Another travel day. What a vast change in scenery we experienced! Our goal for today was a 323 mile trip to Flagstaff, Arizona before heading to Jacob Lake and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Albuquerque is in the valley and is pretty dry and desert like. As you travel west all of a sudden you see big trees as opposed to scrub bushes. Everything is luscious and green right in the middle of Albuquerque. The reason is the Rio Grande River which winds from Colorado south to Texas through ABQ providing an area of farming for the region.
Not far out of town we had climbed to a plateau of, once again, flat and dry land. Rock outcroppings were visible and the mountains stood out in the distance with layers of green, white, and a pinkish hue in their palate. We eventually climbed to a height of 6000 feet. Martha would have liked to stop and take a picture of each changing scene in terrain but we would have never made it to Flagstaff.
Of other interest were the dust spirals that arose out across the landscape, like little dust tornados. The wind was very strong at the high altitude. We had high winds all the way.
We stopped at Grants to pick up some groceries and a few other items at Walmart. Around that area there is evidence that this was near an ancient volcano because of the various veins of lava rock spreading over the ground like a spider web.
From Albuquerque to Flagstaff we descended to 4,000 feet and rose to as high as 7,000 feet. For most of the way one sees only rock and small bushes except where a “wash” exists. In Louisville a wash would be called a dried up creek.
As we drove into Flagstaff, we were, once again, surrounded by stately mountains and majestic pines towering above us. Our overnight resting point was the Flagstaff KOA which is nestled at the base of the mountains amongst the pine trees adjacent to the Coconino National Forest. It is interesting to note that less than five miles away it is flat and sandy.
The KOA is more like a resort park and would definitely qualify to serve any RVer for a 5-day destination. It sits on a gentle slope with mature pine trees all through the campground. Rocks and small boulders are distributed throughout marking trails, campsites, and driving lanes. The driveways are asphalt but they are narrow. It is truly a natural setting and unspoiled since no mature trees were removed to accommodate the campground. In fact, there are some areas that are more dense with trees and suitable only for tents. A unique feature of the campground is the fact that they have some teepees for rental to overnight campers. We both feel we could do work camping here and enjoy the restful setting.
The natural setting of the Flagstaff KOA next to the Coconino National Forest.
No comments:
Post a Comment