April 24-May 20, Flagstaff, AZ

After taking a couple of days to recover from jet lag after our trip to Italy, Randy and I settled back into life at the "Ranch," which means early mornings for me to be on the pickleball courts by 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. Randy, unfortunately, is taking a bit more time off to recover from tennis elbow. We had fun dining with friends, playing cards, mahjong, and a bit of ping pong and shuffleboard. We also saw "The Hail Mary Project" at our local theater, an excellent movie.
The temperature has been reaching into the triple digits for the past couple of weeks, so it's time to head back to Oregon.

On Monday, we headed north to Flagstaff for a three-night stay at Flagstaff RV Park. It's nothing fancy, but it's in a great location and well-kept. We spent the afternoon strolling around downtown Flagstaff, a charming town with many shops and restaurants.
Tuesday we went to the Visitor Center and hiked two trails in Walnut Canyon National Monument. The Island Trail was fantastic, as it took you down to some of the many cliff dwellings that line the canyon.
https://www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm
Next, we went to Arizona Snowbowl where we gained 11,500 ft in elevation while riding on their Scenic Gondola. We took a short hike and were greeted with breathtaking views of Northern Arizona at the summit. Back at the base, we enjoyed lunch, especially the prickly pear cider they had on tap. https://www.snowbowl.ski/?gad_source=1&gad_…
On the way back to the RV park, we stopped at Picture Canyon Natural and Cultural Preserve for an easy 3-mile hike. https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/2881/Picture-Canyo…
Wednesday, we drove to Sunset Crater National Monument. We checked out the Visitor's Center, then hiked the Lava Trail and Lenox Crater Loop. The Lenox trail was especially impressive despite the devastation caused by a forest fire in 2022.
https://home.nps.gov/sucr/index.htm
We continued our loop drive to Wupatki National Monument, where we toured Wukoki Pueblo before taking in the Visitor's Center, then Wupatki Pueblo and Lomaki Pueblo. It is amazing to see the craftsmanship and architectural prowess of the ancient native people of the Southwest. https://www.nps.gov/wupa/index.htm
After taking a break for dinner back at our motorhome, we went to the Lowell Observatory, one of the oldest observatories in the United States. They have an awesome theater and excellent exhibits, many of them interactive. We saw Jupiter and its moons looking through a telescope on the Open Deck Observatory and a distant galaxy looking through the 130-year-old Clark Telescope.
https://lowell.edu/
We absolutely loved exploring Flagstaff. The cooler weather was perfect for outdoor activities in this beautiful part of the world.
Tomorrow we leave for Parker, Arizona.Read more