Nov 7
Nov 8
Nov 9
Nov 10
Nov 11 - 12
Nov 13
Nov 14 - 15
Saturday, November 11
I got up a little before 7 and fixed some tea. Breakfast got delivered in there somewhere (I was looking in the wrong place). They hang it on a hook to keep the wildlife out of it, I'm sure...
I should have skipped the apple tartlets that were in the basket. We decided that was what went through both of us like an express train... The fruit and bottled juice were good. The granola and soy milk were untouched... Luckily, we had gotten some supplies in town yesterday and added our own oatmeal with banana to the meal.
After a leisurely breakfast, we walked down to the creek for a while. Carl took this photo showing the outside of our little cabin.
We only had to cross the road five times before we could get on the correct path... This is a private access to Oak Creek that only guests of this resort are allowed to use. The first attempt, we went through the wrong opening in the fence. So, back across the busy road to ask directions. Second attempt, we found the right place to cross, but, after one look at the rocks, we returned to the cabin for the hiking sticks...
The woman who gave us directions had come out of the store to ask if we had found it. We indicated we were returning for hiking sticks and she indicated she understood completely. Third attempt, we were successful in crossing the tiny side creek, crossing over the island, and arriving at the creek.
The path was not an easy one. I'm glad we went back for the sticks... Lots of rocks and wild blackberry vines all covered with oak leaves and the largest maple leaves I've ever seen! We wound up spending almost an hour and a half down there before bladders required a return to the cabin.
These photos are two of the many I took once we arrived at the creek itself.
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The photo on the left above is looking downstream from where the trail intersected the creek. The center photo shows me picking my way gingerly through the rocks and blackberry vines trying to get back to the trail. It looked easier (initially) than the path along the creek. Those blackberries were nasty!!! The photo on the right shows me shooting reflections in a still portion of the creek.
These five photos show some of the very clear reflections we were getting this morning.
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I downloaded this morning's photos and we grabbed another cup of tea and coffee respectively, and just relaxed a bit.
After a while, we drove into Flagstaff to the bookstore after getting some Imodium at the drug store. I got a couple of tee shirts and a tea mug.
Then we walked around the campus for a while. Parts of it were still familiar (the older parts), but others? Not so much. One thing that struck us was that NAU had never really settled on an architectural style, as these three photos show:
The photo on the left shows Old Main, the first building built on the campus in the 1890s. Initially, this held the dorm rooms, dining hall, and classrooms. When I attended, it was strictly a dormitory (with very squeaky floors). It houses offices now. The center photo shows the side of the Union Building with the university crest. This building was built while I was going to school here. I took some gym classes in it. The building on the right is the side of the Administrative Services building, which was build in 2014. It's got a much different look!
It was both fun and sad walking around campus today.
We decided to skip lunch completely... So, we went back to Safeway for some beer, wine, and tv dinners. Then back to cabin for the rest of the day.
We walked back across the street to the creek for a while with the tripod this time. I took some slower photos. Then we returned to the cabin for the evening.
These are three photos of the cascades taken with a tripod.
The photo on the left shows our view of the autumn foliage as we waited to cross the busy road to get back to the cabin.
Doesn't everyone have wine with their tv dinners? Yes, the cabin has a microwave.
We played cribbage for a while. And again, we wound up about even.
Time for bed...
Sunday, November 12
We slept in... We finally got up at 7:40! Breakfast was waiting for us again. It looks better than yesterday's, but I still think I'll skip parts of what they provided, mainly the “scone”. It didn't even smell good. I did eat the top off the blueberry muffin (couldn't get the paper off the rest...) Again, the fruit and bottled juice were good. They also provided four hard boiled eggs. Hard to mess that up (g).
Finally, it was time to pack up and get on the road again.
We packed up and checked out. They need to work on their accounting better. They left off one of the two room charges! Their loss! I'm not going to tell them...
We drove on south through Sedona. It's even more pretentious than it used to be. It looks like a cross between Aspen and Gatlinburg (the worst parts of each)... We didn't stop.
We continued on out 179 to I-17. If we're in the area again, we'll stay in the Village of Oak Creek. Looks more like Sedona used to be.
We stopped in Flagstaff for lunch at Cracker Barrel. No veggie soup??? No darjeeling tea??? Looks really new – the floor is squeaky clean... The merchandise area was so crowded (even without the people) that the “aisles” are hard to maneuver... I ate the three veggie plate for lunch.
We were soon on our way east. We stopped at Meteor Crater for a couple of hours. They've added a lot to it! More than enough to justify the admission price...
Then we were on our way again. We stopped for the night in Holbrook, AZ.
It was a better room than the cabin was. Better bed. Better pillows. A third the price of last night.... And the floor was level...
Dinner was at Tom and Susie's Diner. Interesting experience! The locals love it. I can see why. The food is decent and decently priced. I had a panko coated boneless pork chop and Carl had the barbecued chicken, both off the senior's menu. We'll be back tomorrow night.
We spent most of dinner people watching. What a weird crowd!
Then back to the motel to settle in for the night.
So, just how does this shower work??? I had to get my glasses back on to read the instructions on tub spigot. “Pull down tub spout for shower” Huh???? I had to finally get Carl to come figure it out. Oh, pull on the ring around where the water actually comes out and the valve switches to shower. Like THAT's obvious.. Not.
We watched a little of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I got as far as them settling in at Hogwart's when it went to commercial. I had just closed my eyes for a second. Next thing I knew it was 1 am and the tv was turned off...