Salt Lake to Phoenix and back, one way Vegas, one way Kanab

We finally have internet so i'm filling in a bit of this log.  This was our first RV trip so we had to learn a few lessons.  We came from Salt Lake City to exit #9 in Arizona, just outside of St. George.  I wanted to stop in between but dh wanted to push on through-worried a little about the pending storm.  We stayed at my mom and dad's place but there are plenty of beautiful boondocking spots off of the exit, toward the mountains. 
Saturday around noon we headed toward LasVegas and didn't stop.  I told dh that I wanted a little water for emergencies and the plan was to stop at flying J but of course, that manly instinct said to keep on going.  We traveled over Hoover Dam and decided to stop and check out Willow Beach.  The store and any info was already closed.  It was a great little place, looked like it would have been loads of fun to rent a paddleboat or kayak or fish off the docks but we arrived too late.  On the little gravel road there we saw tons of boondocking spots also.  They were in between small cliffs and would have been great for the kids to hunt and explore.  But...dare I say it...dh wanted to move on.  He didn't want to boondock before we knew what we were doing and I wasn't happy because they'd never stopped to fill up a little water so we only had drinking water, no flushing, bathing or washing water. 
We headed toward Chloride because the free camping site said free hookups there at the vfw plus some fun ghost town stuff.  My dad (A marine in Vietnam) went in to ask about parking for the night and they quoted him $7 to dry camp and $15 for hookups.  They said that it was only free camping if you were part of their club.  That was pretty disappointing and it was late enough that the other things in town were closed anyway so we left. 
Ended up driving and looking for a pulloff since a lot of it was BLM land.  Same thing though, dh was afraid to pull off.  We stopped at the Loves truck stop in Kingman where the attendant offered us a spot there, showed us around, showed us the bathrooms and the subway and said we were welcome to stay and that they loved visitors.  He was so kind but it was pretty noisy with the intersection and the two year old doesn't have ear plugs so we asked him where a good boondocking spot was.  He pointed over the bridge just a mile at the most and there was a nice clearing on a dead road.  It was perfect.  At this point dh was willing to take it cause he didn't want to pay $30 just to park till 11am somewhere.  It was really dark and we couldn't see to park but there was nobody else there. 
Woke up around 8, had breakfast and set off to Wikieup, AZ.  We found a great place called Hidden Oasis just off mile marker 123.  It was only $20 per car (not by people which makes a difference for a family of 6 plus my dad).  It has a little pond with goldfish and guppies, a beautiful garden and benches and such.  Really pretty.  Lots of trails around too.  They have free wifi so we were able to watch our Sunday conference for Easter.  I'll update more later...now I'm off to hide the eggs that I just boiled.  It will be our first desert egg hunt.

Well, Hidden Oasis was a great success.  The kids had great fun with the easter egg hunt in the desert.  We left on Monday around 10am.  Where we drove to the Wikieup trading post and restaurant  to order rattlesnake.  Everyone but me ate some.  I got it in my mouth and just about tossed the rest.  The kids thought it was awesome and made sure to tell everyone they saw that they ate a rattlesnake.  Dad and dh said it was awfully tough and tasted like it'd been frozen for way too long.  But, we got some great t-shirts afterward for the kids that said "I ate rattlesnake steak".  They'll have fun with those.
Next stop was Wickenberg.  We learned that a lot of shops there were closed on Monday and Tuesday so, there were a few things that we didn't get to see.  We stopped at Bashas grocery store and bought everyone a bryers pint (on sale for $2) and grabbed some spoons at the deli to walk the shops.  The favorite thing there was the jail tree where they used to chain criminals cause the town didn't have a jail.  We wanted to stop at the bird refuge just after Wickenberg but it was one of the things that was closed.  I hear that it's amazing.
From Wickenberg we were going to stop at Lake Pleasant but decided to just head to Grandpa's house and hit some lakes on the way back to SLC.  As we drove up I took in a deep breath to breath the Neroli, the orange blossoms, that were all over the neighborhood.  That is a beautiful smell.  Grandpa and Grandma live in a very bad neighborhood but they've lived here for 60 years and wouldn't think of moving.  We were pretty nervous to park out front but decided to just do it.  We've been fine and hope to stay safe.  Grandpa has Alzheimers and it's gotten pretty bad.  About every 15 minutes we are explaining who's RV is out front, who my husband is, and that the baby is mine-not my oldest daughters.  Luckily he remembers my dad and he remembers my name so it's pretty easy to explain.  We got a ton of pictures with all of the kids and Grandma and Grandpa and I brought my scanner and netbook so we've been scanning every photo in the album.  Then, Grandma explains what they all are and I can add text through the free program, Picassa.  For you full timers I would suggest that you do the same and just save them to an external hard drive or a jump drive.  Your kids will love you and you can share the pictures easily with any relatives.
Today we're trying to figure out how to dump the rv.  I don't know yet which places have dumps.  Then, we'll probably leave in the morning to head on our way up to Flagstaff, Kanab, and back to SLC.  Haven't planned those stops yet.  We're looking for some places that we can see ancient ruins, lakes, and other beautiful sites.

