Oops! I Forgot Something

I want to go back a few days & post some pictures that I forgot I took the day before we left Superstition Sun in Apache Junction. One of them I just love! I have waited forever to see a saguaro cactus in bloom. Everyone said they usually don't start blooming until the first of May. Well, I got to see one, right before we left. I was so excited.

Saguaro Cactus Beginning to Bloom:

Prickly Pear Cactus

Another thing that amazed me.....we went out for supper on Wed. evening with a couple, Benny & Tommie that we met from Georgia. Benny is having some back issues that he had to return to physical therapy for. They left to travel with other friends we made this past year, Dave & Dianne, also from Georgia. But unfortunately they didn't get to travel together very long. Benny, hope you are doing better!!! Anyway.........when we were on our way out/back from supper we were talking about cell phone towers. He asked if we hadn't noticed the ones that look like palm trees & I thought he was pulling my leg until he showed us one, two & more. I had to go back the next day down Broadway Ave. to take pictures!!! I don't want to hear Warren, PA say they are ugly ever again. Get with it Warren. Let's see some progress in our hometown!!!! A pine tree cell phone tower wouldn't stick out on top of that hill anymore than these palm tree cell towers do!!

Cell Tower Palm Trees:

This one really looks real!
Bill with his card playing buddies: Bill, Sam, Larry, ?, Francis, Max, Demsey, ? Bill's sleeping so I can't ask him the other guys names!

Now to bring you up to date.

Yesterday we took our train ride to the Grand Canyon from Williams, AZ. We had a good time. I was not feeling well all day (a terrific headache), but I made it. Part of it was sinus & I think the other part was high elevation. We had entertainment on the train both going to the canyon & on the return trip. On the way back we even got to see some wild mustangs. Our guide on our train car said you can tell they are wild because they are on the open range that belongs to the state that has no fenced in area. Part of it has fences where private individual ranchers lease the land from the state. Boy, if you want something from Walmart, you'd better make sure you take a list & don't forget anything. She also told us that they have been in a drought for the past 10 years. She is originally from Connecticut & now lives on the other side of one of the mountains that we could see from the train. She said they have 85 gals. of water delivered every 3 weeks costing them $75.00 for each delivery. They don't wash clothes every day or even every other day & they don't leave the water running when they brush their teeth!!! Water is like gold to these people!

The following are pictures from yesterday's trip:

The old steam engine

The diesel that pulls the train now

The singing cowboy
Young calves running from train
First view of Grand Canyon 2009
If you look real close you can see a train of mules coming back up the trail. They look like ants!
Another view of the canyon
2 Guys working on ledge. How would you like their job?????
Here comes the mules & some hikers

Fiddler entertainment on way home. She was a passenger who volunteer to help play the fiddle
These double tracks are original stage coach tracks. They are used today to keep the tracks visible by individuals going to ranches, etc.
These are the wild mustangs
Mustangs starting to run away
These are original telegraph poles used before phone lines were put in. We were told the reason they were so low to the ground is they had to be low enough for a cowboy to stand on a horses back to repair them!
Oh, Oh, the train is being robbed
Robber #1 - Give us your money, your gold or your valuables. I offered him a cookie with my dollar, but he said he was on a diet!
2nd Robber
The Marshall

Today we left Williams around 9:15AM, went to Flagstaff, AZ to Flagstaff RV Service, Inc. Those people are so nice. Jason & Pat in the service department certainly put their customers first. No wonder they received the 2008 Excellence in Service award! We were having trouble with the motor that puts our front jacks up & down. Well, sure enough, we needed a new motor. So after getting the diagnostic work done we contacted our insurance (thank God we took out the extended warranty) & they paid all but $109.30 out of over $600. They had a motor there so we were on our way by 5PM. Now if we were at any other place, they would have had to order the part. We spent the day at the Flagstaff Mall & just waiting around.

I drove to Holbrook, AZ to the OK Campground. We got here around 6:30pm, then went to the store to get milk, Kleenex & ice cream. You know, the essential things! Now it's time to get myself to bed so we can enjoy our day tomorrow touring the Petrified Forest & the Painted Desert areas.

So, until next time....................The Traveling Cardinal's