery was dead. The surge brake was frozen in full extension rigor. Fortunately, only about 50% of its power pressed against the brake pedal.

Thinking back to the poor acceleration, I realized that we had driven about 78 miles with the Honda brakes partially engaged. The rims were covered with the tell-tale powder of the brake pads. The smell of hot brakes was obvious.

After disengaging the Honda, I turned around the motorhome and jumped the battery, returning briefly to the campsite on a bicycle to reassure Janice that I had not driven over a cliff. Finally, Honda and motorhome were safely in place in the campsite and we began setting up housekeeping.

Despite this tightrope with disaster, we felt fortunate to have secured a campsite from among the hordes of Arizona spring-breakers. The evening found us celebrating Janice’s birthday at Nick’s restaurant in beautiful downtown Cottonwood. Janice’s Orange Roughy and my Seafood Special Pasta were enhanced by a bottle of Pinot Grigio. We started things off with a lobster-crab bruchette, all of which spun the dial on the scale this morning.

We headed for Jerome for some sightseeing and exploration, emboldened by an article in the local Chamber of Commerce publication that touted a road trip on an old narrow gauge road-bed. We found the road, but all present in Jerome denied knowledge of the “helpful historic guidebook available in Jerome to make this journey an adventure.” We took to the road anyway, going about 6 miles on a washboard, mountainside dirt road. There were occasional scenic glimpses, but all in all, it was just another dirt road in the mountains. Jerome is simply one of the most interesting places we have ever visited. That was our impression last year---and again this year, even though the state had closed down the Jerome State Park, a fascinating place.

Returning to Cottonwood, we visited Pam and Ralph Williams, former tailgunners on our Copper Canyon adventure, hatching plans for a caravan reunion next spring, likely here in the Cottonwood area. We'll hike with them tomorrow near Sedona. Our evening ended with a visit to the park campfire program. We listened to an Arizona cowboy and cowgirl sing songs and tell tales about the old west, finishing with the Dale Evans’ special, “Happy Trails to You.”

The evening ended with a photo received of grandson Jonas reading a post card we sent him. Bright kid!

Greetings on this first day of spring..