Phil and I were both ready to head it home to Indiana......
But, so difficult to leave my sister and family......wondering when we will see each other again!
Thank goodness for emails and iPhone photos.......
Our plans, once we left Coronado was to go to the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde / Cliff Dwellers....
as our next major stop on the way home.....
It was great to get out of the mountains and the winding roads for awhile!
Arizona Desert
A storm brewing the further we traveled east.....
We took Interstate 8 to Phoenix and turned north on Interstate 17 to Flagstaff, Arizona and the
Grand Canyon......planning on doing the 'tourist' thing and visit these sites.
Note: When we drive to Florida and take the interstate through some very populated cities, like; Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Atlanta....especially Atlanta....well, it is just crazy drivin' .......too much traffic, too many lanes of traffic.....and, for the most part we know where we are going....but, it is nuts, so, sometimes we veer off the main interstate and find 4-lane roads with less traffic....it takes a little extra time, but, worth it! My point being......that out west in the open.....it is nice to be on the Interstate!.....manageable traffic!! And, this time we were glad to be on the interstate!! Not too many winding, mountain roads!
Go.....and get to your destination! Nice for a change.....
Well, that only lasted a day!....
On Sunday morning, September 27, 2014, we headed north on Interstate 17 to the Grand Canyon. As we travelled north we drove into the Coconino National Forest. Beautiful red rock formations! A great visitors center.
We drove into the town of Sedona, Arizona. We have heard so much about Sedona....it's art galleries, restaurant and resort areas.....so, we decided to stop and walk around before heading to Flagstaff for the night.....
One of the highlights for me was the Chapel of the Holy Cross
Beautiful candles to light......I love the flickering....
The Chapel of the Holy Cross was high on the side of a red rock mountain.
I'm glad we stopped there.
We walked through a couple of galleries and decided to head north.....
While we were in Sedona, weather conditions worsened......storm and tornado watches and warnings and rain and some wind....and we were 5,000 feet in elevation....so, we thought we needed to make our way down.
As we headed north the weather got worse....and the GPS was showing us nothing but, twisted, winding, crazy roads to get down the mountain. Warning signs were posted about the length of vehicles and trailers that could make the curves......and, there was a feeling of desolation...especially due to the stormy conditions.....but, here we are trying to get to Flagstaff the safest and quickest way.
It would have taken us four hours out of our way to get to Flagstaff via the Interstate as opposed to staying on the mountain for a long 30 minutes.
I was sooooo ready to get off that mountain!! And, Phil was thankful to eventually drive into Flagstaff!
We checked into our Holiday Inn Express in Flagstaff, found an "Outback" Restaurant.... caught our breath and decided that we had enough of winding roads, pine trees and mountains....doesn't that sound awful of us to think that? But, it was time to seriously head it home and so the next morning we changed our travel plans....going home.....missing the Grand Canyon and the Cliff Dwellers......
We learned while we were in Flagstaff there were areas that experienced serious flooding due to the storm, however, no tornadoes!
I will never forget Sedona, Arizona!
Journey Mercies.....
No comments:
Post a Comment