Sedona, AZ

Monday, August 3, 1992

We arise when we wake up and walk to a cafe for breakfast. First breakfast out in a week, and we are really full when we leave and skip lunch today. We head for an excursion trip to Sedona. It's 28 miles away and I feel we must see it. I don't know why. It's a beautiful drive through a canyon with streams and pine trees. Suddenly the road opens up to a valley of shops and really expensive homes. The surrounding red mountains and formations are beautiful. There's a chapel built right into a mountain. We take lots of pictures. After a yogurt we head back to Flagstaff and on to Laughlin, Nevada.

We have a lovely room and dinner of lobster and prime rib. We gamble some and watch a lounge show.

I call Mom to say we're coming by tomorrow.

It's less than 200 miles from Flagstaff to Laughlin, so I'm glad they had some extra time to take a side trip to Sedona. My family went there for the first and only time 3 years ago after a visit with my Dad near Parker, AZ. The red rock scenery truly is spectacular and the drive along the river between Flagstaff and Sedona is beautiful.

Even though they ate dinner out every night, it sounds like they did have breakfast in the condo during their stay there.

Flagstaff, AZ

Sunday August 2, 1992

I awake early and by 9 a.m. we leave the condo for our trip home. It's been lovely staying in such lush accommodations with such a lovely view from every window. Goodbye Pagosa Springs. We head home through Farmington, New Mexico, a good size town with a lovely mall. We decide to have an early lunch there. It's a long 2-hour drive to Gallup, New Mexico. The drive through New Mexico to Flagstaff, Arizona, is desolate but beautiful. Red mountain formations jutting out of a desert. We arrive in Flagstaff in time to drive around and get familiar. The city is old and rundown. There are some really nice homes there though.

After dinner at Sizzler we go back to our dreary motel room and watch TV. I continue to feel great!

Mom and Frank headed southwest to Flagstaff. When Ric and I left Pagosa Springs last year we headed due west to St. George, Utah. We did have to dip down into New Mexico and drive through Farmington as well, but then we drove through northern Arizona, while Mom and Frank went through central Arizona. It was about 420 miles for them, 470 for us. The terrain ia about the same, I imagine, except that Flagstaff is at a higher elevation.

I had to laugh when she talked about going to a dreary motel room. Before we bought our Worldmark timeshare in 2003, we didn't think much of staying at Motel 6, which is in our price range. Now we are so spoiled by the beautiful Worldmark resorts, that having to spend the night in a motel is downright depressing. For us it actually saves money to stay in our timeshare because we have all our meals in the condo instead of eating out. It sounds like Mom and Frank ate out every night.

Mesa Verde National Park

Saturday July 25, 1992

Up at 5:30 to meet our friends at 7 a.m. for breakfast. By 8:30 we're on our way to Mesa Verde National Park. It's a long drive. We have lunch in Flagstaff at a mall. We finally arrive in Mesa Verde about 6 p.m. We are staying at the only lodge in Mesa Verde. It's expensive $89/night, but a beautiful view.

On the way to Mesa Verde we stopped at Four Corners. It's where four states come together. We bought tee shirts. I sleep off and on in the car, but feel pretty good.

At Mesa Verde we have a lovely dinner in the lodge and then off to bed.

The only accommodations in the National Park are at Far View Lodge. I checked their rates for a standard room midweek and they currently charge $129/night. That's not too bad.

Ancestral Pueblo people made Mesa Verde (Spanish for Green Table) their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to 1300. Today the park protects nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States. Ric and I were there just last year.

Four Corners is the point where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah meet.