April 1, 2013

Desert Sky, Apache Junction, AZ

  &  Boondocking in Sedona, AZ

We had set the alarm for 7AM but we were woken up by our Pumpkin alarm a few minutes after 6.  I put food in the cat’s bowl and tried going back to sleep but after tossing and turning for a few minutes I gave up. 

After breakfast, we started packing up. 

Monte did a final dumping while I got the inside ready and brought the slides in. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monte hasn't hitched up in four months.  

Piece of cake!

Pulling out of the site onto a narrow road. 

One final check on the lights and off we go.

 We had a tentative departure time set for 10am but ended up pulling out at 10:30.

I had heard on the news that a tractor trailer had jackknifed on 10 near the 17.  We thought that by leaving after rush hour and our not having to go on 10 that we wouldn’t hit that much traffic but we were wrong. 

It was a little hairy driving on US-60W with cars darting in and out and changing lanes without signaling.  We were on 60 for 17 miles and on the AZ-101 Loop N. for 30 miles.  Traffic cleared by the time we merged onto I-17N towards Flagstaff. 

 

Monte was able to maintain a speed of 60MPH most of the trip.  There were a few areas that we were going as low as 30MPH due to the steep inclines.  We stayed in the right lane behind trucks going slow. 

When I saw a sign that there was a rest area coming up, I called Monte and told him I wanted to stop. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

We had lunch at the scenic outlook. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the road we took the exit for Arizona 260W and then 89A/Cottonwood. 

 

            I got the route we were taking from GPS coordinates that had been posted on the blog, WatsonsWander. 

We turned onto FR525, a bumpy dirt road.  According to the GPS we had to travel on the road for 5 miles to reach the coordinates.  I was on the phone with Monte the entire time and after a half a mile I asked him if he wanted to pull into the first place that looked like there would be enough room for our rig.  But he said he was determined to get to the spot we had seen pictures of on the blog.           

 Finally, we arrived at our destination.  There was a diesel pusher already there but we saw that there was plenty of room for us.  We parked on the road and walked into the site to see where we wanted to park.  The couple from the diesel pusher told us they were getting ready to pull out so we waited for them to leave so we could pull into their spot. 

 

They were a nice couple who had been at the site for 14 days.  They gave us some valuable information about things to do in the area.

 

            It took some time to level off and unhitch and get inside set up.

 

We saw a lump under the bedspread.

 

It was Pumpkin.  I guess he didn't like the bumpy road

 and had taken refuse under the covers.

  Monte explored the area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

while I sat outside enjoying a glass of wine while talking on the phone first with my mom and then my daughter.

            Our spot is beautiful but very windy.  We had to put several water jugs down on our mat to prevent it from blowing away.   Every few minutes a pink jeep passed by with passengers on a tour of the back roads.  

This is our first experience with boon docking since installing the solar and the satellite.  I was pleasantly surprised when I turned on the satellite and it found a signal within 5 minutes.  Our batteries were at 100%.  It was nice being able to watch the news as I prepared dinner. 

After dinner we took a short walk taking in the spectacular changing colors on the mountains as the sun starting setting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from our back window

 

We watched a couple of shows on TV. 

Monte went outside to take some pictures in the dark.  He came back in and said I had to come out and see how clear the night sky was.  He was right—the stars appeared close enough to reach out and touch.  I wish that I had taken some pictures but even if I had I don't think the camera would have done the sight justice.

I’m glad Monte convinced me we should continue on the dirt road when I wanted to stop because this is an awesome spot.