October 1, 2013
Travel day from Page, AZ

To Apache Junction, AZ

Walmart, Page, AZ

We woke this morning to the news that the Government has shut down.  It was very disappointing because we really wanted to explore the beautiful places around Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Recreation Area.

So it was on to Plan B-heading down to Flagstaff.  Our plan was to stay overnight at the Walmart and then search out a possible dry camping spot in the area. 

We took 89T (the T stands for temporary).  In February a landslide occurred on US89 about 25 miles south of Page.  There was significant damage to the road causing the Department of Transportation to close a 23-mile segment (the main North-South road between Page and Flagstaff.)

Navajo Route 20 is being used as a temporary route.   Without access to this route we would have had to return to Kanab in order to take 89A down to 89 south of Page adding approximately 150 miles to our trip.

When we stopped for gas I told Monte I thought we should just continue on to Apache Junction.  We had planned on spending a couple of weeks in the area later in the month to visit with my daughter and granddaughters. 

 

 

 

 

(After spending on average $3.80 and higher for gas I was excited when we found a station charging $3.59.  Well I thought it was a good price until we reached Apache Junction and saw the average price for gas is $3.20)

I called Santa Fe RV Park to inquire about availability.  They are one of the few places in Apache Junction that accept Passport American and allow stay of up to 14 days.   I spoke to Jill who said come on in!

We hit some rush-hour traffic on the 101-luckily I was able to “control” traffic so Monte could change lanes when necessary.  He radioed me that the “check engine” light had come on again.  We have been having an issue with this but when we had the code read in St. George Utah at the Dodge dealer they told us it wasn’t something that had to be addressed immediately. 

But Monte said it was affecting his cruise control and acceleration so we are going to take care of this issue while staying at Apache Junction.

Our timing for staying in Apache Junction was good as the snowbirds have not arrived yet.  By the end of October it would be very difficult to find any place to stay in the area as Apache Junction is a major winter destination for full-timers.

We arrived at 3:30 and were assigned site 39. 

The sites are quite large with plenty of room for my car.