Near Flagstaff you'll find Walnut Canyon and Wupatki National Monuments. We love Walnut Canyon but you'll find Wutpaki bigger and more spectacular than quiet little Walnut Canyon. There are several areas of ancestral dwellings (the PC term for "ruins") in Wupatki with trails running by and thru them. You also pass through Sunset Crater Nat'l Monument with beautiful cinder cones.

These are probably the closest ruins you'll pass traveling from Phoenix to Flagstaff then Kanab and SLC. But don't forget Montezuma Castle.....you can't climb around in it but it's still a neat place.

Enjoy
Wendy

Wendy, what are cinder cones?  We will definitely visit Montezuma Castle and the crater and hopefully drive through the canyons also.  In Wutpaki are we able to actually be in the ancestral dwellings?  ;D  I'd resigned myself to M Castle where we couldn't but now I'm wondering if we'll have that chance.
We'll plan another trip later where we specifically visit great sites.  This trip was mostly for Grandpa...who tried to sell our trailer today.  He kept trying to tell Grandma that he needed to get the trailer in the paper cause it was taking up too much room.  :  Then we came home from shopping and he'd taken the keys to his room.

If you go a bit further south toward Tucson, there is the Casa Grande National Monument where you can get right up to the ruins.  It's one of the best preserved sites you'll see.

The cinder cones at Sunset Crater are remnants of volcanoes in the area. There are trails going thru the ruins at Wupatki and you used to be able to climb right into some of them. In an effort to preserve the ruins, most of these areas no longer allow you to climb on the walls. Check nps.gov/wupa and nps.gov/sucr for info on the parks. If you overnight in Flagstaff, Walnut Canyon, Wupatki and Sunset are an easy visit.

Casa Grande is a different type of ruin from Wupatki but is also worth a visit if you're in the Tucson area. Casa Grande is more leftover adobe walls while Wupatki is walls built of layered rocks fitted together. Walnut Canyon is very old shelters built into alcoves in the canyon and requires a strenuous hike.

Don't let grandpa sell the trailer ! Tell him you're having too much fun.

Wendy

Just a little north of Flagstaff, on your way to the Wupatki National Monument, at Sunset Crater Nat. Mon. is a very nice campground, managed by the National Forest. It is dry camping, but very nice for a night or two.

Mariekie

The forest service campground there is Bonito Campground and it is very nice. But it doesn't open until early May. But keep it in mind for the next trip !

Wendy

Thanks Wendy,

Living in Tucson I always seem to forget that the Flagstaff area is at a much higher elevation.

Mariekie

We'll update tomorrow but I wanted to jump on here now that we're home...yay for high speed internet!...and say thanks to everyone.  We had a very sad time leaving AZ, Grandpa kept talking about selling the trailer and we finally got him to understand that it was ours and the next hour he was in his room packing to go to Michigan with us. (like he used to as a boy every year) Alzheimers is not a fun thing.  We were able to get some amazing stories on film though and I scanned every picture in their home.  We visited Montezuma, Walnut, and all 3 Wupatki sites.  They were absolutely amazing and made the whole trip for us.  Dad tripped on a very uneven spot on the Navajo land and broke two ribs (luckily on the last day) so we rushed back to St. George to drop him off to mom for x-rays and treatment, then we decided to just head back home.  I'll detail it tomorrow but in short...I'm so glad we have the trailer.  This was by far the best trip ever.  We learned a ton and we look forward to our next trip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3-aFeo9Jew
This is the picture slide show of our vacation.  Sorry about the youtube quality.